Mifflin County matmen post second place nod at Ultimate Warrior tournament

By Kenny Varner Jr.
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Updated: January 27, 2019

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Most Outstanding Wrestler Trey Kibe

By BRIAN CARSON

ALLPORT – Mifflin County and Juniata combined for 10 medalists and two champions at the Ultimate Warrior Tournament Saturday at West Branch High School.

The Huskies crowned two champions – Nic Allison at 106 and Trey Kibe at 160 with eight total medalists. The Indians finished with two place-winners.

Kibe went 4-0 with three falls to earn the outstanding wrestler award, marking the second year in a row a Husky took the honor. Trent Hidlay won it last year at 174 pounds.

In the finals, Kibe enjoyed the ultimate payback with a 1:13 fall over Tyler Stoltzfus of St. Joseph’s. Stoltzfus handed Kibe his only loss, a 1-0 decision, in the Powerade finals back in December.

The second meeting was a much different story. Kibe came out, scored the opening takedown and flipped the St. Joe’s junior to his back for the fall. Kibe is now 25-1 on the season.

“I came into the match with my head a lot better and my game plan was better for this match. This time, I knew what to expect and what I had to do,” Kibe said. “I wrestled really well in this tournament, maybe the best I’ve had all season. I’m going in the right direction. I was passive the first match against him and this time, I was more aggressive and got into his legs. After losing 1-0, he’s a tough kid, it feels good to get the win.”

Teammate Nic Allison won the championship at 106 pounds and Ryan captured his over Husky Blaine Davis. In addition to Davis, Mifflin County’s Christian Fisher settled for a runner-up spot at 120 pounds.

Allison didn’t need his signature move in the finals against Bryce Beatty of Mount Union. The 23-3 freshman scored a takedown in the first, a reversal in the second and some fancy riding with a wicked cradle thrown in for good measure that scored five nearfall points.

“Obviously, he knew the chin whip would be coming, so I tried something different this time and actually took a shot. Coach Martin has been trying to get me to shoot more and more and this time it paid off,” Allison said. “The cradle on top, once I had that, I liked my chances. There were a few times we got into a scramble, but I came out on top. I’m happy with how I performed all the way up to the finals. It feels great. It’s a great experience winning my first high-school tournament.”

Ryan, the top-ranked wrestler in the state according to PA Power Wrestling, looked the part in the finals when he took Davis down, applied the half and recorded the pin in 26 seconds. The Trojan junior, now 27-1, had three falls and a 9-3 decision on the way to his first Ultimate Warrior crown.

Fisher (21-6) had a 2-0 lead on Ammon Ohl of St. Joseph’s before Ohl reversed Fisher, took him to his back and got the fall in 3:58.

Mifflin County capped off an impressive tournament with eight medalists and a second-place team finish with 179 points. Southern Columbia rolled to the crown with 225.5 points.

In addition to the four finalists, the Huskies got a fourth from Brycen Hassinger (170), a sixth from Ethan Kauffman (132) and seventh-place finishes from Derek Burk (126) and Trey Shoemaker (145).

Kauffman hurt his back in the semifinals against Gabe Willochell of Greater Latrobe and defaulted out of the tournament. The injury doesn’t appear serious and was done for precautionary reasons.

“I’m very proud of our kids. This has grown into a very nice tournament. Everybody got excellent matches and I’m proud of the whole team,” Martin said. “We had some kids who didn’t place but got two or three wins and that kind of confidence will go a long way. Overall, the team wrestled hard and wrestled well.”

Juniata received a third-place finish from Tyler Wileman at 170 and a sixth-place from Tanner Weiand at 138. Wileman won by a 16-0 technical fall over Hassinger in the third-place bout. Both of Hassinger’s losses in the tournament were to Wileman, the Lock Haven commit. Wileman lost by an 11-3 major to eventual champion Dillon Keane of Bradford in the semifinals.

“Coming into the day with four wrestlers and only getting two medals wasn’t the day we expected. We had some tough losses, especially Cam Swigart in the blood round,” Juniata coach Mike Robinson said. “As a freshman, when you make mistakes, you have to learn to correct them and he will. Parker Noss lost in the blood round as well but that was due to being out-muscled. He is a 170-pounder wrestling up a weight class and once he makes the drop, he should do well.

“Tanner had a good tournament. He was in a solid weight class and he did well. Tyler lost a tough semifinal match to Keane and he is solid. Maybe this is what Tyler needed for a wake-up call. I know he’ll be ready for the postseason. We need some work to get ready for districts.”