Wrestling is said to be dying in many places around the United States these days. One place where the sport is thriving, despite a drop in numbers is Tyrone, PA. One number that is not down is the enthusiasm of the crowds at every wrestling match in the Tyrone Area High School gym. The 2003-04 season carried all the way to the State Tournament at the Giant Center in Hershey where three Eagle wrestlers returned with medals.
The season didn’t begin and end with Hershey, rather that merely defined the team and hard work that each of the members of the wrestling team put in during the cold hours after school this winter and in the practice rooms and tournament mats and weight rooms during the offseason as well.
Wrestling is perhaps the hardest sport to train for, but the rewards came to the Tyrone athletes as a result of that hard work and effort.
Thad Westley finished second, Terry Tate fourth, and T. J. Albright eighth as all three brought home medals.
Thad Westley (39-5) became the first Tyrone wrestler since 1989 to appear in the PIAA championship finals at Hershey, broke Bruce Wallace’s career win record that has stood for 30 years, was the first Eagle to win back-to-back district titles since 1992 and the first Regional champ since 1998. Along the way Thad finished his four-year career with a mark of 127-32, leading the 2003-04 edition in technical falls (8), had 30 more takedowns (72) than the next highest Eagle and led the squad in both two-point nearfalls (24) and three-point nearfalls (27).
Junior Terry Tate (44-3) led the team in wins and pins (28) and followed Westley with District and Regional championships while becoming the third Eagle to post 100 career victories, closing out the season with a 102-24 record. With a year to wrestle, Terry will probably raise the ladder a few notches in career wins before he is through on the high school mat.
In addition to Districts and regionals and their medals at States, both team leaders won their respective weight class at the Sheetz, Zeigler and Eastern States tournaments as well. Both were runner-ups at the King of the Mountain Tournament to Triple-A wrestlers, both by 8-6 decisions in the finals.
T. J. Albright (38-16) became the first Tyrone ninth grader to qualify for the State Tournament, in addition to placing in the top six of all of the tournaments Tyrone wrestled in. Albright recorded 23 takedowns, 23 reversals and 24 three-point nearfalls and had 16 pins.
Senior Dane McCloskey (32-9) showed his true ability on the mat in his final year of high school competition after winning 45 matches as a sophomore and junior. Dane pinned 14 opponents and had 37 takedowns, 32 reversals and 23 three-point nearfalls.
Brice Mertiff (22-10) qualified for the PIAA State Tournament, but did not place. Mertiff missed much of the first part of the wrestling season recovering from a football injury, but provided much needed leadership when he was able to return. Brice had 14 pins after leading the team in that category last year. Mertiff added 30 takedowns and a combined total of 30 nearfalls.
David Miller (23-10) totaled 15 pins and had 37 takedowns, 24 reversals and 23 two-point nearfalls and 19 three-point nearfalls.
Robert Waite (24-14) won 20 matches for the second straight year as a sophomore. Waite recorded 15 falls and was second on the team in takedowns (42).
Sophomore Sam McCloskey (19-14) was probably the most improved Eagle wrestler from the start of the season to the end. After a slow beginning, Sam won nine of his final dozen dual matches. This was at a time when due to injuries and other problems, including a bunch of tough competition, the Eagles slipped form 9-1 to 10-5 in dual meets.
Heath Walk (21-8) wrestled through a series of injuries that eventually forced a shoulder operation in March, but still managed to compile a decent record, greatly helping out the team in his first year of varsity competition. Walk placed fourth in Districts to qualify for Regionals.
Josh Hunter, Matt Lauder, Adam Swayne, Justin Clark, Brandon Maceno, Tyler Updike and Robert Emigh also started for the Golden Eagles.
Tyrone followed the philosophy of fourth-year head coach Blair Packer of going everywhere to wrestle the best in preparation for the ultimate -the PIAA tournament in Hershey. Assisted by Daren Desch and Billy Dubler, Packer was rewarded for the hard work he and his wrestlers put in by being awarded by his fellow coaches as both District VI and Southwest Regional Coach of the Year.
Tyrone won the District VI-AA Team Dual Championship, placed third at Districts, third as Regionals and eighth at States. The Eagles place third in the CWC after finishing 11-5 overall in dual meets, and were tied for second place in the Mountain Athletic Conference Division 2 race with Indian Valley. The Orange and Black finished second at the Sheetz Holiday Tournament at Penn Cambria High School out of 26 teams, finished 10th of 32 teams at the King of the Mountain Tournament at Central Mountain High School, were third of 10 teams at the Zeigler Chevrolet Blair/Huntingdon County tournament at Altoona and travel to New York where they finished sixth out of 37 teams from six different states at the Eastern States tournament.
The Tyrone wrestling team accomplished all this with barely one wrestler for each of the 14 weight classes, often having to forfeit several weights in a dual meet, or doing without at tournaments when other schools had full lineups.
“We didn’t do this overnight,” explained Packer. “We had the right combination, each one fit into a weight class. We had a group of kids who were willing to work and were dedicated to reaching a goal.
“We have a good nucleus returning for next year with the three guys who went to states (Tate, Albright and Mertiff), plus Robert Waite, Sam McCloskey, Heath Walk, plus we also have 10-12 freshmen coming up from a good junior high team. We look to be competitive again next year.”
Take note everybody. After the hardware Tyrone has put into the school’s trophy case and the individual achievements the Eagles have piled up over a pair of back-to-back 10-5 dual meet seasons. Another year of that kind of “competitiveness” may be a lot for Eagle opponents to take.
