Mifflin County goes 1-1 at D6 team duals

By BRIAN CARSON

Sentinel correspondent

TYRONE – For the first time in 17 years the State College Little Lions are the kings of District 6 wrestling.

Stunned silence bordering on shock. That was the look on the faces of the Mifflin County faithful after State College knocked off the top-seeded Huskies 25-24 to win the District 6 Class 3A Dual Meet championship Saturday afternoon.

The loss ended Mifflin County’s two-year reign as champions and gave the Little Lions their first district duals title since 2003.

“They out-wrestled us. We lost some matches 2-1. We just didn’t get enough bonus points,” Mifflin County coach Kirby Martin said. “They were ready. They wanted it more than we did and they deserved it. We have to put this behind us, finish strong and get ready for the (individual) post-season.”

The Huskies advanced to the finals with a 47-21 thrashing of Bellefonte, winning 10 matches with six coming by the bonus route. Nothing went wrong against the Red Raiders. It was the exact opposite with State College.

Mifflin County won half the bouts against the Little Lions but scored bonus points in only one. State College had two bonus wins, including the Husky forfeit at 113, which proved to be the difference-maker.

The Little Lions (11-4) opened the match with five straight wins to take a 16-0 lead propelled by key upsets that occurred at 120 and 145.

The match started at 120 where freshman Eric Weaver had three takedowns, one in each period, to defeat state-ranked Derek Burk 7-2. Caleb Weaverling followed at 126 with a 9-6 victory over Lucas Sheetz. Weaverling battled back from a 4-1 deficit to score eight unanswered points for the win.

Owen Barr scored seven points in the third period to pick up the 13-4 major decision over Marshall Maidens at 132. In a battle of state-ranked wrestlers, Owen Woolcott collected three takedowns in the first and one in the third for the 10-4 win over Kyler Everly at 138.

At 145, Clayton Leidy picked up a 2-1 decision over Ethan Kauffman in a most unusual way. After a scoreless first, Leidy picked up a penalty point after the Husky senior pushed the Little Lion after an aggressive sequence between the two went off the mat. Leidy escaped in the third for the 2-0 lead. Kauffman added a stall point to end the match.

“Absolutely, 120 was huge for us. Weaver is such a tough kid coming back from an injury. We weren’t sure what to expect. This was his second match back. He gave it all for the team and really looked good,” State College coach Ryan Cummins said. “At 145, Leidy wrestled up against a tough kid in Kauffman and did everything he needed to do to win. It all started from 120 on. We got a lead, built some momentum and our confidence grew. I couldn’t be prouder of our kids.”

Mifflin County (14-2) got back in it by winning four straight to trim the deficit to 16-15.

Anson Wagner beat Harrison Hoopes 6-2 at 152. The Husky sophomore had a takedown in the first and two reversals in the second period for the win. Trey Shoemaker followed with a 4-0 victory over Noah Prewitt at 160. Shoemaker made a takedown in the first and a reversal in the second stand up in the shutout.

Brycen Hassinger and Trey Kibe flipped weights with Hassinger dropping to 170 and Kibe bumping up to 182.

Hassinger scored the only bonus point victory when he ran the bar on Braden Newby in the second period for the fall in 3:01. Kibe moved up to face Lance Urbas, who he pinned in their first meeting. This one ended very differently than the first.

Urbas scored the initial takedown and Kibe escaped making it 2-1. The Husky junior chose down to start the second and escaped to make it 2-2. Urbas took neutral in the third but gave up the winning takedown. By not giving up bonus points, the loss became a victory for State College.

“He did a great job for us. He keeps getting better each match. Cole got caught the first time they met. This time, he wrestled smart and tough,” Cummins said. “He proved he’s right there with Kibe. I can’t wait for districts and regionals. They coulkd very well meet again.”

The Little Lions made it 19-15 when Ty Price defeated Jacob Krepps 2-1 at 195. An escape in the second and a stall point in the third was the difference.

The Huskies took their first and only lead of the match at 21-19 with back-to-back wins at 220 and 285, respectively. Haydn Crum broke a 3-3 tie with a deuce in the third for a 5-4 victory over Tate McLaughlin at 220.

Mifflin County, in desperate need of bonus points, thought Blaine Davis would deliver. The Husky senior pinned Harrison Schoen in the dual meet back in December, but like the Kibe match, it wasn’t to be on this day. Davis had two takedowns and an escape but couldn’t get any more in the 5-2 decision over Schoen.

With State College guaranteed a forfeit win in the last two matches, the Huskies needed at least a major decision to force criteria.

Martin had to send out his wrestler first at 106. Advantage State High. The Husky coaching staff wanted to move Allison away from Haydn Cunningham to matchup with Bailey Weaverling and get the bonus.

Martin had to send Allison out first and Cummins put up Cunningham. Allison escaped and scored a takedown in the second to hang on for a 3-1 victory. State High clinched the win and its first district team title in 17 years with the forfeit victory by Bailey Weaverling at 113.

“I think we’re back. It starts with the kids. They’ve done such a great job as a unit. The leadership up top from our seniors and upperclassmen have been terrific,” Cummins said. “The ninth-graders coming in are tough. As a team, we are great. I got the best assistants around. I can’t wait to get there (Hershey). We’ve been waiting for this a long time and I’m going to enjoy every minute.”

All the moves Martin made worked against the Red Raiders.

Down 15-5, Mifflin County won nine straight matches to own the dual at 47-15. Everly (138), Kauffman (145) and Wagner (152) won by fall, Davis had a forfeit and Shoemaker won by default over Ethan Richner after the Red Raider sophomore couldn’t continue with a knee injury. Richner, a state placer last year, was on crutches after the match.

Allison bumped up to 113 and won by technical fall. Hassinger and Kibe flip-flopped weights and Kibe took out Ethan Rossman 8-2 in a clash between state-ranked wrestlers.

State College took care of Central Mountain 33-27 in the semifinals with victories from Weaver, Woolcott, Leidy, Hoopes, Urbas, price, McLaughlin and the clincher from Cunningham.

State College 25, Mifflin County 24

District 6 Class 3A Championship

Saturday at Tyrone

120: Eric Weaver, SC, dec. Derek Burk, 7-2

126: Carter Weaverling, SC, dec. Lucas Sheetz, 9-6

132: Owen Barr, SC, dec. Marshall Maidens, 13-4

138: Owen Woolcott, SC, dec. Kyler Everly, 10-4

145: Clayton Leidy, SC, dec. Ethan Kauffman, 2-1

152: Anson Wagner, MC, dec. Harrison Hoopes, 6-2

160: Trey Shoemaker, MC, dec. Noah Prewitt, 4-0

170: Brycen Hassinger, MC, pinned Braden Newby, 3:01

182: Trey Kibe, MC, dec. Lance Urbas, 4-2

195: Ty Price, SC, dec. Jacob Krepps, 2-1

220: Hayden Crum, MC, dec. Tate McLaughlin, 5-4

285: Blaine Davis, MC, dec. Harrison Schoen, 5-2

106: Nic Allison, MC, dec. Hayden Cunningham, 3-1

113: Bailey Weaverling, SC, won by forfeit

Takedowns: SC 13, MC 10

Records: State College 11-4, Mifflin County 14-2

State College 33, Central Mountain 27

District 6 Class 3A Semifinals

Saturday at Tyrone

113: Gino Serafini, CM, major dec. B. Weaverling, 14-2

120: Eric Weaver, SC, dec. Derek Keen, 7-5

126: Taylor Weaver, CM, major dec. C. Weaverling, 9-1

132: Woolcott, SC, pinned Zach Miller, 2:55

138: Leidy, SC, dec. Hayden Walizer, 9-2

145: Kaden Falls, CM, dec. Kyle Martin, 5-3

152: Lane Porter, CM, pinned Jason Dry, 1:07

160: Hoopes, SC, dec. Caleb Porter, 6-2

170: Damien Galentine, CM, major dec. Prewitt, 13-3

182: Urbas, SC, pinned Paul Risley, 2:22

195: Price, SC, dec. Nik Miller, 3-1

220: McLaughlin, SC, dec. Gage Sutliff, 9-4

285: Cyrus McCarl, CM, pinned Schoen, 5:26

106: Cunningham, SC, pinned Clayton Foster, 3:47

Records: State College 10-4, Central Mountain 10-4

Mifflin County 47, Bellefonte 21

District 6 Class 3A Semifinals

Saturday at Tyrone

113: Allison, MC, tech. fall Aaron Little, 16-1 (4:09)

120: Lane Aikey, B, dec. Burk, 6-2 (SV)

126: Jude Swisher, B, pinned Sheetz, 2:26

132: Alex Coppolo, B, pinned Maidens, 3:18

138: Everly, MC, pinned Brady Martin, 2:38

145: Kauffman, MC, pinned Alec Bossert, 1:40

152: Wagner, MC, pinned Andrew McChesney, 1:50

160: Shoemaker, MC, def. Ethan Richner, inj. def. (1:05)

170: Hassinger, MC, dec. Stephen Ivicic, 6-0

182: Kibe, MC, dec. Ethan Rossman, 8-2

195: Krepps, MC, dec. Tyler Benner, 5-4

220: Max Barrier, B, dec. Crum, 1-0

285: Davis, MC, won by forfeit

106: Aidan O’Shea, B, won by forfeit

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