Bellefonte Wrestling Preview

by Guy Cipriano

Posted on December 6, 2008

Friday, Dec. 05, 2008
Bellefonte Red Raiders

BELLEFONTE WRESTLING PREVIEW

Head coach:Mike Maney, first season

Bellefonte's returning wrestling letterwinners include, front row, from left, Dan Dreibelbis, Mitchell Port, Josh Fishburn. Back row, Christian Oberle, Shane Alterio, Garrett Singer.
Assistants:Pat Flynn, Mark Maney, Andy Thal, Curt Thompson, Larry Walker Last year:17-6, 4-1 Big 7

Key losses:Nate James, 119, 28-14, PIAA qualifier; Kyle Lucas, 215, 16-5; Addison Snyder, 125, 36-10, PIAA qualifier, Preston Snyder, 130, 27-8, Northwest Regional champion, PIAA sixth place; Josh Wensel, 189, 24-10, PIAA qualifier; Alan Zimmerman, 160, 33-11.

Returning letterwinners: Shane Alterio, Sr., 145-152, 37-6, District 6 champion, Northwest Regional champion, PIAA qualifier; Dan Dreibelbis, Jr., 125, 10-7; Josh Fishburn, Sr., 130, 16-16; Jake Mueller, Jr., 189-215, 0-11; Ian Musser, Sr., 160-171, 1-4; Christian Oberle, Sr., 171, 24-12; Mitchell Port, Jr., 119, 31-8, District 6 champion, Northwest Regional runner-up, PIAA qualifier (5th at 103 in 2007); Garrett Singer, Sr., 135, 17-8, District 6 third place.

Key newcomers:Nate Alterio, So., 140-145; Cody Fisher, Fr., 103-119; Brad Grieb, So., 160; Cody Lyons, Sr., Hwt; Jake Perryman, So., 189; Wes Ritchey, So., 189-215; Tom Traxler, Fr., 103-112; Leo Wortman, Fr., 103.

The skinny:Bellefonte replaces experience with potential.

The Red Raiders lost four PIAA Class AAA qualifiers — Nate James, Addison Snyder, Preston Snyder and Josh Wensel — who combined to record 320 career victories. The quartet helped the program record 58 dual meet wins the past three seasons.

Still, nobody mopes around Bellefonte's expansive wrestling room.

If the plan follows its script, a group of newcomers, along with some familiar faces, should help the program continue its ascent.

Bellefonte adds talented freshmen lightweights Leo Wortman, Cody Fisher and Tom Traxler, and sophomore middleweights Nate Alterio and Brad Grieb to a lineup featuring two-time state qualifiers Mitchell Port and Shane Alterio and veterans Garrett Singer, Christian Oberle and Josh Fishburn.

The newcomers helped Bellefonte's successful junior high team finish 17-1 and claim a Big 7 title last year. The young wrestlers bring impressive credentials to the varsity level, with Fisher, Traxler and Grieb placing in the top four of their respective weights during this past spring's Pennsylvania Junior Wrestling Championships.

Coach Mike Maney, who replaced Larry Walker in May, also mentions intangible qualities when dicussing the newcomers.

"So far they have been going pretty hard," Maney said. "Even though some of them are ninth-graders, they are not afraid to dictate the pace in practice. They aren't necessarily vocal leaders, but they lead through their work ethic."

Bellefonte's upperclassmen display similar characteristics.

Port, Alterio and Dan Dreibelbis, a promising junior who wrestled behind the Snyders last season, scoured the region and country searching for challenges during the summer while Oberle spent hours in the weight room. Port and Alterio's 2007-08 endings — they went a combined 1-4 at the state tournament — turned into offseason motivation. Port, a junior, was a win away from placing at 112 after finishing fifth as a freshman

103-pounder in 2007. Alterio, a senior, went 0-2 at the state championships for the second straight year.

"Mitchell is a better wrestler now than he was last year at this time and definitely better than the results of last postseason indicate," Maney said. "He has all the capabilities. You can definitely sense he's hungry. Shane's a lot like him. He wasn't satisfied going 0-2 at states."

The Red Raiders appear solid from 103-171, meaning Maney's biggest challenge involves developing upperweights. The lineup suffered a loss when projected heavyweight Colin Seaward sustained an ACL injury during the football season.

Cody Lyons, a starting offensive lineman, has rejoined the program and will wrestle at heavyweight. The Red Raiders have multiple wrestlers competing at 189 and 215.

"Our upperweights are not quite as experienced as the other guys, but I get the sense they want to get better," Maney said. "It might be a situation where they take their lumps in the beginning, but get better with experience and hard work. They could be the difference in how far our team goes down the road."

— By Guy Cipriano

[ return to previous page ]