HERSHEY — Altoona’s Braiden Weaver turned 16 years old on Wednesday. On the first day of the PIAA Class 3A Championships, the freshman was celebrating with a win in the first round. Weaver earned a hard-fought 3-2 decision over Wyoming Valley West’s Dorian Hoffman in the first round ...
By Todd Irwin sports@altoonamirror.com Altoona sophomore Luke Sipes has been saying since early in his freshman season last year that he wants to be a state champion. Sipes got within sniffing distance of the finals last year, reaching the PIAA Class 3A Tournament semifinals before ...
107 POUNDS: Finalists: Luke Sirianni, Abington Heights vs. Keanu Dillard, Bethlehem Catholic. Champion: Dillard. Comment: Altoona’s Braiden Weaver is in a good spot in the lower bracket. Central Dauphin’s Thunder Beard has the best name in the tournament. 114 POUNDS: Finalists: Nathan Desmond, Bethlehem Catholic vs. Luke Willochell, Latrobe. Champion: Desmond. Comment: Willochell could have big semifinal against Manheim Township’s Williams. 121 POUNDS: Finalists: Cael Nasdeo, Williamsport vs. Mason Ziegler, Quakertown. Champion: Nasdeo. Comment: Nasdeo was a state runner-up ...
Glendale’s Zeke Dubler’s last two losses to Laurel’s Grant MacKay have been by paper thin margins — 1-0 in the Southwest Regional Tournament finals the last two years. Dubler’s march to a rematch in last year’s PIAA Class 2A Championships was halted by Notre Dame-Green Pond’s eventual champion Holden Garcia, 3-0, in the semifinals. Dubler went on place fourth for his first state medal. Dubler and two-time finalist MacKay are in the opposite brackets of the state tournament again this season. So there’s a chance they could be wrestling in the state finals at 160 pounds ...
107 POUNDS: Finalists: Aaron Seidel, Northern Lebanon vs. Dominic Deputy, Chestnut Ridge. Champion: Seidel. Comment: I want to pick Deputy, but returning state champ Seidel beat Deputy, 6-2, in the finals of the King of the Mountain. 114 POUNDS: Finalists: Ayden Smith, Notre Dame-Green Pond vs. Landon Bainey, West Branch. Champion: Bainey. Comment: Bainey beat two highly ranked wrestlers at the Southwest Regional. I’m going with the District 6 kid who’s placed sixth twice. 121 POUNDS: Finalists: Gage Botero, Faith Christian Academy vs. Brandt Harer, Montgomery. Champion: ...
Winning a Southwest Regional Class 2A Tournament title is a pretty big accomplishment for most wrestlers because of the depth of the tournament. Penn Cambria junior Trent Hoover won his second regional title on Saturday night before a large crowd at the Altoona Fieldhouse. Hoover earned a ...
