Griffths, Beistel win tournament titles
Tyler Griffiths and Jake Beistel are at either end of the weight class spectrum, but both Southmoreland wrestlers converged on the champions mat Tuesday afternoon as both Scotties wrestlers won individual crowns at the Southmoreland Holiday Classic.
The two individual titles enabled the host school to finish second in the team standings with 152½ points. Greenville won the team title with 185 points. Mount Pleasant placed third with 145½ points and one champion. Beth-Center was ninth with 100½ points and one champion. Albert Gallatin was 20th with 70 points and Laurel Highlands was 23rd with 66. West Greene finished 24th with 65 points.
Griffiths pinned Greenville’s Aaron Gelvin in 2:38 to win the 106-pound crown. Beistel held off Mount Pleasant’s Josh Lind to win at 285 pounds by a 3-1 decision.
The 170-pound title bout featured two wrestlers well known to area high school football stars. Beth-Center’s Anthony Welsh was able to win by fall in 3:18 against Laurel Highlands’ Jimmy Pierce.
Welsh’s teammate Nico Brown advanced to the 182-pound title bout, but lost a tough 3-2 decision to Greenville’s Gage Gladysz.
Southmoreland’s Anthony Wise pinned North Star’s Brady Gardner at 2:55. Cole Lambie defaulted at 113 pounds to finish sixth. Evan Myers won his third-place bout at 138 by default against Butler’s Caleb Baxter. Colton Zundell dropped a 5-3 decision to Hollidaysburg’s Colton Wallas in the eighth-place bout.
The Mustangs’ Zeke Beatty won a 5-3 decision against West Greene’s Sheldon Phillips in the third-place bout at 120 pounds. Ian Edenfield finished seventh at 195 pounds with a 1-0 decision against Hollidaysburg’s Tevin Pulcine.
Tim Wallace had the best finish for Albert Gallatin by placing third at 145 pounds after he pinned Myersdale’s Brady McKenzie in 2:57. DJ Wallace finished fifth at 106 with a 3-0 decision over Grove City’s Cory Bable. Corey Dodson finished seventh at 285 pounds with a 9-1 major decision against North Star’s Brady Vinisky.
West Greene’s Owen Main won by default against Northern Bedford’s Mason Guyer in the fifth-place bout at 195 pounds. Will VanNorman lost the fifth-place bout after he was pinned in 2:37 by North Star’s Hunter Cooper. Cole Hamilton finished eighth at 160 after he was pinned by Valley’s Phil Petit in 1:38.
Mount Pleasant’s Austin Mears won the 152-pound title with a 13-8 decision against Greenville’s Gavin Wilkerson.
Frazier’s Tyler Girvin finished eighth at 220 pounds after losing by fall in 3:50 to Knoch’s Bailey Savage.