Sour grapes?

2009-10 AAA PIAA Third Place Central Mountain Wildcats

Tyler, Blaze and Doug Buckwalter

Unfair? … Luck of the Draw? … Bad call? … Missed opportunities? …. All the above?

Maybe. Maybe not.

I’m sure Central Mountain head wrestling coach, Doug Buckwalter extended his views that nothing in this life is ever certain or guaranteed. That adults are not only measured by their accomplishments, but how they accept adversity and momentary defeat.

Indeed the Wildcats have nothing to be ashamed of … to finish third place in the PIAA Team Wrestling Championships is a goal many other programs would gladly accept. While their hopes and dreams were focused on a coveted first-place finish, their parents, families, schoolmates and community can be proud of how they handled themselves.

It was a tight match. In the final weight class, coach Buckwalter sent a very talented and fundamentally sound sophomore on the mat … a major decision and CM wins on criteria, a fall and they win outright … for what seemed like an eternity … Brian Brill had CD’s A. J. Sweigard on his back in extreme peril but the fall just didn’t come.

From my vantage point at mat side, I must confess, neither I, nor my camera witnessed enough evidence that the referee was wrong in his judgement. Be assured if I thought otherwise, I would say so. Although it was close enough, had the ref slapped the mat at any point, I don’t think there would have been much argument for the opposing view either.

Every young athlete dreams of the day when they could be called upon to “win the day” whether it be a last second TD, the game winning home run, or a big time pin in the closing seconds of the State Championships.

In a moment such as this, the whole world can seem to move at light speed, or come to a complete halt … depending upon your vantage point, and emotional investment. A moment that will be indelible in each person’s memory who witnessed the event for eternity. This was such a moment. More than a few fans were convinced of the fall … an equal number of fans on the opposite side of the arena were convinced there was no fall … yet. However, that fleeting moment that seemed to last forever is now but a memory … sweet for some … bitter for others … but an awesome moment to experience for anyone who loves the sport of wrestling. In my mind, the only real negative about that moment, it should have come in the championship finals … not the semi-final round.

Brill did everything he could to make his dream come true for his team mates and fans … it just didn’t end the way everyone hoped it would. No shame there … for anyone involved.

I am proud of the way Brill, Buckwalter and the rest of the Wildcat program handled themselves in Hershey. They won with pride and confidence. They lost with grace and dignity. Yes, the smiles and attitudes may not have been as bright at the end of the day, but they didn’t try to hide in shame or complain openly about the outcome.

I have shared with many of the Wildcat coaches over the past several seasons of how nice it must be to be mentioned in the polls among the elite teams in the state, and how gratifying it must be to prove they belong in the company of the elite as they have done so many times. This is definitely a form of satisfaction the program can hold onto and remember fondly for many years to come.

One thing is for certain, Central Dauphin knows they dodged a bullet. I don’t think a re-match with the Wildcats is high on their list of things to do in the near future.

I would like to thank all those involved with Wildcat wrestling for their efforts as it was indeed a great honor to witness many of their accomplishments this season and I look forward to seeing you all in Hershey very soon.

Second verse … same as the first

Jordan Rich

Andrew Alton

Dylan Alton

HERSHEY, Pa. – Yep, you guessed it … the Wildcats had to face Easton for their third place finish in the PIAA Team Wrestling Championships … the same team they beat in the quarter-final round … by a nearly identical final score, 40-25.

Almost as if scripted, Andrew and Dylan Alton were the last two Wildcats to take to the Resilite on the day spending a collective 1:11 on the mat dispatching their Rover opponents for pins.

Zach Corl and Dylan Caprio also had falls for the Wildcats while Cody Dolan and Jordan Rich posted major decisions for Central Mountain.

Déjà vu – phase 1

Dylan Alton

Dylan Caprio

Zach Corl

Joey Miller

HERSHEY, Pa. – It was déjà vu all over again as the Wildcats had to take on the same opponent from the second round of the tourney, Council Rock South. It was pretty much the same outcome as the first meeting with the Wildcats posting a 40-25 win.

Cody Dolan, Zach Corl and Andrew Alton all had falls for Central Mountain, while Joey Miller added a technical fall and Dylan Alton contributed a major decision.

With Corl’s win at 285, it placed the junior in the “Century Club” with 100 wins in his high school career.