Late Sports

Central Mountain falls to Bellefonte in District 6 Class AAA tournament

In Tuesday's District 6 Class AAA team duals against Central Mountain, Bellefonte's Addison Shawley helped the Raiders get one step closer to something they have not accomplished in 13 years.

Shawley's narrow 4-1 victory during the final bout of the night over Cyrus McCarl in the 285-weight class gave Bellefonte a 31-28 victory over Central Mountain. With the victory, the Raiders now have the opportunity to win the District 6 title for the first time since 2007 as Bellefonte travels to State College Thursday.

It was solid representation from both schools as fans were offered the unique experience of watching wrestling post PIAA states.

Bellefonte coach Mike Maney said the atmosphere reminded him of sports prior the COVID-19 pandemic.

"In some aspects it felt like we were back to some normalcy," Maney said." It's an exciting dual meet against a rival — whether it's Central Mountain or Bald Eagle — it's the fun part of the sport. Credit to Addison Shawley to dig deep there at the end, I'm just overall proud of our guy's efforts."

The chance to compete after the state tournament is rare. Maney said his team stayed ready through the prolonged break that his team endured. Outside of the three Raiders who competed at states last weekend, it has been more than a month since most of Bellefonte's wrestlers have been in action.

"It's something that has been weighing on our minds," Maney said regarding the task of keeping his wrestlers ready. "With spring sports starting--some of these guys haven't wrestled in a month--you don't really know what to expect. One of the messages I told the guys was to show up and compete. The cards will lie where they are. Credit to Nate Smith, he's going up against a state place-winner and held it to save us some points there. It takes a total team effort to beat a team like Central Mountain."

Jude Swisher, Bellefonte's 132 pounder who finished fourth at states this past weekend, was among the three Raiders in action Tuesday. The junior bumped up to the 138-pound class where he managed to earn the 10-0 major decision over Central Mountain's Taylor Weaver.

Swisher said the entire Bellefonte squad was beyond grateful for the chance to even wrestle.

"It's all a blessing. We didn't even think we were going to get a season a couple of months ago. It feels good," Swisher said. "This was making up for the some dual meets we missed during the season. For a good month we were shut down. This was the first match I've been at when the crowd was realty involved."

Despite wrestling multiple matches this past weekend, Swisher said fatigue did not play a role in his match Tuesday night. Neither did the energy presented by the fans.

"It's all wrestling. Over the past year I feel like I have gotten good at tuning it out and just staying focused as to what I'm doing," Swisher said. "If you let yourself getting distracted like that you won't perform at the crucial moments. It was fun, but I had a job to do."

After Swisher's major decision victory, Central Mountain picked up some solid victories to make the dual interesting. The Wildcats went on to win three of the next four bouts to take a 23-21 advantage into the final matches.

Following Swisher's win, Central Mountain's 145 pounder earned the pin against Bellefonte's Brady Garrison. The fall came at the 1:09 mark in the match.

It was another massive victory in favor of the Wildcats in the next weight class. Central Mountain's Rocco Serafini dominated Bellefonte's Andrew McChesney from start to finish, capturing the 13-4 major decision.

Ethan Porter managed to get the 9-1 decision victory two matches later for the Wildcats to take the narrow 23-21 advantage heading into the final three. Bellefonte took two of the last three — including Shawley's key victory — to capture the 31-28 victory over Central Mountain.

Despite the overall loss, Wildcats coach Biff Walizer said his team's effort was on full display.

"They gave us what they've been giving us all season. They gave a great effort," Walizer said. "Against a solid, undefeated team like Bellefonte you just need some things to go your way. A couple of things here and there could have switched the end score. Proud of the effort."

106 Garrett Choates, B, dec. Clayton Foster, 5-0. 113: Aidan O’Shea, B, pinned Madison Packer, 1:34. 120: Lane Aikey, B, maj. dec. Zane Cooper, 9-1. 126: Gino Serafini, CM, pinned Aaron McClusick, 0:42. 132: Luke Simcox, CM, tech fall Nathan Smith, 19-2. 138: Jude Swisher, B, maj. dec. Taylor Weaver, 10-0. 145: Griffin WAlizer, CM, pinned Brady Garrison, 1:09. 152: Rocco Serafinii, CM, maj. dec. Andrew McChesney, 13-4. 160: Ethan Richner, B, pinned Damien Galentine, 1:54. 172: Caleb Porter, CM, maj. dec. Stephen Ivicic, 9-1. 189: Ethan Rossman, B, tech fall Nik Miller, 18-3. 215: Gage Sutliff, CM, dec. Max Barrier, 5-1. 285: Addison Shawley, B, dec. Cyrus McCarl, 4-1.