State College wrestling comes up short in first trip to PIAA Class 3A dual championships since 2003
There are always points in a tight wrestling dual that can be pointed to as key moments.
For State College, there were three of them during its first trip to the PIAA Class 3A dual championships since 2003 at the Giant Center in Hershey.
The Little Lions made it through Seneca Valley’s toughest part of its lineup — the lightweights, picked up a swing match win, but faltered in another in a 34-29 loss on Thursday.
“I don’t think we wrestled to the best that we could. It happens,” State College coach Ryan Cummins said. “It’s our first time here. I expected the guys to be a little nervous, and that might have played a role. They got a great team. Seneca Valley is tough. We just got to get back on track tomorrow and give it our all.”
The dual began at 113 pounds, a spot that Raiders’ coach Kevin Wildrick didn’t really like, but it was perfect for his squad.
Seneca Valley got bonus points early with a 16-4 major decision from Hunter Swedish over the Little Lions’ Bailey Weaverling. It was a spot where Weaverling did everything he could to keep the technical fall or pin from coming.
“It’s not ideal for us because we like to see where we are going to be at after the top part of our lineup,” Wildrick said. “State College did a great job not giving up bonus points through the bottom. We definitely count on getting points through that area.”
At 120 pounds, State College’s Eric Weaver came out and looked like he was going to send a shockwave through the Raiders’ team. The freshman was in a scramble with PIAA runner-up and junior Dylan Chappell. Weaver came out on top of the scramble and nearly pinned Chappell.
It was like the Little Lion woke up a beast. Chappell scored eight unanswered points to capture an 8-2 victory to put Seneca Valley up 7-0 early.
State College’s Carter Weaverling got the Little Lions on the board at 126 pounds. The freshman was methodical scoring five unanswered points over the final two periods in a 5-1 win over Evan Vetter.
The Little Lions’ Owen Woolcott had a tall task in taking on two-time and reigning PIAA champion in Alejandro Herrera-Rondon at 132 pounds. Woolcott held his own in a 5-0 loss to the champ.
“Those guys wrestled great and tough. They gutted those matches out,” Cummins said of his lightweights. “They’ve (Seneca Valley) got some really tough kids down there. Our guys hung in there. I was impressed with the way they wrestled.”
The Raiders fed off Herrera-Rondon’s victory by collecting pins from Chanz Shearer (138 pounds) and Antonio Amelio (145). They led 22-3 and seemed in control. It was until Harrison Hoopes hit the mat for State College.
After a scoreless first period, Hoopes racked up three takedowns, an escape and a penalty point from a winded Aidan Hayes in the final two frames. Hoopes earned an 8-1 win and the Little Lions kept rolling from there winning the next three matches.
“I give State College all the credit. They came ready to wrestle,” Wildrick said. “Our 152 was our backup. He went in there to try and take care of it for us. He had a tough task with the guy he was wrestling.”
Noah Prewitt took the mat for State College at 160 pounds against Caden Leighty. Prewitt led 6-4 to start the third period. Leighty earned an escape late in the third period. The pair looked gassed, but Prewitt pushed through the wall late for a takedown for the final buzzer in an 8-5 win. The Little Lions were down 22-9.
Lance Urbas came out as a man on a mission for State College at 170 pounds. Urbas nearly pinned Marshall Adamson in the first period but was only able to secure near-fall points for a 6-0 lead. A takedown and three near-fall points handed Urbas an 11-1 lead after two periods.
The junior got a reversal, took Adamson to his back and looked for the fall, but a potentially dangerous called an end to the match with a 16-1 technical fall in 4:56 for Urbas. The Little Lions got to 22-14.
It all seemed set up for State College to rally for a come-from-behind victory as the upper weights are weak for the Raiders.
Ty Price was in control of his match at 182 pounds with Liam Volk-Klos with a 3-0 lead. Volk-Klos caught Price though and pinned him in 3:49 to make it a 28-14 Seneca Valley lead.
Josiah Lose responded for State College with a gutsy 2-0 sudden-victory win over Patrick Johnson at 195 pounds. Lose or Johnson scored in regulation, but Lose looked to have the deeper fuel tank. Ten seconds into the sudden-victory period, he hit a slick double leg for the winning points. Lose jumped to his feet and flexed to the crowd.
However, the Raiders’ Nick Funovits pinned Nick Beebe in 4:55 at 220 pounds, thus halting State College’s rally.
Seneca Valley forfeited the final two matches to Harrison Schoen (285 pounds) and Hayden Cunningham (106).
The Little Lions will hit the mat at 10 a.m. Friday in the first round of consolations. They will take on Garnet Valley, which was the fourth-place finisher out of District 1.
“They (Seneca Valley) have a great team. They are tough where we are tough,” Cummins said. “They were just a little bit tougher today. Our guys went out and fought hard. We’ll regroup and come back tomorrow.”
Seneca Valley 34, State College 29
PIAA Class 3A Dual Championships
First Round
Thursday at Hershey
113: Hunter Swedish, SV, major dec. Bailey Weaverling, 16-4
120: Dylan Chappell, SV, dec. Eric Weaver, 8-2
126: Carter Weaverling, SC, dec. Evan Vetter, 5-1
132: Alejandro Herrera-Rondon, SV, dec. Owen Woolcott, 5-0
138: Chanz Shearer, SV, pinned Clayton Leidy, 2:55
145: Antonio Amelio, SV, pinned Kyle Martin, 5:09
152: Harrison Hoopes, SC, dec. Aidan Hayes, 8-1
160: Noah Prewitt, SC, dec. Caden Leighty, 8-5
170: Lance Urbas, SC, tech. fall Marshall Anderson, 16-1 (4:56)
182: Liam Volk-Klos, SV, pinned Ty Price, 3:49
195: Josiah Lose, SC, dec. Patrick Johnson, 2-0 (SV)
220: Nick Funovits, SV, pinned Nick Beebe, 4:55
285: Harrison Schoen, SC won by forfeit
106: Hayden Cunningham, SC, won by forfeit
Takedowns: SV 16, SC 12
Records: Seneca Valley 16-2, State College 11-5
