Neither North Schuylkill’s Alek Hummel nor Tri-Valley’s Caleb Bordner was completely satisfied with the way the season ended.
Both won a ton of hardware along the way — Schuylkill League and District 11 gold top the list — but neither liked how things turned out in Hershey.
Bordner finished eighth to become a four-time state medalist, while Hummel placed seventh to earn his first medal at the PIAA Class AA Wrestling Championships.
It’s just that both seniors expected to be higher on the podium in Hershey.
Yet the way they strived for excellence and the heights they reached make Bordner and Hummel the Republican-Herald’s Co-Wrestlers of the Year.
For another consistently excellent season — and the best postseason of anybody in the area — Tri-Valley’s Dave Boltz and Ty Rothermel are Coaches of the Year.
Tri-Valley star
sets bar high
Caleb Bordner poured his heart and soul into Tri-Valley wrestling over the past four years.
The hard work paid off with a banner senior season and a career that ranks among the best in school history.
Let’s start there. Bordner went 42-7 this season, raising his career record to 155-42 and becoming the winningest wrestler in Tri-Valley history. During districts, he surpassed the 147 wins previous record-holder Sam Scheib compiled.
Bordner won the District 11 Class AA gold at 120 pounds, finished third at the Southeast Regional and eighth at the PIAA Championships.
In becoming a four-time state placer, Bordner took eighth as a freshman, sixth as a sophomore and seventh as a junior.
His three losses in this year’s state tournament came by a total of five points. One match went to the overtime tiebreaker.
“It was nice to get that fourth state medal,’’ Bordner said. “I wish I did better, but the way I look at it is some wrestlers never see the state tournament, so I’m satisfied.’’
In addition, Bordner won his third Schuylkill League Tournament title, captured the gold at the rugged Bedford Tournament and posted a signature 2-1 decision win over Pottsville star Luke Gardner during the dual meet in February.
“It was a good season. I had a lot of fun,’’ Bordner said. “It flew by quicker than I expected.’’
After graduation, Bordner will attend the Pennsylvania College of Technology where he will study how to become a heavy equipment technician. He also plans to wrestle.
“They’re looking for a ’25-pounder,’’ Bordner said.
Hummel continues
family legacy
In 2014, North Schuylkill’s Auston Hummel was selected as the Republican-Herald’s Wrestler of the Year.
Now, younger brother Alek is a Wrestler of the Year, too.
The 195-pounder had a senior season to remember, winning Schuylkill League, District 11 Class AA and Southeast Regional championships.
Heading into the state tournament, Hummel had lost just once all season. He won three matches in Hershey to secure his first PIAA medal.
He finished the season 45-3 and his career 87-13.
Hummel was tenacious on top, tilting, turning and pinning opponents almost at will.
“I accomplished a lot, everything except for at states,’’ Hummel said. “It left a sour taste in my mouth, but that’s life. I got over it.’’
The next step for Hummel after graduation will be attending Kutztown University where he will wrestle and major in environmental science.
Dawgs coaches
find right formula
It’s impossible to peak every day of the wrestling season. From late November through mid-March, wrestlers and coaches alike are going to have good days and bad days.
Sickness, cutting weight, injuries, bad weather, school and work responsibilities and other issues crop up during the course of a season to make some days better than others.
While the regular season has value, coaches focus on having their teams wrestle their best on seven specific days: Friday and Saturday at districts, Friday and Saturday at regionals and Thursday, Friday and Saturday at states.
Nobody in the area gets their wrestlers ready for and leads them through the wrestling postseason better than Tri-Valley’s Boltz and Rothermel.
To begin, the Dawgs did plenty during the regular season: 15-4 overall record, 6-1 in Schuylkill League Division I and third place in the District 11 Class AA Duals.
And they did it usually forfeiting two or more weight classes.
“It’s great to rebound dual meet-wise this year,’’ said Rothermel, whose Dawgs went 4-10 in 2013-14.
Along the way, Tri-Valley finished second at the Top Hat Tournament, second at the Schuylkill League Tournament and second at the Bedford Tournament. The runner-up finishes were more a function of quantity rather than quality.
For example, the Dawgs entered just 10 wrestlers in the District 11 Class AA Tournament.
“From the first day of practice, it all points toward the end of the season,’’ Rothermel said. “Everything has its place, but it’s all in preparation for the end of the year.’’
Not surprisingly, the Dawgs finished second in the team race at districts and tied for second with Bermudian Springs at regionals.
Once again, Tri-Valley took six wrestlers to regionals, and all six qualified for the PIAA Wrestling Championships.
In Hershey, Hunter Harner (seventh), Dan Scheib (eighth) and Bordner (eighth) earned medals. Sammy Hepler, Chase Schaeffer and Anthony Snyder won one match apiece before bowing out.
“It takes everybody,’’ Rothermel said. “We’ve got a lot of people that make Tri-Valley wrestling successful. It truly is a team effort in and out of the room.
“The support we have at Tri-Valley is not typical of America anymore,’’ he added. “We’re fortunate we have good parents with good work ethics (in their kids) so we can focus on being a coach.’’
So add six more state qualifiers to Tri-Valley’s four-year run of its senior class.
In 2012, the Dawgs went 7-for-7 at regionals; in 2013, they went 6-for-6; last season it was 5-for-5; and now 6-for-6.
That’s a perfect 24-for-24 in advancing regional qualifiers to states over the past four seasons.
“I’m really happy with how the season went, the way we wrestled this year,’’ Boltz said. “It seems like we peak at the right time every year.’’
REPUBLICAN-HERALD ALL-AREA WRESTLING TEAM
Co-Wrestlers of the Year
Name School Grade Season Career
Caleb Bordner Tri-Valley Sr. 42-7 155-42
Alek Hummel North Schuylkill Sr. 45-3 87-13
First Team
Name School Grade Season Career
Coy Campbell Upper Dauphin Sr. 35-9 118-41
Connor Frey Lehighton Jr. 38-6 102-27
Nate Gadinski North Schuylkill Sr. 42-6 126-45
Luke Gardner Pottsville Jr. 37-6 101-21
Kevan Gentile Jim Thorpe Jr. 44-3 102-25
Willy Girard Willilams Valley Jr. 37-9 99-26
Christian Gosch Blue Mountain Sr. 35-9 121-40
Hunter Harner Tri-Valley Sr. 42-7 143-44
Sammy Hepler Tri-Valley Soph. 38-8 71-15
Devon Krammes Blue Mountain Jr. 33-15 49-26
Erech Noecker Blue Mountain Soph. 33-5 60-18
Dylan Rynkiewicz Tamaqua Sr. 40-7 127-35
Dan Scheib Tri-Valley Fr. 34-14 34-14
Rian Shubeck Panther Valley Sr. 31-7 118-38
Second Team
Name School Grade Season Career
Richie Bentz Pottsville Soph. 30-15 58-29
Ian Cagle Blue Mountain Sr. 30-11 66-38
Kirk Dougherty Blue Mountain Jr. 29-12 32-15
Tegan Durishin Lehighton Jr. 32-11 82-31
Lucas Forbes Blue Mountain Jr. 32-8 72-28
Darren Goida Panther Valley Jr. 31-15 78-44
Josh Mason Blue Mountain Fr. 25-6 25-6
Tanner McHugh Tamaqua Soph. 35-8 65-20
Ian Minnich Williams Valley Soph. 27-9 55-16
Blake Panko Mount Carmel Sr. 28-6 91-34
Ignacio Reynoso Hamburg Fr. 41-16 41-16
Chase Schaeffer Tri-Valley Jr. 36-11 102-35
Anthony Snyder Tri-Valley Sr. 36-12 117-48
Sean Stanish Hamburg Sr. 41-10 139-42