2023 D6 AA Wrestling Team Duals Preview

By: Brian Ingalls | PA Sports History | January 21, 2023

The 2023 D6 Wrestling Team Duals start on 1/31.  The top 12 D6 AA teams qualify for the tournament.  The top 4 seeds will host the first round.  The #1 seed will host and wrestle the winner of the 8 and 9 seed.  #2 will host and wrestle the winner of the 7/10 match.  #3 will host and wrestle the winner of the 6/11 match, and #4 will host and will wrestle the winner of the 5/12 match.  The highest seed left will then host the semifinals and finals.  The D6 AA Team Champion will make it to the 2023 PIAA AA State Team Dual Tournament where they will wrestle the winner of D11-2 and D3-3 on 2/9 at the Giant Center.  The D6 AA Runner up will wrestle the D7-3 team on 2/6 with the winner making it to states.      

With about a week to go before the cutoff, the top ranked D6 AA team is the Penns Valley Rams.  Penns Valley has about a 20 point lead in the rankings and with only a couple matches this week, Penns Valley will keep the #1 seed.  Penns Valley is 10-0 on the season and has big wins against 2 of the top teams in D6.  Penns Valley beat Huntingdon 34-24 on 12/13, and Bald Eagle Area 31-27 on 1/10.  Penns Valley took 5th place at the Panther Holliday Classic Tournament, and 1st place at the Tool City Tournament.  Penns Valley has matches against AAA Hollidaysburg (3-8) and AA Mifflinburg (2-8).  Junior Ty Watson (152lbs) leads the way for the Rams.  Watson is 17-2 on the season and last season Watson was 1st-D6, 1st-Regionals, and placed 6th at states last year.  Watson has a career record of 66-10.  Junior Jack Darlington (114lbs) is 16-3 on the season and last season Darlington took 4th-D6, 6th-Regionals, and didn't place at states.  Senior Kollin Brungart (215lbs) is 13-3 on the season.  Freshman Brayden Lisowski (121lbs) is 13-4 on the season.  Freshman Conner Myers (107lbs) is 14-6 on the season.  Junior Colton Shunk (133lbs) is 15-3 on the season and took 4th place at D6 last year.  Junior Ethan Fetterolf (145lbs) is 7-3 on the season. 

The # 2 ranked team right now, is the Huntingdon Bearcats.  The Bearcats are 16-2 on the season, and they have about a 10 point advantage over the 3rd and 4th ranked teams.  The Bearcats are pretty much assured the #2 seed.  Huntingdon beat a good Mount Union team last night 43-17.  Huntingdon lost to Penns Valley 34-24 on 12/13 and the Bearcats lost to Cumberland Valley 42-25 on 12/28.  Huntingdon took 2nd at the Panther Holliday Classic Tournament.  Huntington will wrestle a tough Clearfield team (7-1) on Tuesday this week.  The Bearcats are led by Senior HWT Gunner Singleton.  Singleton is 22-1 on the season with his only loss being a 7-3 decision to Emmanuel Ulrich from Mifflinburg who placed 3rd at states last year.  Last season Singleton was 1st-D6, 2nd-Regionals, and didn't place at states.  Singleton has a career record of 82-31.  Senior Devin Grubb (152lbs) is 20-6 and he took 6th at D6 last season.  Grubb is 64-38 for his career.  Senior Landon Dunsmore (133lbs) is 20-5 and took 4th at D6 last season.  Dunsmore has a career record of 82-36.  Junior Alex Gladfelter is 19-5and took 6th at D6 last year.  Gladfelter's career record is 41-16.  Junior Andrew McMonagle (160lbs) is 18-3.  Freshman Grady Clark (145lbs) is 18-5 on the season.  Sophomore Eric Mykut (139lbs) is 16-6 and placed 6th at Districts last year.  Senior Ryan Yocum (127lbs) is 16-6 and last season he finished 6th at Districts and 8th at Regionals. 

United and Bald Eagle Area are within a point of each other for 3rd and 4th.  This week United wrestles AA Conemaugh Township (6-8) on Tuesday, and Bald Eagle Area wrestles AA Tyrone (5-6) Tuesday and AAA Central Mountain (6-0).  These two teams have about a 10 point advantage over 5th, so it's very likely United and Bald Eagle Area will be the 3 and 4 seed.

The United Lions are 14-0 on the season, and they have had a pretty dominant season so far.  The Lions have 5 shutouts this season and they have beat a good Forest Hills team twice this year (41-25 and 46-26).  United's only close match was a 32-27 win @ Berlin-Brothersvalley in the second match of the season.  The Lions had a couple starters out and the wrestlers weren't settled into their weights for that early season matchup.  United took 4th place at the Southmoreland Tournament and 1st at the Bloody Run Duals.  Junior Jacob Sombronski(107lbs) is 9-0 this season and was a D6 Champion last year.  Sombronski was 4th at regionals and didn't place at states.  Sombronski has a career record of 36-8.  Freshman Josef Garshnick (114lbs) is 21-1 and his only loss was a close 6-3 decision to AAA State Qualifier Jorden Williams from Chartiers-Houston.  Sophomore Gideon Bracken (121lbs) is 17-1 with his only loss coming in the Southmoreland Tournament Finals to Lucas Barr from McGuffey.  Bracken took 5th at districts, 5th at regionals and didn't place at states last year.  Bracken's career record is 41-13.  Sophomore Colten Henning (127lbs) is 18-2.  Henning took 6th at districts last year and has a career record of 37-13.  Sophomore Michael Monty (127lbs) is 9-2 took 7th at districts last year and has a career record of 29-9.  Sophomore Noah Pisarcik (139lbs) is 16-5.  Senior Traystin Tomalson (145lbs) is 14-5.  Junior Caden McCully (152lbs) is 15-6 and has a 33-14 career record.  Junior Aiden Gallaher is 13-7 and has a 23-12 career record.  Junior Zachary Travis (172lbs) is 15-6.  Sophomore Dylan Stephens is 13-4.  Sophomore Sawyer McGinnins (215lbs) is 15-3.  Senior Kade Krouse (HWT) is 10-6.     

The Bald Eagle Area Eagles are 8-2 on the season.  The Eagles two losses were close to Clearfield (7-1) 36-31 and Penns Valley (10-0) 31-27.  Bald Eagle Area took 5th at the the tough MyHouse Trojan Wars Tournament in Chambersburg.  Junior Lucas Fye (121lbs) is 18-1 and his only loss was to AAA State 6th place Cael Nasdeo from Williamsport.  This season, Fye has beat 5 wrestlers who qualified for states last year.  Fye was 2nd at districts, 2nd at regionals, and place 5th at states last year.  Fye has a career record of 68-19.  Sophomore Caleb Close (172lbs) is 19-2.  Close was 2nd at districts, 4th at regionals, and placed 8th at states last year.  Close has a career record of 59-16.  Senior Coen Bainey (127lbs) is 17-4.  Bainey is a 3x state qualifier-4th as a Sophomore and 3rd last year.  Bainey is also a 3x D6 Champion and placed 2nd/3rd/2nd at Regionals.  Bainey has a career record of 115-20.  Senior Jeffre Pifer (152lbs) is 15-5.  Pifer placed 3rd at districts and has a career record of 72-33.  Junior Mason Reese (145) is 12-6 and placed 6th at districts last year.   

Mount Union and Forest Hills are within a couple points for the 5th and 6th seed.  Mount Union wrestles AA Bellwood-Antis (0-10) on Monday.  Forest Hills wrestles AA Somerset (9-3) on Thursday.  Forest Hills beat Somerset 36-31 at the Bloody Run Duals.  These two teams have about a 10 point advantage over the 7th team so it is very likely that Mount Union and Forest Hills will be the 5th and 6th seed. 

The Mount Union Trojans are 11-3 this season.  Mount Union lost to Huntingdon 43-27 last night.  Their other two losses came to Malvern Prep 56-10 and Pennridge 57-15.  The Trojans took 1st at the Inter-Conference Tournament, 10th at the Panther Holiday Classic, and 26th at the Mid-Winter Mayhem.  Senior Mason Beatty (107lbs) is 26-4 and last season he took 3rd at districts, 5th at regionals, and didn't place at states.  Mason has a career record of 71-16.  Sophomore Josh Ryan (189lbs) is 24-5.  Ryan took 7th at districts last year and has a career record of 46-14.  Freshman Jacik Hess (127lbs) is 23-6.  Junior A.J. Chilcote (121lbs) is 20-5 and placed 3rd at districts last year.  Chilcote has a career record of 50-20.  Junior Vance Hower (145lbs) is 19-8 and is 40-17 for his career.  Senior Deegan Rittenhouse (160lbs) is 17-9. 

The Forest Hills Rangers are 10-3 on the season.  Forest Hills has lost 2x to United lost 47-23 to Chestnut Ridge.  The Rangers placed 28th at the Panther Holiday Classic, 2nd at the Bloody Run Duals, and 34th at the Mid-Winter Mayhem.  Senior Dustin Flinn (152lbs) is 19-6 and he took 2nd at districts last year.  Flinn is 87-49 for his career.  Junior Kory Marsalko is 18-6 and placed 8th at districts last year.  Junior Isaiah Shilcosky (121lbs) is 18-6 and took 6th last year at districts.  Junior Hunter Forcellini (133lbs) is 15-2 and took 2nd at districts last year. 

Bellefonte, Philipsburg-Osceola, and Juniata will be fighting for the 7/8/9 seeds.  Bellefonte who is done from AAA this year will wrestle AA Tyrone (5-6) on Thursday.  Philipsburg-Osceola and Juniata are wrestling in the Juniata Duals today.   Philipsburg-Osceola doesn't wrestle anymore this coming week.  Juniata who is also at AA this year will wrestle AAA Columbia Montour Vo-Tech (4-2) on Tuesday and AAA Altoona (4-9) on Thursday.  Philipsburg-Osceola and Juniata could move up to the 5/6 seed with big wins at the Juniata Duals today. 

Bellefonte Red Raiders are 6-4 this season.  The Red Raiders placed 1st at the St. Mary's Tournament, 28th at the King of the Mountain, 16th at the Conestoga Valley Tournament, and 3rd place at the Southern Tier Tournament in New York.  Bellefonte has lost to Bald Eagle Area 41-22, Huntingdon 42-27, Penns Valley 51-15, and Clearfield 39-24.  Bellefonte has wins over West Branch 38-30 and Philipsburg-Osceola 36-22.  Senior Gage Long (145lbs) is 23-8 and took 3rd at AAA districts and 5th at AAA regionals.  Long has a career record of 62-27.  Freshman Ezra Swisher (121lbs) is 19-8.  Sophomore Noah Weaver (138lbs) is 17-9 and took 4th at AAA districts last year. 

Philipsburg-Osceola Mounties is 9-6.  The Mounties took 30th at the Panther Holiday Classic.  Freshman Caleb Hummel (107lbs) is 18-3.  Junior Nate Fleck (139lbs) is 16-3.  Senior Ben Gustkey (127lbs) is 15-5.  Junior Marcus Gable (152lbs) is 15-6 and was a D6 Champion last year and then took 8th at regionals.  Gable is 57-23 for his career. 

Juniata Indians are 10-4 on the season.  The Indians took 9th place at the Donegal Tournament and 2nd place at the Newport Tournament.  Senior Casey Smith (133lbs) is 18-1and is a 3x D6 AAA placer 4th/1st/2nd and took 2nd last year at AAA regionals.  Casey's career record is 97-22.  Senior Taylor Smith (139lbs) is 18-2 and took 2nd at AAA districts and 4th AAA regionals last year.  Taylor is 75-26 for his career. 

The West Branch Warriors are ranked 10th right now.  The Warriors place 6th at the Inter-County Conference Tournament, 22nd at the Panther Holiday Classic, and 27th at MyHouse Trojan Wars.  West Branch will wrestle AA Central Cambria (5-7) today, and they wrestle AA Bellwood-Antis (0-10) on Tuesday.  Junior Landon Bainey (114lbs) is 25-1 is a 2x D6 Champion.  Bainey also placed 2nd as a Freshman and 1st last year at regionals.  Landon placed 6th both years at states.  Bainey's career record is 88-11.  Senior Logan Folmar (172lbs) is 20-10and placed 7th at districts last year.  Folmar's career record is 63-34.  Senior Aaron Myers (145lbs) is 16-7 this season and 51-33 for his career. 

The Penn Cambria Panthers are 9-3 this season.  The Panthers took 19th at the Panther Holiday Classic and 32nd at the Mid-Winter Mayhem.  Penn Cambria will wrestle AA Somerset (9-3) on Tuesday and AAA Johnstown (2-8) on Thursday.  Junior Trent Hoover (145lbs) is 22-2 and last year was a D6 Champion, took 1st at regionals, and didn't place at states.  Hoover's career record is 66-14.  Senior Austin McCloskey (160lbs) is 17-5 and placed 4th at districts last year.  Junior Nick Summerville (HWT) is 15-5. 

Tyrone and Southern Huntingdon will be fighting for the last spot in the tournament.  Right now Tyrone has a 6 point lead in the rankings, but Southern Huntington is wrestling in the Juniata Duals today, and has a match against AA Bellwood-Antis (0-10) on Tuesday.  That gives Southern Huntington plenty of matches to catch Tyrone for that last spot.  Tyrone wrestles Bald Eagle Area Tuesday and Bellefonte on Thursday.  Both of these matches will be tough for Tyrone to win. 

The Tyrone Golden Eagles are 5-6 on the season.  Tyrone finished 12th at the Panther Holiday Classic and 22nd at the MyHouse Trojan Wars Tournament.  Freshman Kyle Scott (172lbs) is 19-4.  Junior Brandon Ewing (HWT) is 18-5 and took 2nd at districts, 4th at regionals, and didn't place at states last year. 

The Southern Huntingdon Rockets are 6-4.  They took 9th at the Inter-County Conference, and 4th at the St. Mary's Tournament.  Junior Tommy Cohenour (160lbs) is 14-1 and took 3rd at districts and 8th at regionals last year.  Tommy's career record is 54-12.  Sophomore Noah McMath (107lbs) is 12-6.  Senior Mitchell Hart (215lbs) is 11-4. 

                     

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