Feb 15, 2025
02/14/25 Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski / Central Cambria 145 pounder Jake Wilson major decisioned Mount Union’s Jacik Hess 14-0 in the District 6 Class 2A quarterfinal.
By Todd Irwin
sports@altoonamirror.com
Penn Cambria senior Andrew Mardula still has a shoulder sleeve covering his right shoulder — a shoulder that gave him so much pain and misery last season.
After last season, his completely torn labrum and a rotator cuff tear were surgically repaired. He said he didn’t get mobility back in the shoulder until September, and he was cleared to wrestle in October.
“It feels pretty good,” Mardula said. “I’ve been working on doing a lot of exercises for it. It was hurting a little bit, but we had two or three weeks off before this and really focused on doing little exercises to get the strength back into it.
“It’s way different than last year. Last year, I couldn’t go 20 seconds in a match without it falling out it was so loose. It feels way more secure this year.”
Mardula finished third in the tournament last season despite the bum shoulder. The second-seeded Mardula delivered some pain in his first two bouts of the District 6 Class 2A Tournament on Friday at the Altoona Fieldhouse.
He rolled to a 15-0 technical fall in 2:15 in his first bout and a 19-3 technical fall over Tyrone’s Mason VanAllman in 6:00 in the quarterfinals.
“It feels really good,” Mardula said. “You’re making sure you get all your stuff right, get your shots, keep your head right. Once you put it together, it feels good and it’s finally starting to pay off. So far so good. I’ve got to stay focused, get on my offense and work on the next one.”
“He’s just a gamer,” PC coach Todd Niebauer said. “The kid has been through it all. I love him. His work ethic is phenomenal. I would just love to see him 100 percent healthy but he’s got to do what he’s got to do. I’m just proud of him. He’s battled through so much. You can tell how much he loves this sport.”
The next one for Mardula (34-7) will be in the semifinals against Mount Union’s third-seeded Rowan McClain-Hartman.
“I’m really excited for tomorrow,” Mardula said. “I’m going to stay working toward my offense, keeping my head right and let the outcome take care of itself.”
Mardula is one of nine wrestlers from the Mirror coverage area who advanced to today’s 10 a.m. semifinals and qualified for the Southwest Regional Tournament. His teammate Isaac Filak (145) also advanced to the semifinals.
Also advancing were Tyrone’s returning District 6 runner-up Kyle Scott (189) and Kyler Suhoney (172), Central Cambria’s Jake Wilson (145) and Jeremy Hajzus (189), Central’s Carsen Mowery (114), Cambria Heights’ Marshall Eckenrode (160) and Juniata Valley’s Zack Dick (160).
The second-seeded and fourth-ranked Scott (35-2) breezed to the semifinals with a pin in 1:06 in his first bout and an 18-0 technical fall over Huntingdon’s Dom Peruso in 3:18. Scott will wrestle Bishop McCort’s third-seeded C.J. Pensiero in the semifinals. He’s close to getting another shot at BEA’s second-ranked Caleb Close.
“Scott is just dominant,” Tyrone coach Quentin Wright said. “He’s on a mission this year. He’s got two tough matches tomorrow.”
Close will wrestle Hajzus, who had a technical fall in the round of 16, eked out a 3-2 decision over Marion Center’s Isaac Basa.
The fourth-seeded Dick won by technical fall in his first bout and then was losing 13-11 to Forest Hills’ 12th-seeded Nick Noon when the Green Hornet reversed Noon to his back and pinned him in 3:33. Dick will wrestle Bishop McCort’s returning state champ Melvin Miller in the semifinals.
On the other side of the bracket, the third-seeded Eckenrode will face Penns Valley’s second-seeded Brayden Lisowski. Eckenrode breezed to the semifinals with two pins.
After the fourth-seeded Filak won by technical fall in the round of 16, he earned a 3-0 decision over Marion Center’s Tyler Phillips.
“Isaac Filak is just a super athlete,” Niebauer said. “Last year, he found ways to lose. This year, he’s finding ways to win. He can score a ton of points, but he was smart in that match.”
Filak will face McCort’s returning state champ and recent Iowa commit Bo Bassett in the semifinals.
On the other side of the bracket, the third-seeded Wilson gets United’s Josef Garshnick in the semifinals. Wilson rolled in his first two bouts with a pin in 1:57 and a 14-0 major decision.
The fifth-seeded Mowery recorded a pin in the first round before going to his back against Bald Eagle Area’s Liam Purcell. He then reversed Purcell to his back while losing 4-3 and got the pin with a second left on the clock. He’ll face Penns Valley’s top-seeded Max Dinges in the semifinals.
“I really don’t know what happened,” Mowery said. “I just turned in and he was on his back. I was pretty scared (when he was on his back), but I kept on fighting.”
Suhoney, seeded fourth, reached the semifinals with a pin in 21 seconds and a pin of Mount Union’s fifth-seeded Andrew Ryan in 1:47. Suhoney will get Huntingdon’s top-seeded Grady Clark in the semifinals.
“He’s worked hard all year,” Wright said, “so it’s a good validation of the hard work and the extra work he’s been putting in all year. It’s been fun to watch him grow all year and have results like that.”
Bishop McCort leads the team race by 43 points, 146-103, over Penns Valley and has 12 of its 13 wrestlers in the semifinals.
KEY, TEAM STANDINGS
1. BM–Bishop McCort 146; 2. PV–Penns Valley 103; 3. H–Huntingdon 74.5; 4. BEA–Bald Eagle Area 72.5; 5. WH–Westmont Hilltop 65.5; 6. U–United 64; 7. PO–Philipsburg-Osceola 62; 8. FH–Forest Hills 61; 9. MU–Mount Union 59; 10. R–Richland and RV–River Valley 56; 12. MC–Marion Center 55.5; 13. MV–Moshannon Valley 54.5; 14. PC–Penn Cambria 52.5; 15. C–Central 46; 16. CK-_Claysburg-Kimmel 40; 17. CC–Central Cambria 39; 18. G–Glendale, T–Tyrone and J–Juniata 36.5; 21. JV–Juniata Valley 30; 22. SH–Southern Huntingdon 23; 23. WB–West Branch 22.5; 24. CH–Cambria Heights 20; 25. WS–West Shamokin 18; 26. BA–Bellwood-Antis 15.
QUARTERFINALS
107–K. Bassett, BM, pinned Matthews, C, :23; Maul, FH, maj. dec. Cox, CK, 15-4; E. Lisowski, PV, pinned Hursh, PC, :41; Sholly, H, tech fall Blazavich, MC, 19-4, 2:00; 114–Dinges, PV, pinned Kohn, G, 1:01; Mowery, C, pinned Purcell, BEA, 1:59; E. Herring, BM, pinned Cook, MV, :59; Hummel, PO, tech fall DiPaola, 16-0, 1:42; 121–Guenot, BEA, pinned Beatty, MU, 3:27; Silfies, BM, dec. Mihalko, MV, 10-4; Dluhos, WH, pinned Munyon, PC, 4:53; Myers, PV, pinned Moss, FH, 5:20; 127–Carlile, PV, tech fall Rumberger, T, 19-3, 2:37; Gable, PO, maj. dec. Niebauer, CC, 12-3; Carfley, BM, pinned Taubler, RV, 1:25; Tinsman, MC, tech fall Mickel, C, 21-5, 2:42; 133–Forrest, BM, pinned Haggerty, MC, 1:34; Foster, PO, tech fall Gibson, H, 18-3, 2:56; Kostick, R, maj. dec. Watson, PV, 15-6; Judice, BEA, tech fall Rowles, J, 17-2, 1:56; 139–Bracken, U, pinned Rummel, PV, :38; Guenot, PO, dec. Gilbey, G, 12-6; S. Herring, BM, pinned Horn, C, 1:46; Lomison, BEA, maj. dec. Taylor, H, 11-2; 145–B. Bassett, BM, pinned Soler, CK, :12; Filak, PC, dec. Phillips, MC, 3-0; Wilson, CC, maj. dec. Hess, MU, 14-0; Garshnick, U, pinned S. Fetterolf, PV, :45
152–Magro, BM, pinned Surovec, BEA, 1:35; Smith, J, dec. Vereshack, G, 4-0; McClain-Hartman, MU, maj. dec. Rodgers, FH, 10-2; Mardula, PC, tech fall VanAllman, T, 19-3, 6:00; 160–Miller, BM, pinned Atherton, MU, 2:57; Dick, JV, pinned Noon, FH, 3:33; Eckenrode, CH, pinned Pisarcik, U, 3:05; B. Lisowski, PV, tech fall Krause, MV, 22-1, 2:38; 172–Clark, H, pinned C. Yingling, WB, 1:38; Suhoney, T, pinned A. Ryan, MU, 1:47; O’Farrill, BM, pinned Flickinger, RV, 2:53; Reifer, MV, dec. Chapman, PO, 4-2; 189–Close, BEA, tech fall Mahla, R, 18-1, 3:15; Hajzus, CC, dec. Basa, MC, 3-2; Pensiero, BM, pinned McConville, U, 1:08; Scott, T, tech fall Peruso, H, 18-0, 3:18; 215–J. Ryan, MU, pinned Oshall, G, :24; Stuchal, RV, dec. Yatsky, FH, 13-6, Lobb, MV, maj. dec. Hess, PV, 9-0; Erdman, H, pinned Ward, WH, :47; 285–McCoy, WH, pinned Moore, MV, 2:30; Bonnell, J, pinned Kitchen, CH, 5:45; Audi, R, tech fall Knox, MC 17-1, 4:00; Rodriguez, BM, pinned Miller, SH, 1:55.
Men: Washington at Penn St. SATURDAY Tipoff: 2 p.m., Jordan Center, University Park Records: Washington …
Copyright © Altoona Mirror | https://www.altoonamirror.com | 301 Cayuga Ave., Altoona, PA 16602 | 814-946-7411
