2004-2005 Junior High Wrestling
With thanks to Mari Merlo, Team Manager
|
Red Team Wrestlers Tournaments |
White Team Wrestlers
|
| As printed in Tuesday - February 15, 2005 edition of The Express Game on The state’s top two junior high squads to meet in Mill Hall Wednesday Mike Burns Express Sports Editor MILL HALL — The challenge has been set, and will be met by the top two junior high wrestling teams in the state on Wednesday in Mill Hall. No. 1-ranked Central Mountain cruised through this season to 15-0, demolishing opponents for an average win-score of 77-18. The Wildcats’ biggest margin of victory on the year? Try a 105-0 pasting on Williamsport in January. But CM’s biggest win might have been last week against another state power, Bellefonte, which the Wildcats dispatched, 58-38, before claiming the Big 7 Tournament title Saturday in Jersey Shore with eight individual champions. The tournament was supposed to be the end to another successful year for CM, which has won 26 of the last 27 times it has stepped on the Resilite. And that has all led up to this: Last week, Easton — the state’s second-ranked team in junior high — contacted Central Mountain and inquired about a challenge match. The Wildcats accepted, and the two teams will meet at Central Mountain High School on Wednesday afternoon. The “brawl” is scheduled for 4 p.m. The timing couldn’t be better. With the District 6 boys’ basketball playoffs beginning as well on Wednesday night, the area’s contigent of Bellefonte and Bald Eagle Area both open on the road in Hollidaysburg and Tyrone, respectively. With no other premier events slated, the area’s spotlight will solely be on the Wildcats — something that the squad has grown accustomed to over the past few seasons. “I don’t think getting up for this will be a very difficult thing,” CM head coach Eric Coleman said. “They’re challenging us. All we can do is go out and do our best and come of the mat with nothing to be ashamed of. These kids should be proud of what they have accomplished. “These kids have experienced this (notoriety) before, and it’s great that they’re being recognized for their accomplishments. It’s definitely an attribute to our wrestling programs, and they’re handling real well. They’re very confident with what they’re doing, but don’t brag about it. They just do it on the mat, which is a reflection of the entire program.” Maybe another brick in the building process, as well. In its sixth year, Coleman isn’t sold that this match could set a precedent for the future of the CM program. Instead, maybe just be a little more mortar. “I think of it more as reinforcing the standards that’ve been put upon us six years ago,” Coleman said. “We’re not looking at it as setting any standards, we’re just building on the ones we already have. The elementary program has also played a critical part on what we’re trying to do here. The foundation’s already been set with what coach (Doug) Buckwalter expects. We’re trying to reemphasize those things. At the varsity level, scouting and video tapes of opponents have become quite handy in today’s wrestling. In junior high, it’s almost non-existent, with schools basically comparing matchups with common opponents. The Red Rovers (12-0) defeated Bellefonte by one point, 47-46, earlier in the season after the Raiders were forced to forfeit five weights. Easton has scored over 90 points in two duals this season — 95-12 over Allentown Dieruff, and 94-5 over Allentown Allen — reached 80-plus points in two meets, and won four meets with 70-plus points. Easton’s closest match of the year was in its finale, a 40-35 win over backyard rival Northampton, after winning three tournaments this season at Bangor, Whitehall and Nazareth. “All we can do is look at comparisons,” Coleman said. “It’s pretty hard to do any scouting at this level, and it’s an issue of a kid winning one day, and doing something different the next. All we can do is work hard in the room, go over some things and become aware of some of the things they like to use.” Preparation will also be key for the high school’s athletic department, which has to prepare for another big junior high showdown in less than a week. A note to the wise, however, is to bring a jacket. The wait outside for tickets could be a long one, considering that the high school is expecting another large crowd. Last week against Bellefonte, CM took over $1,000 at the gate for a junior high wrestling match — not counting the fans that were admitted on passes belonging to seniors, advanced season ticket holders and students. Central Mountain charges $2 for adults, $1 for students for all junior high events. “I don’t know how many fans Easton will bring, but around here we follow junior high wrestling pretty well,” CM athletic director Mike Packer said. “We had a good crowd for the Bellefonte match, and hopefully it’ll be bigger on Wednesday. We have excellent support here with all of our junior high programs, and whenever we move a match to high school, it’s usually a pretty big one.” |
As printed in Thursday - February 17, 2005 edition of The Express Easton does it; Rovers pull away from CM John Blesh MILL HALL — The old saying goes, “it is not if you win or lose, it is how you play the game.” When you are standing with heart wrenched, when everything you had is left out there on the mat, when you know you have given it everything you possibly could and it is still not enough, then those are just empty words. What does it mean to be victorious? To be victorious, one must persevere. The Central Mountain junior high wrestlers had plenty of perseverance in their taking on of the number two-ranked team in the state, Easton, on Wednesday night. But despite some terrific efforts, the Little Wildcats fell 54-31. The Rovers won the final seven bouts to pull away for the win. For CM, there were many examples of solid effort. Jake Parks persevered against Easton’s Steve Vas in the 155-pound match up. The two were neck and neck for the entire bout, swapping reversals for takedowns. Parks was only one point down late in the third and was fighting for an escape like the Morris brothers trying to escape from Alcatrez. Vas held him off, literally hanging on in the final seconds for the win. Jimmy Coutuariaux persevered in another close match at 90 pounds. Easton’s Rich Drey fended him off in the final seconds of the match, winning 1-0. What does it mean to be victorious? To be victorious, one must continue to fight even when things look bleak. One must have the fortitude to do whatever it takes even when the odds are against you. When things look their worst, that is when the victorious step up. The Central Mountain Wildcats stepped up when they were down 25-4 coming back with four pins in a row. Dylan Alton (105) pinned Jeff Griffith. Andrew Alton (110) followed that up with a pin of Easton’s Eric Burgey. Cody Dolan (115) pinned Matt Dennis and Jonathon Quiggle (122) pinned Andrew Daiello. Quiggle forced his moves a bit at first, obviously jacked up by the roar of the crowd and the thrill of the moment, but he settled down and when opportunity struck, he was there. Central Mountain had taken the lead (28-25) with Zach Germello on deck. What does it mean to be victorious? To be victorious, one must have courage. At 130, Germello faced a formidable opponent in Easton’s Lanell Ross. Ross had superior strength and at the onset it looked as though no amount of good technique would help him defeat the stronger Ross. Germello was courageous and as the match wore on the once intimidating opponent became just another wrestler and Germello went on for the major decision. To be victorious, one has to have heart. The Central Mountain wrestlers have plenty of heart. Forrest Bechdel (75) and Dane Kline (80) both fought their hearts out, frustrating their opponents by not giving up pins and saving their team crucial points in the process. Wildcat Jordan Rich (85) scored a late takedown against Mike Dennis to get his team the bonus points they needed, in a 10-2 final. His late takedown scored a major decision. Finally, to be victorious, one has to accept defeat with dignity. All the perseverance and courageousness the Wildcats could muster would not be enough against Easton. Easton emerged as the points leader on this day, victorious in their own way. As a few minutes remained in their ultimate defeat, Central Mountain coach Eric Coleman had to teach the kids something that he had not had to before, how to lose, and how to lose well. Maybe the kids already knew how to do that. EASTON 54, CM 31 75 — John Cascioli, E, maj.dec. Forrest Bechdel, 18-4. 80 — Nick Slack, E, maj. dec. Dane Kline, 10-0. 85 — Jordan Rich, CM, maj. dec. Mike Dennis, 10-2. 90 — Rich Drey, E, dec. Jim Couturiaux, 1-0. 95 — Mark Hartens, E, maj. dec. Dylan Caprio, 9-1. 100 — Nick Hackman, E, maj. dec. John Bower, 14-1. 105 — Dylan Alton, CM, pinned Jeff Griffith, 0:47. 110 — Andrew Alton, CM, pinned Eric Burgey, 0:51. 115 — Cody Dolan, CM, pinned Matt Dennis, 0:58. 122 — Jon Quiggle, CM, pinned Andrew Daiellote, 3:32. 130 — Zach Germello, CM, maj. dec. Lanell Ross, 13-2. 138 — Tevin Gibson, E, tech fall over David Bower, 18-1. 145 — Joe Piro, E, pinned Corrie Hummer. 155 — Steve Vas, E, dec. Jake Parks, 6-5. 165 — Keenan Walls, E, won by forfeit over Steve Laubscher. 185 — Joe McMullen, E, dec. Jared Day, 9-2. 210 — Chris Wilson, E, pinned Jason Laubscher, 4:18. 250 — Momen Elghar, E, pinned Maury Brantley, 0:54. |