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By Todd Irwin
sports@altoonamirror.com
With no returning state placewinners for the 2021-22 season, wrestlers in the Altoona Mirror coverage area had to make a name for themselves.
Glendale brothers Zeke Dubler and Suds Dubler certainly made a name for themselves.
The Dublers formed a formidable 1-2 punch for the Vikings. Zeke went 38-5 with a school record 28 pins, breaking his brother's record of 24, at 160 pounds, while Suds posted a 40-5 record with 27 pins.
They won District 6 titles, finished second at the Southwest Regional to respective state champions. They both finished fourth at the PIAA Class 2A Championships.
Zeke and Suds Dubler have been named the Mirror's Wrestlers of the Year. It's the first time brothers have been named the Wrestlers of the Year.
The Mirror takes a look at their success and competitive nature in the following page.
While the Dublers were excelling on the mat, Quentin Wright, a two-time state champion at Bald Eagle Area and two-time NCAA champ at Penn State, was making a mark as a first-year coach at Tyrone.
Wright led the Golden Eagles to an 11-7 record and a second-place finish at the District 6 Duals, falling to Forest Hills, 39-34. Seven of his wrestlers qualified for the Southwest Regional. He helped three Eagles qualify for the state tournament.
Five Tyrone wrestlers have been named to the 39th annual Mirror All-Star Team, including second-time selections Korry Walls (106) and Reese Wood (145).
As usual, there is a first, second and honorable mention team. At some weights there are multiple wrestlers because of the depth of the weight. There are three wrestlers at 215 on the first team.
The factors for compiling the teams were postseason success, head-to-head competition, records and personal observations.
A girl has made one of the three teams for the first time ever. Northern Bedford's Jordyn Fouse is honorable mention at 126.
The following is our first team, and what they accomplished this season:
106 pounds: Luke Hileman, Altoona: After stepping away from wrestling for two years, the Mountain Lion senior showed no signs of rust. Hileman went 32-6 with 23 pins at 106 and 113. He easily won his first District 6 Class 3A title at 106 with two pins in a combined 1:12. Hileman took second at the Northwest Regional, falling in overtime, 8-5, to St. Marys' Aiden Beimel, to qualify for the PIAA Championships.
106 pounds: Korry Walls, Tyrone: Walls returns to the first team after going 30-10 with 14 pins as a junior. He finished second in District 6 Class 2A in his first finals appearance, placed third in his third Southwest Regional and 1-2 in his first state tournament. Walls has a 69-28 career record.
113 pounds: Ty Biesinger, Central: Biesinger went 23-4 with 12 pins as a junior. The Scarlet Dragon finished fourth at the District 6 Class 2A Tournament, but he suffered an injury in the third-place bout. Biesinger was unable to wrestle at the Southwest Regional.
126 pounds: Trent Hoover, Penn Cambria: Hoover had a heck of a sophomore season, going 33-8 with 17 pins. The Panther star won his first District 6 Class 2A title with an 8-4 decision over Forest Hills' Hunter Forcellini.
He earned his first Southwest title with a 3-2 victory over Tussey Mountain's Trevor Husick. Hoover went 1-2 at the state tournament, losing in the blood round -- the round before the medals round.
132 pounds: Ashton Sipes, Tyrone: Sipes had a career year as a senior, going 33-11 after getting 40 wins his first three years. He finished second at the District 6 Tournament, falling 5-3 to Philipsburg-Osceola's Marcus Gable. He placed fifth in his second Southwest Regional to qualify for Hershey, where he went 1-2.
138 pounds: Lukas Walk, Tyrone: Walk went 21-16 with 12 pins as a sophomore -- his second year as a starter for the Golden Eagles. He finished fourth at the District 6 Tournament and eighth at the Southwest Regional, where he was hampered by an injury.
145 pounds: Reese Wood, Tyrone: Wood returns to the first team as a junior, going 33-13 with 17 pins. He finished fourth at the District 6 Tournament to qualify for the Southwest Regional. Wood went 1-2 at the regional tournament.
152 pounds: Luke Sipes, Altoona: The Mountain Lion freshman star went 36-3 with 12 pins and eight technical falls. Sipes burst on to the scene by beating a state qualifier to win the Panther Holiday Classic.
He won a District 6 title with a 9-1 win over Mifflin County's Parker Kearns and a Northwest Regional title with a 3-2 win over Cathedral Prep's Kaemen Smith. Sipes reached the state semifinals before falling to Chartiers Valley's Dylan Evans, 8-1. He rebounded to finish fifth.
172 pounds: Aaron Sleeth, Hollidaysburg: Sleeth posted a 25-14 record with 17 falls as a senior. Sleeth won his first District 6 Class 3A Tournament title in his second finals appearance, taking a 1-0 white-knuckle win over State College's Braden Newby. He went 2-2 at the Northwest Regional to finish in sixth place. Sleeth was 75-55 in his career.
189 pounds: Ethan Kubat, Central Cambria: Kubat went 30-9 with 17 pins in his senior season. He finished second at the District 6 Tournament, falling to Bald Eagle Area's Noah Foltz, 4-0.
Kubat placed fifth at the Southwest Regional the hard way, winning by disqualification after he was slammed by Burrell's Cole Clark in the fifth-place bout. He was discharged from Pittsburgh Children's Hospital that night, and days later wrestled in Hershey, where he was 1-2 with a pin. He was 82-39 in his career.
215 pounds: Britton Spangle, Glendale: Spangle had a breakout junior season, going 34-14 with 25 pins. The Viking finished fourth at the District 6 Tournament and qualified for his first state tournament with a sixth-place finish at the Southwest Regional.
215 pounds: Ethan Norris, Bellwood-Antis: Norris went 21-14 with 14 pins as a junior, but it was his District 6 Tournament performance that brightened a gloomy season for the Blue Devils' program.
Seeded seventh, he reached the finals by knocking the third-seeded Spangle and Mo Valley's second-seeded David Honan. Norris dropped a 2-1 decision to Forest Hills' Kirk Bearjar in the finals. He went 1-2 at the Southwest Regional.
215 pounds: Niklas Eppihimer, Hollidaysburg: Eppihimer went 28-14 as a senior in his first full season as a starter. Eppihimer finished third at a loaded 215-pound weight class at the District 6 Class 3A Tournament. He went 2-2 at the Northwest Regional.
285 pounds: Braden Ewing, Tyrone: Ewing, who has a penchant for winning big bouts in dual meets, went 36-13 with 17 pins as a sophomore after going 7-8 as a freshman. Ewing finished second at the District 6 Tournament, falling to Huntingdon's Gunner Singleton, 7-3.
He went 4-2 and placed fourth at the Southwest Regional. Ewing went 2-2 at the PIAA Championships, bowing out in the blood round.
2021-22 Mirror wrestling all-stars
FIRST TEAM
Wgt. Name School Yr Record
WOYs *Zeke Dubler Glendale Jr 38-5
*Suds Dubler Glendale Sr 40-5
106 Luke Hileman Altoona Sr 32-6
106 *Korry Walls Tyrone Jr 30-10
113 Ty Biesinger Central Jr 23-4
126 *Trent Hoover Penn Cambria So 33-8
132 Ashton Sipes Tyrone Sr 33-11
138 Lukas Walk Tyrone So 21-16
145 *Reese Wood Tyrone Jr 33-13
152 Luke Sipes Altoona Fr 36-3
172 Aaron Sleeth Hollidaysburg Sr 25-14
189 Ethan Kubat Central Cambria Sr 30-9
215 Britton Spangle Glendale Sr 34-14
215 Ethan Norris Bellwood-Antis Jr 21-14
215 Niklas Eppihimer Hollidaysburg Sr 28-14
285 Braden Ewing Tyrone So 36-13
Coach of the Year: Quentin Wright, Tyrone
*--Indicates second first-team selection
SECOND TEAM
Wgt. Name School Yr Record
106 Hunter Jones Cambria Heights So 14-11
106 Carson Krupka Hollidaysburg Fr 13-17
113 Logan Rumberger Tyrone Fr 29-17
120 Nate Storm Glendale Jr 11-13
126 Zach Vereshack Glendale Fr 11-6
132 Jaxon Matthews Central Sr 24-8
132 George Campbell Glendale So 32-12
138 Marshall Eckenrode Cambria Heights Fr 12-6
145 Cole Claycomb Claysburg-Kimmel Jr 16-5
152 Xander Shank Bellwood-Antis Sr 21-14
152 Nathan Little Penn Cambria Sr 21-17
160 Andrew Weaver Tyrone So 27-14
160 Eion Snider Northern Bedford So 23-11
172 Aaron Bowers Northern Bedford Fr 28-7
172 Jon Hajzus Central Cambria Sr 20-10
189 Austin Wagner Penn Cambria Sr 24-15
215 Mason Raymond Penn Cambria Jr 20-14
285 Karter Quick Central Cambria Jr 30-9
285 Brock Smeal Glendale Sr 14-6
285 Derek Beach Northern Bedford Sr 22-12
HONORABLE MENTION
Wgt. Name School Yr Record
126 Jordyn Fouse Northern Bedford Fr 14-14
132 Reyan Imler Northern Bedford Sr 23-8
132 Caleb Fasick Altoona Jr 8-5
145 Elias Alley Bellwood-Antis So 14-11
145 Will Young Altoona Sr 16-19
145 Drew Mardula Penn Cambria Fr 13-13
152 Tanner Trybus Cambria Heights Jr 18-8
160 Austin McCloskey Penn Cambria Jr 22-17
172 Jon Wolford Penn Cambria Sr 17-15
172 Zack Lash Tyrone Sr 15-10
172 Elijah Houser Altoona Sr 13-17
189 Jason Barr Tyrone Sr 15-12
189 Connor Reimer Altoona Sr 14-13
215 Alex Yost Altoona Jr 19-14
215 Brian Amick Northern Bedford So 12-12
285 Nick Summerville Penn Cambria So 16-16
285 Wyatt Holsinger Central Jr 19-6
285 Aaron Laird Bellwood-Antis Sr 12-10
285 Rally Hoover Hollidaysburg So 8-7