When Central Mountain’s Luke Simcox pinned Isaac McGregor from Shikellamy in the second round of the Class AAA Northwest Regional tournament on Saturday, the Wildcat wrestling faithful rose to their feet and cheered for Simcox.

The loud cheers in the back of Altoona’s gymnasium weren’t just because of his accomplishment, they were a representation of Central Mountain’s supportive team environment surrounding Simcox.

The junior became the latest wrestler in Central Mountain history to record 100 victories. But that didn’t come overnight. Simcox put his utmost time and effort into the sport he loves, sometimes wrestling up to two practices per day with both school and club teams.

The class of 2024 graduate has gone through the many ups and downs that a variety of high school wrestlers face, especially with the stellar local and regional competition and the fight to be at the top of your game.

Not many wrestlers get to see triple digits in the win column. But fortunately for Simcox, he earned every victory in bouts he wrestled. Still with room to grow in one more season, Simcox has shown improvement even from his freshman year. As a first-year wrestler, Simcox posted 26 total wins, including 12 decisions and eight by fall. By his second season, the junior upped his status to an impressive 38-6, including 18 victories by fall and five major decisions.

Simcox has been on a rapid tear since his freshman year. And despite losing half that year, the regional champion used it as motivation to go out and prove he was still a force to be reckoned with.

“Finally reaching that 100th win proves to a lot of other people how big of an accomplishment this is,” Simcox told me after he claimed regional titles in Altoona Saturday.

“It means a lot because he puts a lot of time into it,” Luke’s mother, Nicole Simcox, said. “He makes a lot of sacrifices. It’s nice to see when someone puts that much time and effort into something and they work hard, that they see the fruition of it…And it’s exciting.”

Winning and losing matches is something every wrestler faces but fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic is another mountain Simcox had to climb. He fought through limited matches, which were diminished to 25, reduced tournaments and less practice time, to say the least.

There were also limited matches and a smaller pool of wrestlers. Simcox still poised his way to the top, though, advancing to the state tournament in his first season. And although he saw two state champions in his first trip to Hershey, those matches groomed him and gave him the experience he needed later in his career.

He didn’t allow that to stop him from achieving his ultimate goal that many high school wrestlers don’t come close to achieving. It’s clear that Simcox made the most of his opportunities even when he could’ve taken the easy way out.He’s currently a junior with a state tournament ahead and one full season left to wrestle.

“It did suck because we only got about half of our season in,” Simcox said. “I knew I had to train really hard, be healthy and have the right mental state no matter who I was wrestling.”

Simcox has had a phenomenal season thus far. The 133-pound stud has won 38 bouts this season, which ties the number of wins he recorded last season. Except this season–he still has the state tournament ahead of him and a good shot at pulling off a state title in his weight class.

The University of Pennsylvania commit qualified for the tournament on Saturday by becoming the lone Wildcat to capture a 2023 regional title. But even through all of those individual accomplishments, Simcox gives his teammates the credit for motivating him to accomplish all of what he has so far.

“I can’t thank my teammates enough,” Simcox mentioned. “Because they’re the ones who pushed me to get this.”

From teammates to coaches to parents, the support system in Mill Hall is the secret sauce to success that other schools should be implementing. The ‘family’ mentality hasn’t fallen short of the 2023 district six champs, and it’s contributed to the storied individual achievements like Simcox’s and the many more to come.

“It’s a phenomenal group of kids,” Nicole Simcox concluded. “And so are the parents and the coaches…they’re a special group of kids.”