Carson: Mifflin County and State College combined to send 11 wrestlers to the PIAA Championships in Hershey
- Updated: February 25, 2024
By BRIAN CARSON
Photos by Tim Weight
ALTOONA—Mifflin County and State College combined to send 11 wrestlers to the PIAA Championships in Hershey after placing in the top three at the Northwest Regional Class 3A championship on Saturday.
The Huskies advanced Andrew Alexander (3rd at 107), Colby Seiler (3rd at 145), Parker Kearns (3rd at 152), Deakon Schaeffer (2nd at 160), Avery Aurand (2nd at 172), and Gavin Mickey (3rd at 189).
The Little Lions pushed five through with three winning regional titles–James Whitbred (133), Asher Cunningham (160), and Nick Pavlechko (285). Pierson Manville settled for second at 145 after losing a 3-2 ultimate tiebreaker decision to Central Mountain‘s Luke Simcox. Noah Young took second at 107.
Whitebred earned a regional title as a freshman with a 9-3 win over Punxsutawney‘s Jordan Rutan in the finals. Whitebred reached the championship round with a 3-0 win over Hickory‘s Davey O‘Brien.
Cunningham scored 13 takedowns against Schaeffer. He scored five times in the first period, building a 10-4 lead. The Little Lion junior had seven more takedowns in the second period, increasing his lead to 24-11. An escape and final takedown made it a 27-11 technical fall in 4:41. This was his third consecutive regional title.
Pavlechko was typical Pavlechko, pinning all three of his opponents, including Wyatt Maines of Hollidaysburg in 59 seconds in the finals for his third regional crown.
Everyone was on edge waiting for the Manville-Simcox clash,and it didn‘t disappoint. The battle of two former PIAA champions was toe-to-toe and an in-your-face affair.
Both wrestlers escaped to make it 1-1 after regulation. After a scoreless sudden victory overtime, both wrestlers escaped in the tiebreakers to make it 2-2 heading to the Ultimate Tiebreaker. Simcox, who scored first in regulation, chose down and escaped to hand Manville the 3-2 loss.
Young, another Little Lion freshman, made it to the finals with a 10-0 major over Alexander before being pinned in 4:43 of the finals to Central Mountain freshman Gavin Heverly.
Also wrestling for State College were Jon Whitbred (5th at 114), Jacob Campbell (5th at 139), Johnathan Coates (121), and Nicholas Berrena (127).
Mifflin County tied a school record with six advancing to Hershey. The 2016 squad did the trick by advancing six – Hayden and Trent Hidlay, Noah Stewart, Trey Hartsock, Noah Myers, and Brandon Wilson. That team ended up third in the state.
Alexander earned his trip to Chocolatetown with a tough ride en route to a 1-0 decision over Brayden Sidney of Hollidaysburg for third. An escape in the third period was the only scoring. Goo used his tight waste to control Sidney for most of the match.
Alexander is only the fourth freshman in school history to make it to the state tournament, joining a stellar list that includes Hayden and Trent Hidlay, Trey Kibe, and Nic Allison.
Seiler, seeded eighth, proved the skeptics wrong with a 4-2 win over Meadville‘s Ryder Say. The Husky junior reached the third-place match with a hard-fought 7-6 victory over Lucas Kurelowech of Erie McDowell.
Kearns suffered a heartbreaking loss in the semifinals, dropping a 4-3 decision to Central Mountain‘s Griffin Walizer after giving up a takedown with three seconds left in regulation. The Husky senior battled back with a major and a 3-1 decision over Erie Prep‘s Brandon Byrd for third place. It will be the second trip to Hershey for Kearns.
Schaeffer shook off a disappointing 2023 season when he was eliminated early in the regionals. This season, the Husky senior left no doubt, advancing to states with a 4-2 win over Meadville‘s Brighton Anderson in the semifinals, thanks to two strong double legs. In the finals, once again, he ran into the buzzsaw named Cunningham.
Aurand will make his second trip to the Giant Center after an 8-3 decision over Meadville‘s Connor Kearns in the semifinals. The Husky junior came up short in the finals, dropping a 9-1 major decision to Connor Wetzel of Shikellamy.
Mickey, who was 5-10 a year ago, lost in the quarterfinals but battled back to finish third after pinning Brashear‘s Mustafa Gurakar in 1:48.
Also competing for the Huskies was Jake Knable (5th at 121), Truitt Davis (5th at 215), Kamden Everly (6th at 133), and Paxton Shawver (114).
Mifflin County finished second in the team standings with 155 points. State College was fourth with 151 points. Central Mountain won it with 177 points.
The PIAA Class AAA championships are in two weeks, running from March 7-9 at the Giant Center in Hershey.
Northwest AAA Regional
Mifflin County Results
Team Standings
(1) Central Mountain 177.0, (2) Mifflin County 155.0, (3) Shikellamy 153.0, (4) State College 151.0, (5) Erie Cathedral Prep 126.0, (6) Selinsgrove 109.0, (7) Meadville 104.0, (8) Hickory 100.0, (9) Altoona 92.0, (10) DuBois 77.0, (11) Williamsport 72.0, (12) Hollidaysburg 70.0, (13) Jersey Shore 41.0, (14) Punxsutawney 38.5, (15) Brashear 30.0, (16) Erie McDowell 25.0, (17) Taylor Allderdice 24.0, (18) Obama Academy 20.0, (19) Columbia Montour Vo-Tech 17.0, (20) Bradford 6.0, (20) Carrick 6.0, (22) Westinghouse 0.0.
Championship Round 1
107 – Andrew Alexander pinned Mahmudi Mnongerwa (Brashear), 0:50
114 – Paxton Shawver major dec. Max Hallman (Shikellamy), 9-0
121 – Jake Knable pinned Peyton Geer (DuBois), 0:53
133 – Kamden Everly pinned Kamyren Overly (Meadville), 0:24
145 – Colby Seiler won by tech. fall over Daniel Cabiness (Obama Academy), 18-3 5:39
152 – Parker Kearns pinned Elias Bradbury (Westinghouse), 1:43
160 – Deakon Schaeffer pinned Gavin Lavery (Erie McDowell), 3:31
215 – Truitt Davis pinned Dre‘Quan McClain-Street (Obama Academy), 0:35
Championship Quarterfinals
107 – Andrew Alexander pinned Aiden Carter (Erie Cathedral Prep), 5:23
114 – Collin Nasdeo (Williamsport) dec. Paxton Shawver, 6-4
121 – Brody Bishop (Hickory) pinned Jake Knable, 2:29
133 – Jordan Rutan (Punxsutawney) dec. Kamden Everly, 3-2
145 – Colby Seiler dec. Trent Turner (Selinsgrove), 12-6
152 – Parker Kearns dec. Jordan Thompson (Bradford), 3-2
160 – Deakon Schaeffer dec. Dante Duncan (Obama Academy), 4-1
172 – Avery Aurand pinned Jackson Raker (Williamsport), 1:26
189 – Matthew Eggleston (Erie McDowell) pinned Gavin Mickey, 1:44
215 – Brody Rebuck (Shikellamy) pinned Truitt Davis, 1:10
Consolation Round 2
114 – Paxton Shawver pinned Anthony Snook (Selinsgrove), 4:05
121 – Jake Knable pinned Steven Mrzlack (Carrick), 1:36
133 – Kamden Everly won by tech. fall over Joshua Chung (Obama Academy), 20-4 3:00
189 – Gavin Mickey pinned Tyson Bridenbaugh (Hollidaysburg), 3:51
215 – Truitt Davis pinned Austin Fischer (Punxsutawney), 0:37
Championship Semifinals
107 – Noah Young (State College) major dec. Andrew Alexander, 10-0
145 – Luke Simcox (Central Mountain) pinned Colby Seiler, 3:27
152 – Griffin Walizer (Central Mountain) dec. Parker Kearns, 4-3
160 – Deakon Schaeffer dec. Brighton Anderson (Meadville), 4-2
172 – Avery Aurand dec. Connor Kearns (Meadville), 8-3
Consolation Round 3
114 – Landon Krupka (Hollidaysburg) dec. Paxton Shawver, 3-2
121 – Jake Knable dec. Isaac Werner (Obama Academy), 5-3
133 – Kamden Everly pinned Jahki Burget (Williamsport), 2:44
189 – Gavin Mickey pinned Marcus Wahila (Taylor Allderdice), 2:55
215 – Truitt Davis dec. Cameron Phillips (Hickory), 7-0
Consolation Semifinals
107 – Andrew Alexander dec. Lauger Waldman (Williamsport), 5-0
121 – Alex Reed (Shikellamy) dec. Jake Knable, 7-6
133 – Dylan O‘Brien (Hickory) dec. Kamden Everly, 5-1
145 – Colby Seiler dec. Lucas Kurelowech (Erie McDowell), 7-6
152 – Parker Kearns major dec. A.J. Benedict (Shikellamy), 15-1
189 – Gavin Mickey dec. Bryce Brungard (Central Mountain), 12-6
215 – Jarrod Bullington (Selinsgrove) dec. Truitt Davis, 10-3
Fifth Place
121 – Jake Knable won by forfeit over Dysen Gould (Punxsutawney)
133 – Andrew Gammon (Erie Cathedral Prep) dec. Kamden Everly, 6-2
215 – Truitt Davis dec. Max Spaulding (Erie Cathedral Prep), 7-3
Third Place
107 – Andrew Alexander dec. Brayden Sidney (Hollidaysburg), 1-0
145 – Colby Seiler dec. Ryder Say (Meadville), 4-2
152 – Parker Kearns dec. Brandon Byrd (Erie Cathedral Prep), 3-1
189 – Gavin Mickey pinned Mustafa Gurakar (Brashear), 1:48
Championship Finals
160 – Asher Cunningham (State College) won by tech. fall over Deakon Schaeffer, 27-11 4:41
172 – Connor Wetzel (Shikellamy) major dec. Avery Aurand, 9-1
State College Results
Championship Round 1
107 – Noah Young pinned Martin Wilson (Selinsgrove), 0:53
114 – Jon Whitbred won by tech. fall over Jaidon Jones (Carrick), 18-2 3:51
121 – Dysen Gould (Punxsutawney) won by tech. fall over Johnathan Coates, 15-0 3:58
127 – Eben Kisner (Shikellamy) pinned Nicholas Berrena, 4:33
133 – James Whitbred pinned Jahki Burget (Williamsport), 2:52
139 – Jacob Campbell pinned Derek Brubaker (Shikellamy), 0:45
Championship Quarterfinals
107 – Noah Young maj. dec. Dom Nardozza (Altoona), 9-0
114 – Ben Fuller (Meadville) dec. Jon Whitbred, 7-0
133 – James Whitbred dec. Isaac McGregor (Shikellamy), 8-4
139 – Jacoby Thompson (Meadville) dec. Jacob Campbell, 11-7
145 – Pierson Manville pinned Lucas Kurelowech (Erie McDowell), 2:20
160 – Asher Cunningham pinned Noah Moyer (Columbia Montour Vo-Tech), 3:29
285 – Nick Pavlechko pinned Ja’Reese Stowe (DuBois), 0:48
Consolation Round 1
121 – Zander Billings (Columbia Montour Vo-Tech) pinned Johnathan Coates, 4:00
127 – Nicholas Berrena pinned Hunter Dobson (Punxsutawney), 0:21
Consolation Round 2
114 – Jon Whitbred maj. dec. Max Hallman (Shikellamy), 9-0
127 – Gavin Ciampoli (Altoona) maj. dec. Nicholas Berrena, 9-1
139 – Jacob Campbell pinned Mason Maxwell (Carrick), 0:50
Championship Semifinals
107 – Noah Young maj. dec. Andrew Alexander (Mifflin County), 10-0
133 – James Whitbred dec. Dylan O’Brien (Hickory), 3-0
145 – Pierson Manville pinned Gabe Dorman (Erie Cathedral Prep), 0:40
160 – Asher Cunningham pinned Bo Martucci (Erie Cathedral Prep), 1:38
285 – Nick Pavlechko pinned Jack Peters (Selinsgrove), 3:25
Consolation Round 3
114 – Jon Whitbred dec. Antonio Giambanco (DuBois), 3-0
139 – Jacob Campbell dec. Wyatt Young (Altoona), 8-6 SV
Consolation Semifinals
114 – Collin Nasdeo (Williamsport) pinned Jon Whitbred, 2:45
139 – Davey Aughenbaugh (DuBois) won by tech. fall over Jacob Campbell, 17-2 4:50
Fifth Place
114 – Jon Whitbred dec. Landon Krupka (Hollidaysburg), 4-2
139 – Jacob Campbell dec. Mike Reardon (Hickory), 4-1
Championship Finals
107 – Gavin Heverly (Central Mountain) pinned Noah Young, 4:40
133 – James Whitbred dec. Jordan Rutan (Punxsutawney), 9-3
145 – Luke Simcox (Central Mountain) dec. Pierson Manville, 3-2 UTB
160 – Asher Cunningham won by tech. fall over Deakon Schaeffer (Mifflin County), 27-11 4:41
285 – Nick Pavlechko pinned Wyatt Maines (Hollidaysburg), 0:59
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