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BEDFORD -- Andrew McMonagle reached the PIAA Class 2A state wrestling tournament last March but suffered a setback there.
McMonagle tore three ligaments in his knee in the first round of the 160-pound competition and was forced to injury default out of the competition.
This year, as a senior, McMonagle -- a Williamsburg High School student who has been competing in wrestling last season and this season as part of an athletic co-op that his school has with Huntingdon Area -- is trying his best to make up for lost time.
McMonagle jacked his season record to 33-1 by winning the 189-pound championship in the 35th annual Bedford Thomas Automotive Tournament Saturday at the Bedford Area High School gymnasium, capturing a 5-0 victory over Derry Area freshman Brady Brown in the title match.
It marked the second straight Bedford Thomas Automotive championship for McMonagle, who won last year at 160.
More importantly, competition like the one that presents itself at Bedford provides wrestlers with a good springboard into the postseason, for which McMonagle is laser-focused.
"As a senior, this feels good to win again here, but I know that this is just a stepping stone for the state tournament,'' McMonagle said.
Huntingdon coach Jon Mykut said that McMonagle -- who competed in wrestling at Central High School three years ago at 160 pounds as a freshman and also qualified for the state tournament then but did not place there -- has his mind set on a gold medal in the state tournament at Hershey this March.
"This is just a step in the process for Andrew,'' Mykut said. "He will keep pushing until the end of this season, and his goal is to be standing on the top of the (medals) podium at the state tournament.''
The top-seeded McMonagle -- who logged a 5-0 record in the Bedford tournament with three falls, including a 4:57 pin of Frazier's Jackson Angelo in the semifinal round -- won a defensive battle against the talented frosh Brown (23-2), who was seeded second.
McMonagle broke a scoreless tie with a second-period reversal, then hit a takedown out of a scramble early in the third.
"I didn't push the pace as much, but I wrestled my match,'' McMonagle said.
Mykut said that has been plenty good all season.
"He's done a great job all season long, and he wrestled all weekend like he has all year,'' Mykut said.
Penn Cambria senior Trent Hoover reached the championship round at 152 pounds but fell short in his bid to become a three-time Bedford Tournament champion, dropping an 8-7 decision to standout Clearfield junior Brady Collins, who placed fourth in Class 2A state tourney last season at 139 pounds.
The top-seeded Collins (30-2) -- who logged three falls and a technical fall en route to the finals -- built a quick 6-0 first-period lead on the second-seeded Hoover (31-3), who did a great job of battling back after falling behind early.
"I can't get behind 6-0 early like that against such a good kid,'' Hoover said. "I can't put myself in a hole like that -- I have to attack of all six minutes, not just five.''
Collins scored two takedowns and a 2-point near-fall in the first period to go up 6-0 before Hoover -- a Class 2A state qualifier last year at 145 who had won two previous Bedford titles, at that weight class as a junior, and at 126 as a sophomore -- clawed his way back to within 6-5 on a second-period takedown.
Hoover conceded Collins escape points in the second and third periods before hitting a double-leg takedown midway through the third to draw to within 8-7 before time ran out.
"Their guy (Collins) came out like a freight train at the beginning of the match,'' Penn Cambria coach Todd Niebauer said. "We have to withstand that flurry at the beginning of the match. We can't afford to get behind 6-0 against a kid who placed fourth in the state last year.
"But there is such a thing as a good loss, and this was one of them,'' Niebauer added about the spirited effort of Hoover, who reached the finals with a 15-6 major decision over Line Mountain's Dalton Schadel in the semifinals. "It's tough to come back against a quality kid like that, but I like where we are right now.''
Other area medalists
Led by a fourth-place finish from Northern Bedford junior Wyatt Clouse at 121 pounds, the Mirror core coverage area boasted nine other medalists at the tournament.
Clouse (28-6) was fourth-seeded at 121 but reached the semifinals, where he was pinned in 1:30 by top-seeded Northern Garrett (Md.) senior Nate Wilhelm, who went on to become the champion at the weight class.
Northern Bedford enjoyed a solid tournament overall, putting five on the medals podium. Eion Snider and Brock Beach took fifth places at 189 and 285, respectively, while Aiden Replogle (107 pounds) and Rece Dibert (215) both placed sixth.
Central had two medalists -- Thaide Mickel (fifth at 133) and Kaden Horn (seventh at 127) -- while Central Cambria's Jake Wilson finished seventh at 139 and Penn Cambria's Nick Summerville placed eighth at 215.
Ridge wins team title
Chestnut Ridge crowned seven medalists, including the 107-pound champion in unbeaten sophomore Dominic Deputy at 107 pounds, and narrowly nosed out Clearfield for its ninth straight team championship.
Ridge -- which got second-place finishes from Easton Mull (114) and Mason Weyant (133), a third place from Jayden Imler (145), a sixth place from Aaron Ickes (152), and two seventh-place finishes from Trendon Willey (121) and Alex Crist (189) -- racked up 191 team points, just ahead of runner-up Clearfield's 183.5.
Burrell (176.5 team points) was third, and Huntingdon (172.5) was fourth.
KEY, TEAM SCORING: 1, CR--Chestnut Ridge, 191; 2, CLF--Clearfield, 183.5; 3, BUR--Burrell, 176.5; 4, HUN—Huntingdon, 172.5; 5, DER--Derry Area, 148.5; 6, MP--Mount Pleasant, 147; 7, GR--Greenville, 145.5; 8, NG--Northern Garrett, 138; 9, tie, FR--Frazier, 121; 10, tie, SOM--Somerset and LM--Line Mountain, 121; 12, ATH--Athens, 115.5; 13, NB--Northern Bedford, 111; 14, BC--Beth-Center, 99; 15, EV--Everett, 90; 16, CEN--Central, 86; 17, NEW--Newport, 83.5; 18, NS--North Schuykill, 83; 19, BB--Berlin Brothersvalley, 80; 20, PC--Penn Cambria, 78; 21, SW--South Williamsport, 76; 22, TV--Tri-Valley, 76; 23, WG--West Greene, 67.5; 24, TM--Tussey Mountain, 58.5; 25, BED--Bedford, 53; 26, CT--Conemaugh Township, 50; 27, NS--North Star, 49; 28, CC--Central Cambria, 37; 29, MEY--Meyersdale, 31.5; 30, CH--Chartiers-Houston, 22; 31, tie, SH--Southern Huntingdon and NBR--Northern Bradford, 20; 33, S--Sayre, 7.
AREA SEVENTH-PLACE MATCHES: 127--Horn, CEN, pinned Gibson, HUN, 2:35. 139--Wilson, CC, dec. Bumbarger, CLF, 3-2. 215--Whyte, WG, pinned Summerville, PC, 4:54.
AREA FIFTH-PLACE MATCHES: 107--Beitzel, NG, pinned A. Replogle, NB, 2:25. 133--Mickel, CEN, won by forfeit over Clark, FR. 189--Snider, NB, pinned Huffman, CT, 2:50. 215--Casella, SW, pinned Dibert, NB, :59. 285--Beach, NB, dec. Brambley, EV, 1-0.
AREA THIRD-PLACE MATCHES: 121--Wright, BC, pinned Clouse, NB, 2:38.
CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS
107--Deputy, CR, pinned Baker, BUR, 1:28. 114--Rothermel, LM, maj. dec. Mull, CR, 11-3. 121--Wilhelm, NG, dec. Diehl, CLF, 7-3. 127--Shams, SV, dec. Chamberlain, CLF, 4-2. 133--Ryan, CLF, pinned Weyant, CR, 5:33. 139--Homack, BUR, dec. Baumert, LM, 3-2. 145-Poklembo, MP, dec. Horwat, DER, 3-2.
152--Collins, CLF, dec. Hoover, PC, 8-7.. 160—Celaschi, FRA, maj. dec. Gentile, GR, 14-2. 172--Barkley, DER, pinned Uplinger, HUN, 3:55. 189--McMonagle, HUN, dec. Brown, DER, 8-7. 215--Lawrence, FRA, dec. Holmes, SOM, 4-1. 285--Pitzer, MP, dec. Hagans, SOM, 5-0.