Eight people will be inducted into the District 6 Hall of Fame over the next two weeks before the finals of the Class AA tournament Saturday and the Class AAA tournament the following Saturday at the Altoona Fieldhouse.
The group includes four former state champions in Hollidaysburg graduate Dan Brenneman (1971), Lock Haven's Steve Krouse (1989), Huntingdon's Jason Shea (1988) and Philipsburg-Osceola's Mark Sidorick (1984). It also includes Ed Hamer, who didn't win a state title, but he's P-O's only NCAA Division I national champion, winning the 167-pound title for Lehigh University in 1959.
Tyrone coach Blair Packer, a Bald Eagle Area graduate, will have the unique opportunity to coach in the tournament and then be inducted into the HOF. He's the second in his family to make the Hall as his brother, Paul, was inducted in 2008, and Blair presented his plaque.
Former West Branch and Glendale coach Gary Miller, a Tyrone graduate, will be inducted, as will longtime referee Joe Dugan, who is a Moshannon Valley grad.
A little about the state champs:
n Dan Brenneman, Hollidaysburg: He captured the 1971 state title at 165 pounds, winning by injury default over Conestoga's Tim Barrett in the finals after earning a 7-0 shutout in the semifinals. He went 22-0-1 his senior year.
n Steve Krouse, Lock Haven: Krouse was a three-time District 6 Class AAA champion and three-time Northwest Regional champion for Lock Haven, which eventually morphed into Central Mountain. Krouse won the state title at 130 in 1989.
n Jason Shea, Huntingdon: As a senior at Huntingdon, Shea won the Class AAA 132-pound state title and was voted the Outstanding Wrestler in 1988 when he defeated Williamsport's Tom Best by an 18-3 technical fall, making Best a three-time runner-up. Shea finished fourth in Hershey in 1987. He was voted the District 6 OW in 1987.
n Mark Sidorick, Philipsburg-Osceola: He captured the state title in 1984 by beating Manheim Township's previously unbeaten Scott Kelly, 6-5, in the finals, becoming P-O's first state champion since Jerry Twoey in 1960. He went 29-2 as a senior.
Altoona's Doug Rosenberry, who does the announcing for both tournament, is the District 6 Man of the Year.
BC proves it's good
Bethlehem Catholic has a bunch of wrestlers with more than 20 wins, and it certainly proved how good it was by winning the PIAA Class AA Team Championships.
BC blasted Boiling Springs, 52-15, in the finals to win its second straight title. Its closest match came in the quarterfinals in a 32-18 win over Fort LeBoeuf, which ended Bedford's run at a third-place medal with a 37-30 win in the consolation semifinals.
Bedford went 2-2 in the tournament, losing its first two matches of the season, but it suffered an even bigger loss when 145-pounder Tanner Williams broke his hand in the 40-24 semifinal loss to Boiling Springs.
Williams missing the postseason is pretty rough after a 22-7 junior year. It also hurts the Bisons, who will be hard-pressed to win a District 5 title without him.
Todd Irwin can be reached at 946-7464 or at tirwin@altoonamirror.com. He can be followed on Twitter at ToddIrwin1.
