McMonagle advances to Class 2A title round
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Sipes loses in semis
By Todd Irwin
sports@altoonamirror.com
HERSHEY -- At this point last year, Andrew McMonagle was hurting from an injured knee he sustained in the first round of the PIAA Class 2A Championships.
"It motivated the heck out of me," McMonagle said. "I ate hard and lifted even heavier. I wrestled 160 last year. I think the goal was to get back to 100 percent, work harder and get to the state finals."
Oh what a difference a year makes.
The Williamsburg senior who wrestles for Huntingdon cruised into the championship finals on Friday night with a pin of Frazier's Jackson Angelo in 3:19 in the semifinals.
"I'm pumped up," McMonagle said. "I'm obviously excited about that, but the job is not done yet. I've got one more."
The championship finals are slated for 4 p.m.
McMonagle won't be wrestling rival Caleb Close of Bald Eagle Area. Southern Columbia's Garrett Garcia beat Close, 5-3, in overtime.
"I'm just going to go out there and wrestle as hard as possible," McMonagle said. "Coach has been telling me all week to wrestle loose. I can go out there and beat anyone. Tomorrow it's just another match out there."
McMonagle, who beat Clearfield's Carter Chamberlain, 11-4, in the quarterfinals, was wearing a purple singlet in the semifinals.
"It's a big throwback we had," he said. "Coach said we could pick any throwback we had, and I picked this one. I think it's from the 80s. It used to be blue, but someone must have bleached it."
Altoona's Luke Sipes advanced to the Class 3A semifinals and earned his third state medal by pinning Harriton's Nadav Nafshi in 3:28 in the quarterfinals. But he dropped a 1-0 decision to Bethlehem Catholic state champion Kollin Rath in the semifinals.
While Sipes will earn a medal, teammates Braiden Weaver (114) and Gavin Ciampoli (127) weren't able to place in the top eight. Both were shut out in the blood round -- the round where the winners advance to the medal rounds.
"It was a rough round," Altoona coach Joel Gilbert said. "It's tough to lose in the blood round."
Tyrone's Kyle Scott (172) and Braden Ewing (285) are going to place here in Class 2A, as is Penn Cambria's Trent Hoover (152).
Northern Bedford's Eion Snider (189) and Rece Dibert (215) and Glendale's Daniel Williams (285) went 1-2 in the tournament and were eliminated in the second round of consolations.
Here's a closer look at the area wrestlers:
Hoover loses heartbreaker
It was an up and down day for Hoover. The down came when Grove City's Cody Hamilton headlocked Hoover for a takedown with 1 second left in the bout to win, 4-3.
The up came when he pinned Biglerville's Joey Ney in 2:30 with a cradle to solidify his first state medal in three appearances here. When his hand was raised and he had shaken the Biglerville coaches' hands, he and coach Todd Niebauer shared a hug at the edge of the mat.
Scott got a big win in his first bout of the day -- a 3-1 win over Bishop McCort's Owen McMullen to make the blood round. McMullen was 3-0 against Scott this season, but Scott got a takedown with 7 seconds left to win, thrilling the Tyrone contingent.
Ewing dropped a 3-0 decision to Port Allegany's Carson Neely in the semifinals. He earned his first medal with a 2-0 win over Montoursville's Landon Morehart, scoring a reversal early in the third.
Scott followed that with an 11-2 major decision over Port Allegany's Aiden Bliss to make the medal round for the first time.
Sipes cruises in quarters
Sipes got his takedown of Nafshi in the first period and tilted him for two points and a 4-0 lead. In the second period, he got a reversal 18 seconds into the second period.
"I was thinking about cutting him and letting him up," Sipes said. "I tried the one near-side turn and couldn't get it. So I went to the snow plow. I was thinking 'Should I run it? Should I run it? I just ran it. I was having fun and trying to score points."
Sipes put Nafshi on his back, switched to headlock and got the fall with 32 seconds left.
"That's what I work for," Sipes said. "I was just trying to score points and have fun. I was getting after it out there, so I'm proud of it."
"Sipes looked really good out there," Gilbert said. "He was physical in pretty much all positions. He pretty much dominated that match. You couldn't ask for a better match from him."
Weaver went 0-2 on Friday, losing to Ridley's Curtis Nelson, 12-7, in the quarterfinals before dropping a 2-0 decision to Council Rock South's Connor Lenahan.
Nelson, who pinned Manheim Township's previously unbeaten Kaedyn Williams, in the first round, held a 6-5 lead in the third, but he took Weaver down three times.
Weaver, riding on top, penalized a point against Lenahan in the third period when he was called for stalling a second time. Lenahan escaped with 18 seconds left and Weaver couldn't find an opening for a takedown.
"He was trying to make an attempt to bring the kid to the mat," Gilbert said. "The rule basically states you have to make an attempt to bring the guy to the mat when he's on his feet. There's 30 Council Rock South people behind you that it's stalling, it's stalling, it's stalling.
"I understand a few things out there. The guy rides legs on top for two minutes and he hits us for stalling on the bottom. Then he hits the top guy for stalling 15 seconds later. You can't leave it up to the official. We've got finish shots that we were in on. I think that was the difference in the match in my opinion."
Weaver, a sophomore who placed fifth at 107 last year, ended the season with a 34-7 record.
"You use this as a learning tool," Gilbert said. "You go back and ask 'What went right and what went wrong during the season and what went right and wrong down here?' How do you feel about correcting it? We'll talk about it and I'm sure Braiden will work on it in the offseason and so will Gavin."
Ciampoli stayed alive with a 5-4 win over Conestoga's Miles Warkentine, getting a takedown in the third period to seal the victory. But he dropped a 3-0 decision to Wilson's McKaden Speece in the blood round.
Ciampoli (26-9), a freshman who was 2-2 in the tournament, tried multiple rolls from the bottom in the third period, but he Speece held didn't let him escape.
"Overall, I'm proud of the kids. They wrestled hard," Gilbert said. "It was a great experience for both of them. I know they'll be back next year hungrier than ever."