The Pennsylvania high school wrestling season opens this weekend, with the Allegheny Mountain League’s top teams from last year hoping to repeat their success.
Four regional qualifiers out of six return for Port Allegany (19-3, 7-0), which downed Kane (12-3, 6-1) in an AML dual meet last December to dethrone the defending league champions, then took second place at the District 9 Class AA team duals and fourth in the individual tournament.
Meanwhile, the Wolves hit full stride in the postseason. Powered by four individual champs and nine regional qualifiers — five of which return this season — Kane finished just behind D-9 champion Brockway despite competing in only 11 of 14 weight classes, took third at regionals, then matched a school record with four state qualifiers. Senior 160-pounder Alec English, now wrestling at George Mason University, won his second-straight Northwest Region crown and ended his high school career with PIAA silver.
“We were only a few points away from winning it all (at districts) minus three weight classes. That just goes to show you the kind of talent that we had; we just didn’t have the numbers,” coach Mike Swartwood said. “I’d like to think Kane wrestling earned a little bit of respect last year. We’ve been working toward it and working toward it, and it finally came to fruition.”
In Port, the Gators enter Year Two of the co-op with Smethport by welcoming back former Hubber standouts Braedon and Bryent Johnson. Braedon (34-4 last year), a junior, won the 120-pound D-9 title and took second at regionals to earn his first ticket to states, while Bryent (23-7), a senior who made the trip to Hershey in 2018, just missed duplicating that feat last season.
“I think losing at regionals to a kid he beat twice (Brockway’s Mark Palmer) really put a bad taste in Bryent’s mouth and lit a fire under him,” eighth-year Port coach B.J. Greenman said. “And Braedon, when he wrestles, it’s always the same. He’s consistent no matter who he wrestles, so I think he’s ready to have a big year as well.”
FloWrestling.com seems to agree, slotting Braedon 8th at 120 pounds and Bryent 20th at 113 in its initial Class AA rankings. Two other Gators also appear in the poll: senior Eli Petruzzi (18th at 132) and junior Justin Young (9th at 195).
Greenman, the reigning Big 30 Coach of the Year, is looking forward to fielding a solid lineup this season.
“We don’t have any bad wrestlers on the team. In past years we’ve had a miss here, a forfeit there, or maybe a kid that’s a first-year wrestler here or there. But now, we’re pretty above-average at every weight and really good at three or four weights. Having that depth is what it takes to be a super-good dual meet team,” he said.
Citing an AML repeat and a program-record 10 regional qualifiers as his top targets, Greenman concluded, “I think that’s a stout goal; it’s really hard to do. But looking at our roster, it’s achievable. If the kids wrestle to their abilities, 10 is a good goal to have — and if we get 10 to go, we’re probably winning the (district) team title. As far as making it out of regionals, the goal last year was two, maybe three. This year, we’ll try to shoot for three or four. We’ve got four kids ranked, kids that everybody thinks should make it. So if they make it, then we’re good.”
On the western side of the county, state-ranked seniors Cameron Whisner (31-11) and Teddy Race (24-8) are back to anchor the Kane lineup. After advancing to the PIAA tourney last season, both enter this year ranked fourth in their weight class, Whisner at 170 and Race at 182. Junior Dillon Illerbrun and sophomores Harley Morris and Shawn Nystrom also return as regional qualifiers for the Wolves.
“It was a lot of fun,” Swartwood said of last year’s run, “but now it’s the 2019 season and we have some different expectations this year. We have a lot of young kids, we have some good senior leadership. We have some guys who are taking the younger guys under their wings. It’s very refreshing.
“I’m having a tremendous amount of fun this year, and so are the kids. They’re working hard and everybody’s got a positive attitude. I’m not saying that was a problem before, it just seems to be above and beyond this year. These guys are really doing all the right things.”
Looking forward to how the season might play out, Swartwood, the league’s longest-tenured coach, sees Port and Johnsonburg as his squad’s toughest competition in the AML.
“They lost a couple of good wrestlers, but they just keep reloading,” he said of the Gators. “Certainly they’re the favorite and I’ve got to put ‘Burg right in there, but I’d like to think that we can compete with them.”
As for the Wolves’ postseason prospects?
“I don’t know if we’re going to have four district champs, but I certainly feel like we have the opportunity to still qualify four for states and anywhere between six and seven to regionals again. We have that kind of talent,” Swartwood said. “A lot of these guys are young, but we’ve got some good wrestlers who paid their dues last year. Four district champs is pretty lofty for any team. Could we do it? Yeah, absolutely. I still think we can be a top-five team at districts and a top-five team at regionals if things go our way.”
Over in Potter County, second-year Coudersport coach Tom Storey and the majority of his roster are trying to switch gears on the fly after the Falcons’ deep postseason run in football, which ended with a second consecutive D-9 Class A title and a state playoff berth.
“(Assistant coach) Ray Morales stepped in and got some of the guys going, but we’ve got a couple of guys that are just getting back in the room. Little late start for us, but we’re moving forward,” the newly-crowned Big 30 Football Coach of the Year said before adding with a chuckle, “I can’t complain. If I was just the wrestling coach I’d probably be jumping up and down, but luckily, I got both sides of it.”
Two contributors to Coudy’s gridiron success, sophomore Dylan Kelly and junior Cale Ayers, return as regional qualifiers. Ayers, ranked 11th at 220 pounds, took third at districts as a sophomore to secure his first trip to Sharon, just as older brother Eli did three seasons ago. Storey is hoping that similar career trajectory continues, with the elder Ayers graduating last spring as a two-time state qualifier. Kelly, seeded eighth at districts at 132, finished fourth to advance.
“We’re hoping we can get a couple more guys to regionals. (Senior middleweight) Tom Wilson had an injury issue at the end of last season that knocked him out of districts, so hopefully we might be able to get him into regionals, and maybe one other by the end of the season,” Storey said.
In Shinglehouse, new Oswayo Valley coach Tyler Newton enters his first season with just six wrestlers listed on the varsity roster, including state-ranked senior Colton Gietler (12th at 145).
“To be blunt, our numbers are down, and we have a lot of inexperienced wrestlers. To expect more than a couple of dual meet wins this season would be optimistic to the point of insanity, considering the fact that we’re most likely going to be giving up quite a few forfeits,” Newton wrote in his preseason preview. “That being said, the beauty of wrestling is that we can still be a very successful team with our individual wrestlers winning their matches and finding postseason success. I’m liking what I’m seeing so far in practice. Our team is willing to work hard and put the effort in to learn and improve. I believe that we can be a dangerous team come districts, with a shot at sending a few of our wrestlers into regionals and beyond if we put the work in.”
Other AML state-ranked wrestlers include Sheffield junior Ethan Finch (third at 170), the reigning District 9 Most Outstanding Wrestler, and the Johnsonburg duo of junior Isaac Zimmerman (19th at 160) and senior Tyler Watts (17th at 170).
