State’s best in wrestling turn attention to freestyle

Those who continue following wrestling into the spring know their sport as well as any athletes or spectators.

So when Bellefonte junior high coach Tom Alterio announced the mat assignment for a bout between Zach Horan and Cameron Throckmorton during the Pennsylvania Amateur Wrestling Federation state freestyle tournament, teenagers and adults wandered to an auxiliary gym.

Once the three-time PIAA Class AAA placewinners shook hands, more than 200 people gathered around the mat.

Never mind this was May 22.

Some of the state’s most talented — and dedicated — high school wrestlers flocked to Bellefonte High School on Saturday. Many of the same wrestlers will return for today’s Greco- Roman tournament.

Besides different styles, camaraderie that extends beyond school borders and warmer outdoor temperatures, the scene resembled March, when Pennsylvania holds its folkstyle regional and state tournaments. Wrestling’s primary goal is to beat the best, and, well, many of the state’s best are spending the weekend in Bellefonte.

Wrestlers who perform well this weekend qualify for the prestigious national freestyle and Greco-Roman tournaments. The July event attracts the nation’s best to Fargo, N.D.

“It’s the best competition in the nation,” said Spencer Myers, a PIAA Class AAA champion from Selinsgrove. “Kids from all over the country are there. It’s just more competition to get me ready for next year.”

Next year, in Myers’ case, begins in August when he arrives in College Park, Md., to begin competing for coach Kerry McCoy’s University of Maryland team. Myers, a senior who also won a PIAA football title and recently qualified for next weekend’s state track meet, represents the kind of athlete competing in Bellefonte. He views freestyle and Greco-Roman tournaments as primers for NCAA Division I wrestling.

“A lot of the coaches look at not only the folkstyle side of it, but they look at how kids do in these other styles of wrestling,” Myers said. “There’s folkstyle. But the Olympics aren’t that and this helps you with positioning. I went out to Fargo last year and went 0-2 in Greco. It makes you a better all-around wrestler.”

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