CM's Altons prepare for Mat-Town

by Tom Fox

Posted on November 27, 2008

LOCK HAVEN - Andrew and Dylan Alton will step foot in the Thomas Fieldhouse Saturday morning, and they'll take a look at the stands.

While Lock Haven University will be the team hosting the annual Mat-Town Invitational, the spotlight will be shared on this day.

The Central Mountain junior twin sensations have entered the tournament, and will compete against collegiate wrestlers for the opportunity to call themselves champions.

Although the Bald Eagles will have their followers, it's a pretty safe bet members of the local community will be keeping a pretty close eye on the twins.

"It's pretty exciting, knowing that people are there to watch you and see how you do," Andrew Alton said. "I'm pretty excited for the event."

If the East Stroudsburg Open is any indication, look out Bald Eagles.

The Altons are serious contenders.

Andrew, wrestling at 141, went 4-1 on the day and ended in second place. He lost to Eric Grajales in the finals.

Take this into consideration. He defeated Maryland's Jon Kohler, 7-4, in the semifinals. The Terrapin junior was the ACC champion and NCAA qualifier at 141, and won 17 matches in his sophomore season.

"I thought I did pretty good, but there was room for improvement," Andrew said. "The seven-minute matches are pretty long, so it's difficult to get adjusted to that. College wrestling is a lot more technique. You have to choose your shots and you have to finish them perfectly.

"I tried to wrestle too much with the upper body in the championship match. I took him down a few times on the legs, and I should have stuck with that."

Dylan, wrestling at 149, finished 3-2 on the day and ended with a fifth-place honor.

His losses?

Two seniors at the University of Pennsylvania. Cesar Grajales finished 31-7 in his junior year as a Quaker and was an NCAA qualifier, while Bret McCurdy tripped up Alton, 7-3, in the consolation bracket.

"The biggest difference is the riding time," Dylan Alton said. "I was looking to work on the bottom and get some riding time of my own. I think I did well in the first few matches, but I have to improve in some areas.

"These types of tournaments help you get in shape for high school wrestling. You are going against bigger opponents with that collegiate experience. You can only get better when you wrestle a better opponent."

While Andrew is around his same weight from last year, Dylan has jumped up to the 145-pound weight class and, once again, will enter Mat-Town in the 149-pound classification.

Dylan was the Class AAA Pennsylvania state champ at 135 last year.

"I am starting to get adjusted to it," Dylan said of the weight change. "I feel that I am starting to get stronger. It took some time, but everything is starting to go pretty well for me."

Each one is going to have challenges along the way.

At 141, Kohler is going to be at the event again, along with several grapplers from Lehigh. Columbia senior Sal Tirico, a national qualifier, is also expected to wrestle here.

The list at 149 is loaded.

Bloomsburg freshman Josh Roosa is a MSU Open champion. Columbia junior Matt Dunn and Lock Haven senior Matt Fittery are national qualifiers. University of Virginia's Danny Clarke, although wrestling unattached, is a two-time high school All-American, while unrostered Frank Hickman brings an impressive resume with him.

"It's going to be exciting, seeing all the local people in the stands," Dylan Alton said. "It's always fun when you have an opportunity to wrestle in front of all the people that support you along the way. I'm just going to try and wrestle hard. Hopefully, I'll do better than I did at the East Stroudsburg Open."

While the collegiate wrestlers are trying to boost up that NCAA Tournament resume in hopes of an at-large berth if needed, the Altons will get back to their agendas Monday morning.

The twins have another two years before worrying about their NCAA Tournament credentials.

Their main mission includes hitting the wrestling room at Central Mountain High School and preparing for the annual Walsh Ironman Tournament next week that signals the start of the scholastic wrestling season in this area.

"It's going to be a great tournament because three of the top 5 teams in the country are there," Andrew Alton said. "It's going to be good to see that level of competition and for myself and my teammates to experience that.

"I'm excited for the opportunity and I am excited for our team as well. The preseason has been going real well. The coaches have been practicing us hard to get ready for it. Everyone is excited."

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