Heavy lightweights

by Guy Cipriano

Posted on December 11, 2008

MOUNTAIN LEAGUE WRESTLING

Heavy lightweights

Bellefonte newcomers hang tough against Central Mountain stars

By Guy Cipriano- gciprian@centredaily.com

MILL HALL — The bleachers were filled and the opponent wrestled on the state's biggest stage last year. A perfect time for freshman jitters? For Bellefonte's Leo Wortman, they never arrived.

Wortman made his varsity debut at 103 pounds by defeating Central Mountain senior and returning PIAA qualifier Forrest Bechdel 7-2 during Tuesday's anticipated dual meet.

The victory wasn't enough to help the Red Raiders defeat the defending District 6 Class AAA champions. Central Mountain recorded five pins and two technical falls to earn a 40-30 victory.

But the energy and fearlessness displayed by varsity newcomers provided a jolt to the Red Raiders, who are replacing seven starters and adjusting to new coach Mike Maney.

"I was impressed with how our young guys handled the environment, energy and noise," Maney said.

Maney's lineup featured seven wrestlers making varsity debuts and only four returnees from last season's postseason lineup. The Wildcats, by contrast, are ranked as high as 10th nationally, return eight regional qualifiers and finished third in last weekend's grueling Walsh Ironman Tournament in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.

Still, the Red Raiders split the 14 bouts and held a 27-23 lead entering the final four matchups. Pins by Dylan Caprio and Andrew Alton at 140 and 145, respectively, and Dylan Alton's technical fall at 152 helped Central Mountain (1-0) secure the victory.

The Red Raiders (0-1) made the match interesting by dominating from 103 to 125. The stretch started with Wortman recording an opening-minute takedown against Bechdel.

Bechdel, who wrestled 50 varsity bouts last season, reversed Wortman to tie the bout, but Wortman reversed Bechdel and nearly pinned him with a cradle during the second period. Wortman then spent the entire third period trying to work Bechdel into another cradle.

At no point during the six minutes did Wortman resemble a freshman.

"It felt normal," he said. "I'm used to it. I wasn't nervous at all."

Wortman's biggest problem Tuesday was something even upperclassmen struggle to manage.

"I was worried about my weight," said Wortman, who worked rigorously to make 103. "I was pretty tired from cutting down."

Wortman wasn't the only freshman to make a successful debut Tuesday.

Tom Traxler, one of Wortman's workout partners, needed less than 20 seconds to record his first varsity takedown. Traxler's night ended when he pinned Joey Miller in 2:48 at 112.

"We weren't surprised by those kids," Central Mountain coach Doug Buckwalter said. "We have seen them throughout elementary and junior high."

Buckwalter's team leaned on veterans throughout the meet. After Christian Oberle scored four third-period points to defeat Jake Parks 4-1 in a match-opening encounter between seniors at 171, returning starters Jake Bachman, Glenn Barnes and Zach Corl helped Central Mountain take an 18-3 lead by recording pins from 189 to heavyweight.

Bellefonte's success in the lightweights — the Red Raiders also received pins from juniors Mitchell Port and Dan Dreibelbis at 119 and 125 — forced Buckwalter to adjust his lineup. The shift worked as Caprio and the Altons, three-year starters, moved up in weight and pinned inexperienced opponents.

"I don't think we wrestled up to our ability," Buckwalter said. "We were a little flat, but Bellefonte wrestled really well."

Only three of the 14 bouts were decided by decision with Bellefonte winning all three. The Red Raiders' other decisions included senior Garrett Singer's 6-3 victory over Bryant Vannoy at 135 and sophomore Brad Grieb's 7-2 triumph over Mike Walizer at 160.

"I was definitely pleased with the effort," Maney said. "You don't like to begin a season with a loss, but the kids showed fight. It was 40-30 so we know we are 10 points down to Central Mountain right now. This was a good gauge and we will go from here."

Bellefonte and Central Mountain will see each other twice more during the next 11 days. The teams are scheduled to compete in Saturday's Mountain League Tournament and next week's King of the Mountain Tournament at Central Mountain.

"We will be seeing them a lot over the long haul," Maney said. "This was one of many battles and hopefully we see them later with a district title at stake."

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