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TYRONE -- It was a weekend of firsts for three wrestlers from the Mirror coverage area in the first Laurel Highlands Tournament on Saturday at Tyrone High School.
Huntingdon wrestler and Williamsburg student Andrew McMonagle captured the 189-pound title by beating Bald Eagle Area's Caleb Close, 6-3.
Later, McMonagle was voted the tournament's Outstanding Wrestler by the coaches. It's believed to be the first time a Williamsburg student has been voted the OW of any tournament. Williamsburg has never had a wrestling program.
"This is my first one," McMonagle said as he held the OW plaque, "and I'm obviously grateful for it."
"I think that's great," Huntingdon coach Jon Mykut said. "That's a testament to how hard the kid works and the quality of wrestler he competed against."
Tyrone senior Braden Ewing earned the 285-pound title with an 8-2 decision over Somerset's Zane Hagans. It was the first tournament title for Ewing, the 2022 District 6 runner-up and 2023 Southwest Regional runner-up.
"I've been in the semifinals pretty much every tournament since the 10th grade," Ewing said, "but I could never get to that extra level. So, it's a good accomplishment."
Unfortunately, Penn Cambria's Trent Hoover suffered a first he would have rather not experienced. Hoover (18-1) lost for the first time this season, 5-2, to Bishop McCort's super freshman Melvin Miller (24-2) in the 152-pound finals.
Miller was one of seven champions for powerhouse Bishop McCort, which easily won the team title by 72.5 points, 245.5-173, over Chestnut Ridge. The beastly Crimson Crushers went 8-0 in the semifinals and 7-1 in the finals.
The loss came when Sam Herring injury defaulted to Philipsburg-Osceola's Marcus Gable while he was leading 4-1.
Tyrone's Kyle Scott finished second at 172, dropping a 4-3 decision to McCort's Owen McMullen in the finals.
McMonagle (18-1), who had three pins to get to the finals, drew first blood against Close, a returning District 6 and Southwest Regional champ and two-time state placer, with a second-period reversal and three-point nearfall.
Close escaped and got a takedown in the third period, but McMonagle escaped and avoided danger late to win.
"I lost to him in a preseason tournament, and then I got the win back, so it feels good," McMonagle said. "But it's the first of many this year, and I'm excited for the next one."
"Andrew wrestled great all weekend, just like he's done all year," Mykut said. "I'm sure that's a match we'll probably see a couple more times this year, with a lot higher stakes the next couple times."
McMonagle said wrestling without the brace on his surgically-repaired knee was key in the rematch.
"I think I can move a lot better now," he said. "We're both scrappers. We've trained together all summer, and I think that's a big part of how close our matches are. I feel like it's going to be the same all year. I feel like this is going to be the district, regional and state championship."
Ewing (19-1), who had a technical fall, pin and major decision to get to the finals, hit a big move early against Hagans, hip-tossing the Somerset wrestler for four points in the first period.
"I just felt it," Ewing said. "I pride myself on being able to go upper body with people and going on leg attacks."
"He's been working on that in practice," Tyrone coach Quentin Wright said, "so it was just a matter of time. He had the confidence and the kid gave him the right pressure, and he was able to get the throw."
Ewing added a second-period escape for a 5-0 lead, but Hagans took him down in the third. Ewing escaped and slipped through a Hagans headlock attempt for a takedown with 33 seconds left to secure his first title. But it just wet his appetite for more titles.
"This is cool to win and everything, but nothing really matters until the postseason," Ewing said. "I want to win a state championship this year. I think I have a very good opportunity to win districts and regionals and hopefully states. Hopefully this helps set that up."
The top-seeded Hoover went 3-1 with a technical fall, a pin of Forest Hills' Nick Noon for his 100th career victory in the quarterfinals and an 8-4 decision over Clearfield's Ty Aveni in the semifinals
Miller got a takedown with 3 seconds left in the first period, escaped in the second and got another takedown of the two-time Southwest Regional champion in the third. Miller was a candidate to be Outstanding Wrestler, but McMonagle was voted OW by the coaches.
"He wrestled a really good kid," Penn Cambria coach Todd Niebauer said. "We've got to close that gap. We've got to figure out some things. Trent is a pretty smart kid. He's got a great wrestling mind. (Miller) is a super good athlete. He's super quick."
"It feels great," Miller said. "I practice with him once a week. He comes up to Young Guns. I respect him. He's a tough opponent."
Scott roared to the finals with two pins and a major decision. In the finals, McMullen scored a reversal in the second period, but Scott escaped to make it 2-1. Scott escaped early in the third to tie the score, but McMullen took him down with 1:20 left. Scott (18-3) escaped and was closing in on converting a shot when time expired.
"Kyle needs to believe in himself a little bit more and get the attacks going early," Wright said. "That's what the moments are made of. You've got to open up and wrestle.'
Tyrone had four other placewinners in Logan Rumberger (third, 127), Andrew Weaver (fifth, 189), Remington Fleck (eighth, 139) and Cohen Wallace (eighth, 145).
Penn Cambria had other medalists in Nick Summerville (fifth, 215), semifinalist Layton Munyon (sixth, 121) and Jesse Horning (sixth, 189).
Central Cambria had three placewinners in semifinalist Burke Niebauer (fourth, 114), Jake Wilson (sixth, 139) and Deklan Estep (eighth, 160).
Hollidaysburg coach Christian Harr and Central coach Dave Marko confirmed that their school districts ruled that their wrestlers weren't permitted to wrestle on Saturday because of the impending snow storm.
As a result, Hollidaysburg had four eighth-placers in Brayden Sidney (107), Landon Krupka (114), Jacob Brua (133) and Mitchell Baronner (172). Central had two eighth-placers in Carsen Mowery (114) and Cody Clapper (152).
KEY, TEAM STANDINGS
1. BM--Bishop McCort 245.5; 2. CR--Chestnut Ridge 173; 3. BEA--Bald Eagle Area 166; 4. CL--Clearfield 157; 5. S--Somerset 143.5; 6. FH--Forest Hills 137.5; 7. HUNT--Huntingdon 124; 8. PV--Penns Valley 122.5; 9. T--Tyrone 110.5; 10. PO--Philipsburg-Osceola 104.5; 11. B--Bellefonte 80.5; 12. PC--Penn Cambria 76.5; 13. WH--Westmont Hilltop 63.5; 14. B--Bedford 58; 15. R--Richland 50; 16. HOLL--Hollidaysburg 48; 17. CC--Central Cambria 45.5; 18. C--Central 31.5; 19. J--Johnstown 8; 20. BA--Bellwood-Antis 0.
Championship Finals
107--Deputy, CR, dec. Guenot, BEA, 3-0; 114--Mull, CR, pinned Hummel, PO 1:45; 121--Sledzianowski, BM, tech. fall Darlington, PV, 18-3, 4:21; 127--Forrest, BM, tech. fall Fye, BEA, 19-4, 2:41; 133--Gibson, BM, tech. fall Shunk, PV, 22-7, 1:48; 139--Bassett, BM, tech. fall Swisher, B, 26-9, 1:40; 145--M. Gable, PO, won by injury default over Herring, BM, 2:00
152--Miller, BM, dec. Hoover, PC, 5-2; 160--Magro, BM, dec. Collins, CL, 11-6; 172--McMullen, BM, dec. Scott, T, 4-3; 189--McMonagle, HUNT, dec. Close, BEA, 6-3; 215--Holmes, S, pinned Hale, B, 3:04; 285--Ewing, T, dec. Hagans, S, 8-2.
Outstanding Wrestler: Andrew McMonagle, Huntingdon/Williamsburg
CONSOLATIONS
AREA RESULTS
THIRD PLACE
114--Bridge, S, pinned Niebauer, CC, 3:57; 127--Rumberger, T, dec. Valentine, S, 1-0
FIFTH PLACE
121--Sheeler, S, dec. Munyon, PC, 5-1; 139--Wharton, CR, maj. dec. Wilson, CC, 11-2; 189--Weaver, T, pinned Horning, PC, 1:51; 215--Summerville, PC, pinned Yatsky, FH, 4:46
SEVENTH PLACE
107--Sholly, HUNT, won by injury default over Sidney, HOLL; 114--Mowery, C, won by forfeit over L. Krupka, HOLL; 133--Rougeux, CL, won by forfeit over Brua, HOLL; 139--Maney, BEA, pinned R. Fleck, T, 3:54; 145--Ickes, CR, pinned Wallace, T, 3:12; 152--Fleck, PO won by forfeit over Clapper, C; 160--Chapman, PO, dec. Estep, CC, 9-4; 172--Rowles, PO, won by injury default over Baronner, HOLL.