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Ioannis Pashakis/Sun-Gazette Logan Long of Central Mountain wrestles Calbe Freeland of Clearfield in their 145-pound final, a 3-0 Long victory, as assistant Doug Buckwalter looks on Saturday at Williamsport High School.

By MITCH RUPERT

mrupert@sungazette.com

Less than a week ago, Central Mountain coach Biff Walizer said he thought he would have a good dual-meet team, but he wasn’t sure how they’d be as a tournament team.

Consider that question answered.

The Wildcats scored 209 points and crowned three champions to win the team title at the Tom Best Memorial Top Hat Tournament on Saturday. Central Mountain scored nearly 60 more points than second-place Line Mountain (149.5). Muncy was third with 146.5 points.

Seth Andrus (132 pounds), Logan Long (145) and Tanner Weaver (170) all won titles for the Wildcats, who had 11 of their 14 wrestlers finish in the Top 8. Johnny Shreffler (113) and Jacob Edwards (285) were tournament runners-up.

Montoursville’s Wyatt Lutz (120), Gavin Hoffman (195) and Cameron Wood (220) were local champions, as were Muncy’s Jacob Blair (113) and Joe Klock (132). Muncy’s Bryce Vollman (126) and Montoursville’s Gable Crebs (160) finished second.

Hoffman was named the tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler after defeating Cocalico state eighth-place finisher Ben Fromm, 22-7, in the final. Weaver earned the most falls in the least amount of time after recording all four of his tournament wins by fall.

“I feel like we have a good team all around. Tournament, dual-meet, everything,” Weaver said. “In upcoming tournaments, I think we’ll be able to do as good or better.”

Central Mountain’s performance was so good that even first-year wrestler Kayde Busey won a pair of matches to place seventh for the Wildcats. But not only were they the only team to enter 14 wrestlers into the tournament, their 11 placewinners were the most in the tournament.

This is the kind of example Andrus and Weaver wanted to set for the rest of the team. All three Central Mountain champions won their first Top Hat title Saturday. Andrus did it by cruising through a 132-pound bracket which saw him score two falls on Friday night before beating two regional qualifiers by a combined nine points on Saturday in the final two rounds.

Long posted three comfortable wins, including a fall over regional qualifier Caleb Shaffer of Line Mountain in the semifinals, before grinding out a 3-0 win over Clearfield’s Caleb Freeland in the finals. Weaver destroyed anybody in his path to a championship. None of his matches went six minutes, including his final against Fort LeBoeuf regional qualifier Brent Burbules, where he recorded a fall in 1 minutes, 10 seconds.

Of the 38 bout wins recorded by Central Mountain wrestlers in the tournament, 29 of them earned bonus points, or 76.3 percent of their wins.

“Coach talked to us beforehand about bonus points and getting as many as we can,” Weaver said. “It’s my senior year and I want to get stuff done and do as good as I can, but I want to show the younger kids that you need to work to get there. And if you do, it’ll show on the mat.”

“It’s awesome to see everyone contributing,” said Andrus, who is a two-time regional qualifier. “It’s nice to see that we can win tournaments. Hopefully we can keep it rolling.”

The Wildcats seemed to agree the Top Hat was the perfect tournament to get them prepared for next week’s King of the Mountain in which the level of competition gets ratcheted up even more. This tournament was about building some confidence.

It’s that confidence, they said, which will not only help the team be successful throughout the season, but help the individual wrestlers try to get past the regional tournament and earn a spot in Hershey, something both Andrus and Weaver are looking to do for the first time.

“I just feel motivated this year,” Andrus said. “After two years of getting so close with regionals, I’m working harder than ever.”

“I came out to get it done, and that’s what I did. I wanted to score as many points as I could in the early matches,” Weaver said. “When it got to the second day, I wanted to finish the match as quick as I could. I didn’t want to have to wrestle six minutes if I didn’t have to.”

For the past two years, Montoursville’s Lutz has come up short of a Top Hat title because of a Central Mountain wrestler. He and current Bucknell wrestler Geo Barzona wrestled some stellar matches in the Top Hat finals over the past two seasons, but Lutz wasn’t able to come away with the win.

This weekend the Warriors’ senior looked much different than he has in past Top Hat tournaments. He was more confident in his movements and took all his shots with conviction. It led Lutz to his first title, defeating regional qualifier and state-ranked Kayde Althouse in the 120 final, 9-8.

The match got a little dicey in the third period, but Lutz was able to fend off some last-second shot attempts to win. His two wins Saturday both came over regional qualifiers, the first was a 17-2 technical fall over Titusville’s Hunter Thompson. The second was the one-point win over Althouse.

“I think I dominated a little more than what the score said. I think I just kept giving up stupid takedowns and I was giving up escapes,” said Lutz, who moved into 10th place on Montoursville’s career wins list with 118. “My confidence coming into this year is a lot different. I came in thinking I was going to dominate everyone. I still feel like I can wrestle better than what I did (Saturday).”

Much like Lutz, Blair was looking to dominate. The sophomore is coming off winning his first state medal in March, a season in which he said he proved he was capable of wrestling on a state level. Now he wants to get to a level which can help him reach his goal of winning a state championship.

Winning a Top Hat title in the fashion he did was the first step. Blair won his first two bouts of the tournament by fall before posting five takedowns in the final to beat Shreffler, 11-3.

“My new mentality is go, go, go,” Blair said. “I feel really good on my feet. I emphasized that in the summer. It was one of my weaknesses in the past, but now it’s one of my strengths.”

Tom Best Memorial

Top Hat TOUrnament

Team standings: 1, Central Mountain, 209; 2, Line Mountain, 149.5; 3, Muncy, 146.5; 4, Montoursville, 142.5; 5, Mifflinburg, 131; 6, Fort LeBoeuf, 123.5; 7, Cocalico, 112.5; 8, Clearfield, 112; 9, Hazleton, 109; 10, Mechanicsburg, 102; 11, Red Lion, 90; 12, Titusville, 89; 13, Williamsport, 78.5; 14, South Western, 75; 15, Jersey Shore, 60.5; 16, Tri-Valley, 55; 17, Hughesville, 28.5; 18, Schuylkill Valley, 25.5

Team key: Central Mountain, CM; Clearfield, Cl; Cocalico, Co; Fort LeBoeuf, FLB; Hazleton, Ha; Hughesville, Hu; Jersey Shore, JS; Line Mountain, LM; Mechanicsburg, M; Mifflinburg, Mi; Montoursville, Mo; Muncy, Mu; Red Lion, RL; Schuylkill Valley, SV; South Western, SW; Titusville, T; Tri-Valley, TV; Williamsport, W

CONSOLATION SECOND ROUND

106: Matthew Orton, FLB, dec. Brandon Martin, RL, 6-4; Joshua Martz, SW, bye; Austin Stugart, W, bye; Seth Donovan, T, maj. dec. Anson Zimmerman, CM, 10-0; 113: John Thomas, Cl, pinned Martin Bryant, W, 2:27; Christian Dennison, RL, dec. Caleb Martz, SW, 4-2; Broc Lutz, Mo, pinned Cameron Hauck, LM, 1:46; Asa Brunk, M, maj. dec. Matt Maggiaro, SV, 11-3; 120: Dalton Bechdel, CM, pinned Peyton Smay, Cl, 2:30; Mario Barberio, Mu, tech. fall Logan Wolfe, SW, 15-0, 3:32; Luke Gorg, Hu, pinned Caleb Strayer, RL, 1:37; Ian Coller, LM, pinned Christian Kislan, Ha, 2:50; 126: Kayden Busey, CM, dec. Blake Harner, TV, 5-2; Ben Heinrich, Hu, pinned Nicholas Ridenour, SW, :41; Kyle Daugherty, RL, pinned Logan Ledebohm, M, 2:24; Colby Ernst, SV, won by forfeit Joelyn Espinal, Ha; 132: Grant Swann, Co, dec. Christian Good, Mu, 7-0; Justin Cornelius, FLB, pinned Keefer Neidig, LM, 3:28; Adam Leib, SW, dec. Jude Pallo, Cl, 9-3; Clayton Reed, Mi, maj. dec. Tyler Willits, JS, 8-0; 138: Brock Holloway, RL, pinned Griffin Smeltz, LM, 2:11; Joe Huck, FLB, dec. Quinten Edwards, Cl, 5-0; Nate Reed, M, pinned Gabe Packer, JS, 3:53; Stephen Martisofski, Ha, dec. Trevor Hale, Co, 7-4; 145: Anthony Robinson, W, dec. Seamus Finnegan, Co, 6-5; Dylan Bennett, Mo, dec. Josh McCall, FLB, 2-0; Jared Rodgers, T, pinned Dante Matarella, Ha, 2:33; Cole Daugherty, RL, pinned Ethan Gush, Mu, 1:53; 152: Jacob Feese, LM, pinned Ryan Kershner, JS, 2:39; Braxton Zerbe, TV, dec. Charles Steinbacher, Mo, 9-4; Luciano DeRose, T, dec. Hunter Wright, Cl, 7-3; Coleman Good, Mu, maj. dec. Jack Bennett, SV, 15-5; 160: Chris Koperna, LM, dec. Jacob Lloyd, FLB, 9-6; Torren Potts, W, pinned Chase Middleton, Td, 2:46; Ethan Baney, SW, pinned Dylan Bair, M, :50; Jayson Brielmeier, Ha, dec. Devin Sensenig, Co, 5-0; 170: Tyler Burns, Mi, pinned Nick Maris, Hu, :43; Kyle Tomb, JS, dec. Gavyn Eisenhower, Mi, 10-3; Jermaine Hull, M, pinned Collyn Flaherty, RL, :19; Wyatt Bingaman, LM, dec. Jaxon Dalena, MO, 7-6; 182: Adien Webber, SV, pinned Jack Conrad, RL, 4:00; Ben Sola, Co, dec. Cole Stremmel, SW, 11-7; Parker Harvey, T, dec. Jansen Houdeshell, Mi, 8-3; Nate Powley, W, pinned Austin Confer, CM, 1:23; 195: Sebastian Titus, T, pinned Brandon Daub, Cl, 2:04; Cole Joines, RL, dec. Tim Church, FLB, 7-2; Cael Hembury, Mu, dec. Gage Sutliff, CM, 8-2; David Tomb, JS, pinned Aiden Sheely, M, 2:58; 220: No matches; 285: Austin Shaver, Co, pinned Kevin Doran, Cl, :23; Dalton Tubbs, Mo, pinned Brandon Reichard, RL, 1:39; Michael Fuchick, Ha, pinned Kaleb Dunlap, T, 1:25; Dominick Bridi, LM, pinned Lance McLaughlin, FLB, 1:55;

CHAMPIONSHIP SEMIFINALS

106: Blake Wirt, LM, pinned Gabe Gramly, Mi, 1:52; Johnny Cora, Ha, pinned Angelo Maines, Cl, 1:52; 113: Jacob Blair, Mu, pinned Caleb Underhill, Mi, 3:10; Johnny Shreffler, CM, tech. fall Seth Fritz, Co, 16-0, 5:47; 120: Wyatt Lutz, Mo, tech. fall Hunter Thompson, T, 17-2, 4:57; Kayde Althouse, Co, dec. Isaac Crowell, FLB, 4-2, sv; 126: Matt Ryan, Cl, maj. dec. J.T. Ploss, FLB, 13-0; Bryce Vollman, Mu, dec. Matty Coller, LM, 3-2; 132: Seth Andrus, CM, dec. Nick Tewell, M, 9-5; Charles Everdale, Ha, pinned Riley Hilner, W, 5:31; 138: Joe Klock, Mu, pinned Cody Coleman, CM, :17; Trevor Bingaman, Mi, dec. Cam Dickey, W, 7-5; 145: Logan Long, CM, pinned Caleb Shaffer, LM, 1:07; Caleb Freeland, Cl, dec. Eric Gessner, Mi, 5-2; 152: Trenton Pace, FLB, dec. Austynn Carson, CM, 8-7; Brady Serina, M, pinned Devyn Gurreri, RL, 1:12; 160: Tyler Stoltzfus, Mi, pinned Asher Corl, CM, 4:42; Gable Crebs, Mo, dec. Noah Gush, Mu, 8-2; 170: Tanner Weaver, CM, pinned Cavin Sullivan, SW, 3:42; Brent Burbules, FLB, pinned Jake Marnell, Ha, 6:55, sv; 182: Luke McGonigal, Cl, pinned Hunter O’Connor, JS, 2:46; Julian Gorring, FLB, dec. Mike Kustanbauter, Mu, 5-1; 195: Gavin Hoffman, Mo, pinned Ethan Long, LM, :49; Ben Fromm, Co, dec. Shane Noonan, Ha, 7-5; 220: Jaron Renn, LM, pinned Avry Gisewhite, Cl, 3:12; Cameron Wood, Mo, dec. Tanner Riggle, CM, 3-2*; 285: Danny Scheib, TV, pinned Jacob Whitaker, Mu, 1:20; Jacob Edwards, CM, pinned Ethan Williamson, W, 2:50; *-Central Mountain deducted on team point for unsportsmanlike conduct

CONSOLATION QUARTERFINALS

106: Joshua Martz, SW, pinned Matthew Orton, FLB, :43; Seth Donovan, T, maj. dec. Austin Stugart, W, 12-0; 113: Christian Dennison, RL, pinned John Thomas, Cl, 2:22; Broc Lutz, Mo, dec. Asa Brunk, M, 5-0; 120: Mario Barberio, Mu, pinned Dalton Bechdel, CM, 4:04; Ian Coller, LM, dec. Luke Gorg, Hu, 2-0; 126: Ben Heinrich, Hu, dec. Kayden Busey, CM, 7-2; Kyle Daugherty, RL, dec. Colby Ernst, SV, 8-2; 132: Grant Swann, Co, pinned Justin Cornelius, FLB, 3:44; Adam Leib, SW, dec. Clayton Reed, Mi, 3-1; 138: Brock Holloway, RL, dec. Joel Huck, FLB, 6-5; Nate Reed, M, pinned Stephen Martisofski, Ha, 1:50; 145: Dylan Bennett, Mo, dec. Anthony Robinson, W, 4-2; Cole Daugherty, RL, maj. dec. Jared Rodgers, T, 13-1; 152: Braxton Zerbe, TV, pinned Jacob Feese, LM, 4:09; Luciano DeRose, T, dec. Coleman Good, Mu, 7-0; 160: Torren Potts, W, pinned Chris Koperna, LM, 4:33; Ethan Baney, SW, pinned Jayson Brielmeier, Ha, 2:40; 170: Tyler Burns, Mi, pinned Kyle Tomb, JS, :37; Jermaine Hull, M, pinned Wyatt Bingaman, LM, :43; 182: Adien Webber, SV, pinned Ben Sola, Co, :50; Parker Harvey, T, dec. Nate Powley, W, 6-3; 195: Cole Joines, RL, pinned Sebastian Titus, T, 4:38; David Tomb, JS, maj. dec. Cael Hembury, Mu, 14-5; 220: Spencer Moffett, SW, by; Joe Jacobson, T, bye; Joseph Bearinger, Co, bye; Larry Bilyeu, Mu, bye; 285: Dalton Tubbs, Mo, pinned Austin Shaver, Co, 2:56; Michael Fuchick, Ha, pinned Dominick Bridi, LM, 2:09;

CONSOLATION SEMIFINALS

106: Gabe Gramly, Mi, pinned Joshua Martz, SW, 2:23; Seth Donovan, T, pinned Angelo Maines, Cl, 2:23; 113: Caleb Underhill, Mi, tech. fall Christian Dennison, RL, 15-0, 4:05; Seth Fritz, Co, pinned Broc Lutz, Mo, 1:13; 120: Hunter Thompson, T, dec. Mario Barberio, Mu, 7-1; Isaac Crowell, FLB, dec. Ian Coller, LM, 6-2; 126: Ben Heinrich, Hu, dec. J.T. Ploss, FLB, 6-2; Matty Coller, LM, pinned Kyle Daugherty, RL, 1:32; 132: Grant Swann, Co, pinned Riley Hilner, W, 2:34; Nick Tewell, M, pinned Adam Leib, SW, 4:06; 138: Cam Dickey, W, pinned Brock Holloway, RL, 3:10; Cody Coleman, CM, dec. Nate Reed, M, 7-6; 145: Eric Gessner, Mi, dec. Dylan Bennett, Mo, 2-1; Cole Daugherty, RL, dec. Caleb Shaffer, LM, 7-4; 152: Braxton Zerbe, TV, pinned Devyn Gurreri, RL, 1:24; Luciano DeRose, T, dec. Austyn Carson, CM, 3-2; 160: Asher Corl, CM, dec. Torren Potts, W, 2-0; Ethan Baney, SW, maj. dec. Noah Gush, Mu, 12-1; 170: Cavin Sullivan, SW, pinned Tyler Burns, Mi, :14; Jermaine Hull, M, maj. dec. Jake Marnell, Ha, 10-2; 182: Hunter O’Connor, JS, pinned Adien Webber, SV, 1:28; Parker Harvey, T, dec. Mike Kustanbauter, Mu, 7-5; 195: Ethan Long, LM, pinned Cole Joines, RL, :50; Shane Noonan, Ha, maj. dec. David Tomb, JS, 11-2; 220: Joe Jacobson, T, dec. Avry Gisewhite, Cl, 8-5; Tanner Riggle, CM, pinned Joseph Bearinger, Co, 5:39; 285: Dalton Tubbs, Mo, dec. Jacob Whitaker, Mu, 4-0; Michael Fuchick, Ha, dec. Ethan Williamson, W, 2:50;

SEVENTH-PLACE CONSOLATIONS

106: Austin Stugart, W, pinned Matthew Orton, FLB, :27; 113: Asa Brunk, M, pinned John Thomas, Cl, 4:22; 120: Dalton Bechdel, CM, dec. Luke Gorg, Hu, 4-0; 126: Kayden Busey, CM, dec. Colby Ernst, SV, 8-5; 132: Clayton Reed, Mi, maj. dec. Justin Cornelius, FLB, 9-0; 138: Joel Huck, FLB, pinned Stephen Martisofski, Ha, 2:25; 145: Anthony Robinson, W, tech. fall Jared Rodgers, T, 21-5, 4:38; 152: Coleman Good, Mu, dec. Jacob Feese, LM, 7-5; 160: Chris Koperna, LM, dec. Jayson Brielmeier, Ha, 3-1; 170: Kyle Tomb, JS, pinned Wyatt Bingaman, LM, 1:26; 182: Nate Powley, W, dec. Ben Sola, Co, 8-4; 195: Sebatian Titus, T, dec. Cael Hembury, Mu, 6-2; 220: Larry Bilyeu, Mu, pinned Spencer Moffett, SW, :57; 285: Austin Shaver, Co, pinned Dominick Bridi, LM, :18;

FIFTH-PLACE CONSOLATIONS

106: Joshua Martz, SW, pinned Angelo Maines, Cl, 1:45; 113: Broc Lutz, Mo, tech. fall Christian Dennison, RL, 15-0, 3:26; 120: Mario Barberio, Mu, dec. Ian Coller, LM, 7-4; 126: J.T. Ploss, FLB, tech. fall Kyle Dougherty, RL, 16-0, 2:36; 132: Adam Leib, SW, pinned Riley Hilner, W, 1:45; 138: Nate Reed, M, pinned Brock Holloway, RL, 1:33; 145: Caleb Shaffer, LM, dec. Dylan Bennett, Mo, 4-1; 152: Devyn Gurreri, RL, dec. Austyn Carson, CM, 6-3; 160: Noah Gush, Mu, dec. Torren Potts, W, 4-2, sv; 170: Tyler Burns, Mi, dec. Jake Marnell, Ha, 4-3; 182: Mike Kustanbauter, Mu, maj. dec. Adien Webber, SV, 21-7; 195: David Tomb, JS, pinned Cole Joines, RL, 4:25; 220: Avry Gisewhite, Cl, pinned Joseph Bearinger, Co, 2:33; 285: Ethan Williamson, W, dec. Jacob Whitaker, Mu, 1-0;

THIRD-PLACE CONSOLATIONS

106: Gabe Gramly, Mi, pinned Seth Donovan, T, 1:47; 113: Seth Fritz, Co, dec. Caleb Underhill, Mi, 13-9, sv; 120: Isaac Crowell, FLB, dec. Hunter Thompson, T, 9-7; 126: Matty Coller, LM, pinned Ben Heinrich, Hu, :48; 132: Nick Tewell, M, pinned Grant Swann, Co, 2:12; 138: Cody Coleman, CM, dec. Cam Dickey, W, 3-2; 145: Cole Daugherty, RL, dec. Eric Gessner, Mi, 4-3; 152: Luciano DeRose, T, pinned Braxton Zerbe, TV, 3:42; 160: Ethan Baney, SW, dec. Asher Corl, CM, 5-4; 170: Cavin Sullivan, SW, pinned Jermaine Hull, M, 4:54; 182: Parker Harvey, T, dec. Hunter O’Connor, JS, 5-3, sv; 195: Shane Noonan, Ha, dec. Ethan Long, LM, 7-4; 220: Joe Jacobson, T, pinned Tanner Riggle, CM, 1:31; 285: Dalton Tubbs, Mo, pinned Michael Fuchick, Ha, 3:23;

CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS

106: Blake Wirt, LM, pinned Johnny Cora, Ha, 3:38; 113: Jacob Blair, Mu, maj. dec. Johnny Shreffler, CM, 11-3; 120: Wyatt Lutz, Mo, dec. Kayde Althouse, Co, 9-8; 126: Matt Ryan, Cl, dec. Bryce Vollman, Mu, 4-1; 132: Seth Andrus, CM, dec. Charles Everdale, Ha, 11-6; 138: Joe Klock, Mu, maj. dec. Trevor Bingaman, Mi, 18-5; 145: Logan Long, CM, dec. Caleb Freeland, Cl, 3-0; 152: Trenton Pace. FLB, dec. Brady Serina, M, 5-4; 160: Tyler Stoltzfus, Mi, pinned Gable Crebs, Mo, 3:55; 170: Tanner Weaver, CM, pinned Brent Burbules, FLB, 1:10; 182: Luke McGonigal, Cl, dec. Julian Gorring, FLB, 5-0; 195: Gavin Hoffman, Mo, tech. fall Ben Fromm, Co, 22-7, 4:52; 220: Cameron Wood, Mo, dec. Jaron Renn, LM, 5-3; 285: Danny Scheib, TV, pinned Jacob Edwards, CM, 2:36; Most falls in the least time: Tanner Weaver, Central Mountain; Outstanding wrestler: Gavin Hoffman, Montoursville;

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