Photo by Tim Weight

By BRIAN CARSON

ALTOONA—State College crowned five champions and finished second in the team race at the Northwest Regional Class 3A tournament on Saturday.

Punching their ticket to the Giant Center in Hershey are the five hammers. The standouts coach Ryan Cummins has relied on all season.

The five include senior Hayden Cunningham (127), junior Pierson Manville (139), sophomore Asher Cunningham (145), senior Carter Weaverling (172), and junior Nick Pavlechko (285).

All five were District 6 champions, and now, another 5-for-5 performance at regionals. The Little Lions scored 140 points to finish second, thanks to their efforts. Central Mountain won the team title with 145.5 points.

Jacob Campbell made the semifinals at 133 but finished fifth. Only the top three advance to Hershey. Mason Sanderson (107) and Nicholas Berrena (114) did not place.

“We have an outstanding group of kids who have worked hard all season. They are all strong mentally, and that has carried through to the postseason,” Cummins said. “We couldn’t be happier. It’s perfect. We couldn’t have planned this any better. The kids did a great job. They did what they had to do to win. We got five guys headed to states as champs, and our three that didn’t make it will all be back next year. They will learn from this experience.”

The premier match in the finals was Manville-Dalton Perry, part three. The two returning PIAA champions faced off at the King of the Mountain and last week’s District 6 finals, with Manville winning by 2-1 and 1-0 decisions.

Act three was just as good.

After a scoreless first period, Perry, a Penn State commit, chose down to start period two. Manville, arguably the best in Pennsylvania from the top position, did what he’s done before, ride Perry out the entire two minutes.

Perry let Manville out with an optional start to begin period three. The Wildcat sophomore attempted a headlock, which Manville slipped to score the takedown and take a 3-0 lead with 1:45 left in regulation. Like in the second period, Perry couldn’t escape from the bottom, and Manville made it 3-0 against the Central Mountain standout.

The win was the 200th career victory for the Little Lion. Manville began his career in Minnesota, where you can wrestle varsity in seventh grade. It was Manville’s second straight regional title.

“What can you say about Pierson? He is mentally tough, and he always stays calm in pressure matches,” Cummins said. “He’s one of the best in the state on top. In the finals, he showed that again. He’s tough to score on, and that frustrates his opponents.”

Hayden Cunningham pinned his way to the finals and capped off his championship with an 11-3 major decision over Sam Staab of Erie Prep. After missing two years to injury, Hayden scored two takedowns and six nearfall points for the victory.

Younger brother Asher won his second regional crown in as many years with a 2-0 win over a familiar opponent, Griffin Walizer of Central Mountain. Asher got a reversal in the second period for the win. The duo met in the district finals last week, with the Little Lion sophomore winning 9-5. Asher is now 5-1 this season versus Walizer.

Weaverling also pinned his way to the finals, where he eked out a tough 3-1 victory over Mifflin County’s Avery Aurand in the finals. Weaverling countered an Aurand shot for the decisive takedown in the first period.

Pavlechko won his second consecutive regional title in impressive fashion by pinning his way through the tournament with no match getting out of the first period. In the finals, the Little Lion junior built up a 6-2 lead before pinning Mifflin County’s Peyton Kearns in 1:56.

The PIAA championships begin on Thursday, March 9, at the Giant Center.

Northwest AAA Regional

State College Results

Team Standings

(1) Central Mountain 145.5, (2) State College 140.0, (3) Shikellamy 125.0, (4) Mifflin County 107.5, (5) Selinsgrove 102.5, (6) Erie McDowell 101.5, (7) Hickory 96.0, (8) Williamsport 91.0, (9) Erie Cathedral Prep 79.5, (10) Meadville 76.5, (11) Punxsutawney 66.0, (12) Altoona 64.5, (13) DuBois 61.0, (14) Jersey Shore 46.0, (15) Westinghouse 28.0, (16) Obama Academy 25.0, (17) Columbia Montour Vo-Tech 22.0, (18) Bradford 18.0, (19) Carrick 12.0, (19) Taylor Allderdice 12.0, (21) Hollidaysburg 9.0, (22) Brashear 4.0, (23) Greater Johnstown 3.0

Championship Round 1

107 – Mason Sanderson pinned Mikel Jordan (Obama Academy), 1:44

114 – Dysen Gould (Punxsutawney) pinned Nicholas Berrena, 1:34

133 – Jacob Campbell pinned Ryan Harpster (Selinsgrove), 2:39

Championship Quarterfinals

107 – Brody Bishop (Hickory) major dec. Mason Sanderson, 10-2

127 – Hayden Cunningham pinned Landyn Lukens (Selinsgrove), 0:21

133 – Jacob Campbell dec. Javarie Blue (Erie McDowell), 9-4

139 – Pierson Manville pinned Jacoby Thompson (Meadville), 0:44

145 – Asher Cunningham pinned Charles Keener (Shikellamy), 4:41

172 – Carter Weaverling pinned Ty Tidball (Meadville), 1:03

285 – Nick Pavlechko pinned Brycen Delker (Williamsport), 1:29

Consolation Round 1

114 – Nicholas Berrena won by inj. default over Jaidon Jones (Carrick), 0-0 0:00

Consolation Round 2

107 – Mason Sanderson dec. Antonio Giambanco (DuBois), 9-2

114 – Carson Krupka (Hollidaysburg) dec. Nicholas Berrena, 6-5

Championship Semifinals

127 – Hayden Cunningham pinned Mike Reardon (Hickory), 0:25

133 – Brendan Orr (DuBois) dec. Jacob Campbell, 8-1

139 – Pierson Manville pinned Brandon Byrd (Erie Cathedral Prep), 1:41

145 – Asher Cunningham dec. Carter Weaver (Williamsport), 11-8

172 – Carter Weaverling pinned Grant Miller (Punxsutawney), 3:02

285 – Nick Pavlechko pinned Jack Peters (Selinsgrove), 1:22

Consolation Quarterfinals

107 – Collin Nasdeo (Williamsport) dec. Mason Sanderson, 7-1

Consolation Semifinals

133 – Isaac McGregor (Shikellamy) pinned Jacob Campbell, 1:18

Championship Finals

127 – Hayden Cunningham major dec. Sam Staab (Erie Cathedral Prep), 11-3

139 – Pierson Manville dec. Dalton Perry (Central Mountain), 3-0

145 – Asher Cunningham dec. Griffin Walizer (Central Mountain), 2-0

172 – Carter Weaverling dec. Avery Aurand (Mifflin County), 3-1

285 – Nick Pavlechko pinned Peyton Kearns (Mifflin County), 1:56