Jan 22, 2025
01/21/25 Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski / Central 215 pounder Braydon Beach pinned Penn Cambria’s Anthony Rossman in 0:45.
By Michael Boytim
mboytim@altoonamirror.com
MARTINSBURG — Dave Marko has had an excellent high school wrestling coaching career that includes more than 350 dual-match victories, and a few years ago, he had Central approaching the upper echelon of programs in District 6.
After a bump in the road, the Scarlet Dragons seem to be on their way back to that point and took another step in that direction with a 48-18 victory over Penn Cambria on Tuesday.
“My first few years here, we were 18-2, 15-10, we won 16 the one year and then COVID-19 hit,” Marko said. “We had three rough years, and I think it took us some time to recover from it. But we have a good, young group. A lot of people have put in a lot of time to try and build here. For a few years, we were starting to see that — then we lost the co-op with Williamsburg (and eventual state champion Andrew McMonagle) and lost a few kids to injury. Now, the kids are back to looking forward to showcasing their hard work in front of our home crowd.”
The crowd went home in a frenzy after Braydon Beach ended Tuesday’s match with a 45-second fall over Anthony Rossman before he ran over to the stands to celebrate.
“It’s great. There’s not a better feeling than that,” Beach said. “We have done a great job as a team and worked for our success. We do all the little stuff perfectly, and we have great conditioning.”
Central improved to 17-2 with a big match against Hollidaysburg on the road looming tonight at 7.
“We’re looking to win districts and go all the way,” Beach said. “That’s always the goal.”
Ty Matthews (107) and Bryer Mickel (127) won key matches early in the dual to make things easier on Marko and the Dragons.
“We could have had a few more flip-flop type matches, but whenever we got the wins at both 107 and 127, we didn’t need to take the risks,” Marko said. “We just wanted to win, secure the match and get out. The name of the game is to win the dual, not see who wins — that kid or this kid.”
Matthews and Penn Cambria’s Brycen Hursh were scoreless going into the third period after Matthews had a chance for back points in the first period but went for a pin. Marko implored Matthews to go for back points first then look for the pin — which is exactly what he did after scoring on a reversal with 40 seconds left in the match before picking up four back points in settling for a 6-0 decision.
“Ty is a very talented kid,” Marko said. “He’s a little outsized right now, but he listens well when he’s on the mat. He has a bright future ahead of him.”
Mickel rallied from a 3-0 first-period deficit to defeat Isaiah Chyr.
Following Mickel’s win, Joel Morris and Kaden Horn made it 30-3 with two quick falls.
“Bryer Mickel lost to Chyr earlier this season,” Marko said. “That was a nice win. Kaden Horn has had a nice season. I’m hesitant to just point out this kid or that kid, because we have a lot of kids that have the capability. We have kids that are capable of making some noise in the postseason. They just have to continue to work toward that.”
The bright spot of the dual for Penn Cambria came in back-to-back matches at 145 and 152 pounds.
Isaac Filak and Drew Mardula pinned their opponents in 26 and 35 seconds, respectively.
“Mardula is coming back; he was injured last year,” Penn Cambria coach Todd Niebauer said. “Filak is starting to come around. Those two guys are probably the guys that I expect the most out of right now. Obviously you want everybody to have a good showing, but we just have to keep improving. Those two guys have our most experience. Mardula has 30-something wins, and Filak has 20-something wins. We expect those guys to make some noise.”
In perhaps the most competitive match of the night, the Panthers’ Nathan Mack survived Cody Clapper at 160 pounds. Clapper recorded two back points with less than five seconds left in the match, but Mack got to the horn with a 4-3 victory.
Marko said he expects both wrestlers to be a factor at the District 6 meet.
Blair Miller added a fall for Central at 189 pounds, and Dayne Summerville opened the dual for Penn Cambria with a 1-0 decision over Walldims Benitez with the lone point coming on a second-period escape.
“We just got outwrestled,” Niebauer said. “That’s the bottom line. They were in some situations that they were able to out wrestle us. They chain wrestled better than we did. Some of my guys fought pretty hard, but the inexperience came out — and we’re pretty beat up right now. Super beat up. That doesn’t take anything away from them though, they outwrestled us.”
Match notes: Before the dual began, Central honored assistant coach Randy Bussard who was recently inducted into the District 6 Wrestling Hall of Fame. Bussard was the 1989 Altoona Mirror Coach of the Year, and coached three District 6 champions, 28 District 6 placewinners, 17 PIAA state qualifiers and seven PIAA state placewinners.
285–Summerville, PC, dec. Benitez, 1-0; 107–Matthews, C, dec. Hursh, 6-0; 114–Mowery, C, won by forfeit; 121–Wilt, C, pinned Brooks, 3:03; 127–Mickel, C, dec. Chyr, 8-3; 133–Morris, C, pinned Coudriet, 1:02; 139–Horn, C, pinned Shoemaker, :47.
145–Filak, PC, pinned Hart, :26.; 152–Mardula, PC, pinned Mobley, :35; 160–Mack, PC, dec. Clapper, 4-3; 172–Marks, C, won by forfeit; 189–Miller, C, pinned Horning, 2:42; 215–Beach, C, pinned Rossman, :45.
Records: Penn Cambria (9-10); Central (17-2).
Official: Jeff Beach.
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