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Glendale vikings

Glendale Junior/Senior High School

Glendale vikings

Glendale Junior/Senior High School

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4.0 years ago by John Matchock

2018-19 Progressland Wrestling All-Stars announced

For the second season in a row, nine Progressland wrestlers made the trip to the PIAA Championships in Hershey.

Curwensville’s Blake Passarelli, Glendale’s Brock McMillen, Moshannon Valley’s Jon Dale and West Branch’s Derek Yingling all got back to Chocolatetown after making it in previous seasons, while Clearfield’s Mark McGonigal, Glendale’s Suds Dubler and Cory Johnston, Philiipsburg-Osceola’s Chase Chapman and Hunter Weitoish and West Branch’s Tyler Denochick all enjoyed inaugural trips.

Denochick and Johnston medaled for the first time, while Yingling earned his third PIAA prize. And McMillen followed up a runner-up finish in 2018 with a state title this season, which earned him the Jim Butler Memorial Outstanding Wrestler Award.

In addition to the postseason success that those nine had at PIAAs, there were plenty of other wrestlers that added accomplishments at the district level and several teams put up winning dual meet records.

Clearfield was 10-7 in dual meet action and won the District 4-9 Class AAA title. Glendale was 16-6, P-O was 10-7 and West Branch went 18-5.

So there were plenty of deserving athletes to choose from for this year’s Progressland High School Wrestling All-Star team.

The Vikings lead the way with five wrestlers on the first team and the Coach of the Year in Billy Dubler.

West Branch and P-O put three on the first team, while Mo Valley nabbed two first-team selections. Clearfield and Curwensville round out the team with one selection each.

A wrestler was eligible at any weight he wrestled at during the season. Postseason performance, regular season results, head-to-head matchups, strength of schedule and coaches comments all factored into the decision-making for the team.

Outstanding Wrestler: Brock McMillen, sophomore, Glendale — After a phenomenal freshman campaign that saw him rack up 41 wins and runner-up finishes at the District 6 Class 2A, Southwest Regional Class 2A and PIAA Class 2A Tournaments, McMillen’s mission was simple, reach the pinnacle as a sophomore.

He did just that, going 44-1, while winning every tournament he entered. He took first at both the Panther Classic and Fred Bell Tournaments and won gold at districts, regionals and states.

McMillen’s only loss came to Everett’s Garrett Cornell, who was fifth in the state at 132. After McMillen’s early-season dual meet loss to the bigger Cornell, he reeled off 38 straight victories. His 44 wins and 6 technical falls are tops in Progressland, while his 22 pins are third to teammates Dubler and Johnston.

McMillen goes into his junior season with a career record of 84-5, needing just 16 wins to become just the second Glendale wrestler to reach 100.

Coach of the Year: Billy Dubler, Glendale — The head of the Viking program picks up his second consecutive Coach of the Year award after leading his team to heights never seen in school history.

Glendale put together a 16-6 dual meet record and finished fourth at the District 6 team dual tournament a year after picking up its first even win in the team tourney. The Vikings were fifth at the District 6 tournament, fifth at Southwest regionals and 11th in the state.

Glendale added a Fred Bell Tournament title to its collection and was also ninth at the season-opening Panther Classic.

The Vikings had three district champions for the first time in program history and sent three to PIAAs for the first time ever, bringing home two medals, including the first-ever state championship.

106 pounds: Suds Dubler, freshman, Glendale — One of three freshman and the first of nine new faces on the Progressland All-Star team, Dubler made his mark early and often in his inaugural varsity season.

Dubler placed second in the Panther Classic, falling to North Allegheny’s Dylan Coy for his only regular-season loss. He then went on a 32-bout winning streak before losing in the semifinals of Southwest Regionals to Chestnut Ridge’s Kai Burkett, the eventual fifth-place finisher at states.

The Viking freshman won a District title at 106 and was third at regionals before going 2-2 at PIAAs. Of Dubler’s four losses this season, three came to eventual state medal winners.

Dubler’s 41 wins was third most in Progressland, while his 25 pins was tops and is believed to be a Glendale single-season record. He was also tied for second in the area for most technical falls with three.

113 pounds: Garret Misiura, sophomore, Glendale — Part of a murderer’s row of sorts for Glendale, Misiura (30-10) teamed with Dubler and McMillen to make life miserable for opposing teams’ lightweights. After starting out the season with two losses in his first five bouts, Misiura won 22 of his next 27 regular-season bouts and then exceeded his fifth seeds at districts, by placing fourth.

Misiura went on to win two bouts and regionals and came one away from advancing to PIAAs. He also nabbed a fourth-place finish at the Fred Bell Tournament.

His 30 wins has him tied with three other wrestlers for sixth most in Progressland and his 16 falls is also good for a sixth-place tie in that category. Misiura is 51-23 going into his junior campaign.

120 pounds: — Austin Foster, Freshman: Philipsburg-Osceola — The Mountie freshman got out out to fast start in his first varsity action, winning seven of his first eight bouts. He went 3-2 in both the Conestoga Valley Tournament and rugged Ultimate Warrior Tournament, just missing placing in both.

Foster placed sixth at the District class 2A tourney, earning a berth at Southwest Regionals in the process. He ended his season with 20 wins, scoring pins in 14 (12 pins, 2 tech) of those bouts.

126 pounds: Tyler Denochick, Senior: West Branch — After putting together three solid and consistent seasons as an underclassmen, the Warrior senior put it all together in his last postseason.

With records of 25-9, 25-10 and 26-10 and sixth-, fifth- and fourth-place finishes in the District 6 Tournament, Denochick had certainly put together a good foundation heading into his senior year. But after another fourth-place medal at districts, Denochick reached another level down the stretch, placing third at Southwest Regionals and 7th at PIAAs to cement his status as an all-time Warrior great.

Denochick avenged a pair of district losses to Forest Hills’ Byron Daubert by beating the Ranger 4-3 at regionals to reach the third-place both where he took down Freedom’s Z. J. Ward 8-2. He then went 3-2 at states to earn his medal.

His 35 wins are fifth most in the area and his 20 pins are fourth-best. Denochick ends his career with a record of 111-39.

132 pounds: Blake Passarelli, senior, Curwensville — With his selection, Passarelli becomes a four-time Progressland first-team All-Star. He was a four-time PIAA qualifier and placed eighth as a junior, but fell short of the podium in his last trip to Hershey.

But Passarelli became the Golden Tide’s first-ever four-time state qualifier by picking up three consecutive wins in the 126-pound consolation bracket at Northwest Regionals before finishing fourth. Passarelli also grabbed a second-place finish at districts after falling to eventual PIAA placewinner Anthony Glasl (fifth) by 3-2 Ultimate Tiebreaker.

Passarelli was 27-10 in his senior season with 12 falls and 3 major decisions. His 10 wins and 3 majors were both tied for tenth most in Progressland. Passarelli ends his four-year run at Curwensville with a record of 115-36.

138 pounds: Chase Chapman, junior, Philipsburg-Osceola — After missing nearly three weeks of the season due to an injury, Chapman came back better than ever on his way to a PIAA berth.

He placed second at the Ultimate Warrior Tournament at 132, his only loss coming in the finals to Greater Latrobe’s Gabe Willochell, the eventual class AAA fourth-placer at PIAAs. Chapman went on to take third at the D-6 Class 2A tourney and then turned the Southwest Regional tourney upside down with his pin of returning PIAA bronze medalist Conner Reddinger in the quarterinals. He then took out Cornell 8-6 in the semis before falling to Bedford’s Kaden Cassidy in the finals.

Chapman went 1-2 at PIAAs and ended his season with a record of 27-9. His 27 wins are tied for tenth most, while his 3 tech falls are tied for second. Chapman has 75 wins going into his senior season.

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