Things line up for Lions in win over rival wrestlers
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By Todd Irwin
sports@altoonamirror.com
HOLLIDAYSBURG -- Altoona had a distinct advantage over rival Hollidaysburg going into their dual meet on Thursday at the Golden Tigers gymnasium.
And the Mountain Lions won the disc flip before the match. That gave the visitors an even bigger edge.
It allowed the Mountain Lions (5-9) to essentially choose what weight their top wrestlers -- Luke Sipes, Caleb Fasick and Braiden Weaver -- would wrestle at. All three scored 17 points before getting falls, helping Altoona beat the Golden Tigers, 53-6.
"We won the coin flip," Altoona coach Joel Gilbert said, "so they can't make some of the moves they want to make, and we were able to make some of the moves we wanted to make. It was just to try to get our better guys some matches."
"I think if we would have won the coin flip, it would have been a little bit of a different match with some different matchups happening," Hollidaysburg coach Christian Harr said.
The rout came on a night when Hollidaysburg honored its wrestling alumni, including Harr and assistant coach Mitch Johns, and younger wrestlers before the dual meet.
"It's always great to give back to the alumni community who've come before us," Harr said. "It's also good to give it up to the next generation coming up to the junior high, giving them a stepping stone to look forward to at the junior high level and the high school as well."
The only win for Golden Tigers (3-9) came in the first bout. Mitchell Baronner moved up to 172 and recorded a fall in 23 seconds.
"Mitchell went up from 152 to 172," Harr said. "That was one of the matchups that we wanted. Sipes is certainly the hammer down there at 152. It was not that we were moving away, but in order to give us a better shot in the match, that was one of the options we had to do."
After Altoona's Matt Riccio won by fall at 189, teammate Evan Boose and Hollidaysburg's Rally Hoover were locked up in a close 215-pound bout.
Hoover scored a reversal in the third to draw within one, 6-5, but Boose escaped with a minute remaining. Boose took Hoover down, put him on his back with a low leg cradle and got the fall in 5:40.
"That was a big match for Boose," Gilbert said. "He's starting to come along more and more. He's a tough, strong kid. He was physical tonight and we're happy with his performance."
Hayden Speece needed only 14 seconds to get a fall at 285. At 107, Nick Irwin earned an 8-3 decision over Logan Krupka. Irwin had two takedowns, a three-point nearfall and an interlocking point.
Weaver (20-4) moved up to 114, built a 17-3 lead on Carson Krupka and put the Golden Tiger on his back. Referee Dick Wood slapped the mat with 39 seconds left in the bout.
There was no bout at 121, as Phillip Sarbo moved up to 127, hit some nice ankle picks and rolled to a 10-0 major decision over James Bialo. Altoona held a 31-6 lead.
Harr had to send out his wrestler first at 133. He sent Mason Schenk, and Gilbert responded with Fasick (20-5). The Mountain Lion senior built a 17-5 lead before pinning Schenk in 3:02.
At 139, Altoona's Wyatt Young rolled up nine nearfall points in a 15-3 major decision over Jacob Brua. Eli Wisor then won by forfeit at 145.
"Young looked tough out there," Gilbert said. "He's a little raw at times. He was able to get to some decent positions and score some points."
Gilbert opted for no bout at 152, moving Sipes (23-3) up to 160. The returning state fifth-placer built a 15-3 lead on Aiden Schenk before finishing the bout and the meet with a pin in 1:46.
"This is always a good match for us," Gilbert said. "Normally it's a pretty tight match. I think they're down more a little bit this year than normal, but I think Christian has them going in the right direction. I was just happy we had the opportunity to compete tonight."
"Usually there are a lot of fireworks going on," Harr said. "We usually have some big names hitting each other. We've got a really young team, so we're still fairly green in a lot of the things that we do."
172--Baronner, H, pinned Fetter, :23; 189--Ma. Riccio, A, won by forfeit; 215--Boose, A, pinned Hoover, 5:40; 285--Speece, A, pinned Maines, :14; 107--Irwin, A, dec. L. Krupka, 8-3; 114--Weaver, A, pinned C. Krupka, 5:21; 121--No bout
127--Sarbo, A, maj. dec. Bialo, 10-0; 133--Fasick, A, pinned M. Schenk, 3:02; 139--Young, A, maj. dec. Brua, 15-3; 145--Wisor, A, won by forfeit; 152--No bout; 160--Sipes, A, pinned A. Schenk, 1:46.
Records: Altoona (5-9); Hollidaysburg (3-9)
Referee: Dick Wood