When Ted Castel was a standout heavyweight for the Portage Area High School wrestling program back in the early 1990s, the Mustangs were known for their grit, determination and fight. Castel, 46, who spent the last three seasons as Portage’s head junior high wrestling coach, was recently ...

Kai Burkett was a quiet, family-loving star on the state power Chestnut Ridge High School wrestling team. He had just begun his senior year at Ridge and was looking forward to — barring a cancellation or interruption as a result of COVID-19 — adding to his illustrious wrestling resume ...

Commentary Making a move that had been long overdue, the PIAA Board of Control recently voted to reduce the number of weight classes for varsity wrestling events from 14 down to 13, effective in the 2020-21 season. The 14th weight class was added back in the 2002-03 season with the idea of ...

Glendale junior 132-pounder Brock McMillen and Bedford senior 138-pounder Kaden Cassidy would make for a heck of a 1-2 punch if they wrestled in the same lineup. McMillen captured his second state title at the PIAA Class 2A Championships less than a year after discovering he had a heart ...

Winning a state title is very tough to do in Pennsylvania, which is considered the best state in the country in wrestling. Bedford senior 138-pounder Kaden Cassidy and Glendale 132-pounder Brock McMillen not only won Class 2A state titles but they also accomplished their respective feats in ...

Glendale coach Billy Dubler says he’s not too proud to admit that he steals coaching and practice methods from other successful programs. So, when he heard last year that Chestnut Ridge wrestlers yell the name of the team they want to beat in a dual meet or finish ahead of at a tournament ...

We know about Glendale’s Brock McMillen’s heart problems and how he’s had to overcome adversity this season en route to a second state title. He’s an inspiration to many, but there were two other inspirational wrestlers who had to arguably overcome more adversity than McMillen. Fans ...

HERSHEY — Terry Tate, Brad Pataky and Billy Dubler are part of a select group in the area who have both wrestled and coached in the PIAA Championships. Tate won a Class 2A state title at 275 pounds as a senior at Tyrone in 2005 and coached Hunter Walk to a sixth-place finish at 113 on ...

WINS 1. Knisely CR 43-4 2. C. Bollman CR 40-4 3. Ka. Burkett CR 40-7 4. Mills Hunt 40-8 5. Johnston Glen 39-6 6. Walk Ty 39-9 7. Dull CR 39-11 8. Cassidy Bed 38-0 9. N. Holderbaum CR 37-12 10. McMillen Glen 36-3 PINS 1. Johnston Glen 25 2. Crouch Cent 21 ...

HERSHEY — It’s been a challenging year off of the mat for Glendale’s Brock McMillen, who has dealt with an arrhythmia, which affects the rate or rhythm of your heartbeat, as well as blood pressure problems. So, an overtime tiebreaker in the 132-pound finals bout with Burrell’s Ian ...

HERSHEY — Shortly after his controversial 3-1 overtime loss to Wilson Area’s Kolby Flank in the PIAA Class 2A semifinals late Friday night, Chestnut Ridge’s Duane Knisely wasn’t feeling great. He was slumped against a wall near the entrance to the floor of Hershey’s Giant Center. ...

HERSHEY — The semifinals of the PIAA Class 2A Championships have been a hurdle that Bedford’s Kaden Cassidy hasn’t been able to clear in two previous appearances. Cassidy cleared that hurdle in convincing fashion on Friday night at Hershey’s Giant Center. After recording two technical ...

HERSHEY — Being that it was his first appearance in the PIAA Class 2A Championships, Philipsburg-Osceola junior Parker Moore admitted he didn’t know what to expect. “This is crazy,” Moore said, “but it’s awesome.” Moore made it look easy in his first-round bout, rolling to an ...

106 POUNDS: Finalists: Jacob VanDee, Cathedral Prep vs. Tyler Kasak, Bethlehem Catholic. Champion: Kasak. Comment: Mifflin County’s Nic Allison could get shot at Kasak in the quarterfinals. 113 POUNDS: Finalists: Carter Dibert, Franklin Regional vs. Ben Monn, Cumberland Valley. Champion: ...

If three area wrestlers perform up to their seeds at the PIAA Championships, they will be bringing home gold medals from Hershey. Glendale returning state champion Brock McMillen (32-3) is the top seed at 132 pounds, while Chestnut Ridge freshman Calan Bollman (37-3) and Bedford senior Kaden ...

106 POUNDS: Finalists: Calan Bollman, Chestnut Ridge vs. Coen Bainey, Bald Eagle Area. Champion: Bollman. Comment: This would make for an interesting championship finals bout. 113 POUNDS: Finalists: Gary Steen, Reynolds vs. Joey Fischer, South Park. Champion: Steen. Comment: Tyrone’s Hunter ...

Some of the 2010 movie “Unstoppable” — a story about a runaway freight train starring Denzel Washington — was filmed in Tyrone. Another unstoppable story has been playing out at the AAHS Field over the last weeks. The lead character has been Altoona’s Matt Sarbo. The junior ...

Altoona 126-pounder junior Damion Finnegan, like many in the school district, had a tough week after learning his friend and 15-year-old teammate Devon Pfirsching was killed in a shooting just before midnight on Tuesday. Finnegan was feeling a little bit better on Friday night at the AAHS ...

106 POUNDS: Finalists: Nic Allison, Mifflin County vs. Jacob VanDee, Cathedral Prep. Champion: Allison. Comment: Allison handled VanDee, 9-0, in last year’s finals. 113 POUNDS: Finalists: Derek Keen, Central Mountain vs. Vincent Rinella, Meadville. Champion: Rinella. Comment: Bellefonte’s ...

Altoona’s Matt Sarbo dominated the 132-pound weight class at last week’s District 6 Class 3A Tournament, including a 21-6 technical fall over State College’s Owen Woolcott in the finals. Sarbo, voted the Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament, will look to continue his postseason ...