MILL HALL–Momentum has been a recurring theme for Central Mountain so far this season. When the Wildcats get rolling–multiple guys attack and wrestle their way–they are a pretty tough team to stop. Thursday night was no different when the Wildcats took care of business against the Selinsgrove Seals with a 45-18 wire-to-wire win.

“Starting from top to bottom it was a team win,” coach Biff Walizer said after the match. 

There were a lot of great battles all night, with state wrestlers from both teams. But what helped solidify Central Mountain’s win was picking up a victory when they needed it the most. For example, Dakota McDermott gutted out a huge 3-2 decision victory in OT when the Seals thought they could start building a comeback.

McDermott’s match came towards the latter half of the night, but it gave the kind of cheers and celebration that the Wildcats needed in the moment. The way McDermott came back–trailing one point to force overtime–and then picking up the win in OT gave McDermott and his teammates the confidence they needed. 

“It’s about trying to exude the confidence that ‘you can do this,’ because he (McDermott) was tired. As long as he kept his foot on the gas then good things were going to happen,” coach Walizer said. 

The Wildcats got the night started the way they wanted to when Luke Simcox and Griffin Walizer took the mat for their two matches. Simcox battled in the first bout of the night, but it didn’t take long before he had an early takedown and steered control of where he wanted Matt Snook. Simcox earned a pin in the first 2:30.

In the second bout of the night, Griffin Walizer wasted no time going to work in his match. Walizer got consecutive takedowns and grabbed an 8-1 advantage early in the first period. With 27 seconds remaining in the period, Griffin got a pin and increased Central Mountain’s lead to 12-0. It’s clear that when Griffin finds his offense, he gets on a roll.

“Luke’s your first guy, sending him out on the mat you feel pretty confident about jumping out to an early lead,” coach Walizer said. “And then Griffin was able to follow him so to get 12 points right away gave us a little cushion.” 

For the remainder of the night, the matches slowed down for the most part. Gino Serafini was next up at 160 and was in an all out battle. With the first point not coming until neutral for Gino, the third period was going to decide who took home the victory. With that, Gino battled up until the final seconds of the third where he was taken down and lost a 5-2 decision.

Jake Weaver and Brayden Blackwell were also in a battle at 172 and 215 pounds, respectively. In Weaver’s match, there has been total improvement since the King of the Mountain tournament. Weaver grabbed a 12-5 early lead due to his aggressiveness and speeding up his Jarod Bullington, something the Wildcats focus on.

Although Weaver’s opponent came back with a couple respectable takedowns, Weaver didn’t let that affect his aggressiveness and he was able to come away with a 13-8 decision victory. In Brayden Blackwell’s matchup with Selinsgrove’s Jack Peters, both opponents felt each other out up until the final period. In the third, Blackwell was taken down and fell in a 4-1 decision after two neutral points were given to Peters.

Some other spectacular matches came from Collin Bauman and Jaggar Pardoe at 107 and 114. Bauman simply dominated Mike Zettlemoyer within seconds of the bout, earning a takedown and an eventual pin. Bauman didn’t give any leverage to Zettlemoyer, therefore he was able to seal the deal early.

This led the way for Pardoe, who also earned a pin. This high-scoring bout saw 10 points between both sides early, but Pardoe steadied the course. The freshman waited for his opportunity and seized the moment with a takedown and an eventual fall to make the score 33-6. Bauman and Pardoe’s consecutive wins took everything out of Selinsgrove.

“The younger guys–Collin Bauman and Jaggar Pardoe–went out and did the job,” coach Walizer said. “Those two freshmen came up big with two pins to help make the score a little more lopsided.” 

But what match officially sealed the door shut was Carnell Noone’s bout. The freshman was taking on his first match of the year and was eager to pickup his first win. Noone didn’t look much like a first-year wrestler, taking down Ryan Harpster and pinning him in the first minutes of the match.

Last, but certainly not least, top state wrestler Dalton Perry faced off against Trent Turner from Selinsgrove. Perry went to work early, getting a two-point takedown early. Perry’s strength–which led him to carry Turner in the air to the mat–gave him an advantage early. 

Turner didn’t let down, though, reversing a Perry takedown and gaining four points in the second period. But in the end, Perry’s experience led the way and he was able to get a pin to complete Central Mountain’s win.

The win gives the Wildcats their second win of the season in dual action, but what lies ahead now is the PHAC division one duals set for Saturday. With the quad tournament featuring Selinsgrove, Williamsport and Shikellamy–who both come off victories against State College–the Wildcats must be ready to perform on their home mat.

“We’ve got tomorrow (Friday) to go over some stuff,” coach Walizer concluded. “We’re definitely going to have some tests on Saturday.” 

Central Mountain 45, Selinsgrove 18 

145: Luke Simcox (CM) (fall 1:30) over Matt Snook (S) 152: Griffin Walizer (CM) (fall 1:33) over Sylvan Martin (S) 160: Garett Paradis (S) 5-2 dec. over Gino Serafini (CM) 172: Jake Weaver (CM) 13-8 dec. over Jarod Bullington (S) 189: Rocco Serafini (CM) 8-1 dec. over Tucker Teats (S) 215: Jack Peters (S) 4-1 dec. over Brayden Blackwell (CM) 285: Dakota McDermott (CM) 5-3 dec. OT over Steven Miller (S) 107: Collin Bauman (CM) (fall 1:19) over Mike Zettlemoyer (S) 114: Jaggar Pardoe (CM) (fall 3:25) over Anthony Snook (S) 121: Nathan Martin (S) (fall 1:35) over Kipper Samaniego-Miller (CM) 127: Landyn Lukes (S) (fall 1:14) over Zachary St. Clair (CM) 133: Carnell Noone (CM) (fall 1:01) over Ryan Harpster (S) 139: Dalton Perry (CM) (fall 1:44) over Trent Turner (S).