The local area lists two top seeds and one second seed for the District 6-AA wrestling tournament which gets underway tomorrow at the Altoona Fieldhouse at 10 a.m.
Robert Waite (119) and Sam McCloskey (145) drew top seeds at their respective weight classes for Tyrone, while Eli Colyer (125) was the highest seed for Bellwood-Antis with a second seed.
Waite (32-4), a senior, will wrestle the winner of a first round match between freshman Timmy Collier (10-8) of Bellwood-Antis, and junior Matt Willis (11-9) of West Branch, in the second round, after drawing a bye through the opening round. Waite was a district runner-up in 2005. McCloskey, a senior, also byed through the first round and will take on the winner of a first round bout between Bellwood-Antis senior Dustin Harris (9-16) and freshman John Julian (11-20) of Penn Cambria.
Colyer (19-3), a senior, will begin his tournament against sophomore Ryan Altman (7-19) in the second round.
Other top eight seeds among the 25-team draw were Eagles T. J. Albright (4th at 112), Cody Weaver (7th at 103), and Justin Schopp (7th at 160) and Blue Devils Josh Ervine (4th at 140) and Ricky Shawley (6th at 135).
First round matchups for the Tyrone wrestlers include senior Josh Hunter (16th seed, 7-15) will wrestle junior Dewey Runk (6-11) of Huntingdon at 130. Sophomore J. P. VanAllman (11-19) will face sophomore Nick Pettenatti (1-3) of Penn Cambria, with the winner wrestling top seed junior Russ Sichak (32-2) of Richland, at 135. Junior Donnie Conrad (12-12) will meet sophomore Sam Sheets (5-20) of Juniata Valley, at 189. Junior Brandon Oswalt (13-18) will wrestle Juniata Valley junior Matt Harnish (4-19), who was pinned by Oswalt in 1:27 at the Zeigler Tournament.
In the second round, Eagle freshman Cody Weaver (21-12) will battle Glendale senior Aaron O’Shall (15-8) at 103, with the winner to get the winner of number two seed freshman David Fogle (23-4) of Penn Cambria and Central junior Jeremiah Feathers (8-12). Junior T. J. Albright (24-3) will face the winner of a first round match between sophomore Donnie Partner (12-14) of Bellwood-Antis, and freshman Brandon Foster (5-15) of Juniata Valley at 112. Partner pinned Foster at the Zeigler Tournament in 2:24. Sophomore Anthony Romano (17-17) will wrestle Mount Union junior Dave Grove (22-11) at 125. Grove pinned Romano in 1:19 at the Team Duals. Junior Jacob Smerekar (11-6) will wrestle senior Josh Bodenschatz (19-16) of Richland, at 152. Smerekar has wrestled just one match at 152, after moving up from 140. Junior Justin Schopp (20-13) battles junior Tyler Mansberger (24-5) of Southern Huntingdon, at 160. At the Zeigler Tournament, Schopp defeated Mansberger 4-0. At 171, junior James Updike (13-16) wrestles Claysburg-Kimmel junior Mike Snyder (15-11). At the Zeigler Tournament, Snyder pinned Updike in 2:39 for third place. Senior Johnny Miller (14-15) will wrestle junior Mike Kutruff (4-6) of Glendale at 215.
Bellwood-Antis first round matches include senior Brandon Beech (12-11) will wrestle Central junior James Bocianowski (2-18) of Central, at 130. The winner of that bout will face number three seed junior Tyler Myers (27-6) of Penns Valley. At 152, junior Ronnie Wilson (13-16) will wrestle Central Cambria senior Mark Kemock (3-13), with the winner facing three seed sophomore Myers Miller (22-6) of Ligonier Valley. Junior Mike Ballard (6-14) will wrestle sophomore Mike Hommer (10-17) of Glendale at 160, with the winner facing top seed Marco Pecora (28-5) of Richland. At 171, junior Garett Wyland (6-18) will battle Glendale junior Delwyn Fry (9-13). Senior Josh Keagy (6-16) will wrestle sophomore Derek Ludwig (5-13) of Ligonier Valley at 189. Freshman Cody Smith (6-17) will wrestle senior Westan Feather (7-17) of Mount Union at 215. Feathers pinned Smith at the Zeigler Tournament and during the dual meet, each time in the second period.
Ervine (22-4), a senior, will wrestle the winner of a first round match between junior Tim R. Smeal (5-13) of West Branch, and Ligonier Valley junior Jake Bolby (8-9), in the second round at 140. Ervine pinned Smeal in the dual meet in 1:28. Shawley (19-5), a junior, will wrestle the winner of the first round match between freshman Andy Paronish (12-7) of Northern Cambria, and freshman Ray Dupas (2021) of Cambria Heights.
Wrestling will begin at 10 a.m. on Friday morning with the first round, followed by the second round and first round consolations at 12:30 p.m., second round consolations at 6 p.m. and quarterfinals at 8:30 p.m.
On Saturday, third round consolations will begin at 10 a.m., fourth round consolations at 11:30 p.m. and semifinals and fifth round consolations at 1 p.m. Third and fifth place consolation finals will start at 6 p.m. and championship finals will begin at 7:15 p.m. Five wrestlers from each weight class will advance to the Southwest Regional at the War Memorial Arena in Johnstown, on Friday March 3, and Saturday March 4.
Other top seeds include 103- sophomore Ryan Link (32-4) of Penn Cambria, 112- senior Bill Moore (28-2) of Blairsville, 125- senior Matt Paronish (28-1) of Northern Cambria, 130-senior Danny Clark (25-0) of West Branch, 135- junior Russ Sichak (32-2) of Richland, 140- junior Garrett Scott (16-0) of Juniata Valley, 152- senior David Sunderland (28-0) of Southern Huntingdon, 160- sophomore Marco Pecora (28-5) of Richland, 171- senior Steve Makin (28-3) of Central Cambria, 189- sophomore Ryan Krouse (29-7) of Richland, 215- junior Ron Oswald (27-1) of Marion Center, and 275- senior Tim J. Smeal (21-4) of West Branch.
Scott, a three-time defending state champ is still recovering from a broken jaw suffered in January, and Sunderland will each be going for their third district title. Second seed 140 -pound senior Justin Berrier (27-1) of Southern Huntingdon is a returning runner-up from last year, whose only loss is a 4-1 decision to Scott in the Tri-County Tournament in mid December. Sunderland could meet second seed and returning 2005 district champ junior Matt Moore (28-0) of Blairsville in the finals at 152. Other 2005 champions who return are Southern Huntingdon’s Cody Myers and Northern Cambria’s Andy Turner.
In addition to Berrier, six other runners-up return: Northern Cambria’s Mike Paronish, Waite, Tyler Myers of Penns Valley, Kane Bjalme of Penns Valley, Donny Clark of West Branch, and David Heining of Somerset.
