Tiger Sidney cashes in on free pass
PIAA 3A Northwest Regional wrestling
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Hollidaysburg sophomore Brayden Sidney didn't qualify for the Northwest Regional Class 3A Tournament because he finished fourth at the District 6 Tournament last week.
But Sidney and Altoona's Dominic Nardozza were added to the regional tournament at 107 after District 8 and District 4-9 didn't have enough qualifiers.
Sidney certainly took advantage of the opportunity on the first day of the Northwest Regional at the Altoona Fieldhouse.
The Golden Tiger recorded two falls in 1:23 in the first round and 1:14 against Columbia Montour Vo-Tech's Landen Hess on Friday to advance to today's semifinals.
"I think Brayden's wrestling really well knowing he's got a free pass this weekend," Hollidaysburg coach Christian Harr said. "He's got nothing to lose. It's a good thing for us to have that kind of energy to go into the next round."
Sidney is one of five Blair County wrestlers who advanced to the semifinals, including two other Golden Tigers in Mitchell Baronner (172) and Wyatt Maines (285). Altoona two-time regional champ Luke Sipes (152) and returning champ Braiden Weaver (114) breezed to the semifinals.
The Golden Tigers are in ninth place in the team standings with 37 points, while the Mountain Lions are 10th with 33.5. Central Mountain leads the team race by 6.5 points, 68-61.5, over Mifflin County.
"We started out pretty well with everybody wrestling in the first round and going out there and getting after it," Harr said. "We lost some hard-fought quarterfinal matches. All in all, we can certainly be happy with where we're at, but those guys have to come back tomorrow and compete."
"We wrestled good in some instances and bad in other instances," Altoona coach Joel Gilbert said. "We showed signs of being here and being mentally ready to go. And then we showed signs of we didn't feel like we were here mentally. Our two best guys are in the semis and we're all still alive."
There was no consolation round Friday, so Hollidaysburg's Landon Krupka (114), Jacob Brua (133) and Tyson Bridenbaugh (189) are still alive. Altoona has Nardozza (107), Gavin Ciampoli (127), Wyatt Young (139), Tykear Davis (172), Evan Boose (215) and Hayden Speece (285) still going.
The tournament resumes at 9:30 a.m. today with the second round of consolations. The semifinals and the consolation quarterfinals are set for 12:30 p.m. The consolation finals and championship finals are scheduled for 5:15 p.m.
Sidney built a 4-0 lead on Hess with a takedown and two-point nearfall before recording his second pin. Sidney will face Central Mountain's District 6 champ Gavin Heverly in the semifinals.
Heverly beat Sidney, 3-1, in the district semifinals. State College's Noah Young will face Mifflin County's Andrew Alexander in the other semifinal.
"It's no secret why it's a District 6 semi," Harr said. "They're the best kids at that weight. He's wrestled Heverly two or three times this year. He was starting to figure some things out at the district tournament. He gave up a takedown early, which ended up being the difference.
"I think the game plan is we need to get to our offense. I think we get our takedown and wrestle a smart match he can beat Heverly."
Weaver (32-4) built a 9-2 lead on DuBois' Antonio Giambanco before getting the fall in 1:07 in the quarterfinals. He'll face Meadville's Ben Fuller (29-9) in the semis with a likely matchup with Hickory's Elijah Scriven in the finals.
"Weaver looked really tough out there," Gilbert said. "He's going to be tough to beat, especially in this tournament. He's got to take it one match at a time, but if he beats Scriven in the finals it will be another good match."
After some close, tense bouts in the District 6 Tournament that netted him the Outstanding Wrestler award, Sipes (31-5) rolled to a 19-3 technical fall in 2:00 over Shikellamy's A.J. Benedict. He'll face Brashear's Elijah Elser (22-6) in the semifinals, while Central Mountain's Griffin Walizer and Mifflin County's Parker Kearns battle in the other semifinal.
"Getting a technical fall in the first period is pretty tough to do," Gilbert said. "Luke has been wrestling at this level for probably a month or so and he just seems to get better every time he goes out. That's kind of what we focus on, so we're real happy with what he's doing right now."
Baronner, who was 2-2 in last year's regional, looked like a man on a mission on Friday, posting pins in 49 seconds in the first round and following that up with a fall in 3:21 over Selinsgrove's Luke Smith. Baronner, a District 6 runner-up, has a challenging semifinal against Shikellamy's Connor Wetzel (32-2).
"I knew if I got to my crossface I'd be able to get some backs (back points)," Baronner said. "I didn't expect a pin, but I knew I could get it. I think tomorrow I just need to perform to the best of my ability. If I do, it's just going to go well for me."
"Mitchell is wrestling solid as well," Harr said. "He's staying in good position, getting to his offense. He got two falls there early on. He has a pretty tough one in the semis against Wetzel, but if he goes out and stays in good position, picks his points to score, he's certainly more than capable of being in the finals."
District 6 runner-up Maines bulldozed his way to the semifinals, getting a pin in 1:21 in the first round and another in 58 seconds in the quarterfinals. Maines faces Shikellamy's District 4-9 champion Preston Spontarelli (21-4), who pinned Speece in 5:46 in the quarterfinals.
"It feels great," Maines said. "My coaches told me straight up what it's going to be (like), and I know I have the ability to do it."
"Wyatt is wrestling awesome," Harr said. "He's wrestling the Shik kid in the semis. He beat him last year, so we're hoping to keep rolling. He's going out and getting falls and being physical."
KEY, TEAM STANDINGS
1. CM--Central Mountain 68; 2. MC--Mifflin County 61.5; 3. SH--Shikellamy 58.5; 4. CP--Cathedral Prep 55; 5. ME--Meadville 54; 6. SC--State College 53.5; 7. S--Selinsgrove 48; 8. HICK--Hickory 39; 9. H--Hollidaysburg 37; 10. A--Altoona 33.5; 11. W--Williamsport 28; 12. P--Punxsutawney 24.5; 13. D--DuBois 24; 14. M--McDowell 19; 15. JS--Jersey Shore 17; 16. B--Brashear 13; 17. TA--Taylor Allderdice 12; 18. OA--Obama Academy 10; 19. CMVT--Columbia Montour Vo-Tech 8; 20. BRAD--Bradford, C--Carrick and WE--Westinghouse 2.
QUARTERFINALS
107--Heverly, CM, pinned Hendricks, SH, :47; Sidney, H, pinned Hess, CMVT, 1:14; Young, SC, maj. dec. Nardozza, A, 9-0; Alexander, MC, pinned Carter, CP, 5:23; 114--Weaver, A, pinned Giambanco, D, 1:07; Fuller, ME, dec. Jo. Whitbred, SC, 7-0; Nasdeo, W, deec. Shawver, MC, 6-4; Scriven, HICK, pinned La. Krupka, H, 3:59; 121--Bishop, HICK, pinned Knable, MC, 2:29; Gould, P, pinned Werner, OA, 3:28; Kunes, CM, maj. dec. Johnson, CP, 11-0; Reed, SH, pinned Ortiz, M, 1:15; 127--Oleer, CP, tech. fall Deeb, D, 15-0, 3:57; Kisnner, SH, pinned Bottoms, OA, 1:44; Slicker, HICK, dec. Ciampoli, A, 8-4; Kadryna, S, dec. Anderson, ME, 13-6; 133--Rutan, P, dec. Everly, MC, 3-2; Gammon, CP, pinned Woods, TA, :22; Ja. Whitbred, SC, dec. McGregor, SH, 8-4; O'Brien, HIICK, tech. fall Baker, JS, 16-1, 4:21; 139--Perry, CM, won by injury default over Reardon, HICK, :02; Aughenbaugh, D, pinned Harpster, S, 4:15; Thompson, ME, dec. Campbell, SC, 11-7; Weiss, JS, pinned Young, A, :35; 145--Manville, SC, pinned Kurelowech, M, 2:20; Dorman, CP, tech. fall Morgret, JS, 17-2, 3:39; Simcox, CM, pinned Say, ME, 1:49; Seiler, MC, dec. Turner, S, 12-6.
152--Sipes, A, tech. fall Benedict, SH, 19-3, 2:00; Elsor, B, pinned Moore, P, :37; Walizer, CM, dec. Byrd, CP, 6-0; Kearns, MC, dec. Thompson, BRAD, 3-2; 160--Cunningham, SC, pinned Moyer, CMVT, 3:29; Martucci, CP, pinned Miller, S, 2:36; Scheaffer, MC, dec. Duncan, OA, 4-1; Anderson, ME, dec. Cole Wetzel, SH, 8-5; 172--Con. Wetzel, SH, tech. fall Weaver, CM, 15-0, 5:55; Baronner, H, pinned Smith, S, 3:21; Kearns, ME, dec. Wilson, D, 5-1; Aurand, MC, pinned Raker, W, 1:26; 189--Teats, S, pinned Gurakar, B, :46; Brungard, CM, dec. Kowalski, CP, 8-2; Burks, W, pinned Wahila, TA, 2:43; Eggleston, M, pinned Mickey, MC, 1:44; 215--Serafini, CM, pinned Spaulding, CP, 2:21; Bullington, S, pinned Paternoster, TA, 1:19; Tidball, ME, pinned Boose, A, :45; Rebuck, SH, pinned Davis, MC, 1:10; 285--Pavlechko, SC, pinned Stowe, D, :48; Peters, S, tech. fall Cobb, W, 16-0, 3:43; Maines, H, pinned Baun, P, :58; Spontarelli, SH, pinned Speece, A, 5:46.