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.

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.

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.

Andrew Alton

Tyler Buckwalter

Dylan Alton

Jordan Rich

Brian Brill

HERSHEY, Pa. – So close … yet so far away …

Very cliché indeed …. In a battle of Titans, the defending PIAA AAA team champions toed the line with a very capable and confident Wildcat squad, with the winner taking home all the rewards.

While Central Mountain kept it very close, and there was an opportunity for a very qualified yet young wrestler to put an exclamation point on the event, the Wildcats came up short in a 35-34 loss to the Rams of Central Dauphin.

Andrew Alton opened up the scoring a 145 by taking all of 30 seconds to pin CD’s Wesley Rick. Tyler Buckwalter followed suit by decking Jamison Peake in 2:48.

Dylan Alton added another fall in 28 seconds over Justin Wolfe to put the Wildcats up 18-0 at 160 pounds. At 171 the Ram’s vaunted veteran, Marshall Peppleman earned a fall over Blaze Buckwalter in 3:07. Then Kenny Courts posted an 11-3 decision over CM’s Dylan Caprio.

Cody Dolan moved the scoring back to theWildcat column at 215 with a 7-4 decision over Kyle Wolfe. Zach Corl followed with a 4-1 decision over Nate Stewart at 285 pounds.

Ty Dippery came up with a pin over Logan Bechdel at 103 in 1:49. Then Shyheim Brown added another fall in 1:00 over Cole Hanley at 112 pounds with CD now inching closer trailing 24-22.

Nick Barndell garnered a 4-0 decision over Joey Miller, while Kevin Goodling majored Bryant Vannoy 14-2 to put the Rams up 29-24.

Tyler Buckman added to the effort fort Central Dauphin with a fall over Dillon Gavlock at 130 pounds with a fall in 1:24. The Jordan Rich willed his way to a fall over Colton Peppleman in 5:27 at 135 pounds to bring the team score within 5, 35-30 in CD’s favor.

Brian Brill had a wonderful opportunity at 140 pounds. The sophomore accepted the challenge and owned the Ram’s A.J. Sweigart, nearly pinning him several times but had to settle for a 10-1 major decision and ending the team score 35-34.

With the loss, the Wildcats move to the consolation round and will work to battle back to claim the third place title.

Logan Bechdel

Jordan Rich

Brian Brill

Andrew Alton

Dylan Alton

Cody Dolan

HERSHEY, Pa. – Central Mountain faced their toughest opponent thus far when taking on perennial powerhouse, Easton in the quarter-final round of the PIAA Team Wrestling Championships.

The Wildcats fell behind the Rovers 21-0 before embarking on an impressive rally to post a 40-24 victory to advance to the semi-finals and take on No. 1 Ranked, Central Dauphin.

Logan Bechdel was pinned in 3:04 by Evan DiSora at 103, while Michael Fleck followed suit for Easton decking Cole Hanley in 0:46 at 112 pounds.

Robert Rizzolino decisioned Joey Miller 4-1 at 119 with Calvin Daly adding another decision 6-3 over Bryant Vannoy at 125 pounds.

Mitchell Minotti added to the Rover’s total with a 8-2 decision over Dillon Gavlock. Jordan Rich stopped the bleeding at 135 pounds with an important 11-3 major decision over Robert Rizzolino.

Mark Hartenstine closed out the scoring for Easton with a 7-0 decision over Brian Brill at 140 pounds.

Then the Wildcats roared back with a vengance … recording five falls in the remaining seven weight classes, four were earned in under a minute … Andrew Alton decked Kenneth Lear in 0:18 at 145 while brother, Dylan Alton stomped Anthony Minnotti in 0:54 at 152.

Tyler Buckwalter decisioned Zachary Bambary 5-2 at 160 pounds. Dylan Caprio dropped back down to 171 pounds and pinned Josh Rotger in 0:17.

Cody Dolan pounded Jalal Paige for a fall in 2:41 at 215 pounds, while Zach Corl took all of 0:15 to deck Thomas Cevoli at 285.

Now CM will have a tall task, defeating state rival Central Dauphin in the semi-final round, slated for 11 a.m. tomorrow at the Giant Center.

Zach Corl

Cole Hanley

Andrew Alton

Dylan Alton

Cody Dolan

HERSHEY, Pa. – Central Mountain opened action against Council Rock South at the Giant Center this morning capturing a 42-20 win over the Golden Hawks. CRS was the first team to hold the Wildcats to fewer than 50 points in the 2009-10 dual meet season.

Wrestling started at 285 with Zach Corl earning a 14-4 major decision over Tom Trampe. Logan Bechdel received the short end of a 18-2 tech fall in 5:29 to Billy Rappo.

Cole Hanley picked up some very crucial team points at 112 pounds with a 7-2 decision over Mack Moore. Joey Miller added bonus points to the cause with a fall over Trey Bolasco in 5:29 at 119 pounds

Matt Rappo picked up a 14-8 decision over Bryant Vannoy at 125 pounds, while Connor Moore edged Dilon Gavlock 5-4 at 130 pounds.

Josh Dziewa managed a to get by Jordan Rich with a 8-6 decision at 135. Brian Brill picked up a win over Matt Martoccio at 140 pounds with a 3-2 decision.

Andrew Alton only neede 3:38 to record a tech fall over Tim Riley at 145 pounds, while Tyler Buckwalter decked Carl Wtken in 1:32 at 152 pounds.

Dylan Alton dispatched Austin Reichenbach in 3:50 at 160, with Blaze Buckwalter succumbing to a pin in 2:54 to Bobby Lavalle at 171.

Dylan Caprio bumped up to 189 pounds again and ponded Michael Bennett for a well-deserved 8-3 decision. Cody Dolan rounded out the scoring with a fall over Josh Kupperstein in 1:30.

Next for the Wildcats is Easton in the quarter-final round.

Central Mountain Wildcats D6 AAA Champs

Cole Hanley

Cheers for Cole

Cody Dolan

Dylan Caprio

It was rather a cake walk to the District 6 AAA Dual Meet title for Central Mountain. The Wildcats waltzed to the crown by defeating Altoona 66-11 in the semi-final and Bellefonte 58-14 in the finals.

Leading the way for CM, Jordan Rich scored a fall against Altoona and a technical fall against Bellefonte while Brian Brill, Andrew Alton, Dylan Alton, Dylan Caprio, Cody Dolan and Zach Corl each had falls in both matches.

Now the wildcats will travel to Hershey and challenge for a state title facing Council Rock South at 10 a.m. Friday, Feb. 12.

#13 Scott Zuback

#5 Luke Welshans

#34 Harley Sellinger

It was oh so close at the end, although Bellefonte maintained a 7-10 point lead most of the way to their 48-46 win over the Wildcats.

Scott Zuback led Central Mountain with 15 point, 3 assists, 4 rebounds and 2 steals. Luke Welshans racked up 11 points including 3-for-5 from the three-point line, 1 assist and 4 boards. Harley Sellinger had 8 points, 1 assist, 9 boards and 2 thefts.

As always, “The Section” was loud and proud supporting the home team with enthusiasm and trying to rattle and confuse the visitors as much as possible … always maintaining good taste in their efforts ….

The Section

Andrew Alton

Logan Bechdel

Joey Miller

The Central Mountain Wildcat wrestling team celebrated senior night with a one-sided victory by defeating Centre County rival, State College 72-0.

Logan Bechdel, Dillon Gavlock, Andrew Alton, Dylan Alton, Tyler Buckwalter and Dylan Caprio all garnered pins for Wildcats while Joey Miller, Jordan Rich, Briab Brill, and Blaze Buckwalter contributed decisions. Cole Hanley, Bryant Vannoy, Cody Dolan and Zach Corl all received forfeits in the shut-out win.

Senior members include: Justin Bower, Bryant Vannoy, Corin Lyons, Jordan Rich, Andrew Alton, Dylan Alton, Dylan Caprio, Cody Dolan and David Petruzzi.