Central crowns four champions en route to title over Glendale
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EBENSBURG -- Glendale figured to be the favorite to win the team title of Tuesday's District 6 Class 2A Section 3 Tournament at Central Cambria High School
The Vikings were riding the momentum of winning their first District 6 Class 2A Tournament last year and an 8-0 regular season record this year.
But Central, which wrestled only four dual meets, had a 1-3 record (all losses to Centre County powers Bellefonte, Bald Eagle Area and Penns Valley) and battled COVID-19 issues, proved it deserved to be in the conversation for one of the best teams in the district.
Both Glendale and Central crowned four champions, but the Scarlet Dragons won the team title by 4.5 points over the Vikings, 156-151.5.
"By and large, these kids have overcome an awful lot," Central coach Dave Marko said. "We have a lot less experience coming in. We haven't had a lot of opportunities to compete. I said a couple weeks ago in a normal season I think this team wins 13 or 15 matches."
"I knew that they were going to be tough too," Glendale coach Brian Storm said of Central. "They have a lot of tough wrestlers. There were a couple matches I wish we could have back. There were other matches where I thought we wrestled really well. I'm happy with their performance tonight."
Central's Tyler Beisinger (106), Ian Crouch (126), Alex Bowman (132) and Andrew McMonagle (160 captured titles.
Glendale two-time state champion Brock McMillen (138) earned a title, as did George Campbell (120), Zeke Dubler (152) and Suds Dubler (172).
"That's awesome," Storm said. "George really showed up tonight. "The other ones, I kind of expected that. I thought they really wrestled well."
Central Cambria's Adam McCullough (145) and Karter Quick (285), Cambria Heights' returning state qualifier Ian Eckenrode (189) and Zach Weakland (215) and Penn Cambria's Trent Hoover (113) also captured titles.
Glendale advanced seven wrestlers to Saturday's District 6 Tournament at the Altoona Fieldhouse, while Central pushed five through. Penn Cambria, which finished third in the team standings, had six qualifiers, including five second-place finishers.
Central Cambria advanced four, while Cambria Heights had three and Claysburg-Kimmel had one.
The top two wrestlers at each weight advanced to the district tournament. A true second format was used in the tournament. If the runner-up and the third-place finisher at a weight didn't wrestle in the earlier rounds, they wrestled for a true second place.
Biesinger, a sophomore, recorded a pin in the semifinals and earned a 10-5 decision over Penn Cambria senior Bryce Proudfit in the finals.
"I thought Tyler wrestled well," Marko said. "He battled the entire time against a kid that's certainly been around the block."
Hoover, who reached the finals with a pin in 1:36, knocked off Glendale's previously unbeaten Nick Zabinski, 9-1, in the finals.
Campbell, a freshman with a 9-1 record now, earned the biggest win for the Vikings as he beat Central's returning state qualifier Jaxon Matthews, 10-6, in the finals.
"I think he went out with an attitude that he was just going to wrestle hard," Coach Storm said. "It just worked out. He just scored a lot of points quickly."
Crouch dominated with two first-period pins -- one in 50 seconds in the semifinals and the other in 1:29 of Heights' Jack Sheredy in the finals.
Bowman, who missed last year's postseason with injuries sustained in automobile accident, pounded out three pins in 27 seconds, 37 seconds and the last in 2:42 of Heights' Issac Westrick in the finals.
"I can't be more happy for Alex Bowman with everything that he's overcome since that tragic accident he had last January," Marko said. "He shattered his knee, broke his ankle in a few places and has had several surgeries to get back on the mat."
McMillen and the Dubler brothers breezed to their titles.
McMillen (10-0) had a 41-second pin in the semifinals and hammered out a 19-4 technical fall of Claysburg-Kimmel's Cole Claycomb in the finals.
Zeke Dubler (9-0) only had one bout -- a pin of Penn Cambria's Austin McCloskey in 1:19 in the first-place bout.
Suds Dubler (9-1) had pins in both of his bouts, recording a fall in 5:49 in the semifinals and pinning Central Cambria's Jonathan Hajzus in 39 seconds to win his title.
"They had a little bit easier brackets," Storm said of his other three champs. "Brock got to work some. They were all just working, and I think they're going to do well at districts."
McCullough recorded a 10-3 decision in the semis before pinning C-K's Anthony McGeary in 1:54.
McMonagle, a freshman, dominated in both of his bouts, earning a pin in 2:46 in the semis and rolling up a 14-2 major decision of Glendale veteran Garret Misiura in the finals.
"Andrew McMonagle is a very talented freshman who we're tickled with the way that he's progressing," Marko said.
Eckenrode earned a pin in 1:54 in the semis and a 7-0 decision over Central Cambria's Ethan Kubat in the finals.
Weakland breezed to a title with a pin in 1:05 in the semis and a pin in 4:37 against Penn Cambria's Austin Wagner.
"Zach has to be the strongest kid out there, that's for sure," Heights coach Mike Eckenrode said. "Zach lives in the weight room. He's a weight lifting champion at the school, and that definitely helps him in his matches."
Quick reached the finals with a pin in 2:13. He defeated Glendale's Brock Smeal, 5-1, in the finals.
KEY, TEAM STANDINGS
1. C--Central 156; 2. G--Glendale 151.5; 3. PC--Penn Cambria 115; 4. CH--Cambria Heights 109; 5. CC--Central Cambria 100; 6. CK--Claysburg-Kimmel 42.5; 7. P--Portage 27.
Championship Finals
106--Biesinger, C, dec. Proudfit, PC, 10-5; 113--Hoover, PC, maj. dec. Zabinski, G, 9-1; 120--Campbell, G, dec. Matthews, C, 10-6; 126--Crouch, C, pinned Sheredy, CH, 1:29; 132--Bowman, C, pinned Westrick, CH, 2:42; 138--McMillen, G, tech. fall Claycomb, CK, 19-4, 3:37; 145--McCullough, CC, pinned McGeary, CK, 1:54
152--Z. Dubler, G, pinned McCloskey, PC, 1:19; 160--McMonagle, C, maj. dec. G. Misiura, 14-2; 172--S. Dubler, G, pinned Hajzus, CC, :39; 189--Eckenrode, CH, dec. Kubat, CC, 7-0; 215--Weakland, CH, pinned Wagner, PC, 4:37; 285--Quick, CC, dec. Smeal, G, 5-1.
True Second Place
106--Proudfit, PC, pinned Jones, CH, 2:08; 113--Zabinski, G, pinned Uplinger, C, 2:15; 120--Matthews, C, pinned Coukart, P, :37; 126--Patterson, PC, dec. Sheredy, CH, 3-1 OT; 138--Claycomb, CK, tech. fall Talko, PC, 16-1, 3:28
145--Little, PC, pinned McGeary, CK, 2:09; 172--Hajzus, CC, dec. Hall, C, 9-7 OT; 189--Kubat, CC, pinned Hess, C, 2:45; 285--Smeal, G, pinned Holsinger, C, :46.
Third Place
Jones, CH, pinned W. Storm, G, :16; 113--Uplinger, C, pinned Blake, CH, 1:35; 120--Coukart, P, pinned Knisely, CK, 2:13; 126--Patterson, PC, pinned Johnson, CC, 1:56; 132--Keiper, CC, pinned N. Storm, G, 2:03; 138--Talko, PC, dec. Trybus, CH, 5-1; 145--Little, PC, pinned T. Misiura, G, 1:33
160--Davis, CH, maj. dec. Pfister, PC, 15-2; 172--Hall, C, pinned Stockley, CH, 1:13; 189--Hess, C, pinned Oravecz, P, 4:33; 215--Spangle, G, pinned Lutz, CC, :16; 285--Holsinger, C, pinned Raymond, PC, 1:48