Bishop McCort's Gibson could meet two-time state champ at West Super Regional
Mar. 6—One of the most anticipated matchups of this weekend's West Super Regional Class 2A Wrestling Tournament could be the nation's top freshman against a two-time state champion headed to Penn State in the fall.
Bishop McCort Catholic's Mason Gibson and Reynolds senior Gary Steen are favored to meet in the 120-pound final on Saturday at Indiana (Pa.). Steen, who won PIAA titles in 2018 and 2020, is 25-0 this season.
Gibson won a Super 32 title as an eighth-grader and is 16-0.
Gibson, one of 14 local wrestlers in the super regional, is ranked first in the state by PA Power Wrestling; Steen, who originally committed to wrestle at Pitt but later flipped to the Nittany Lions, is second.
It's a matchup that has had fans buzzing since the announcement that Northwest and Southwest wrestlers would come together for the super regional, an event added this year in order to reduce the number of competitors at the state tournament in Hershey in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Wrestling someone at high level in America — let alone in Pennsylvania — such as Mason, people love to watch it," Steen said. "I love competing, and having a high-level opponent makes it even better."
The two aren't exactly strangers.
They met in October in the True Power match in Tyrone, with Gibson coming away with a 3-2 victory.
"It was a very fun match and I enjoyed it," said Steen, who also practiced with Gibson at David Taylor's M2 Wrestling Club in December. "I felt like I performed pretty well against Mason, who is a very high-level opponent."
Steen said the biggest takeaway from that match was that his conditioning wasn't good enough to keep up with Gibson, but that he's in much better shape now than he was after a long pandemic layoff.
Gibson sees a difference in himself as well.
"I believe I've gotten so much better since we wrestled," he said. "I think I'm on a completely different level."
He certainly has been in his varsity career. Gibson has scored at least 10 points in each of his matches. He beat Waynesburg's Mac Church, a bronze medalist in 3A last season, 11-6, and 2A fourth-place finisher Owen Reinsel of Brookville, 10-2. The rest of Gibson's matches have ended in technical falls, including two over Hunter Walk of Tyrone, who finished sixth in Class 2A last season.
Gibson says his goal is always to win by 15 or more points.
"I'm going in with the same mindset — tech fall," he said. "That's not going to stop because I have Gary Steen. I'm going to go in there to have some fun."
Gibson will face Philipsburg-Osceola's Marcus Gable in the first round of the super regional.
Jackson Arrington, the only other local wrestler to win a Southwestern Regional title, will face Tussey Mountain's Hunter Horton in the quarterfinals at 132 pounds.
Chestnut Ridge's Calan Bollman, a PIAA runner-up last season who finished fifth in the region, will take on unbeaten freshman Chris Vargo of Bentworth at 113 pounds.
The Lions' Ross Dull draws Northwest runner-up Braedon Johnson of Port Allegany at 126, while Forest Hills' Easton Toth is paired against Hickory's Connor Saylor.
Ligonier Valley's Ryan Harbert will face unbeaten Nolan Shaffer of Johnsonburg at 138.
Jack Moyer of Chestnut Ridge will match up with Southwest champion Kenny Duschek of Blackhawk at 145, while Richland's Cooper Warshel draws Hickory's Carter Gill.
Three local wrestlers appear in the 152-pound bracket, with Westmont Hilltop's Hudson Holbay facing Kane's Luke Ley, Chestnut Ridge's Luke Moore meeting Conneaut Area's Collin Hearn and North Star's Connor Yoder taking on Fort LeBoeuf's Jack Rimpa.
Ryan Weyandt of Forest Hills is set to face Jalen Wagner of Reynolds at 160.
Cambria Heights' Ian Eckenrode will meet Greenville's Cole Karpinski in a battle of once-beaten wrestlers.
A third local wrestler has a Reynolds opponent at 285, where Meyersdale's Jalen Stephens will meet Guy Rocco John-Daniello.
The top four wrestlers in each weight class will advance to Friday's state tournament in Hershey. Wrestling begins at 8 a.m. for weight classes 106 to 138 and at noon for 145 to 285.
The finals and medal rounds are scheduled for 5:30 and 7:30 p.m., respectively.
