Published Friday, Feb. 21, 1997

`District 10 AA mat prediction`

By Jeff Greenburg
Herald Assistant Sports Editor

After selecting 12 of 13 winners in the 1995 District 10 Class AA wrestling tournament, The Herald's Mat Maven fell off just a bit in 1996, picking only 10 correctly.

No matter, the Royalty of Resilite, the Prognisticator of Pigtails has spit out his humble pie and is ready to reach for that perfect 13-of-13 this season.

Some of Pennsylvania's top wrestlers will be converging on Sharon High School today for the opening rounds of the 1997 tourney.

Preliminary-round action is slated for 5 p.m. today, with quarterfinal action to follow.

Wrestling continues with the semifinals and consolations at 10 a.m. Saturday, with consolation finals slated for 3:30 p.m. and the championship finals set for 5:15.

Following are the Maven's rundowns of each weight class, with favorite, contenders and notes (top five advance to next week's Northwest Regional Tournament at Sharon):

103

Favorite: Aaron Diehl, 12, Girard (27-1).

Contenders: Bo Bedow, 10, Union City (21-0); Adam Renner, 11, Seneca (24-2); Ty Wise, 9, Grove City (24-8); Dan Riley, 12, Commodore Perry (24-7).

Notes: Diehl, a '96 state qualifier, returns at 103 for the third consecutive year. He placed 3rd here in '96 and 4th in '95, and has a 78-11 career mark. Bedow, with a 44-6 career mark, was pinned by Diehl in the '96 quarterfinals and didn't place.

112

Favorite: Mike Germano, 11, Sharpsville (28-1).

Contenders: Steve Popovitch, 10, Reynolds (24-4); Jeff Fors, 11, Eisenhower (27-3); Justin DeArment, 10, Cambridge Springs (19-8); Matt King, 10, North East (28-6).

Notes: Germano, 58-4 the past two years and 74-14 overall, defeated Popovitch 3-1 in overtime in the 103 finals a year ago, but Popovitch handed the Sharpsville ace his first loss of the season a week ago, 8-7, in the Section 3 finals. Don't be surprised to see another rematch in the finals, with Germano gaining revenge this time.

119

Favorite: Joe Ciotti, 11, Girard (26-2).

Contenders: Doug Woods, 10, Reynolds (22-2); Bill Reigel, 11, Seneca (25-5); Ryan Braymer, 12, Saegertown (27-3); Kurt Holzshu, 10, Greenville (23-5).

Notes: Ciotti, with a 72-15 career record, won the 112-pound title a year ago and finished 5th at states. He also was 4th at 112 in '95 and 3rd at 103 in '94 at districts and has knocked off Braymer the past two seasons.

125

Favorite: Jason Nestor, 10, Reynolds (27-1).

Contenders: Tom McMath, 11, Sharpsville (27-2); Ryan Nuhfer, 11, Maplewood (24-5); Mike Rizzo, 12, North East (27-3); Jared Moss, 10, Sharon (25-6); John Scott, 12, Hickory (21-6).

Notes: Nestor, a returning state qualifier who finished third last year at 125 and has a 59-8 career record, avenged his only loss of the season by defeating McMath, 6-3, in the Section 2 finals. McMath is 52-4 the last two seasons. Look for the pair to meet again, with some stiff resistance from Nuhfer, a second-place finisher at 119 last year. This is one of the deepest weight classes.

130

Favorite: Craig Griffin, 11, Sharon (28-3).

Contenders: Adam Huck, 11, Ft. LeBoeuf (29-1); Jesse Sullivan, 11, Commodore Perry (21-3).

Notes: Sullivan should have a ride to the finals as Griffin and Huck are on the same side of the bracket. Should prove to be one of the top semifinals. Griffin knocked Huck out of the tourney in the consy quarterfinals last year with an 11-2 major decision and went on to place third. Sullivan was 4th at 119 in '96 and 3rd at 112 in '95. Griffin was one win away from qualifying for states last year, losing only to the NW Region champion and 3rd-place finisher.

135

Favorite: Bill Morris, 12, Saegertown (25-2).

Contenders: Bob Tumpak, 11, Reynolds (25-2); Joel Urey, 11, Commodore Perry (20-4); Anthony Errera, 11, Grove City (23-7).

Notes: Morris, 119-17 in his career, is a two-time D-10 champion _ at 125 last year and 103 in '95. He placed 4th at states in '95, but lost his first two matches at states last year. Tumpak, 54-10 the last two years, finished 2nd at 135 in '96 and eventually advanced to states and was 3rd at 119 in '95. Errera was 3rd at 135 a year ago and also qualified for states, where he missed placing by only one match. Morris and Errera are in same bracket, so look for a Morris-Tumpak final in what should be a great match-up.

140

Favorite: Joe Charlton, 11, Ft. LeBoeuf (26-3).

Contenders: Wes Sindlinger, 11, Commodore Perry (23-3); Josh McClimans, 11, Jamestown (20-7); Kyle Myers, 12, Mercer (13-4); Nick Ennis, 12, Saegertown (23-4).

Notes: Charlton was 2nd at 140 last season and a state qualifier. Sindlinger fell 4-2 to Morris in the semis and 1-0 to Nestor a year ago at 125, while McClimans was a surprise 2nd-place finisher at 125 and a state qualifier.

145

Favorite: Nevada Walker, 11, Commodore Perry (26-0).

Contenders: Mike Dye, 12, Lakeview (28-0); Damon Higby, 11, Union City (12-3); Chad Holzshu, 11, Reynolds (22-9).

Notes: Despite finishing second here a year ago at 145 with a 4-2 loss to Eisenhower's Travis Hummel, Walker went on to finish 2nd at states. An all-undefeated final with Dye should provide one of the tourney highlights. Walker is 85-12 in his career. Dye lost by injury default to Walker in the '96 semifinals and couldn't continue.

152

Favorite: Travis Hummel, 12, Eisenhower (31-0).

Contenders: Fred Sloan, 12, Sharpsville (23-6); Ryan Sayers, 10, Cambridge Springs (24-7); Jason Dudenhoeffer, 12, Saegertown (22-7); Rick Hogue, 11, Cochranton (12-3).

Notes: Hummel is 105-21 in his career, including 64-4 the last two. He defeated Walker in the 145 finals at both districts and regionals last year, but was upset in the first round of the state tourney and didn't place. Dudenhoeffer was a state qualifier in '95, but didn't get out of districts last year. Hogue, a 3rd-place finisher at 160 last year, has battled injuries this year and could be a darkhorse.

160

Favorite: Kevin Brown, 11, Jamestown (28-0).

Contenders: Keith Myers, 12, Mercer (27-1); Tim Williams, 11, Ft. LeBoeuf (25-7); Matt Hogue, 10, Cochranton (24-5).

Notes: Unfortunately for the wrestlers and fans, Brown and Myers are on the same side of the bracket and will meet in one of the tourney's premier semifinals. Brown, the defending 152-pound champion and a runner-up to Reynolds' 3-time state champ Casey Taylor at 140 in '95, has a 90-8 career mark and is a 2-time state qualifier. Brown handed Myers his only loss by a 3-2 count in the finals of the Fred Bell tournament. Williams and Hogue will battle on their side for a berth in the finals.

171

Favorite: Andy Gourley, 11, Eisenhower (25-3).

Contenders: Mark Chess, 11, Commodore Perry; Corey Hart, 12, Cochranton (25-6); Kevin Myers, 12, Mercer (21-4).

Notes: Gourley finished 3rd at 189 a year ago, losing to Greenville's Jeff Skakalski in the semis. Chess was a runner-up at 171 in '95 and qualified for states, but didn't wrestle last year. Myers is the defending 171-pound champion, but was upset by Kennedy's Travis Shirley in the Section 2 semifinals and finished 3rd. Myers will meet Chess in a top quarterfinal bout, with the winner advancing to meet Gourley.

189

Favorite: Eric Mausser, 11, Sharon (26-2).

Contenders: Joe Rendos, 10, Grove City (25-3); Pete Darby, 12,Hickory (29-3); Josh Fiske, 9, Ft. LeBoeuf (28-5); Burt Bell, 12, Lakeview (23-6).

Notes: Mausser has been one of the hottest wrestlers in the district of late and owns victories over Rendos (twice by 5-4 counts) and Darby. Fiske is an unknown quantity as a frosh, but is obviously a contender. Bell was 4th a year ago and knocked Rendos out of the tourney in the consys. Darby eliminated Mausser in the opening round in '96.

275

Favorite: Josh Pearce, 12, Commodore Perry (27-0).

Contenders: Brian Griffin, 12, Sharon (26-3); Jeremy Wyman, 11, Youngsville (25-7); Scott Kaltenbaugh, 12, Greenville (22-6).

Notes: Pearce, with a 102-15 career mark, is the class of the field and has been ranked No. 1 all season in the state after finishing second at 275 at states last year. He owns a pair of victories over Griffin, whom he will have to face in one of the tourney's better semifinals. Kaltenbaugh could sneak through in the bottom bracket to reach the finals, but will have to face Wyman in the quarterfinals.

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Updated Feb. 21, 1997
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