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By Todd Irwin
sports@altoonamirror.com
McMURRAY -- Penn Cambria sophomore Trent Hoover couldn't hide his joy on his Saturday evening in the AHN Arena at Peters Township High School.
When the final second ticked off the clock of his 3-2 win over Tussey Mountain's Trevor Husick in the 126-pound title bout of the Southwest Regional Class 2A Tournament, Hoover clapped his hands and jumped into coach Todd Niebauer's arms after his hand was raised.
His emotions were far different after losing both of his bouts at the regional tournament as a freshman.
"It feels great after going 0-2 last year," Hoover said. "I bounced back and believed in myself."
"Those aren't a regular occurrence," Niebauer said. "This kid is wrestling well. He's wrestling smart. He wasn't fancy this weekend, but he picked his leg attacks when he needed them."
Hoover was the only wrestler from the Mirror coverage area that won a title.
Glendale's Zeke Dubler (160) and Suds Dubler (172) put up battles against returning state champions before suffering respective one-point losses. Zeke dropped a 1-0 decision to Laurel's Grant MacKay, and Suds followed with a 2-1 loss to Frazier's Rune Lawrence.
Eight area wrestlers, including three apiece from Tyrone and Glendale, qualified for the PIAA Championships, which begin on Thursday at Hershey's Giant Center, by placing in the top six at their weight classes.
Tyrone's Korry Walls (third, 106), Braden Ewing (fourth, 285) and Ashton Sipes (fifth, 132) are making the trip to Hershey. Central Cambria's Ethan Kubat (fifth, 189) and Glendale's Britton Spangle (sixth, 215) advanced to states.
It was a rough and scary day for Kubat, who was slammed by Burrell's Cole Clark in the third period of their fifth-place bout. Kubat, who was winning 7-3 at the time of the slam, won by disqualification in 3:54.
Kubat stayed down on his stomach for several minutes while a trainer kept his head and neck stabilized. Paramedics carried him off on a stretcher, as fans applauded, and took him to Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh. Coach Matt Niebauer said Kubat didn't have any broken bones and was released Saturday night.
"The kind of official diagnosis was a stinger," Niebauer said on Sunday afternoon. "It was kind of scary, but I think it was more precautionary than anything else. He came down on the head or neck area, and he said he had some tingling in his arms when it happened. The staff (at the arena) was great. When there's an injury like that, you have to definitely err on the side of caution. Thank God it worked out the way it did.
"They're monitoring for any signs of concussion, but everything we've seen and heard says he's going to be good to go. I talked to his parents last night. They were very optimistic about his chances of being able to wrestle at states."
Four other area wrestlers placed in the top eight but didn't qualify for states. Glendale's George Campbell (132) and Northern Bedford's Derek Beach (285) placed seventh, while Tyrone's Lukas Walk (138) and Central Cambria's Karter Quick (285) finished eighth.
Hoover (32-6) got by Chestnut Ridge's Kobi Burkett, 4-3, in the semifinals. In the finals, he broke a 1-1 tie with a takedown of Husick with 1:06 left in the bout. He gave up an escape and avoided getting thrown by the dangerous Husick (32-4), a returning state qualifier.
"I knew (the takedown) would come," Hoover said. "I was attacking. He was just digging in underhooks, and I just had to clear the tie and get to the leg."
Zeke Dubler (35-3) and MacKay (37-2) went scoreless in the first period. MacKay escaped in the second period and took the 1-0 lead into the third. MacKay rode Dubler the entire final period to repeat as regional champ.
"I think I wrestled solid," Zeke said. "I can't get ridden out for a whole period in the third. I definitely have to work on some things. I just need to make the positions count and be able to capitalize and score points on a guy like MacKay."
The first time they wrestled, at the Fred Bell Tournament, MacKay won 6-0.
"This one was definitely a lot better," Zeke said. "In the finals, I knew I was in for a tough one, but my mind was set on wrestling MacKay."
Lawrence (33-3) took Suds Dubler (36-3) down in the first period, rode the entire second period and rode until Dubler escaped with about 5 seconds left. Dubler worked hard on the bottom while Lawrence was clamping down from the top.
Still, the close loss gave Dubler, who rolled into the finals with three pins, some confidence going into the state tournament.
"He's really tough on top," Suds said, "especially with that wrist ride he always has. It gives me a lot of confidence going 2-1 with the state champ. Not too much else you can ask for."
Chestnut Ridge won its fourth regional team title since 2015 with one champion in Calan Bollman, three runners-up and a school record nine qualifiers. The Lions amassed 197.5 points. They were followed by Burgettstown (118) and Forest Hills (108).
"I think it was a great weekend," Ridge coach Josh Deputy said. "I think they did an awesome job. I couldn't be more proud of them. The team atmosphere is what our kids lean on. The way they wrestled at this regional was unbelievable. It was a super fun weekend."
Notes: Glendale finished seventh in the team standings with 70.5 points, while Tyrone (61) was ninth. ... Tussey Mountain's Matt Watkins beat Huntingdon's Gunner Singleton, 3-2, in the ultimate tiebreaker at 285.
KEY, TEAM STANDINGS
1. CR--Chestnut Ridge 197.5; 2. BURG--Burgettstown 118; 3. FH--Forest Hills 108; 4. QV--Quaker Valley 98; 5. BEA--Bald Eagle Area 88.5; 6. MP--Mount Pleasant; 7. G--Glendale 70.5; 8. BURR--Burrell 70; 9. T-Tyrone 61; 10. BC--Beth Center 57; 11. TM--Tussey Mountain 56; 12. BENT--Bentworth 52; 13. PV--Penns Valley 49; 14. L--Laurel 48.5; 15. CV--Central Valley 48; 16. F--Frazier and MC--Marion Center 38.5; 18. H--Huntingdon and S--Somerset 36; 20. WB--West Branch, U--United and NS--North Star 35; 23. PC--Penn Cambria, B--Bedford and SOUTH--Southmoreland 32; 26. PO--Philipsburg-Osceola and D--Derry 29.5; 28. MON--Montour 27; 29. W--Washington 24; 30. CC--Central Cambria 23; 31. EF--Elizabeth Forward 19; 32. FREE--Freedom and SS--South Side 18; 34. NB--Northern Bedford and MU--Mount Union 17; 36. BBV--Berlin Brothersvalley, FC--Fort Cherry and JM--Jefferson Morgan 15; 39. BA--Bellwood-Antis, HO--Hopewell and M--Meyersdale 12; 42. CT--Conemaugh Township 11.5; 43. RV--River Valley 10; 44. SH--Southern Huntiingdon and A--Avonworth 9; 46. MV--Moshannon Valley and CAR--Carlynton 8; 48. JV--Juniata Valley 4; 49. C--Central, CH--Chartiers Houston, K--Knoch, McG--McGuffey, R--Richland, V--Valley and WG--West Greene 2; 56. E--Everett, EC--Ellwood City, KO--Keystone Oaks and LV--Ligonier Valley 0.
CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS
106--P. Sentipal, BURG, dec. Mull, CR, 7-1; 113--Bainey, WB, pinned Fye, BEA, 1:18; 120--Vargo, BENT, dec. Bainey, BEA, 4-0; 126--Hoover, PC, dec. Husick, TM, 3-2; 132--Bollman, CR, dec. J. Sentipal, BURG, 9-4; 138--Toth, FH, dec. Boni, CV, 3-1; 145--Watson, PV, dec. Weyandt, CR, 7-0
152--Arrington, FH, maj. dec. Moyer, CR, 17-8; 160--MacKay, L, dec. Z. Dubler, G, 1-0; 172--Lawrencee, F, dec. S. Dubler, G, 2-1; 189--Cutchember, QV, dec. Gribus, MP, 6-0; 215--Pitzer, MP, pinned Daniels, BENT, :40; 285--Watkins, TM, dec. Singleton, H, 3-2 UTB.
THIRD PLACE
106--Walls, T, dec. Sombronski, U, 5-0; 113--Kazalas, QV, dec. Holderbaum, CR, 4-3; 120--Hornack, BURR, dec. Dull, CR, 3-1; 126--Burkett, CR, dec. Cafrelli, SS, 6-2; 132--McCollum, BC, dec. Chacon, MON, 3-1 OT; 138--Poklembo, MP, dec. Brown, BURG, 3-1 OT; 145--Teeter, FH, dec. Frameli, JM, 6-1
152--Berish, BC, dec. Richey, QV, 5-3 OT; 160--L. Moore, CR, dec. Hirak, D, 5-2; 172--Stewart, MC, won by injury default over Close, BEA; 189--Morgan, CV, dec. Foltz, BEA, 11-5; 215--Bearjar, FH, dec. Govern, SOUTH, 5-4; 285--Carter-Green, W, dec. Ewing, T, 3-2.
FIFTH PLACE
106--Beatty, MU, dec. Darlington, PV, 7-1; 113--Bracken, U, won by injury default over Walzer, MON; 120--Richey, QV, dec. Donaldson, M, 5-2; 126--Suica, BURG, won injury default over Bruce, EF; 132--Sipes, T, dec. Ferra, BURR, 3-1 OTT; 138--Johnson, SOUTH, dec. Weyant, CR, 7-2; 145--Heilbrun, MC, dec. Szymanski, BURR, 10-8 TB
152--Pisano, HO, maj. dec. Johnson, MP, 12-2; 16--Barr, BURR, won by injury default over Welsh, FC; 172--Holmes, S, maj. dec. Diemert, QV, 8-0; 189--Kubat, CC, won by disqualification over Clark, BURR, 3:54; 215--Hale, B, dec. Spangle, G, 5-4; 285--Lingenfelter, B, dec. Baronick, BURG, 8-4
SEVENTH PLACE
106--Frazier, NS, pinned Klim, D, 2:11; 113--Bartley, L, dec. Yocum, H, 7-0; 120--Coudriet, PO, dec. Clark, F, 6-3; 126--Krul, QV, dec. Stepp, BC, 7-1; 132--Campbell, G, won by injury default over Gable, PO; 138--Snoeberger, NS, won injury default over Walk, T; 145--Foster, PO, pinned Lancos, BURG, 1:56
152--Boughton, A, pinned Masood, TM, 1:48; 160--Petttit, BC, pinned Slovick, BURG, 4:08; 172--D. Moore, CR, pinned Cohenour, SH, 1:42; 189--Mathias, BBV, pinned Tinstman, L, 1:50; 215--Millward, FREE, pinned Honan, MV, 4:50; 285--Beach, NB, dec. Quick, CC, 1-0.