Breaking News

Wrestling

C-K hires Kakabar as wrestling coach

By Rachel Foor rfoor@altoonamirror.com CLAYSBURG — The Claysburg-Kimmel School Board appointed Ron Kakabar as head varsity wrestling coach Wednesday evening. Kakabar previously served as junior high wrestling coach. He also has experience coaching at Chestnut Ridge and Forest Hills school districts, according to District Athletic Director Brian Helsel. “He coached multiple state champions, and I’m thrilled that he’s interested in being at Claysburg,” Helsel said. “He’s talked a lot about developing the program.” Kakabar will make $3,600. The board also ...

Glendale’s Dubler commits to D-I Lehigh

Glendale’s Zeke Dubler has been talking with the Division I Lehigh University wrestling coaches for some time as they made their recruiting pitch. And when Dubler made his official visit to Lehigh, he was impressed with the campus and the Mountain Hawks’ wrestling program. On Monday, he verbally committed to wrestle for Lehigh coach Pat Santoro. “When I went there, it just felt like a college that is meant for me,” he said. “All of the guys, coaches and facilities are just awesome. I went to a few other ones, but none felt like home like Lehigh did. They (Lehigh) were super ...

Northern Bedford girls part of the family

By Todd Irwin sports@altoonamirror.com Girls wrestling has been gaining momentum in Pennsylvania in recent years thanks to the Sanction PA movement. High schools throughout the state have begun adding girls programs. Northern Bedford became the 36th school in the state to add girls wrestling on April 12. The Panthers are the second team in District 5 to add girls wrestling, joining Chestnut Ridge, which became the 24th school to form a girls program on Nov. 21 of 2021. For Northern Bedford, it was just a natural progression of what it already had. “A few years ago, Dave and ...

Bellwood fills two head coaching positions

The Bellwood-Antis School Board hired a pair of head coaches Tuesday night that will lead the school’s two major boys winter sports programs. Tyler Mertiff, who was named the Altoona Mirror’s Boys Basketball Player of the Year during the 2002-2003 season while he played for Tyrone, will make the jump to the other side of the Backyard Brawl rivalry and coach the Blue Devils’ boys basketball team. “Tyler has unquestionable knowledge and passion for the game of basketball,” Bellwood-Antis athletic director Charlie Burch said. “He is well known in all basketball circles and ...

Altoona’s Sipes runner-up in national tourney

Altoona’s Luke Sipes went 5-1 and finished second at 152 pounds in the NHSCA freshmen national tournament on Sunday in Virginia Beach. Sipes, who placed fifth in the PIAA Class 3A Championships last weekend, was seeded second in Virginia Beach. Sipes lost, 11-3, to Georgia’s top-seeded Dominic Bambinelli in the finals. For Bambinelli, who scored 99 points in the tournament, it was the least amount of points he scored in his six bouts. Bambinelli charged out to a 9-1 lead after two periods with two takedowns and five nearfall points. He added a takedown in the third, while ...

Dubler brothers share top honor

Glendale brothers Zeke Dubler and Suds Dubler have been excelling on the wrestling mat and football field their whole lives. They certainly excelled and matched their feats this season. Both won District 6 Class 2A titles. Both lost by a point to returning state champions in the Southwest Regional finals. Both earned their first state medal by finishing fourth at the PIAA Championships For their accomplishments, Zeke, a junior, and Suds, a senior, have been named the Altoona Mirror’s Wrestlers of the Year. It’s the first time in the 39-year history of the award that brothers ...