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Altoona sophomore Luke Sipes revealed after he won his second District 6 Class 3A title this season, there had been some concern in the offseason that he wouldn't be able to wrestle after undergoing surgery for a torn labrum.
Not only did he wrestle, but he excelled on the mat -- as did freshman teammate Braiden Weaver, who burst upon the high school scene in sensational fashion.
Weaver and Sipes formed a formidable 1-2 punch for the Mountain Lions. Sipes went 41-5, which is a school record for wins, while Weaver posted a 39-6 record, which is a school record for wins by a freshman.
Sipes and Weaver won District 6 titles at 107 and 152, respectively, Northwest Regional titles and placed in the top seven at the PIAA Championships. Weaver placed fifth, while Sipes placed seventh for his second state medal.
Weaver and Sipes have been named the Mirror's Wrestlers of the Year on the 40th annual Mirror All-Star Team. Glendale 2021-22 Co-Wrestler of the Year Zeke Dubler and Penn Cambria's Trent Hoover were also in the running for the honor.
Altoona's Joel Gilbert is being recognized as the Mirror Co-Coach of the Year with Tyrone's Quentin Wright. It's the second straight year Wright has earned that honor. It's the first time an Altoona coach has been named Coach of the Year.
For the second year in a row, five Tyrone wrestlers have been named to the Mirror All-Star Team, including three-time selection Korry Walls (107). Hoover (145) and Dubler (160) are also three-time selections.
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 two wrestlers at 160 and 285 on the first team.
The factors for compiling the teams were postseason success, head-to-head competition, records and personal observations.
107 pounds: Korry Walls, Tyrone: Walls made the first team for the third time, but he missed most of his senior year. In his third bout this season, he broke his hand in a 9-6 win over Weaver. He didn't return to the lineup until the Jan. 27-28 Ultimate Warrior Tournament. Walls was hampered by the injury, but he still was able finish second in the District 6 Class 2A Tournament for the second time.
Walls went 1-2 with two close losses at his fourth Southwest Regional to finish with a season record of 12-5 and a career mark of 81-33.
114 pounds: Ty Biesinger, Central: Biesinger returns to the first team as a senior after going 29-9 with 14 falls. He placed fifth at the District 6 Tournament for his third district medal and went 1-2 at the Southwest Regional. Biesinger finished with a career record of 76-28.
121 pounds: Logan Rumberger, Tyrone: Rumberger makes the first team for the first time as a sophomore after going 22-11 at 121 and 127. He finished second at 121 in the Ultimate Warrior and just missed the Southwest Regional with a seventh-place finish at the District 6 Tournament.
127 pounds: Caleb Fasick, Altoona: Fasick bounced back from his junior season-ending elbow injury to have the best overall year of his career. The Mountain Lion senior went 30-10, finished second at the District 6 Class 3A Tournament and third at the Northwest Regional to qualify for the state tournament.
Fasick was able to bounce back from getting pinned by DuBois' Samson Deeb while he was up 17-3 in regional quarterfinals. He roared back through the consolations and won a rematch with Deeb, 12-2, in the third-place bout.
139 pounds: Lukas Walk, Tyrone: Walk returns to the first team after going 24-11 as a junior wrestling at 139, 145, 152 and 160. Walk finished third at the District 6 Tournament for his second district medal to qualify for the Southwest Regional, where he went 1-2. He's 54-35 in his first three seasons.
145 pounds: Trent Hoover, Penn Cambria: A three-time first team all-star who moved up from 126 last year, Hoover turned in another memorable season. The junior went 39-4, won titles at the Panther Holiday Classic and Thomas Automotive Tournament and repeated as a District 6 and Southwest Regional champion.
Hoover beat Chestnut Ridge's returning regional champ Calan Bollman, 3-2, in the regional finals. Unfortunately for Hoover, a broken hand cut short his quest for a medal at Hershey, finishing 1-2 there. He is 83-16 in his first three seasons.
152 pounds: George Campbell, Glendale: Campbell went 27-11 with 17 falls as a junior at a very deep weight class within District 6. He made the semifinals before finishing sixth at the District 6 Tournament for his second district medal. Campbell, who has a career record of 70-27, went 1-2 at the regional.
160 pounds: Zeke Dubler, Glendale: A three-time first-teamer, Dubler went 41-7 with a school single-season record of 30 pins, breaking his own mark he set last year. Dubler finished with 83 career pins, breaking the program record of 73 previously held by his brother, Suds.
Dubler captured his second District 6 title in an epic 4-3 tiebreaker win over fellow first-teamer Andrew McMonagle. That win netted the three-time district finalist and four-time placer the tournament Outstanding Wrestler award. He finished second at the Southwest Regional, losing 1-0 to Laurel's eventual two-time state champ Grant MacKay.
A leg injury hampered Dubler as he finished eighth for his second state medal. The Lehigh recruit went 126-26 in his career.
160 pounds: Andrew McMonagle, Williamsburg/Huntingdon: After missing last season at Central due to a shoulder injury, the Williamsburg junior excelled in his first year wrestling for Huntingdon. McMonagle went 38-7 with 30 pins, finished second to Dubler after their classic finals bout and placed third at the Southwest Regional.
Unfortunately a knee injury in a 7-3 loss in his first bout in Hershey prevented him from wrestling in the consolations. McMonagle was a first team selection as a freshman wrestling for Central.
172 pounds: Kyle Scott, Tyrone: Scott certainly made his mark on the high school level as a 14-year-old freshman. He went 34-11, finished third at the District 6 Tournament and second at the Southwest Regional. As one of only two freshmen at 172 in Hershey, Scott went 1-2 with two one-point losses.
189 pounds: Britton Spangle, Glendale: Spangle returns to the first team as a senior after going 35-13 with 21 pins. Spangle dropped to 189 for the postseason and placed fifth in District 6 and at the regional to qualify for his second state tournament. Spangle was 91-45 in his career.
215 pounds: Karter Quick, Central Cambria: Quick was voted the Panther Classic Outstanding Wrestler after beating a Florida state placewinner and a PIAA Class 3A state placer. He was 27-6, finished fourth at the district tournament for his second medal and just missed qualifying for Hershey with a seventh-place finish at the regional. Quick was 70-19 in his career.
285 pounds: Daniel Williams, Glendale: Williams went 40-10 with 18 pins, coming up one win shy of the Glendale freshman record of 41 shared by Brock McMillen and Suds Dubler.
He finished second at the District 6 Tournament, earning a second overtime win over fellow first-teamer Braden Ewing of Tyrone in the semifinals. Williams placed third at the Southwest Regional to reach Hershey, where he went 1-2.
285 pounds: Braden Ewing, Tyrone: The junior returns to the first team after going 33-10 with 16 pins, placing third for his second District 6 medal and finishing second at the Southwest Regional to return to Hershey. Ewing went 1-2 at the state tournament.
Ewing reached the regional final with a 1-0 win over Williams after two overtime losses to the Viking freshman star. Ewing is 76-31 in his career.