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D6 2A/3A schedule
FRIDAY
CLASS 2A ONLY
9:30 a.m. - Doors Open
10 a.m. - Pigtails
Following Pigtails with Short Breaks - First Consolation Round, Preliminary Round, Second Consolation Round
2 p.m. - Break (gym cleared)
3:30 p.m. - Doors Open
4 p.m. - Quarterfinals and Third Consolation Round
8 p.m. - Projected Finish
SATURDAY
8 a.m. - Doors Open
8:30 a.m. - Class 2A Fourth Consolation Round (3 mats) and 3A Quarterfinals (1 mat)
10:30 a.m. - Class 2A and 3A Semifinals (mats 2 and 4) and Class 2A and 3A Consolation Quarterfinals (mats 1 and 3)
2 p.m. - Class 2A and 3A Consolation Semifinals (mats 1, 2 and 3), Class 2A Seventh Place (mat 4)
Following Those Rounds: Class 2A and 3A Fifth Place
5 p.m. - Gym Cleared
6 p.m. - Doors Open
6:30 p.m. - Hall of Fame Ceremony
Following Hall of Fame: Parade of Champions for Class 2A and 3A
Approximately 7 p.m. - Class 2A Finals (mat 3), Class 2A Third Place (mat 1), Class 3A Finals (mat 2), Class 3A Third Place (mat 4)
9:30 p.m. - Projected Finish
By Todd Irwin
sports@altoonamirror.com
It's really no surprise that Altoona sophomore sensation Luke Sipes is the No. 1 seed at 152 pounds for Saturday's District 6 Class 3A Tournament at the Altoona Fieldhouse.
Sipes made a name for himself as a freshman by winning a district title, Northwest Regional title and placing fifth at the PIAA Championships.
Sipes enters this season's District 6 Tournament with a 33-3 record -- despite having surgery on his torn labrum in the offseason.
"Luke had a good run last year," Altoona coach Joel Gilbert said, "but each year is a new year. Luke takes it each match as a time. He's a very focused wrestler."
There are only five wrestlers at 152, but the second seed, Mifflin County's Parker Kearns (27-4), gave Sipes a heck of a bout in the Ultimate Warrior finals on Jan. 28 at West Branch.
He beat Kearns, 9-1, in the district finals last season at 152, but Sipes had to use a crazy move in the Ultimate Warrior finals to pin Kearns with no control and a second left in overtime.
"We definitely know the kid from Mifflin County who he could possibly have in the finals," Gilbert said. "They went into overtime up at West Branch, so he's definitely going to have some good competition.
"That guy is coming on. We've been working on trying to shore up some things, some mistakes maybe we made that in that match. I think Luke will be ready to go. I expect for Luke to go out and get his offense going, and I think Luke will be okay."
Sipes and the other Class 3A wrestlers from Altoona, Hollidaysburg, Central Mountain, State College, Mifflin County and Johnstown begin wrestling at 8:30 a.m. Saturday with a few quarterfinal bouts. They are sharing the Altoona Fieldhouse with Class AA wrestlers on Saturday in a unique format.
Both classes will wrestle alongside each other throughout the day before an expected large crowd. The final round will start at approximately at 7 p.m. after the District 6 Hall of Fame induction, coaching awards and parade of champions.
The championship finals and third-place bouts will occur on four mats for both classes. The top three in each weight in Class 3A advance to next weekend's Northwest Regional at the Fieldhouse.
"I think it will be nice to see both the triple A and the double A together," Gilbert said. "We have an opportunity to see all of the Hall of Famers, the coaches of the year, man of the year, and all those good things. I think it will be a big crowd. I think it will be a great environment for wrestling. I guess our biggest concern in Altoona is can we hold all the people? We'll find out when we get there."
"I think it's going to be a great experience, both for the wrestling environment, the fans and the coaches," Hollidaysburg coach Christian Harr said. "It's going to be one packed gym. It's something we're kind of not used to. I think all of the kids are going to get the exposure that they deserve. It's going to promote wrestling in a pretty positive light."
Among the must-see bouts is a likely 139-pound finals bout between two state champions - State College's Pierson Manville and Central Mountain's Dalton Perry.
Altoona top-seeded 107-pound freshman Braiden Weaver (30-4) and Hollidaysburg top-seeded 114-pound sophomore Carson Krupka will be looking to make their respective finals.
"Weaver has looked tough all year-long," Gilbert said. "He's going to be really tough to beat in this tournament also. He's really been coming on. He's a very polished freshman, very tough in all positions."
"Carson has continually gotten better as the season has gone on," Harr said. "He's certainly deserving of the top seed at 114. I think he can see a lot of postseason success and continue to make the strides and jumps he's been making. We're obviously looking forward to him winning a district title."
Altoona's Nick Irwin (114), Phillip Sarbo (121) and Caleb Fasick (127) are all seeded second and looking to join their teammates.
"I think the team is excited," Gilbert said. "They've put in the hard work, and they're looking to reap some of the benefits of the season and the offseason. I think there's going to be a lot of great competition, a lot of comparable competition. Our guys are looking to go out and prove they belong out there, that they're the best wrestler in the weight class."
"These are the things you wait all year to do," Harr said. "This is what you train for. This is what you go through the trials and tribulations for. You go through tournaments. You seek better competition."