Jan 8, 2025
01/07/25 Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski / Altoona 121 pounder Braiden Weaver won by technical fall over Hollidaysburg’s Landon Krupka 17-1 in 3:34.
By Todd Irwin
sports@altoonamirror.com
HOLLIDAYSBURG — On paper or in a computer tablet, the dual meet between backyard rivals and the two top teams in the Mirror coverage area Altoona and Hollidaysburg figured to be a close one.
But the Mountain Lions’ lineup shift helped them pull away from the Golden Tigers and turned the dual meet into a 49-17 win on Tuesday night in front of a good crowd in Hollidaysburg’s gym.
“I thought overall we wrestled well,” Altoona coach Joel Gilbert said. “We moved some guys around a little bit to kind of fill some voids. There were some tossup matches, and we won most of them tonight. I think that was the difference in the match.”
“We did have some good performances, by all means, especially against some of their better kids,” Hollidaysburg coach Christian Harr said. “But in the upper weights, we had a different mindset with what was going to happen from 172 up. So certainly some of those things threw a monkey wrench to us. Credit to Coach Gilbert and those guys. They always come out firing.”
The match started off well for the Golden Tigers (4-2) as Brayden Sidney rolled to a 16-1 technical fall over Liam Chirdon in 2:28 at 114 pounds.
But then Altoona’s Braiden Weaver, ranked third at 121 in the PA Power Wrestling Class 3A rankings, rang up a 17-1 technical fall over Landon Krupka in 3:34. That was the first of eight straight bout wins for the Mountain Lions (5-2).
After Deklan Barr won by fall in 1:58 at 127 pounds, Brayden Wible used a very effective cradle to score 12 nearfall points en route to a 16-1 technical fall over Caleb Detrick.
Harr shifted Northwest Regional qualifier Jacob Brua up to 139 to face Phillip Sarbo. The Mountain Lion junior spoiled that move by headlocking Brua to his back for six points in the first period and a 9-1 lead. Brua came back to within four, but Sarbo earned the 14-7 win.
“Sarbo wrestled a very good match tonight against a very good competitor,” Gilbert said. “Sarbo wrestled a very technical bout, stayed out of bad positions, where he could have gotten into trouble. He scored some points early and rode that lead for awhile.”
“Certainly, we weren’t expecting that,” Harr said, “but Sarbo went out there and wrestled tough. He had Jacob on the ropes early. It’s certainly hard to come back in a match whenever you’re on your back.”
Gilbert chose to have sophomore Reese Hite wrestle at 145 and move returning state qualifier Gavin Ciampoli up to 152. Hite won by fall in 1:14, while Hollidaysburg’s Mason Schenk kept Ciampoli from getting bonus points in a 10-3 decision.
The Mountain Lions led, 28-5, but Altoona’s second-ranked Luke Sipes (16-3) picked up his 129th career win with a pin in 51 seconds at 160.
At 172, Hollidaysburg’s Blake Kennedy took an 8-2 lead over Caleb Darpino into the second period, but Darpino took him down to his back and got the stunning pin in 2:16. That certainly pumped up the Altoona bench.
“You know what, he’s a dangerous individual,” Gilbert said. “We have a saying: Be good or be dangerous. Man, he’s dangerous. You just never know what you’re going to get with him. He’s exciting to watch.”
Hollidaysburg returning state qualifier Mitchell Baronner moved up to 189 and stopped Altoona’s blitz through the dual meet with a pin at 3:59.
Altoona sophomore Michael Colyer followed with a fall in 57 seconds at 215.
“We weren’t really sure how that would go,” Gilbert said, “but Mike’s getting better every day. I expect a lot of good things out of Mike this year and the next few years to come.”
After Hollidaysburg’s Scott Payne recorded a pin in 33 seconds at 285, Altoona’s Dom Nardozza closed the dual meet with a 4-0 win over Connor Sidney.
The Mountain Lions are back on the mat tonight at home against 4-0 Clearfield, which is ranked sixth in Class 2A by PA Power Wrestling.
114–B. Sidney, H, tech fall Chirdon, 16-1, 2:28; 121–Weaver, A, tech fall La. Krupka, 17-1, 3:34; 127–Barr, A, pinned Lo. Krupka, 1:58; 133–Wible, A, tech fall Detrick, 16-1, 3:32; 139–Sarbo, A, dec. Brua, 14-7; 145–Hite, A, pinned Bialo, 1:14; 152–Ciampoli, A, dec. M. Schenk, 10-3
160–Sipes, A, pinned Rodgers, :51; 172–Darpino, A, pinned Kennedy, 2:16; 189–Baronner, H, pinned Davis, 3:59; 215–Colyer, A, pinned Cacciotti, :57; 285–Payne, H, pinned Thompkins, :33; 107–Nardozza, A, dec. C. Sidney, 4-0.
Records: Altoona (5-2), Hollidaysburg (4-2)
Girls winner: C. Parks, H. Exhibition winners: Fox, A, 160; Pringle, A, 172.
Referee: Ron Witmer
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