Luke Simcox wins his match against Gavin Reynolds of Central Dauphin during their match at 145 pounds during the PIAA Wrestling Championships in Hershey. DAVE KENNEDY/For The Express

Luke Simcox just continued getting better.

Many wrestlers who end up at the PIAA Individual Wrestling Tournament do, but Simcox entered himself into new territory on Saturday night. The senior not only became a two-time PIAA state champion, but he did it in back-to-back years in style, capping what’s been an incredible four-year journey at Central Mountain.

Simcox began his career by winning both state and regional titles, something he had done in all four years except for this past season, where he became a district runner-up in his third loss of the year in an injury default due to a nagging shoulder injury. Simcox was a fifth-place finisher at the state tournament in his first two seasons until he capped off his junior year with championships at the district, region and state levels.

Fueled by his final season approaching, Simcox was hungry for another title. While words are easy and actions are harder, the future North Carolina Tarheel put his money where his mouth was by winning another title in the toughest fashion, a repeat ultimate tiebreaker match which had transpired two weeks ago. Simcox showed wrestlers and their fans the grind of making your way up the podium dating back to his freshman season.

“Making that jump is a really good feeling, it made me happy to know that my hard work is paying off and that this time in the room wasn’t for nothing,” Simcox said after the win. “Even though I knew I was getting better, to get these accomplishments is a really good feeling.”

Simcox began his career at a slender, 126 pounds during a COVID year where there were reduced tournaments and matches. He finished with a 26-5 record that year and the state’s fifth best. He then followed up that year with more tournaments and matches as things shifted to post-pandemic mode and had a stellar 38-6 record. But yet again, only a fifth-place finish at the state tournament after a jump in one weight class up to 132 pounds, just before the PIAA changed weight classes for the 2022-23 season.

Wrestling in the 133-pound weight class, Simcox not only had one of his best years record-wise at 42-4, but he became equipped to wrestle under the bright lights in more tight matches. Simcox tied his decision victories with 12 that year while racking up 16 pins, which were second-highest during a season for his career. He also added six major decisions and tech falls apiece, which all culminated to a 1-0 decision over Maddox Shaw of Thomas Jefferson for his first title.

When everything goes up, some things end up coming down. And sometimes they don’t go back up as high as they once were. Simcox began his final season on a high note, winning 14 consecutive matches before falling to Bishop McCort’s Class AA phenom Bo Bassett and rattling off another eight consecutive before his second loss of the regular season came to Sam Kuhns of Pennridge in a tight, 3-1 decision at the Team State Championships in February.

From mid-January to the district tournament, Simcox dealt with a shoulder injury on and off. After recovering from a majority of the pain during team states, Simcox reinjured it at districts and lost by injury default to Manville, surrendering his first district title.

But Simcox, nevertheless, never let himself become a product of the injury. He came back the following week, defeated Manville in a 3-2 ultimate tiebreaker which gave him four regional titles, a much sweeter feat against the best competition in the Northwest.

In Simcox’s state final, which ended in a 4-1 ultimate tiebreaker, the 145-pounder turned up the heat and took it up a notch. He would have won with an escape point, 2-1. But with Manville itching for a takedown to get back on top with 15 seconds remaining, Simcox countered with a takedown as the Giant Center roared “two” as time expired in the final match between two of the state’s best wrestlers.

The glory and praise Simcox is receiving is all fine, well and dandy–he’s well accomplished, to say the least. But his words can’t be taken lightly given the journey, and setbacks, he’s taken physically and mentally to accomplish something not many wrestlers get to achieve. His performance will serve as inspiration for up-and-coming wrestlers like Gavin Heverly and Aiden Kunes, two Central Mountain wrestlers who got bounced on Day 1 of the state tournament.

“I think I was a good mentor for these up-and-coming kids. I can’t take away anything that they’ve done this year, they’re state qualifiers, I’m very proud of them. They’re great wrestlers and some of the hardest workers in our room and I’m sure you’ll see them back here and on the podium in a few years.”

Looking back on his accomplishments, Simcox achieved the success not many wrestlers can say they have had. A 137-18 record, three district titles, four regional titles and now back-to-back titles, it’s something he won’t forget one day. The key word is one day.

With a hungry attitude to win at the next level wrestling or an ACC program, the goal is to win against the top 1% of wrestlers.

“As far as UNC, this is all in the past now,” Simcox said about his future. “I’m looking for four NCAA titles so it’s the future.”

NEXT-LEVEL PREPARATION

Griffin Walizer’s wrestling journey has been about fighting through adversity. The 152-pound senior had to endure the toughest of battles at this past weekend’s state tournament wrestling against the state’s (and nation’s) top-ranked wrestlers. Walizer threw his counter punches, solidifying a sixth-place finish for his second-best finish in his three consecutive trips to the state tournament dating back to his sophomore season.

Growing up, Walizer got a late start with wrestling due to personal health issues. And while he didn’t let that stop him, it prepared him for tough wrestling all four years of his career. Walizer already endured the stinging feeling of runner-up finishes in three of four district championship bouts, one of which he won his freshman season.

On top of finishing a second-best in region the past two seasons and third his sophomore year, Walizer has seen the best-of-the best and performed at a respectable level. He met Altoona’s Luke Sipes, a Princeton commit, three times alone in the postseason. He’s seen Kuhns of Pennridge, who Simcox wrestled and lost to, who is a ranked District 1 wrestler and had to wrestle Collin Gaj of Quakertown–a Virginia Tech commit who finished runner-up on Saturday–in the State Quarterfinal round on Friday.

While many wrestlers would be upset about not reaching higher than fifth place on the podium, Walizer embraced the challenges and the results of making it as far as he could in Hershey and now looks towards collegiate wrestling.

“It definitely prepares you. I’m wrestling the best guys in the state and a lot of guys in the state of Pennsylvania are the best guys in the country so testing the waters with these guys is wrestling with some of the best guys in the country,” Walizer mentioned at the Giant Center after receiving his fifth place medal. “It’s good training for taking it to the next level. All my mistakes, I can pinpoint and look over where I need to get better moving forward because a lot of those guys are actually high Division I athletes already.”

Walizer still accomplished what many wrestlers don’t get to: the state tournament and 100 victories. Just as equally important, Walizer made the trip to the Team State Championships two consecutive years and was part of a team that improved from sixth to third in a one year span. The future Bald Eagle finished 123-46 for his high school career and was 76-24 his past two seasons.

Walizer admitted after the tournament that he wasn’t always in the proper headspace to wrestle at the highest level. But with an offseason and a promising collegiate wrestling career ahead, he plans to change that. It may take some time but this experience for Walizer will pay off in LHU’s Thomas Fieldhouse one day.

“Monday, Tuesday I’m back in the room getting ready and prepared (for college),” Walizer said. “I want to be prepared as much as possible, getting into the college room as much as possible and hitting the weights as much as possible.”