Red Raiders finish strong

by Guy Cipriano

Posted on December 21, 2008

KING OF THE MOUNTAIN

Red Raiders finish strong

Port wins 119-pound title; Bellefonte finishes seventh

MILL HALL — Bellefonte wrestlers, coaches and parents spent Friday morning scurrying to ensure wrestlers could compete in the King of the Mountain Tournament.

Mitchell Port defeated one of the state's best wrestlers to win the 119-pound title, Garrett Singer recorded a semifinal upset on his way to finishing second at 135 and freshman Tom Traxler placed third at 112 as Bellefonte left Central Mountain High School on Saturday with oodles of confidence.

The centerpiece of the Red Raiders' tournament was Port's 6-2 victory over two-time PIAA Class AAA champion Shane Young of Penn Trafford. Port received Outstanding Wrestler honors for a tournament that he also included three falls.

Senior Shane Alterio also finished fifth at 152 and freshman Leo Wortman placed sixth at 103 to help Bellefonte move from 11th to seventh in the team standings. Central Mountain, which crowned two champions, won the team title.

And to think the Red Raiders almost never arrived in Mill Hall. Bellefonte officials cancelled school Friday morning and a series of phone calls, e-mails, text messages and discussions resulted in parents driving wrestlers to the tournament.

State College, which left at 6 a.m. Friday, also ended a long weekend with multiple placewinners. Erik Galloway recovered from a first-round loss to win seven straight consolation bouts and finish third at 130 and brothers Andrew and Allen Dreibelbis placed fifth and seventh at 215 and 189, respectively.

Bellefonte used the KOM to display why it has developed into Centre County's top team this season. Nine Red Raiders reached the tournament's second day.

Bellefonte has performed well in recent KOMs. But this year included a major difference as Port stood on the top rung of the podium.

Port lost to Young 5-2 in the 2006 finals. He then lost to Council Rock South's Mark Rappo in last year's 112-pound final.

Young and Rappo followed their KOM triumphs with state titles.

Port won his title in convincing fashion. Young, a West Virginia signee and two-time PIAA Class AAA champion who entered the final on a 100-bout winning streak, needed 59 seconds to take Port down.

Port quickly escaped and less than 30 seconds later reeled Young in at the edge of the circle for a takedown. He took Young down at the edge of the circle again to take a 6-2 lead. Port selected neutral to begin the third period and held his position multiple times to prevent takedowns.

"I wrestled my match," said Port, who pinned Benton's Coltin Fought in the semifinals. "I knew what he had and I wrestled how I needed to wrestle."

Bellefonte coach Mike Maney said he noticed a different Port when Young took an injury time-out during the third period.

"You could see in Mitchell's eyes that he was confident," Maney said. "He stuck to his gameplan and it didn't matter what other guy did."

Singer, like Port, will enter the next stage of this season with similar confidence. His tournament ended with a 4-2 loss to Line Mountain's Travis Erdman. But he recorded one of the tournament's biggest upsets when he defeated Fordham Prep (N.Y.) junior Andrew Lenzi 7-6.

Singer trailed 4-1 entering the second period. He pulled ahead by hitting a headlock for five points and nearly pinning Lenzi, a New York big-school state champ who went 47-2 last season.

"I was nervous going into it with him being a state champ," Singer said. "Once I got on the mat, it was like everything else. He shot in and I turned him into a headlock. That felt really good."

Judging by the performances of some younger wrestlers, future high KOM finishes should be the norm for the Red Raiders.

Traxler recovered from a 11-3 quarterfinal loss to Penn Trafford's Ryan Boince to win three straight consolation bouts. He ended his tournament by defeating Latrobe's Cary Lydic 6-1. Traxler edged Lydic 3-2 earlier in the tournament. Wortman joined his classmate on the podium by recording two wins after a 5-3 quarterfinal loss to Perry, Ohio's Joe Lyon. Traxler and Wortman combined to record nine victories this weekend.

"I proved to myself that I can wrestle with some of the best guys in the state," Traxler said.

No wrestler spent more time in the consolation brackets than Galloway. The junior opened his tournament with a 10-9 loss to Hazleton's Rich Biesadesky. Like he did on his way to a sixth-place finish at last season's state tournament, Galloway regrouped and earned a spot on the podium.

His run through the consolation bracket started with a 10-0 victory over Abington Heights' Dan Pascale. It ended Galloway using a cement job to pin Latrobe's Ryan Walters in 31 seconds.

"It's real tough to not get down on yourself and think, 'How am I ever going to win seven straight matches?'" Galloway said. "I heard my dad say you learn more about yourself in a loss. I learned that you can't give up. You have to keep going and keep wrestling."

Andrew Dreibelbis almost reached the 215-pound final as he dropped a 1-0 decision to Abington Heights' Morgan Craig in the semifinals. He ended his tournament by defeating Hollidaysburg's Jake Walls in a fifth-place bout.

The Little Lions tied for 24th in the team standings with points. Philipsburg-Osceola didn't finish with a placewinner as Tommy Miller (103) and Nick Gurol (119) lost third-round consolation bouts Saturday morning. The Mounties finished 35th in the 36- team field.

Central Mountain juniors Andrew Alton (140) and Dylan Alton (145) won titles to lead the Wildcats to their first team championship in the massive event. The Wildcats, who recorded nine placewinners, finished with 217.5 points, 42.5 more than second-place Perry, Ohio. Latrobe, Bedford and Reynolds completed the Top 5.

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