Let's start this thread with the AMAZING 1977 AA Championships, at 112, Mark Dugan of Mo Valley comes from behind to beat Mike Lynch(brother of Scott) of Mifflinburg, 11-8.
PIAA Championships Archive Thread...
- Thread starter Psubiomed
- Start date
Just a warning to All Hawks...this thread is going to be VERY HARMFUL to your opinion that wrestling in Pennsylvania didn't exist until 2011...
Wildasin vs Ruby (Wildasin’s last high school match)
At 21:00, an oddity...the only defensive pin in the history of the PIAA state finals. AA 160: Ricotta(West Branch) pins Mercadante(Wilkes Barre Meyers) in the first period.
Side note: Loyalsock had two state champions this year(2003)
Side note: Loyalsock had two state champions this year(2003)
I was there. I will never forget the reaction of the crowd when he did the flip.
I for one, am well aware it existed in PA before 2011. There were just a limited number of Penn State wrestling fans before then. I remember as it wasn't that long ago.
PSU fans are often the ones who mention 2011 as the benchmark year nowadays if you haven't noticed. Most of your stats go back to then and then tail off lol. Anything before then is just living in the past.
The one match I would love to see but do not know if there is video of it, is when State Champ Don Rohn got decked his Senior year. Rohn then went on to win NCAAs his first year at Clarion.
I’ve seen that match a number of times (on video), what do you think of the throw attempt that ended the match? Almost like a kimura in MMA. Not sure there is any other ending to that move other than injury.
Kolat was training down Foxcatcher at the time and he was using a lot of aggressive free style technique. The move happened so quick the ref had no time to call potentially dangerous.
He was trying the whole match to land a huge move from his feet to top off his career. Bohn was too good to be rag dolled.
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I miss his rankings so much. He was the best. The old hard copies mailed to your house. Before everyone buttered up to him since he did the rankings. Now he is an old guy who wears around a blazer trying to look important. Bring back Off The Mat Rankings!
Well, Iowa fans think wrestling started in 1975. Penn State had their first national title 22 years before that.
You can take the boy out of Houtzdale but you can't take the Houtzdale out of the boy, as we say in Morrisdale 😂
Agree that Kolat was being very physical in that match and it’s tough to watch. I remember Bohn from his high school days; he was very good (obviously) and I recall him as being a physical wrestler too. And super quick. I think he could have been good in college but I don’t think he wrestled in college.
They teach that shit in D4, all those boys learn straight witchcraft for the mat 😂
I remember he had some Russian trainer at that time from what I recall. He had a weird tie up and just lit kids up from it
Penn State Wrestling also had a Team Title back in 1921, prior to the NCAA ever existing. Back then there was no tournament, they used a poll, like they used to do for NCAA Football.Well, Iowa fans think wrestling started in 1975. Penn State had their first national title 22 years before that.
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I would link each individual video, but that alone would take up an entire page worth of posts. Instead, if you’re interested in watching some old PIAA finals matches, look up Adrian Stewart (the one with the purple avatar) on YouTube. His channel is filled with VHS tapes finals matches converted into YouTube videos. I think it goes back as far as 1984 and goes up through 2003/4. It’s a really neat look into the past
Hmm ... I know that guy!
Hmm......I think I know him too!
Watching the Kolat match brought back memories of another physical wrestler I saw in finals. 1988? Northampton had 171 lb undefeated kid by the name of Kevin Smith. In finals he got Chris Kwortnick. I can still hear Smith's screams when Kwortnick was working double arm bars. It was an assault on the mat.
But that was at the Hershey Arena which is about 2/3 the size of the Giant Center. And now you can watch every match on Flo, which may be limiting attendance.
Hershey Arena was great. I think it held about 8500 for wrestling.Real steep stairs and seats. You never had to worry about tall guy sitting in front of you because the bottom of your seat was about shoulder height of the guy in front of you.
Most famous historical their was 1962 when Philadelphia Warriors Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points in a game against the New York Knicks.
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The official seating capacity is listed as 7200. Giant Center's is 10,500 - almost exactly 50% more than the Arena's. I saw more hockey there growing up than anything else and they still have Junior hockey there (Hershey Cubs). Still my favorite arena. As you mentioned, so steep you are super close to the action no matter where you are seated.
