Trending
CRESSON -- Altoona's Luke Sipes came into the season ranked eighth on PA Power Wrestling's list of top incoming freshmen after finishing second at the Keystone State Championships.
Sipes proved the high expectations for him were warranted at the 47-team Panther Holiday Classic on Saturday at Mount Aloysius College.
Sipes knocked off Dallastown's two-time Class 3A state qualifier Caden Dobbins, 2-1, with a late takedown in their 152-pound finals bout to complete an impressive 5-0 performance in the tournament.
"Oh, that felt so good,'' Sipes said. "I've trained for matches like this my whole life leading up to high school. I'm so blessed to have the training and coaching that got me to that point.''
Glendale junior Zeke Dubler also captured a title, beating Mifflinburg's Troy Bingaman, 3-1, in the finals at 160 to finish 5-0 in the tournament. Dubler finished second in the tournament as a freshman 113-pounder.
"This is pretty awesome,'' Dubler said after coming down off the medals stand. "This was one of the tournaments I wanted to win pretty bad.''
Zeke's brother, Suds Dubler, was a runner-up for the second time in the tournament, dropping a 5-1 decision to Daniel Boone's Tucker Hogan at 172. Daniel Boone is a Class 3A school in District 3.
Central Cambria's unheralded Ethan Kubat nearly pulled of a big win in the 189-pound finals, dropping a 4-3 decision to returning Virginia 6A state champion Jadon Stephens. Kubat went 4-1 over two days.
Thirteen other wrestlers in the Mirror coverage area placed in the top eight.
Altoona's Luke Hileman (113) was the only area wrestler to finish third.
Tyrone's Korry Walls (113), Altoona's Caleb Fasick (132) placed fifth. Tyrone's Ashton Sipes (132) and Reese Wood (152), Glendale's George Campbell (138) and Penn Cambria's Austin Wagner (189) took sixth.
Penn Cambria's Trent Hoover (126), Central's Jaxon Matthews (145), Northern Bedford's Aaron Bowers (189) and Central Cambria's Karter Quick (285) placed seventh. Tyrone's Logan Rumberger (120) and Glendale's Britton Spangle (215) finished eighth.
Altoona (115.5) finished eighth in the team standings, while Glendale (103.5) was ninth. Dallastown won the team title by 16 points, 165.5-149.5, over Penns Valley.
Sipes, who had two pins, a technical fall and a decision in his first four bouts, adeptly defended two deep shots from Dobbins in the first period to avoid a takedown.
After Dobbins rode the entire second period, he escaped in the third period for the first point. With time winding down, Sipes hit a perfect double-leg shot for a takedown with 22 seconds left.
"It wasn't just one setup, one shot,'' Altoona coach Joel Gilbert said. "It was one setup to another setup, then to a shot to get some kind of reaction from his opponent. Those things aren't easily taught at the high school level.''
"I was a little nervous, but one of my best attributes is my conditioning,'' Sipes said. "I kept getting back to the line before him, and I knew I had to keep pressing.''
Sipes stayed on top as Dobbins hit two desperation rolls in the final seconds. After time expired, Sipes pumped his fist toward his teammates and family.
"He deserves it,'' Gilbert said. "He puts a lot of time into the sport, and he's getting something out of it. When you beat a guy at that level who's that good and has been to the state tournament twice, you know you've accomplished something as a freshman.''
Zeke Dubler (12-0), who had two pins, a technical fall and a semifinal forfeit, scored a takedown in the first period against Bingaman. He rode tough, escaped in the second period and avoided any danger in the third after giving up an escape at the 1:15 mark.
Zeke Dubler made it to the 113-pound finals of the Panther Holiday Classic as a freshman, but dropped a 2-0 decision to Father Judge's Sean Logue.
"The loss (two years ago) hurt. I posted a picture on my Instagram of me on the second place (spot on the medals stand),'' Dubler said. "I looked at it every day. I wanted to win it.''
Kubat, who beat Wagner, 6-2, in an all-area semifinal, rode Stephens the entire second period of a scoreless bout. Stephens released him to begin the third and took Kubat down with 1:20 left.
Kubat escaped at 1:03 to tie the score, but Stephens took him down again with 23 seconds left. Kubat escaped before the buzzer, but he ran out of time.
"It was all right. It wasn't one of my best performances, but it wasn't one of my worst,'' Kubat said. "I'll work harder for next time.''
"He had a great tournament,'' Central Cambria coach Matt Niebauer said. "I think that kid's explosiveness caught Ethan little off-guard. We want to be this close to winning a PA state title, but it's early in the season. I really like the direction he's headed.''
After rolling through his first four bouts with two quick pins and two decisions, the second-seeded Suds Dubler (11-1) found the going tougher against the top-seeded Hogan. Hogan, a returning state qualifier, scored three nearfall points in the second period and took Dubler down with 18 seconds left to prevent him from reaching 99 wins.
"There's obviously room for improvement,'' Suds said. "I definitely need to get my conditioning better if I want to go far. I need matches like that.''
Notes: Altoona finished second in the junior varsity standings with four champions: Logan Brandt (126-132), George Boutiller (138), Evan Boose (189) and Logan Kline (285). … Mount Pleasant two-time state champ Dayton Pitzer was named the Outstanding Wrestler.
KEY, TOP 25 TEAM STANDINGS
1. D--Dallastown 165.5; 2. PV--Penns Valley 149.5; 3. TRIN--Trinity 148.5; 4. NA--North Allegheny 144.5; 5. SG--Spring Grove 143.5; 6. S--Selinsgrove 130; 7. SM--St. Marys 117; 8. A--Altoona 115.5; 9. G--Glendale 103.5; 10. MP--Mount Pleasant 103; 11. C--Corry 92; 12. W--Woodbridge, VA 91.5; 13. DB--Daniel Boone 90.5; 14. M--Mifflinburg 88.5; 15. PO--Philipsburg-Osceola 87; 16. H--Huntingdon 83; 17. WB--West Branch 77.5; 18. ARM--Armstrong 74.5; 19. CHAN--Chantilly, VA and MC--Manheim Central 71; 21. T--Tyrone 70; 22. MC--Marion Center 69; 23. PC--Penn Cambria 68; 24. NS--North Star 66; 25. SW--South Williamsport 64.5.
Championship Finals
106--Beimel, SM, dec. Darlington, PV, 4-3; 113--Bainey, WB, dec. Houser, DB, 6-3; 120--Rice, SG, dec. Shunk, PV, 5-4; 126--Coy, NA, dec. Gardner, SW, 1-0; 132--Reihner, TRIN, dec. Vega, SG, 5-1; 138--Pierce, Harbor Creek, pinned Poklembo, MP, 4:57; 145--Watson, PV, dec. Heilbrun, MC, 7-4.
152--Sipes, A, dec. Dobbins, D, 2-1; 160--Z. Dubler, G, dec. Bingaman, M, 3-1; 172--Hogan, DB, dec. S. Dubler, G, 5-1; 189--Stephens, W, dec. Kubat, Central Cambria, 4-3; 215--Pitzer, MP, pinned Linkerhof, C, 5:04; 285--Banco, TRIN, pinned Reyda, C, 1:15.
Outstanding Wrestler: Dayton Pitzer, Mount Pleasant
CONSOLATIONS
AREA RESULTS
Third Place
138--Hileman, A, dec. Allison, TRIN, 9-2;
Fifth Place
113--Struble, M, pinned Walls, 2:23; 132--Fasick, A, won by forfeit over Sipes, T; 138--Dawit, W, dec. Campbell, G, 5-2; 152--Foster, PO, won by forfeit over Wood, T; 189--Mathias, Berlin Brothersvalley, pinned Wagner, PC, 2:56
Seventh Place
120--Gladfelter, H, pinned Rumberger, T, 3:38; 126--Hoover, PC, pinned Smyser, SG, 1:58; 145--Matthews, Central, pinned A. Myers, WB, 2:26; 215--Marabell, Tunkhannock, pinned Spangle, G, 1:21; 189--Bowers, Northern Bedford, dec. Grove, Everett, 8-5; 215--Marabell, Tunkhannock, pinned Spangle, G, 1:21; 285--Quick, Central Cambria, pinned Hershey, SG, 1:20