State College wrestling finds ‘something to build on’ in loss to Mifflin County
It was a tale of two halves.
While often used to describe the outcome of a football game, in this instance it was a fitting way to describe State College’s 40-18 wrestling loss to Mifflin County on Thursday.
The Little Lions managed to win just two of the first seven bouts. In four of those five losses, they surrendered a pair of pins and a pair of technical falls to trail 25-9 at the break.
The second half of the dual saw State College win only two more bouts out of six, but in three of those four losses, they could’ve been victories.
The Little Lions suffered just two-point losses in those three bouts with one coming in sudden victory.
“It was nice that they continued to fight, and didn’t pack it in. They fought each match pretty hard. I’m happy about that,” State College coach Ryan Cummins said. “That’s a good sign for sure, it’s something to build on. We had some opportunities we didn’t quite capitalize on. Mifflin County is always tough. They always come ready to wrestle. They had a little more than we did today.”
Making matters worse, the Little Lions had to compete without one of their top wrestlers in Asher Cunningham.
Pierson Manville and Nick Pavlechko were the winners for State College in the first half of the dual.
Manville had a workman-like effort in a 9-3 dual-opening victory over Parker Kearns at 152 pounds. It was a matchup of future Division I wrestlers as Manville is headed to Arizona State, and Kearns recently committed to The Citadel.
Between Manville and Pavlechko’s match, the Little Lions had their hands full.
The Huskies rattled off four straight bonus-point victories.
“We’ve been trying to talk (about) how important it is for every kid to just go out there and do their job in spite of what may have happened before them. Securing bonus points are always big in dual meets,” Mifflin County coach Kirby Martin said. “We figured in the upper weights we could get some bonus points. I thought our kids really stuck to that philosophy that everybody has a job when they get out there.”
Deakon Schaeffer kicked things off for Mifflin County by racking up an 18-1 technical fall on Xavier Zeruth in 4:00. Avery Aurand followed by sticking Thomas Williams-Lynch in 2:43.
Gavin Mickey needed 4:42 to secure an 18-3 technical fall on Travis Bechtel. Truitt Davis flattened Lucas Anderson in 2:43.
A three-point deficit quickly turned into a 22-3 lead for the Huskies.
Pavlechko came to the mat and claimed his 19th pin of the season when he stuck Dekker Pietzsch in 1:01 at 285 pounds. The Indiana commit has 19 falls in his 26 victories on the season.
The first half came to a close with Mifflin County’s Andrew Alexander using a late reversal to top Noah Young, 4-1. The bout seemed to set the table for the second half of the dual.
The Huskies claimed the first three matches out of the break, but it wasn’t easy.
Paxton Shawver needed a takedown in sudden victory to top Jon Whitbred, 2-0, at 114 pounds. Jake Knable needed a late reversal in the third period to sneak past Johnny Coates, 4-2. Coates tallied the bout’s first points with a takedown in the first period.
Blake Aumiller, like Knable, used a reversal with one second left in the match with Nick Berrena to secure a 7-5 win. Berrena used a reversal of his own to tie the bout with 19 seconds left.
The Little Lions wrestler was a regional qualifier last year, but has struggled at his new weight. Cummins feels Thursday’s match could be a turning point.
“He was right there. A little more mat awareness, he could turn that into a W. You just got to keep working at it, keep improving,” Cummins said, “not rolling around quite as much. But, that’s kind of how he wrestles. It’s a hard habit to break, but he’s definitely come a long way, and he’s still improving.”
State College got its other wins in back-to-back bouts.
Freshman James Whitbred took on an upperclassman in junior Kamden Everly at 133 pounds. The duo traded escapes to head to sudden victory.
In the sudden victory period, Whitbred was deep on a single that he finished off by tilting Everly over top his head for a takedown and nearly had a pin in a 5-1 win.
“I think it’ll definitely boost his confidence. He’s had a great season. He’s seen a lot of tough competition with all the places we’ve gone,” Cummins said. “I think it’s really helped him out. I think he’s making that next step. I’m excited to watch him here in the postseason.”
Jacob Campbell followed Whitbred by opening with an 8-1 lead after one period of wrestling with Brian Albert. Campbell kept up the pace to a point that he pinned Albert with 33 seconds remaining in the bout.
Campbell tallied 15 points before collecting the pin.
“He came on offensively. It was good. He’s got it, you know,” Cummins said. “It’s just a matter of him getting to his offense, and stays on it. He can hang with just about anybody.”
The win brought the Little Lions to within 34-18, but Mifflin County’s Colby Seiler closed the dual out with a pin of Brady Bucher in 3:35.
State College is now 4-4 on the season, and has one more dual left until the district duals next week. It will travel to Bishop McDevitt on Saturday.
Mifflin County 40, State College 18
Thursday at State College
152: Pierson Manville, SC, dec. Parker Kearns, 9-3
160: Deakon Schaeffer, MC, tech. fall Xavier Zeruth, 18-1 (4:00)
172: Avery Aurand, MC, pinned Thomas Williams-Lynch, 2:43
189: Gavin Mickey, MC, tech. fall Travis Bechtel, 18-3 (4:42)
215: Truitt Davis, MC, pinned Lucas Anderson, 2:43
285: Nick Pavlechko, SC, pinned Dekker Pietzsch, 1:01
107: Andrew Alexander, MC, dec. Noah Young, 4-1
114: Paxton Shawver, MC, dec. Jon Whitbred, 2-0 (SV)
121: Jake Knable, MC, dec. Johnny Coates, 4-2
127: Blake Aumiller, MC, dec. Nick Berrena, 7-5
133: James Whitbred, SC, dec. Kamden Everly, 5-1 (SV)
139: Jacob Campbell, SC, pinned Brian Albert, 5:27
145: Colby Seiler, MC, pinned Brady Bucher, 3:35
Takedowns: MC 13, SC 14
JH: Mifflin County 39-34
Records: Mifflin County (13-3), State College (4-4)
Next match: State College at Bishop McDevitt, Saturday, Noon
