Observations as we await today’s first whistle at the Schuylkill League Wrestling Tournament at Blue Mountain High School:
Champs abound
Ten wrestlers with at least one Schuylkill League gold medal will take the mat this weekend.
None of them will be four-timers, though. At least not this year.
Tri-Valley has three guys looking for their third league championship: Caleb Bordner, Chase Schaeffer and Hunter Harner.
Tri-Valley’s Sammy Hepler and Anthony Snyder, Pottsville’s Luke Gardner, Tamaqua’s Dylan Rynkiewicz and North Schuylkill’s Nate Gadinski are the other returning champions.
In addition, Blue Mountain’s Christian Gosch and Panther Valley’s Rian Shubeck won titles in 2013.
The only weight in which former champions may clash is 145, where Gosch and Schaeffer reside. More on that later.
Team talk
Based on recent results, Blue Mountain enters as the favorite in the team race. The Eagles have won five of the last six, including last season.
Tri-Valley broke the run with a team title in 2012.
Light brackets
None of the 14 weight classes have a full allotment of 15 wrestlers. Injuries and other factors have a large number of regulars out of action.
Four weights — 132, 138, 145 and 152 — have 14 wrestlers apiece. At 285, though, just eight wrestlers are entered.
North Schuylkill and Pine Grove are the only teams entering full lineups.
One positive is that 64 wrestlers are entered in the JV Tournament.
Around the horn
Let’s break down each of the weight classes:
• 106 — Top seed Kevan Gentile of Jim Thorpe is one of four undefeated wrestlers (among regular starters) in the field. Blue Mountain’s Josh Mason comes in as a solid No. 2.
This is one of the deeper weights, with Halifax’ Landon Bruner, North Schuylkill’s Owen Boyer, Pottsville’s Ryan Green and Lehighton’s Nathan Kemmerer all capable of placing in the top four.
• 113 — Somebody will get their first league gold here. The favorites are No. 1 Willy Girard of Williams Valley and No. 2 Coy Campbell of Upper Dauphin. Both were league runners-up and state qualifiers last season.
Pretty solid through No. 5, with Blue Mountain’s Hunter Blankenhorn, Tri-Valley’s Kyle Stephen and North Schuylkill’s Mason Madden-Edwards capable of a good run.
• 120 — Senior Caleb Bordner of Tri-Valley is a strong favorite to earn league title No. 3.
Third seed Richard Bentz of Pottsville and No. 4 Shane McGrath of North Schuylkill are on opposite sides of the bracket. McGrath won 2-1 in Wednesday night’s dual meet. Panther Valley freshman Tanner Kennedy is seeded second.
• 126 — Top-seeded Luke Gardner has been the area’s best wrestler so far this season. The Pottsville junior is the favorite to repeat as league champion.
No. 2 Tanner McHugh of Tamaqua has taken a nice step forward during his sophomore season.
• 132 — Tri-Valley sophomore Sammy Hepler comes in as the top seed as he seeks a second league title.
Pine Grove senior Danny Diaz-Walton recently earned his 100th career win and is a solid No. 2.
• 1 38 — Interesting weight. Tamaqua’s Dylan Rynkiewicz, a 145-pounder most of the season, is the top seed and a returning champion.
In Wednesday’s dual meet, Lehighton’s Tegan Durishin, seeded third, edged Rynkiewicz 7-6.
Expect No. 2 Ali Capobianco of Panther Valley and No. 4 Nathan Cromyak of Pottsville to join them in the semifinals.
• 145 — Look here for a classic rematch.
Top-seeded Christian Gosch of Blue Mountain and No. 2 Chase Schaeffer of Tri-Valley are both former champions. Schaeffer, a junior, is looking for No. 3.
They’re strong favorites to reach the final, and if they do, make sure you’re there to see it. These guys can go, and they’re evenly matched.
In last season’s 138-pound final, Schaeffer decisioned Gosch 5-2.
In Wednesday’s dual meet, Gosch nipped Schaeffer 7-5.
• 152 — Blue Mountain’s Lucas Forbes, fresh off an 11-6 win over Tri-Valley’s Anthony Snyder, is the No. 1 seed. A runner-up last season, Forbes is seeking his first league gold.
• 160 — Tri-Valley’s Snyder is the top seed here. He’s looking to at least become a four-time finalist. The senior was second as a freshman and sophomore, then won his first league gold in 2014.
No. 2 Ian Cagle of Blue Mountain, a runner-up last season, appears to be his main challenger. No. 7 Matthew Miller of Williams Valley was runner-up to Snyder last year but has struggled this season.
• 170 — Tri-Valley senior Hunter Harner is the No. 1 seed as he competes for league title No. 3.
No. 2 Brady Mickatavage of North Schuylkill vs. No. 3 Devon Krammes of Blue Mountain in the other half of the bracket would be a fun semifinal.
• 182 — In its first season in the league, top-seeded Connor Frey is Lehighton’s best chance to have a champion. He’s the class of this field.
• 195 — This weight has another overwhelming favorite in top-seeded and undefeated Alek Hummel of North Schuylkill.
A runner-up last season to Pine Grove’s Guy Zimmerman, it will take a lot to keep Hummel off the top step of the podium this weekend.
• 220 — Some great clashes are possible here. Top-seeded Erech Noecker of Blue Mountain has been the dominant man at this weight all season.
No. 2 Rian Shubeck of Panther Valley has missed some time with an illness, but the state qualifier knows what it’s like to win a league title.
No. 3 Dan Scheib of Tri-Valley and undefeated No. 4 Jake Paul of Halifax could be factors as well.
• 285 — North Schuylkill’s Nate Gadinski is the favorite: No. 1 seed, undefeated, defending champion.
Second-seeded Kirk Dougherty of Blue Mountain has had a successful season sharing time at 220 and 285. He and Gadinski are likely to meet in the finals.
(Lipsky is the wrestling
beat writer
for The Republican-Herald)
Schuylkill League Tournament glance
At Blue Mountain High School, Orwigsburg
Schedule
Today
5 p.m. — Varsity preliminaries (main gym) and JV Tournament (auxiliary gym)
6 p.m. — Championship quarterfinals
7:15 p.m. — First-round consolations
8:30 p.m. — Second-round consolations
Saturday
10 a.m. — Championship semifinals, third-round consolations
1 p.m. — Consolation semifinals
4 p.m. — Championship finals, consolation finals (for 3rd and 5th places) on 3 mats
Ticket prices
Today — $6 for adults and $3 for students. Saturday — $10 for adults and $5 for students. This admission covers all sessions on Day 2, including the championship finals. In previous years, the Schuylkill League policy was to charge two sets of admissions — one for the day session, clearing the gym after the consolation semifinals, then charging again for the evening finals.
2014 tournament recap
Top 5 teams: 1. Blue Mountain 180, 2. North Schuylkill 170, 3. Pine Grove 150.5, 4. Tri-Valley 146, 5. Tamaqua 118.5
Championship finals
106 — Sammy Hepler (Tri-Valley) dec. Willy Girard (Williams Valley), 7-4
113 — Luke Gardner (Pottsville) dec. Coy Campbell (Upper Dauphin), 11-5
120 — Caleb Bordner (Tri-Valley) tech. fall Bryant Penberth (Blue Mountain), 15-0, 5:10
126 — Colin Mashack (Tamaqua) tech. fall Devon Hoffman (Upper Dauphin), 15-0, 2:08
132 — Dylan Rynkiewicz (Tamaqua) maj. dec. Shay Mattern (Schuylkill Haven), 13-0
138 — Chase Schaeffer (Tri-Valley) dec. Christian Gosch (Blue Mountain), 5-2
145 — Hunter Harner (Tri-Valley) dec. Lucas Forbes (Blue Mountain), 6-0
152 — Anthony Snyder (Tri-Valley) tech. fall Matt Miller (Williams Valley), 18-2, 5:40
160 — Garet Grove (North Schuylkill) dec. Ian Cagle (Blue Mountain), 7-3
170 — Auston Hummel (North Schuylkill) pinned Jesse Fisher (Pine Grove), 1:10
182 — Guy Zimmerman (Pine Grove) dec. Alek Hummel (North Schuylkill), 9-6
195 — Zach Yackenchick (Blue Mountain) maj. dec. Richard Nase (Panther Valley), 13-4
220 — Ryan Martin (Pine Grove) dec. Rian Shubeck (Panther Valley), 8-4
285 — Nate Gadinski (North Schuylkill) pinned Nate Kramer (Schuylkill Haven), 3:44
NOTE: Bold indicates returning wrestler.
Recent team champions
2013 — Blue Mountain; 2012 — Tri-Valley; 2011 — Blue Mountain; 2010 — Blue Mountain; 2009 — Blue Mountain; 2008 — Blue Mountain; 2007 — Mount Carmel; 2006 — Mount Carmel; 2005 — North Schuylkill; 2004 — Shamokin
4-time Schuylkill League champions
(since 1985, according to available records)
Steve Cesari, North Schuylkill, 1982-85
J.J. Fasnacht, Pine Grove, 1988-91
Kirk Stehman, Shamokin, 1989-92
Mike Garcia, Mount Carmel, 1991-94
Brian Burns, Pottsville, 1998-2001
Matt Edwards, North Schuylkill, 1999-2002
Chris Renninger, Blue Mountain, 2000-03
Jeremy Cresswell, Blue Mountain, 2002-05
Josh Malick, Mount Carmel, 2005-08
Cort Choate, Blue Mountain, 2006-09
Josh Kindig, Blue Mountain, 2007-10
Brandon Choate, Blue Mountain, 2008-11
Corey Keener, Blue Mountain, 2009-12
(Records based on results reported to tournament officials through Tuesday’s matches)
106 — 1. Kevan Gentile, Jim Thorpe, jr., 17-0; 2. Josh Mason, Blue Mountain, fr., 13-3; 3. Landon Bruner, Halifax, fr., 14-2; 4. Owen Boyer, North Schuylkill, soph., 16-3
113 — 1. Willy Girard, Williams Valley, jr., 19-2; 2. Coy Campbell, Upper Dauphin, sr., 16-3; 3. Mason Madden-Edwards, North Schuylkill, soph., 16-2; 4. Kyle Stephen, Tri-Valley, sr., 15-5
120 — 1. Caleb Bordner, Tri-Valley, sr., 15-3; 2. Tanner Kennedy, Panther Valley, fr., 16-7; 3. Richard Bentz, Pottsville, soph., 14-4; 4. Shane McGrath, North Schuylkill, jr., 14-4
126 — 1. Luke Gardner, Pottsville, jr., 18-1; 2. Tanner McHugh, Tamaqua, soph., 19-2; 3. Darren Goida, Panther Valley, 13-3; 4. Zach Kemmerer, Lehighton, jr., 16-5
132 — 1. Sammy Hepler, Tri-Valley, soph., 14-4; 2. Danny Diaz-Walton, Pine Grove, sr., 17-4; 3. Brian Farrell, Pottsville, sr., 10-8; 4. Preston Gehring, Schuylkill Haven, soph., 13-2
138 — 1. Dylan Rynkiewicz, Tamaqua, sr., 20-1; 2. Ali Capobianco, Panther Valley, jr., 15-7; 3. Tegan Durishin, Lehighton, jr., 20-4; 4. Nathan Cromyak, Pottsville, jr., 14-6
145 — 1. Christian Gosch, Blue Mountain, sr., 19-2; 2. Chase Schaeffer, Tri-Valley, jr., 15-3; 3. Cole Painter, Pottsville, fr., 16-6; 4. Joe Alexander, North Schuylkill, soph., 13-6
152 — 1. Lucas Forbes, Blue Mountain, jr., 15-4; 2. Trevyn Fessler, Schuylkill Haven, jr., 14-3; 3. Tyler Deiter, Pottsville, sr., 15-5; 4. Jackson Kennerly, Upper Dauphin, soph., 14-4
160 — 1. Anthony Snyder, Tri-Valley, sr., 15-3; 2. Ian Cagle, Blue Mountain, sr., 17-5; 3. Tyler Cann, Lehighton, jr., 16-6; 4. Nate Batz, Schuylkill Haven, jr., 10-5
170 — 1. Hunter Harner, Tri-Valley, sr., 17-3; 2. Brady Mickatavage, North Schuylkill, soph., 16-3; 3. Devon Krammes, Blue Mountain, jr., 14-5; 4. Nolan Fegley, Mahanoy Area, jr., 12-4
182 — 1. Connor Frey, Lehighton, jr., 19-3; 2. C.J. Steinhilber, North Schuylkill, jr., 13-6; 3. Dylan Moyer, Panther Valley, jr., 12-7; 4. Brandon Kessock, Pottsville, sr., 11-4
195 — 1. Alek Hummel, North Schuylkill, sr., 19-0; 2. Daymian Shoop, Williams Valley, soph., 11-7; 3. Austin Ney, Pine Grove, fr., 7-5; 4. Mitchell Rice, Blue Mountain, sr., 8-11
220 — 1. Erech Noecker, Blue Mountain, soph., 17-2; 2. Rian Shubeck, Panther Valley, sr., 4-1; 3. Dan Scheib, Tri-Valley, fr., 13-4; 4. Jake Paul, Halifax, soph., 16-0
285 — 1. Nate Gadinski, North Schuylkill, sr., 19-0; 2. Kirk Dougherty, Blue Mountain, jr.,. 17-5; 3. Max Motko, Schuylkill Haven, jr., 12-6; 4. Scott Werner, Pine Grove, sr., 11-6