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EBENSBURG -- Tyrone's Kyle Scott and Bald Eagle Area's Caleb Close are both returning state placewinners and ranked in the top six of the PA Power Wrestling's state rankings at 189.
So, they could be wrestling a lot this season.
In the first meeting between them this season, Close, who finished third in the PIAA Class 2A Championships, earned a 6-1 decision over returning eighth-placer Scott in the second Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference Championships on Saturday afternoon at Central Cambria High School.
It was the first loss for Scott this season after 14 dominant wins. Close and 2023-24 Mirror Wrestler of the Year and Huntingdon/Williamsburg state champion Andrew McMonagle had epic battles last season.
"He's a good opponent, obviously," Scott said. "I've had some troubles with him in the past. I don't know. He's really big, and I'm a little undersized. I'm not a true 189-pounder. That does play a factor, but I think I wrestled well. I think I can capitalize off of stuff. My shot was sloppy and I couldn't stay in the center. It's stuff I need to work on."
The nine Mirror coverage area semifinalists had a rough semifinal round, going 1-8, with Scott being the only winner. A total of 22 wrestlers from the area placed in the top eight at their weights.
Hollidaysburg had eight wrestlers who placed from fourth to eighth. Semifinalists Connor Sidney (107), Brayden Sidney (114) and Mitchell Baronner (172) placed fourth.
Golden Tigers Jacob Brua (133) and Blake Kennedy (160) finished fifth. Landon Krupka (121) and Mason Schenk (152) took seventh, while Scott Payne (285) placed eighth. The Golden Tigers finished seventh in the team standings with 121 points.
"I think we had a lot of good things happen from the whole team," Hollidaysburg coach Christian Harr said. "We certainly aren't complaining I can tell you that. We wrestle in four big tournaments throughout the year. It's a pretty big deal that we are getting the postseason exposure early."
Central Cambria, which had three semifinalists, had four medalists in Burke Niebauer (fourth, 127), Jake Wilson (fourth, 152), Jeremy Hajzus (fifth, 189) and Blaine O'Farrell (sixth, 215).
"We had three guys in the semis, and I think all three had the No. 1 or No. 2 guy in the state," Central Cambria coach Matt Niebauer said. "So you know what you're up against, but that's where we want to be."
Penn Cambria had five medalists, including fifth-placers Layton Munyon (121), Isaac Filak (145) and Andrew Mardula (152). Nate Mack (sixth, 160) and Isaiah Chyr (eighth, 127) also earned medals.
Central finished with three medalists in Carsen Mowery (fifth, 114), Kaden Horn (sixth, 139) and Blair Miller (eighth, 189). Tyrone's Logan Rumberger (133) finished eighth.
Scott bulldozed his way into the finals, amassing three technical falls by a combined 52-4 score.
Scoring against the second-ranked Close was nearly impossible. Close was able to get a takedown in the first period. He added an escape 51 seconds into the second period. After Close got a stalling point in the third, the sixth-ranked Scott escaped with 35 seconds left. A late stalling point set the final score.
"I felt pretty dominant," Scott said of his tournament performance. "I scored a lot of points. It was good until (the finals). I just have to capitalize off of that. I've got to get points against Caleb. I've got to wrestle like I do against these other kids. I'll see him again at Ultimate Warrior, districts, regionals and states."
"We just have to keep learning," Tyrone coach Quentin Wright said. "Close is a great opponent. They've had quite a few battles. Kyle is wrestling tough, wrestling smart. Caleb is the first top of the state opponent he's wrestled, so it's always good to get that feel against those guys early in the season. You figure out how to get points later on."
National power Bishop McCort won the team title by 117.5 points, 302.5-185, over second-place Clearfield, had six champions, two runners-up and 12 placers in the top four of their weights.
Ridge's Deputy voted OW
Despite being a two-time state runner-up and amassing 106 wins in only three high school seasons, Chestnut Ridge's Dominic Deputy hadn't been named the Outstanding Wrestler of a wrestling tournament since the seventh grade.
Deputy added to his wrestling resume by being named the HAC Outstanding Wrestler.
The junior went 4-0 with three first-period pins in his first three bouts and captured his second LHAC title with a 16-1 technical fall over Penns Valley's Erik Carlile in 3:54 in the 127-pound championship finals.
"It's cool," Deputy said after receiving the OW plaque. "I was third place in Powerade, but I came out on top dominantly.
"I don't normally win OW. It's normally (Dominic's younger brother) Kooper's thing that he wins. I don't get OW. I'll get it this year and then Kooper will probably come up next year and win every OW of every tournament we go to."
Deputy's teammate Easton Mull (114) won his second tournament title by reversing Penns Valley's Max Dinges to his back before the buzzer to win, 7-5. Garrett Weyandt (107) and Aaron Ickes (145) were second for the Lions, who had seven placers and finished third in the team standings with 149 points.
Red Devils complete busy week
Central Cambria, which used two gyms in the tournament, began the finals and third-place bouts about an hour before the scheduled time before a large crowd in the main gym.
"I think the tournament as a whole ran pretty darn smooth," Niebauer said. "This was our third tournament this week (including Red Devil Duals and an elementary tournament), so we were pretty prepared for it. Our boosters have been stepping up for sure."
KEY, TEAM STANDINGS
1. BM--Bishop McCort 302.5; 2. CL--Clearfield 185; 3. CR--Chestnut Ridge 149; 4. B--Bellefonte 144; 5. PV--Penns Valley 136.5; 6. BEA--Bald Eagle Area 131; 7. HOL--Hollidaysburg 121; 8. HUN--Huntingdon 106.5; 9. S--Somerset 96; 10. PO--Philipsburg-Osceola 84.5; 11. PC--Penn Cambria 67.5; 12. R--Richland 65.5; 13. WH--Westmont Hilltop 65; 14. CC--Central Cambria 61.5; 15. FH--Forest Hills 59.5; 16. C--Central 56; 17. BED--Bedford 50.5; 18. T--Tyrone 40.5; 19. BA--Bellwood-Antis 13.5; 20. J--Johnstown 10.
CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS
107--K. Bassett, BM, tech fall Weyandt, CR, 17-2, 2:35; 114--Mull, CR, dec. Dinges, PV, 7-5; 121--Hummell, PO, dec. Silfies, BM, 7-5; 127--Deputy, CR, tech fall Carlile, PV, 16-1, 3:54; 133--Forrest, BM, tech fall Judice, BEA, 19-4, 1:25; 139--S. Herring, BM, tech fall Diehl, CL, 18-3, 1:47; 145--B. Bassett, BM, tech fall Ickes, CR, 18-3, 1:06
152--Magro, BM, tech fall Swisher, B, 19-4, 1:41; 160--Miller, BM, tech fall Weaver, B, 21-6, 2:00; 172--Collins, CL, dec. Pensiero, BM, 15-11; 189--Close, BEA, dec. Scott, T, 6-1; 215--Erdman, HUN, pinned Hagans, S, 4:23; 285--Holmes, S, dec. McCoy, WH, 9-5.
AREA RESULTS
THIRD PLACE
107--Sholly, HUN, maj. dec. C. Sidney, HOL, 10-0; 114--E. Herring, BM, maj. dec. B. Sidney, HOL, 13-3; 127--Guenot, BEA, tech fall Niebauer, CC, 15-0, 4:12; 152--Ryan, CL, dec. Wilson, CC, 7-0; 172--Clark, HUN, dec. Baronner, HOL, 9-8.
FIFTH PLACE
114--Mowery, C, pinned Brambley, BED, 1:29; 121--Munyon, PC, pinned Boone, BED, :46; 133--Brua, HOL, dec. Willey, CR, 11-5; 139--Guenot, PO, dec. Horn, C, 6-5; 145--Filak, PC, pinned Fetterolf, PV, 3:39; 152--Mardula, PC, tech fall Miller, S, 15-0, 2:41; 160--Kennedy, HOL, dec. Mack, PC, 17-12; 189--Hajzus, CC, dec. Mahla, R, 7-3; 215--Hess, PV, pinned O'Farrell, CC, 2:05.
SEVENTH PLACE
121--L. Krupka, HOL, won by forfeit over Myers, PV; 127--Chamberlain, CL, pinned Chyr, PC, 1:47; 133--Watson, PV, won by forfeit over Rumberger, T; 152--M. Schenk, HOL, dec. Beppler, J, 5-3; 189--Peruso, HUN, dec. Miller, C, 3-2; 285--Audi, R, pinned Payne, HOL, 3:54.