It’s only 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, it’s rainy, dreary and incredibly windy, yet the string of automobile headlights lined up on Hersheypark Drive heading for Giant Center stretches from the arena’s intersection beyond the crest of the hill more than a half-mile back.
   
Had one of the six mats used during the PIAA Wrestling Championships been outside, the wind could have rolled it up and rolled it over to Hersheypark Arena, where the championships used to be conducted.
   
But it was the Class AAA semifinals these 8,000 fans wanted to see and little was going to stop them.
   
For good reason. The Triple-A semis are by far the highlight of the eight-session, three-day event. This year’s talent level was Triple-A squared.
   
Check out these champions’ college choices: Josh Dziewa to Iowa. Josh Kindig to Oklahoma State. Mitchell Port to Division I Edinboro. The Alton twins to Penn State. Marshall Peppelman to Cornell. Spencer Myers to Maryland. Evan Craig to Rider.
   
That’s a small sampling.
   
So next year, when you’re en route to the tournament and someone asks you for directions to Giant Center, the answer is simple: “Practice, practice, practice.”
   
How popular is this PIAA event, you ask? I can tell you.
   
Pennlive.com received 442,645 page views for the wrestling coverage over the three days. There were 2,300 people involved in online chats, and they sent more than 3,000 messages.
   
That shows the passion not only statewide, but one person online was in China and another in Florida.
   
However, what would a tournament that draws that much attention and was witnessed by 57,000 fans be without a complaint? I just happen to have one.
   
If you’re a wrestler and you’ve just lost a match, have the decency to shake your opponent’s hand. Look him in the eye and shake his hand. Don’t slap at his hand, don’t offer your left hand, don’t turn your back and throw your hand at his, possibly hitting it, possibly not.
   
Grow up and shake his hand. Losing a match won’t be the worst thing that will happen to you in your life.
   
Having said that, a tip of the mat to Central Dauphin’s Tyler Buckman, the 130-pound senior who lost a heartbreaking finals match to Erie McDowell sophomore Steve Spearman.
   
Buckman not only shook Spearman’s hand, he gave him a pat on the shoulder. And after the two shook the hands of the opposing coaches, Buckman stopped Spearman at the side of the mat and hugged him.
   
The fans appreciated the quality of the match, and they let them know afterward with rousing applause. They also appreciated the sportsmanship.
   
I wouldn’t call this a complaint because you’d have to be a fool to complain about Andrew Alton of Central Mountain, voted the tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler.
   
But I would have voted for heavyweight Craig of Abington Heights. He won his second title by pinning four straight opponents. He’s not yet at the already collegiate level of the Alton twins or CD’s Peppelman, but he’s getting mighty close.
   
And if ever there was a year to start an Outstanding Runner-up award, my vote would go to CD’s Buckman.
   
Another tip of the mat to the four District 12 (Philadelphia city schools) wrestlers who earned medals.
   
Shane Springer of La Salle College was runner-up to Dylan Alton at 152. Casey Kent of La Salle lost his first match and won five straight bouts to place third at 125. Only two other wrestlers did that, and it’s quite a feat.
   
Nick Bongard of Monsignor Bonner was sixth at 119, and Anthony White of Northeast Catholic was seventh at 140.
   
Lest you think that Saturday night marked the end of the season, think again. The season will be capped off Saturday with the Dapper Dan Classic at the Pitt Field House.
   
Joe Spisak of Boiling Springs and CD’s Peppelman are part of a Pennsylvania all-star team that will take on a team of stars from around the United States.
   
It’s a prestigious event, one which the USA has dominated as of late. This year could be different.
   
Spisak will face Jamie Clark, a three-time Ohio champion from St. Edwards with a career record of 128-8. Clark is heading for Illinois; Spisak, for Virginia.
   
Peppelman will meet Nick Sulzer, also from St. Edwards and a one-time champ who is 146-17 and headed for UVa.
   
Other matches that should be quite interesting include Andrew Alton against Joe Cozart (226-4), a four-time Florida champ headed for Iowa State; Dylan Alton against Jackson Morse (184-9), a three-time Michigan champ headed for Illinois, and Craig against Bobby Telford (116-40), a two-time Delaware champ en route to Iowa.
   
Mike Evans of Blair Academy in New Jersey by way of Cumberland Valley is on the U.S. team and is set to face Jamie Callender of Council Rock North. Evans also is headed for Iowa next season.
   
The match begins at 8 p.m. It will be preceded at 6 p.m. by a match between a team of WPIAL (Pittsburgh suburbs) all-stars and a team of New York state stars.
   
If you’re not wrestled out, the NCAA Championships begin today in Omaha, Neb. Plenty of action will be on ESPNU Friday (10:30 a.m. and 7 p.m.) and Saturday (11 a.m.), and the finals are 7:30 p.m. Saturday on ESPN.

Walking out of Giant Center late Saturday night and into the bluster and drizzle, it was the perfect time to reflect on the events that occurred over the high school wrestling season.

At first, there was some anxiety taking over for longtime wrestling writer and colleague Rod Frisco, someone who has a limitless knowledge of the sport and has been a staple for 25 years.

But after a while, things settled down and I was able to get a grasp of what was going on. Along the way, the wrestling community was patient and provided great moments that won’t soon be forgotten, at least not from this side of the room.

My mind wondered to an epic dual meet between Central Mountain and Central Dauphin in the state semifinal dual that many experts rank above and beyond anything they have ever seen. That match alone sold me on team wrestling.

But by the time I reached down to open my car door, my thoughts shifted to what was witnessed on the floor of Giant Center over the last three days during the PIAA Wrestling Championships, where members of the 2009-2010 class of local wrestlers made memorable runs and solidified legacies.

It will be a long time before anyone forgets Central Dauphin’s Marshall Peppelman.

The 160-pound superstar displayed his power by standing West Allegheny’s Troy Reaghard straight up on his back like one of those buoys that bounced up and down in the ocean and pinned him in 3:02.

It was the perfect end to a career that included three straight individual state titles, six team titles, Powerade and Beast of the East championships and a district record 181 wins.

All were accomplished with a touch of class.

"I can’t name one moment out of all the success I had — the team titles, the individual titles — each is a moment all in itself," Peppelman said. "These are all memories that I can look back on that will last a lifetime."

Potential was also realized and completed in the Rams’ camp during this state tournament.

Kenny Courts came in as a highly touted freshman, got hurt and missed states and then came back to finish second last year as a sophomore. You could just sense at the beginning of this season, he was going to complete his mission.

He did, beating Cumberland Valley’s Tristan Warner in the final — not an easy task — to give the Rams back-to-back gold medals at 160 and 171.

"It’s been an amazing ride," the lightning-quick Courts said. "I’ve worked so hard since last year’s loss, especially on improving on the bottom, and it feels great to get something that I’ve worked so hard for."

And no one will forget CD’s Tyler Buckman and his unbelievable match against McDowell’s Steve Spearman in the 130-pound final. It was easily the best match of all the finals, Class AA or Class AAA.

Watching Buckman on the mat is fun any time. Whether he is leading or trailing, this guy can pull athletic moves that just captivate and wow a crowd.

"It’s been a pleasure coaching these kids," CD head coach Jeff Sweigard said. "They earned everything they got. Besides all the medals, they go out and work hard.

"They came up through the program together. They do the extra training, the extra lifting and they are all buddies and get a long."

But this season wasn’t just about Central Dauphin and its wrestlers. Not by a long shot.

How about Cumberland Valley’s Shawn Greevy? Was there a wrestler that showed more guts and moxie this season than this guy, coming back from an ugly knee injury in December to get a silver medal at 135?

No way.

The Eagles’ Warner should be commended for his efforts. He lived in Courts’ shadow most of the season and kept racking up impressive wins. He never wilted under pressure and if not for Courts, he would be the one celebrating a state championship.

A new star also stepped to the forefront this season in the form of East Pennsboro’s Zachary Nye.

Some speculated —- we took a wait-and-see attitude —- that he feasted on Capital Division competition and didn’t have the chops to hold up against the heavy hitters in Class AAA.

Wrong.

Fact is, Nye is legit. His speed and his tactical wrestling ability netted him a silver at states. One more offensive flurry or counter, and he beats Selinsgrove’s Spencer Myers for the gold.

"It was a goal, and is really everyone’s goal, to win a state title," Nye said. "But my expectations weren’t exactly to be a state runner-up.

"I’m proud of what I did this year. I’m disappointed with the end, but happy with the season."

Don’t worry, Zach, you will be in the hunt next season. And no doubt it will be fun to watch.

A special thanks also goes out to Boiling Springs’ Joe Spisak. This kid is classy and took some tough defeats in three seasons before reaching the top of the podium on Saturday afternoon at 130.

No one deserved it more.

The regular season was also dotted with great team matches. Big Spring and Mechanicsburg, Mechanicsburg and Chambersburg and Big Spring and Mechanicsburg again. See the trend here? That young Wildcats squad is going to be a handful during the 2010-2011 season.

Stay tuned.

Central Dauphin to Cumberland Valley, Middletown to Mechanicsburg and all the wrestlers in between, it was a great season.

And I can’t wait for the next one.

1.  WILDCATS REVENGE: After falling short in the team championships, it only seems fitting that Central Mountain win the team title in the PIAA Individual Wrestling Championships. The Wildcats were led by Andrew and Dylan Alton, who won titles at 145 and 152, but also had two other placers to break Central Dauphin’s streak of six straight team titles.

2.  CRAIG IS KING HOSS: When you look at Abington Heights’ Evan Craig, you see a big guy who looks like he doesn’t have much athletic ability. Ah, that is the first mistake. Craig has that and more, proving it by pinning every one of his opponents on the way to a second straight state title at 285.

3.  BEST IN SHOW: If the Class AAA and Class AA finals were the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, the match between Central Dauphin’s Tyler Buckman and McDowell’s Steve Spearman was the top entry — by far. It had twists, turns, suspense and drama all wrapped into one, and the crowd showed appreciation with a postmatch ovation.

4.  NICE GUYS FINISH FIRST: Boiling Springs’ Joe Spisak is a friendly and respectful kid that keeps his nose clean and works hard. He is the poster child for what this sport is really about, and it was good to see him get rewarded for his four years of tireless work with a state title.

5.  LEGACY CEMENTED: It isn’t often that you catch a glimpse of someone so developed and so accomplished at their craft that they are in a class of their own. But Central Dauphin’s Marshall Peppelman getting his arm raised after a pin in the finals for a third straight state title seemed like an appropriate ending.

• Class AAA quarterfinals photo gallery

Over the past five seasons, everything has gone pretty well for the Cumberland Valley and Central Dauphin wrestling teams.
   
That changed a little bit over the past three months.
   
Graduation and injuries turned the normally dominant Eagles into a beatable team. That became more evident than when Wilson went into the CV Dome and bounced the Eagles out of team districts.
   
As for the Rams, their impenetrable armor was nicked a bit at districts when they only advanced four wrestlers to this weekend’s state tournament.
   
But now that the Class AAA portion of the PIAA Wrestling Championships is in high gear, the Eagles and Rams are back on top of their game, occupying five spots in tomorrow morning’s semifinal round, which begins at 8 a.m.
   
The Eagles Shawn Greevy led the Eagles contingent with a breath-taking 9-6 rally over Crestwood spunky senior Hunter McGraw in a match that the CV senior trailed 6-1 in the first period.
   
"This win really helped a lot with my confidence," Greevy said. "It showed that I can get down and have enough heart to come back. It shows that I can come back and score points and win the match."
   
Greevy’s epic Giant Center comeback started with an escape and takedown to close the first period, bringing the margin to 6-4. One minute later, the deficit was erased when the Eagles star escaped and hit another takedown to take a 7-6 lead heading to the third.
   
There, Greevy (22-2), who suffered a knee injury in December, put the finishing touches on the match with a textbook Russian that had many purists gleaming.
   
"I didn’t expect anything less than the state semifinals at the beginning of the season," Greevy said. "After I hurt my knee, I didn’t know how long I was going to be out. I was going to take one match at a time and hope everything fell into place.
   
"Now that I already have a medal, I’m not going to be anxious and just do what I have to do to win the match."
   
There was plenty of anxiety coming into this year’s championships for the Rams, who normally are the team doling out headaches.
   
But Tyler Buckman (36-4) squashed some of the uneasiness, when he mustered a 6-4 overtime decision over Pittsburgh Central Catholic’s Tyler Zymroz, in one of the most entertaining matches of the tournament so far.
   
Buckman looked like a sure consolation candidate trailing 4-2 with nine seconds left, but the CD senior slipped a reverse to tie the match with one second left.
   
In the overtime period, Buckman was the aggressor and hit a double-leg takedown with 31 seconds showing on the clock to end it.
   
"Once I got to my feet and reached down and got one of his legs up, I looked at the clock and turned it into a double-leg to tie it," Buckman said. "I just kept the momentum and knew I had it in overtime.
   
"Me and Marshall [Peppelman] talked at the beginning year, and our goal was to win state titles, me getting my first and his third. We pushed each other and didn’t want to lose whether it was lifting or running."
   
Peppelman (160) and Kenny Courts (171) also advanced to the semifinals for the Rams.
   
Tristan Warner (37-2) avenged last year’s season-ending loss to Hazelton’s Jared Kay by beating Kay in the quarterfinals 1-0 to give the Eagles their second semifinalist.
   
This was a defensive struggle that saw Warner ride Kay out in the second period before escaping in the third for a 1-0 decision.
   
"I knew it was going to come down to who could ride who out; it was the same as last year," Warner said. "I was pretty confident that I could get out in the third period, but I wasn’t sure I could hold him down.
   
"This is huge for me. He beat me last year, and it is a great feeling to place at states. This takes the pressure off and now I can see how high on the podium I go."

Day 1 of my 'wrestling' trip included a 10-minute drive to the casino. Ugh!

Express-Times Photo | MICHAEL BLOUSEThis is the horse, No. 5, I threw 20 bucks on at Penn National. He won, I lost. Sorry for the poor quality of this picture. I was pretending to be an Express-Times staff photographer.Blogger's note: I am rearranging the letters in everyone's name in this post to protect their identity and my safety.

I love wrestling. But even more than loving wrestling, I love the time the wrestlers aren't actually wrestling so I can spend some serious QT with my crew out here in Hershey, Pa. And we all enjoyed plenty of QT on Thursday -- Day 1 of the PIAA Wrestling Championships at the Giant Center.

Several highlights of Day 1 of the trip (after the Class AA action was completed and my story was filed):

• Enjoyed a late lunch at Perkins with pals Ssi and Lrdaa. It was already 3:30 p.m., but I ordered the breakfast -- two eggs, sausage, pancakes and potatoes. I was so hungry even this so-so meal tasted terrific.


• This crew I lower my standards to hang out with, they make the hotel lobby of the Scottish Inn on Jonestown Road their home. (I'll provide a little perspective here, the Pen Argyl peeps and Northampton clan are this weekend's running mates.) Crowding the lobby with food, booze, more food, more booze and lots of hardcore wrasslin groupies, it's a great way to spend an evening. Of course, the food is too fancy for me and we needed a trip to the CASINO!!!


• My buddy Rfkna, who is actually more of an acquaintance than a friend because friends share their good fortune, won $4,000 at the Hollywood Casino/Penn National Racetrack on Thursday night. Rfkna really won $4,100 on the slots but I talked him into betting one large on a horse named "Rfkna the Tank" and it finished a distant third. Rfkna may be my hero; but not a friend. Me? I lost $40 on two horse races. My No. 5 horse pictured above prevailed, but my exacta failed. (I'll write it off on my Express-Times entertainment voucher. Ha! Ha! Ha!)


• I tend to disappear from my wolfpack from time to time, and when I return it's usually: "Hey, (insert demeaning name here), where were you?" And I tell 'em it's tournament time in college hoops and I was checking out a real sport. Then comes some sort of bad wrestling joke about how stupid basketball is. Really, it's getting old. And basketball is the cooler sport.

Some of the better-looking peeps I hang with.You want some names? OK, the wolfpack includes ... Heleicm, Rm. Elhsw, Rcia, Xre, Rd. DaoeloP, Lpih, Lpih, Crhi, Upal, Oej, RRtei, Miat, Ddbuha, Rfkna, Ssi, Lrdaa. Those are just a few.

Well, that's a wrap on Day 1 at the PIAA Wrestling Championships in Hershey. Not looking forward to Day 2 today. Way too much wrestling to break up this party! Word.

Cris Ramirez probably never saw the movie “Cool Hand Luke.”
               
But he pulled a significant piece of advice from that classic con-on-the-run film. After a disappointing PIAA Class AA Southeast Region Wrestling Tournanment last week, he decided, in the word of Strother Martin’s famous Captain, to get his mind right.

It’s right.

Ramirez (25-8) turned his fifth-place regional finish into a flurry of improvement over the last four days, all of it resulting in a stunning first-round pin of Shamokin’s Wes Tillett (34-5) in the PIAA Class AA Wrestling Championship Thursday at Giant Center.

Ramirez’s victory was one of two stunners by midstate wrestlers in a mixed bag for the locals.

The other came from Juniata senior Seth Beitz (42-7), who knocked off Central Cambria’s Phillip Steinberg, last year’s runner-up at 135 pounds, by a 6-3 score.

Six other midstate wrestlers scored first-round wins: Line Mountain’s impressive freshman Zain Retherford at 103 and Adam Kritzer at 130, Juniata’s PIAA champion Arty Walsh at 119 and PIAA runner-up Zac Beitz at 125, and Boiling Springs’ Joe Spisak at 130 and hot-as-slag Tylor Unger at 285.

But the victories by Ramirez and Seth Beitz were show-stealers for the locals.

“After regionals, we went back in the room and worked,” Ramirez said. “And not just baby practices. There was a lot of running, a lot of work.”

It wasn’t just physical work, either.

“We watched a video [of Tillett] and learned some things about him,” Ramirez said. “I was looking for his weakness, and when I found it, I went after it.”

What Ramirez found, in part because of the video that Milton Hershey assistant coach Ed Neiswender pulled of the wrestling site flowrestling.com, was that Tillett could be thrown. And that’s what Ramirez did … twice.

The first was a counter when Tillett, leading 2-1, attempted to tackle Ramirez, who went over and under and flipped Tillet for a takedown near the edge.

The second throw was much better. Ramirez walked into a low bear hug, lifted and tossed Tillett and got the pin at 3:27.

“I think maybe he thought it’d be easy since I was a No. 5 guy [from the region],” Ramirez said. “I know I thought that about Unger last week.” Unger (33-15), who pushed through a grueling 3-2 win over Wyalusing’s Pete Champluvier.

Unger, who entered the District 3-AA tournament with a 26-12 record, but has since gone 9-3 against good competition, turned in a stunning 9-2 decision over Ramirez last week.

“I learned from that,” said Ramirez, a Bronx resident who once loved theater.

Unger, for his his part, is thrilled with the new him, even if he’s not quite sure how to articulate his new-man turn of events.

“Everything’s just going well,” Unger said. “I just look at my opponent as my enemy and treat him that way.”

Boiling Springs head coach Rodney Wright was more concise about Unger’s improvement.

“He’s found a new love for the sport,” said Wright, the three-time PIAA champion from Lakeview. “Just the other day, he said ‘I can’t wait for next year.’ I told him, ‘Hey, let’s take of this year first.’ ‘’

Unger’s more famous teammate, Spisak (44-1), got in just 43 seconds of work, the time it took him to pin Bentworth’s Francis Mizia.

“I just wanted to come out physical, get the feel for it,” Spisak said. “Having only one match today is kind of anticlimactic, but that’s the way it’s set up. It’d be nice to have another.”

Seth Beitz showed he’s capable of reaching Saturday’s state finals by wrestling a smart, tough match against Steinberg. He trailed 3-2 after two periods, but was the aggressor in the third and outscored Steinberg 4-0 with a takedown and nearfall.

Beitz’s brother Zac had no problems, dumping Iroquois’ Dylan Simmer 9-2 at 125 while Walsh got enough of a fight from Blairsville’s Adam Weinell in a 9-3 decision.

Retherford was especially impressive in his 10-0 execution of Mount Union’s Ryan Wilson, who had just three losses entering the tournament, while Kritzer pulled off a mild surprise by topping North East’s Levi Morton 10-5. He gets Spisak in this morning’s quarterfinals.

Among those falling short in the opening round were Milton Hershey’s Nick Lamoreaux, who couldn’t find any openings against PIAA runner-up Evan Link of Penn Cambria in a 6-2 loss.

Annville-Cleona’s Dylan Killian fell behind Loyalsock’s Alec Eggerton 8-2, turned him with a third-period cradle, but couldn’t get the pin and lost 8-5.

Juniata’s Dylan Treaster at 152 and Dan Fultz at 285 also dropped first-round matches, Treaster to Tyler Gargano of Hickory 12-4 and Fultz to PIAA runner-up Tyler DeMott of Benton 10-2.   Williams Valley’s Ben Ancheff was pinned in overtime by Forest Hills’ Robert Oshaben.

Whether it is the regular season, the District 3 Championships or the PIAA Wrestling Championships, Bo knows one thing.

Winning.

Bo Candelaria wasted little time in showing that he isn’t about to lay over for Central Mountain’s Andrew Alton or anyone else in the 145-pound weight class for that matter, when he carved out a picture-perfect 16-1 over Council Rock South’s Tim Riley in the first round of Class AAA competition.

“Everything is working for me right now,” Candelaria said. “There are always some pre-state butterflies coming in; your eyes get big but once you blink and get that first match in, you are into it.

“This is my time to feel strong. I’m not going to back down now.”/p

The Blue Raiders senior (30-3) rests in the top-heavy side of the 145-bracket, with weight favorite Alton and Nazareth’s Ryan Krecker (34-4), who Candelaria will face in the quarterfinals, which start at 1 p.m.

It should be noted that Krecker decisioned Candelaria 7-2 at Beast of the East in mid-December. But he can expect to see a different wrestler this time around.

“I’m in better shape, and I’m more aggressive than when we wrestled the first time,” Candelaria said. “The last time, I wrestled his way. This time, I’m going show him the way I wrestle.”

A win, and Candelaria will likely hit Alton, the state champion at 140 last year, in the semifinals.

“I don’t mind that those guys are on my side of the bracket,’ Candelaria said. “I’m here to win gold and wrestle the best whether it is in the first round or the finals.”

The local Mid-Penn contingent showed its worth on the state stage by advancing 13 of 23 wrestlers into the Class AAA quarterfinals. Five more wrestlers are still alive in the consolations.

Cumberland Valley’s Travis Friend is in his last high school season and is looking to make it count.

He got off to a good start by punishing Ringgold’s Neal Rands and then pinning him in 3:12 to advance to the quarterfinals against St. Marys Sean Sadosky (34-0).

“Districts is done and over with,” said Friend (23-1), who lost to East Pennsboro’s Zachary Nye in the District 3 final. “There is no pressure on me. I like where I am in the bracket and just want to take it one match at a time and make it on the medal stand.

“This is my last time season, and I want to go out on a good note.”

Central Dauphin’s Marshall Peppelman (160) and Kenny Courts (171) are also looking to put an exclamation point on the season.

The two ripped off quick pins, spending a combined 1:31 on the mat in advancing to today’s quarters.

Others local wrestlers remaining in the championship hunt are Cedar Cliff’s Christopher Vassar (103), Big Spring’s Dereck Enders (112), Central Dauphin’s Tyler Buckman (130), Cumberland Valley’s Shawn Greevy (135), Carlisle’s Jayshon Wilson (152), Big Spring’s Luke Etter (160), Cumberland Valley’s Tristan Warner (171), East Pennsboro’s Zachary Nye (215) and Susquehanna Twp.’s Averee Robinson (285).

　

Busy weekend we had at the Arnolds! WEC fights was Probably the best MMA Card in a Long time! Heading out to the PIAA Wrestling Championships this Wednesday. Hope top see you all there>

Tyson Dippery (103) and Shyheim Brown (112) will be watching from the sidelines the rest of the postseason after losses in the District 3-AAA Wrestling Championships at Hersheypark Arena.

Dippery was beaten for the first time by Cedar Cliff's Chris Vassar in the consolation semifinals on an escape with one second left in the third overtime period.

Dippery won the previous three meetings this season, 5-2, 1-0 and 2-0 last week at sectionals.

Brown wasn't much better, dropping his consi semi 8-1 to Susquehanna Twp.'s Daniel King.

With Dippery and Brown out, as well as Nick Stewart (285), winning the team title in two weeks during the PIAA Wrestling Championships looks bleak.

 

When Joe Spisak started wrestling as a young kid, it was simply to help him burn off excess energy.
   
And a good way for his parents to get peace and quiet at home.
   
But something happened when Spisak got on the mat. He was drawn to the nuances of the sport, the one-on-one competition and hours of hard work and dedication it took to outlast an opponent and get his hand raised in victory.
   
Spisak was hooked.
   
“In this sport, if you want to be good and on top, you need to put in the hours,” the Boiling Springs senior said. “It’s so cliché to say, but it’s not just a sport, it’s a lifestyle.
   
“It’s changed my life. First off, it changed my work ethic. If not for wrestling, I don’t know what I would be doing. It’s all I think about; I don’t know what I would do without it.”
   
It’s served him well.
   
Spisak, winner of more than 150 career high school matches, will be looking to add to his long list of accolades when he starts his pursuit of a fourth District 3-AA title beginning Friday at Hersheypark Arena.
   
The first round of the tournament kicks off at 10 a.m., with the quarterfinals slated for 11:30 a.m. The semifinals take place at 9 a.m. Saturday, with the finals scheduled for 7 p.m.
   
For Spisak, it is a chance to join an elite group. He can become only the 10th wrestler since the tournament started in 1938 to win a district title in each year of their high school career.
   
No doubt, a monumental feat. But it isn’t the only thing that Spisak is known for since his run started in 2006.
   
Spisak is a four-time sectional champion. He owns two regional titles and has placed three times in the PIAA Wrestling Championships, the best being a second-place finish in 2008.
   
“I didn’t expect to do as well as I’ve done, but I’m not quite where I want to be either,” Spisak said. “I’m fortunate with the outcome of many of my matches. A state title is what I want to end up with, but that isn’t in the cards yet.
   
“I hope that is where I end up this year, but that is looking too far ahead. Anyone can beat anyone, so it is one match at a time.”
   
Like many top-flight, experienced wrestlers, Spisak gets butterflies in his stomach while waiting for his match. But it isn’t nervousness.
   
It’s an excitement. A powerful energy and focus that gets whipped up before facing another opponent.
   
Spisak’s had plenty of these big moments. He’s also had plenty of mentors that have helped him develop into a feared challenger that thrives under the pressure cooker of a big match.
   
“Obviously, coach [Rod] Wright has been a big influence,” Spisak said. “I mean, he is a three-time state champion and a phenom. He knows more about wrestling than probably all of the District 3 combined. There aren’t enough good things to say about him.
   
“My dad [Steve] and whole family have stood toe-to-toe with me in wrestling, as well as everyone in the Boiling Springs community. There just isn’t enough time to mention them all.”
   
Spisak, who will continue his wrestling career at the University of Virginia next season, trains three days at the Peppelman barn with CD assistant Ken Courts. He also travels to see Juniata assistant and former Penn State wrestler Adam Smith along with attending his scheduled workouts at Boiling Springs.
   
Each entity has been instrumental in Spisak’s conditioning, strength regimen and adding wrinkles to his wrestling repertoire.
   
Good thing, because he will need every ounce of his ability to make a fourth straight trip to the top of the podium at districts, especially with standouts like Delone Catholic’s Joshua Ruppert, Hamburg’s Derek Goodwin and Brandywine Heights’ Tyler Herman lurking in the bracket.
   
“I treat districts like any other tournament,” Spisak said. “I don’t look at any of the names in the bracket to psyche myself out. You know who the studs are in the bracket.
   
“You don’t want to overthink the match. You don’t want to go overboard on analyzing it. If I work hard enough in practice and do my job, I should be the one winning.”
   
A run to states will take 10 straight wins. No matter what happens in the upcoming weeks, Spisak knows he is down to the final matches in his high school career.
   
And he wants to make each one count.
   
“Winning a fourth district title would be a great accomplishment,” Spisak said. “I will be happy with that but in the big picture, I want a state title and this is just another step.
   
“I’ve done well the last couple years, and people expect me to do well. I hope to wrestle my best and not be sloppy. I think I’m up to that challenge.”