Weaver closed out his stellar home dual meet career on senior night much like many of the other nights at the Fieldhouse.

The Penn State commit moved up to 139 pounds and scored seven takedowns in a 22-5 technical fall over Hollidaysburg’s Caleb Detrick in 2:32.

Weaver was part of an Altoona middleweight effort that piled up points higher than some of the snow mounds in the city.

The now 13-2 Mountain Lions amassed 87 points from 139 to 172 and recorded three technical falls, a major decision and a fall en route to a 43-22 win over the Golden Tigers on Wednesday night.

Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski Altoona 139-pounder Braiden Weaver earns a technical fall victory over Hollidaysburg’s Caleb Detrick.

“We have some really, really good wrestlers there in the middle,” Altoona coach Joel Gilbert said. “These guys go out and are aggressive. They’re ranked in the state. They’re looking for medals down at the state tournament. They understand that they have to score points to get there and to do that. They looked pretty sharp this evening, and I was happy with their performance.”

“That’s been our kryptonite all year,” Hollidaysburg coach Christian Harr said of the middle weights. “That’s where they’re good. We kind of expected that coming in.”

Before the dual meet started, Weaver and fellow seniors Phillip Sarbo, Tykear Davis, Julian Pringle, Khamden Thompkins, Camden Keefer and Haiden Frederick were recognized and applauded.

“It was awesome,” Weaver said of the celebration. “Altoona does a pretty good job. Coach Gilbert is the best coach. I’m not going to lie. If you want a really good coach who cares about the wrestlers he’s one of them for sure.”

The meet began with Altoona’s Dominic Picciotti winning by forfeit at 107 due to Hollidaysburg’s Connor Sidney being sideline with strep throat.

At 114, Hollidaysburg’s Landon Krupka (28-8) earned a 7-5 decision over Dominic Nardozza. Krupka was leading 2-1 late in the second when he nailed a takedown at the edge of the mat before the buzzer.

Those points were crucial as Nardozza escaped and took Krupka down in the third period to tie the score, 5-5. Krupka, though, scored a reversal with 1:04 remaining and rode Nardozza the rest of the way for the decision.

“It was very competitive,” Harr said. “We knew it was going to be. They are going to see each other again — maybe multiple times, who knows.”

Hollidaysburg’s Brayden Sidney followed with a 49-second pin. Altoona’s Deklan Barr (24-5) responded quickly with a fall in 19 seconds. Altoona freshman Bryson Montgomery took the forfeit at 133 and Weaver bumped up to 139.

Weaver (27-5) scored 18 points on six takedowns in the first period. Holding an 18-5 lead in the second period, he looked for something early that would score big points or get a pin. He took Detrick down to his back for four points and got the technical fall.

“It was good,” Weaver said. “I was able to work on some takedowns I was looking for. I was definitely excited to get the job done. After I bumped up, it was kind of hard to turn him, but I was cutting him and getting more points.

“I’m trying to see what moves are working for me, what positions get me to certain parts of the match, where I want to be more dominant, be more effective.”

Asked what it was like watching Weaver in his final home meet, Gilbert said, “It was kind of sad because you hate to lose a guy like that. He scores a lot of points for the team. Braiden Weaver is just a class act. He has been since he got here.”

At 145, Reese Hite scored eight nearfall points and three takedowns in a 17-1 technical fall.

Sarbo hit a six-point move quickly, built a 15-3 lead and got the fall in 1:32 at 152 pounds.

Returning state placewinner Gavin Ciampoli (25-6) notched four takedowns and eight nearfall points at 160 in a 20-2 technical fall in 2:28.

Davis was leading Blake Kennedy 4-1 in a quiet Fieldhouse when he hip-tossed Kennedy to his back out of bounds. The move drew oohs and ahhs from the crowd and the Altoona bench.

“That was beautiful wasn’t it?” Gilbert said with a smile. “I don’t know if I’ve seen too many better than that.”

Kennedy trimmed Davis’ lead to one, 4-3, in the third with an escape, Davis pulled away with three takedowns in the period, including the final one with 17 seconds left to earn a 13-5 major decision.

“That kid actually beat him last year in the opening round of the district tournament,” Gilbert said. “I thought he got to his ties and he was able to score some points, which really helped us.”

Altoona held a 43-9 lead, but the Golden Tigers (4-5) won the final three bouts. Freshman Keegan Hewitt won by fall in 3:03 at 189 to start the run.

“A couple things he did out there we practiced last night,” Harr said. “He’s a quick learner. He’s doing a lot of good things this year.”

At 215, Rocco Cacciotti scored seven points in the third period against Pringle to secure an 11-2 major decision. Altoona was still without District 6 champion Mike Colyer, who injured his left knee at the Mid-Winter Mayhem.

Hollidaysburg’s Scott Payne finished the night with an 8-3 decision over Thompkins at 285.

The third-seeded Mountain Lions will now get ready for Saturday’s District 6 Class 3A Duals at Central Mountain. They’ll wrestle second-seeded Bellefonte at noon and wrestle the winner of top-seeded Central Mountain and fourth-seeded State College shortly afterward.

“Going into district duals, I think this win was really good for Altoona,” Weaver said. “I’m excited. I’m ready to roll. I hope our team is ready to go too. If everyone does their job, we’ll be good and taking home that district title.”

107–Piccotti, A, won by forfeit; 114–Krupka, H, dec. Nardozza, 7-5; 121–B. Sidney, H, pinned Swonger, :49; 127–Barr, A, pinned C. Parks, :19; 133–Montgomery, A, won by forfeit; 139–Weaverr, A, tech fall Detrick, 22-5, 2:32; 145–R. Hite, A, tech fall Oswald, 17-1, 2:08

152–Sarbo, A, pinned Frye, 1:32; 160–Ciampoli, A, tech fall Rodgers, 20-2, 2:28; 172–Davis, A, maj. dec. Kennedy, 13-5; 189–Hewitt, H, pinned Darpino, 3:03; 215–Cacciotti, H, maj. dec. Pringle, 11-2; 285–Payne, H, dec. Thompkins, 8-3.

Records: Hollidaysburg (4-5), Altoona (13-2)

Referee: John Edgell.