Centre County will have 3 finalists and at least 10 medalists from the PIAA wrestling championships
Centre County will be bringing home at least 10 medals from the 2020 PIAA wrestling championships, and will have three wrestlers competing Saturday to become state champs.
Philipsburg-Osceola finished Friday with a program-record three medalists, while Penns Valley also had two, St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy had four and Bald Eagle Area added another.
Bellefonte still has two wrestlers alive with a chance to earn medals. Bald Eagle Area and St. Joseph’s are the only programs with finalists, with one and two, respectively.
Here’s how each of the six county teams sit after Day 2:
Class 2A
Bald Eagle Area
Finalists: Gage McClenahan (145)
Medalists (3rd-8th): None
Eliminated: Coen Bainey (2-2, 106), Cooper Gilham (2-2, 120) and David Close (2-2, 220)
Team score: 12th, 39 points
Recap: Bald Eagle Area came into the day with four wrestlers still alive in the tournament but ended with just one.
However, that one — McClenahan — will be competing for his first PIAA gold medal Saturday afternoon.
McClenahan made the finals at his weight class with a 3-2 win over previously undefeated Nathan Higley, of Sullivan County. The Bald Eagle Area senior finished the match and pointed twice to his head, letting the crowd know how he wins.
“These other guys might be bigger, might be stronger, might be faster,” he said. “But when I put my mind to things I can make things happen. Sometimes you’ve got to outsmart them.”
Bald Eagle Area head coach Ron Guenot said the win meant a lot after McClenahan missed last season due to a knee injury. He had been a state finalist the year prior.
“I’m happy for Gage,” Guenot said. “It’s definitely a sweet feeling for Gage and our team.”
As great as McClenahan’s run has been, his three teammates came up one round shy of being able to be medalists with him.
Bainey opened his day with a 40-seconds pin of Jamestown’s Mitchell Headley. In the third round of consolations, Bainey was unable to score one more point to force sudden victory in a 6-5 loss to Benton’s Ethan Kolb.
Gilham had a barn burner to open his day. He scored a takedown 10 seconds into a sudden victory period to advance. He ran into a buzzsaw of Bishop McDevitt’s Nate Smith in the consolation third round. Smith’s relentless offense was enough in a 9-2 win.
Close, like Gilham, needed a 3-1 sudden victory win to begin his day. He then took on Mount Union’s Jake Ryan, who is a reigning PIAA runner-up and two-time placewinner. Ryan was out to a 3-0 lead, when he pinned Close in 2:29 to end Close’s high school career.
Penns Valley
Finalists: None
Medalists (3rd-8th): Malachi DuVall (152) and Andrew Sharer (182)
Eliminated: Clayton Royer (1-2, 138)
Team score: 11th, 42 points
Recap: Penns Valley managed to put two wrestlers in the semifinals, but neither could close the deal to make it to the finals.
DuVall dropped a narrow 3-2 decision to Burrell’s A.J. Corrado in the 152-pound semifinals, while Sharer fell 5-3 to Ellwood City’s Austin Walley in the 182-pound semifinals.
While both wrestlers wanted to be finalists, they didn’t let their losses deter them in their consolation semifinals matchups.
DuVall pinned Forest Hills’ Ryan Weyandt in 1:33 to secure his place in Saturday’s third-place match.
Sharer nearly had a fall of his own in the first period of his consolation semifinals match with Burrell’s Ricky Ferocce, but the buzzer sounded before he could secure it. The senior coasted to a 7-2 victory from there and secured his own spot in the third-place match.
Penns Valley head coach Joel Brinker was thrilled with the way his wrestlers handled themselves after their semifinal losses.
“I’m really proud,” Brinker said. “Both guys showed a lot of character and class in coming back. We talked about needing to bounce back if things happened and to get the wins says a lot about both young men.”
Royer came up a round shy of accomplishing his goal of becoming a state medalist.
He was pinned in the quarterfinals by Saegertown’s Kenny Kiser. In the consolation third round, which is known as the blood round. Royer dropped a tough 3-2 decision to Freedom Area’s Kenny Duschek.
Philipsburg-Osceola
Finalists: None
Medalists (3rd-8th): Chase Chapman (138), Hunter Weitoish (160) and Parker Moore (195)
Eliminated: None
Team score: T-19th, 27 points
Recap: Philipsburg-Osceola made program history Friday. The Mounties set a school record with three medalists in Chapman, Moore and Weitoish.
The program hadn’t placed a medalist since 2008 when Mike Horton finished fifth. P-O head coach Brad Pataky said the record was a huge accomplishment for the Mounties.
“It’s a big testament to our program and our philosophy as a staff,” he said. “It’s an extremely big accomplishment for the team and school overall.”
Chapman overcame an initial loss in the tournament to earn his medal. The senior 138-pounder won three consolation matches before falling to fellow Centre County standout in St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy’s Zack Witmer, 6-4, in the consolation quarterfinals. He’ll have a chance to have one more match when he takes part in the seventh-place match Saturday afternoon.
Weitoish also fell to a fellow Centre County wrestler in the consolation quarterfinals. He lost to the Wolves’ Keegan Rothrock, 6-4. Weitoish will also compete in a seventh-place match Saturday afternoon.
Moore closed the day for the Mounties with a loss by pin in 2:41 in the consolation semifinals to Newport’s Ethan Rode. Still, Moore tallied two pins on the day in the consolation bracket before falling to Rode. He came back from a seven-point deficit in the third period of his consolation third round match to force sudden victory.
Moore pinned his opponent with seven seconds remaining to reach the consolation quarterfinals. He’ll be in the fifth-place match Saturday afternoon.
Pataky said the three wrestlers may have set the bar for future Mounties.
“It’s one of the best days of wrestling we’ve had in school history,” Pataky said. “I’m really proud of them. All of them went out fighting, even in their consolation bouts. They tried to climb the podium as much as they could.”
St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy
Finalists: Caleb Dowling (152) and Tyler Stoltzfus (170)
Medalists (3rd-8th): Zack Witmer (138) and Keegan Rothrock (160)
Eliminated: Amonn Ohl (1-2, 132)
Team score: 6th, 64.5 points
Recap: St. Joe’s Catholic Academy head coach Pat Flynn wanted five finalists at the end of the season, but will have to settle for two.
Dowling won his quarterfinal matchup in an ultimate tiebreaker to get to the semifinals, but it was much smoother sailing once he got there. The junior cruised in his semifinal matchup to a 10-3 win over Southern Columbia’s Wesley Barnes to make the 152-pound final, which is the second time he’s made the finals.
Stoltzfus has yet to face a major test in the tournament and waltzed into the 170-pound finals. He won his quarterfinal matchup via a technical fall in 3:16 and earned a 7-1 victory over Montoursville’s Cael Crebs.
Witmer climbed back to the consolation semifinals with a win over Chapman, but fell in that round to Trinity’s Patrick Demark, 4-2. It was the second time in the tournament that Witmer fell to Demark. He’ll be in Saturday’s fifth-place match.
Rothrock also made it to the fifth consolation round after a win over a P-O wrestler in Weitoish, but fell to Commodore Perry’s Gage Musser, 5-4, to fall to the fifth-place match Saturday afternoon.
Ohl, who has been dealing with an ankle injury since the end of January, came up short.
He took on a very strong Noah Hunt, of Warrior Run. Hunt hit several blast doubles and countered numerous of Ohl’s takedown attempts for a 17-6 win, thus ending Ohl’s season.
He’ll get one more shot next season in his senior campaign.
Flynn said he was proud of how Ohl performed with the injury.
“He basically won a match at states with one leg,” he said. “That’s really good.”
Class 3A
Bellefonte
Semifinalists: None
Still alive: Lane Aikey (120), Jude Swisher (126)
Eliminated: Aidan O’Shea (1-2, 113), Ethan Richner (1-2, 160) and Ethan Rossman (1-2, 182)
Team score: T-19th, 22 points
Recap: Bellefonte left Friday afternoon’s action with zero remaining wrestlers in the championship bracket and only two remaining total.
Aikey and Swisher each lost their quarterfinal match to drop into the consolation bracket’s third round. Aikey was down 1-0 heading into the third period of his against Nathan Lucier, of Coatesville. Lucier rode him out for the 1-0 victory.
The junior was able to come back and win his first consolation bout, 3-1, over Dylan Coy, of North Alleghany.
Swisher struggled to take Waynesburg’s Rocco Welsh down in their quarterfinals matchup. Welsh took the Bellefonte 126-pounder down twice in the match and secured a 5-2 victory.
Like Aikey, Swisher responded with a victory in the consolation round. The sophomore finished Andrew Harmon, of Bethlehem Catholic, with relative ease, pinning him in 4:05.
Bellefonte head coach Mike Maney was proud of his two quarterfinalists for responding positively after they lost.
“They were close,” Maney said. “It wasn’t for a lack of effort. I was actually pretty proud of the way both of them wrestled. Then, even more proud that they were able to bounce back. It’s tough to drop down and win your consolation after losing the quarterfinals. Proud of them to regroup, come back, and secure a PIAA medal.”
O’Shea was the first Red Raider to be eliminated from the tournament. The 113-pounder lost a 6-0 decision to Ben Monn, of Cumberland Valley, in the second round of consolation action to fall out of the tournament.
Richner took care of business in the second round of the consolation bracket with a 8-2 decision victory over James Lledo, of Lower Merion. The Red Raider finished the match with three takedowns to earn the win.
He was unable to advance after that point, falling to Owen J. Roberts’ Connor Quinn, 5-3, in the consolation third round.
Rossman dispatched Gettysburg’s Max Gourley in his second round consolation matchup with a 9-0 victory. The junior 182-pounder tallied two takedowns and four near-fall points in the win.
Rossman was in contention to advance even further, but was forced to injury default in the third round of the consolation bracket against Joey Milano, of Spring Ford. Rossman hit his head and was unable to pass a test for a concussion with the match tied 1-1 in the third period.
Maney knew coming in how difficult it would be to perform this weekend.
“Pennsylvania, especially 3A, is very, very good,” Maney said. “There’s no guarantee that you’ll get back on the podium. You have to bring your ‘A’ game every match because every guy wants the same thing that you want and that’s to earn a PIAA medal.”
State College
Semifinalists: None
Others alive: None
Eliminated: Hayden Cunningham (2-2, 106), Clayton Leidy (1-2, 138), Lance Urbas (1-2, 170)
Team score: T-44th, 10 points
Recap: State College entered Friday with three wrestlers still alive, but left with none.
Cunningham started his day with a quick victory over Dominic Flatt, of Solanco. The 106-pounder had an early 4-0 lead before pinning Flatt at the 2:21 mark of the consolation matchup.
He was unable to carry his tournament into Saturday from that point. Cunningham dropped his third round consolation matchup to Waynesburg’s Mac Church, 5-2.
Leidy was the first Little Lion of the day to lose his second bout of the tournament and get eliminated. He fell behind Methacton’s Kibwe McNair early in the first period when McNair tossed Leidy to his back for three points and an early 5-0 lead. McNair cruised from there to stay alive in the tournament.
Urbas had his season come to an end in the second round of the 170-pound consolation bracket. He quickly built a 4-0 lead in the first period after earning a takedown and turning Austin Bowman of Owen J. Roberts.
Bowman took control from there. He took Urbas down in the second and third period, with the latter resulting in three near-fall points to secure a 7-4 victory.
State College head coach Ryan Cummins said Urbas relaxed and allowed his opponent to capitalize, but is proud of his performance nonetheless.
“He’ll be back again,” Cummins said. “I’m proud of him. He didn’t wrestle last year because of an ACL tear, so he came back really hard this year. He did a really nice job. He had a really great season.”
Cummins said the end result of no medalists wasn’t ideal, but that doesn’t affect his pride in the school’s state qualifiers.
“It’s not the result we wanted, but the kids wrestled really well,” he said. “I think they’ll continue to improve and next year hopefully have a strong result. I’m proud of everybody. They wrestled well and have nothing to be disappointed about.”
PIAA Championships
Friday at Hershey
Class 2A
Team key: Allentown Central Catholic (ACC), Annville-Cleona (AC), Athens (A), Bald Eagle Area (BEA), Bedford (B), Bellwood-Antis (B-A), Benton (BT), Berlin-Brothersvalley (BB), Bermudian Springs (BS), Biglerville (BV), Bishop McDevitt (BM), Boiling Springs (BP), Brandywine Heights (BH), Brockway (BW), Brookville (BK), Burgettstown (BTT), Burrell (BU), Cambria Heights (CH), Cambridge Springs (CS), Camp Hill (CH), Canton (C), Carlynton (CY), Catasauqua (CQ), Central (CM), Chestnut Ridge (CR), Church Farm School (CF), Commodore Perry (CP), Conneaut (CT), Conwell Egan (CE), Corry (CY), Curwensville (CW), Delone Catholic (DC), Derry (D), East Pennsboro (EP), Eisenhower (E), Elizabeth Forward (EF), Ellwood City (EC), Fairfield (FF), Faith Christian (FC), Forest Hills (FH), Fort Cherry (FY), Franklin (F), Frazier (FZ), Freedom Area (FA), Fort LeBoeuf (FL), General McCLane (GM), Girard (G), Glendale (GD), Greenville (GV), Grove City (GC), Halifax (H), Hamburg (HB), Harbor Creek (HC), Hickory (HY), Hughesville (HV), Huntingdon (HT), Jamestown (JT), Jefferson-Morgan (JM), Jersey Shore (JS), Johnsonburg (J), Kane (K), Lackawanna Trail (LT), Lake Lehman (LL), Laurel (L), Lewisburg (LB), Line Mountain (LM), Littlestown (LS), Mahanoy (MY), Maplewood (MW), Marion Center (MC), McGuffey (MG), Mercer (M), Meyersdale (MD), Middletown (MT), Midd-West (M-W), Mifflinburg (MB), Milton (MN), Mountoursville (MV), Mount Pleasant (MP), Mount Union (MU), Mount Carmel (Mt. C), Muncy (Mun.), Newport (N), North Schuylkill (NY), North Star (NS), Northeast Bradford (NEB), Northern Bedford (NB), Northern Lebanon (NLB), Northern Lehigh (NL), Notre Dame-Green Pond (ND), Octorara (O), Palisades (P), Pen Argyl (PA), Penns Valley (PV), Philipsburg-Osceola (P-O), Port Allegany (PY), Quaker Valley (Q), Redbank Valley (RV), Reynolds (R), Richland (RL), Saegertown (ST), Saucon Valley (SV), Scranton Prep (SP), Seneca (S), Sharon (SH), Sheffield (SF), Slippery Rock (SR), South Park (SPK), South Williamsport (SW), Southern Columbia (SC), Southmoreland (SM), St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy (SJ), Sullivan County (SY), Susquenita (SQ), Tamaqua (TQ), Titusville (TV), Tri Valley (TV), Trinity (T), Troy (TY), Tunkhannock (TH), Tussey Mountain (TM), Tyrone (TR), Union City (U), Warrior Run (WR), West Perry (WP), Western Wayne (WW), Westmont-Hilltop (WH), Williams Valley (WV), Wilson Area (W), Wyalusing (W), Wyoming Area (WYA)
Team scores: 1. Notre Dame-Green Pond 98, 2. Montoursville 90, 3. Southern Columbia 88.5, 4. Reynolds 77.5, 5. Brookville 68, 6. St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy 64.5, 7. Chestnut Ridge 62, 8. Saucon Valley 61, 9. Forest Hills 53.5, 10. Burrell 51, 11. Penns Valley 42, 12. Bald Eagle Area 39, T19. Philipsburg-Osceola 27
Semifinals
145: Gage McClenahan, BEA, dec. Nathan Higley, SC, 3-2; 152: Caleb Dowling, SJ, dec. Wesley Barnes, SC, 10-3; A.J. Corrado, BU, dec. Malachi DuVall, PV, 3-2; 170: Tyler Stoltzfus, SJ, dec. Cael Crebs, MV, 7-1; 182: Austin Walley, EC, dec. Andrew Sharer, PV, 5-3
Quarterfinals
138: Kenny Kiser, ST, pinned Clayton Royer, PV, 5:33; 145: McClenahan, BEA, dec. Dorian Gonzalez, N, 9-3; 152: Dowling, SJ, dec. Tyler Martin, BM, 2-1 (UTB2); DuVall, PV, pinned Sully Allen, SH, 1:15; 160: Nolan Lear, BT, dec. Keegan Rothrock, SJ, 4-3 (UTB3); Andrew Cerniglia, ND, tech. fall Hunter Weitoish, P-O, 16-0 (3:52); 170: Stoltzfus, SJ, tech. fall Cole Karpinski, GV, 16-0 (3:16); 182: Sharer, PV, pinned Riley Robell, BM, 2:32; 195: Danny Lawrence, MY, pinned Parker Moore, P-O, :58
Consolation Semifinals
138: Patrick Demark, T, dec. Witmer, SJ, 4-2 (SV); 152: DuVall, PV, pinned Ryan Weyandt, FH, 1:33; 160: Gage Musser, CP, dec. Rothrock, SJ, 5-4 (UTB3); 182: Sharer, PV, dec. Ricky Feroce, BU, 7-2; 195: Ethan Rode, N, pinned Moore, P-O, 2:41
Consolation Quarterfinals
138: Witmer, SJ, dec. Chapman, P-O, 6-4; 160: Rothrock, SJ, dec. Weitoish, P-O, 6-4; 195: Moore, P-O, pinned Garrett Boone, MG, 1:27
Consolation Third Round
106: Ethan Kolb, BT, dec. Coen Bainey, BEA, 8-4; 120: Nate Smith, BM, dec. Cooper Gilham, BEA, 9-2; 138: Chapman, P-O, dec. Jacob Jones, SV, 5-2; Witmer, SJ, major dec. Ayden Miller, CS, 12-2; Kenny Duschek, FA, dec. Clayton Royer, PV, 3-2; 160: Weitoish, P-O, dec. Alex Taylor, B-A, 8-4; Rothrock, SJ, dec. Anthony Micci, WA, 6-0; 195: Moore, P-O, pinned Trevor Tursky, CT, 5:53 (SV); 220: Jake Ryan, MU, pinned David Close, BEA, 2:29
Consolation Second Round
106: Bainey, BEA, pinned Mitchell Headley, JT, :40; 120: Gilham, BEA, dec. Brayden Kunselman, BK, 4-2 (SV); 132: Noah Hunt, WR, major dec. Amonn Ohl, SJ, 17-6; 138: Chapman, P-O, pinned Clayton Reed, MB, 6:15 (SV); Witmer, SJ, dec. Patrick Edmondson, SC, 4-2; 220: Close, BEA, dec. Max Tillett, SC, 3-1 (SV)
Class 3A
Team key: Abington (AB), Abington Heights (AH), Altoona (A), Archbishop Ryan (AR), Armstrong (AS), Belle Vernon (BV), Bellefonte (B), Bensalem (BS), Bethlehem Catholic (BC), Bethel Park (BP), Blue Mountain (BM), Boyertown (BT), Canon-McMillan (CM), Carlisle (C), Cathedral Prep (CP), Cedar Cliff (CCF), Cedar Crest (CC), Central Bucks East (CBE), Central Bucks West (CBW), Central Dauphin (CD), Central Mountain (CM), Central York (CY), Chambersburg (CB), Chartiers Valley (CV), Clearfield (CF), Coatesville (CTV), Conestoga (CG), Connellsville (CNV), Conrad Weiser (CW), Council Rock North (CRN), Council Rock South (CRS), Cumberland Valley (CBV), Dallas (D), Dallastown (DT), Daniel Boone (DB), Delaware Valley (DV), Dieruff (DF), Dover (DV), Downingtown East (DE), Downingtown West (DW), DuBois (DBS), Easton (E), Emmaus (EM), Exeter Township (ET), Father Judge (FJ), Franklin Regional (FR), Freedom (F), Garden Spot (GS), Garnet Valley (GV), Gettysburg (G), Greater Latrobe (GL), Greesnburg Salem (GS), Hampton (H), Hatboro Horsham (HH), Haverford (HF), Hazleton (HT), Hempfield Area (HFA), Hollidaysburg (HA), Interboro (I), JP McCaskey (J), Kennett (K), Kiski Area (KA), Knoch (KN), Lampeter-Strasburg (LS), Liberty (L), Lower Dauphin (LD), Lower Merion (LM), Manheim Central (MC), Manheim Township (MT), Mariana Bracetti (MB), Meadville (MV), Methacton (M), Mifflin County (MCY), Mt. Lebanon (ML), Nazareth (N), Neshaminy (NSY), New Oxford (NO), North Allegheny (NA), North Hills (NH), North Penn (NP), Northampton (NT), Northeastern (NE), Northern York (NY), Norwin (NW), Overbrook (O), Owen J. Roberts (OJR), Oxford Area (OA), Penn Manor (PM), Penn Trafford (PT), Pennridge (PR), Peters Township (PTP), Pine Richland (PRD), Plymouth Whitemarsh (PW), PM East (PME), Pottsville (PV), Quakertown (Q), Red Land (RL), Selinsgrove (SG), Seneca Valley (SV), Shikellamy (SY), Shippensburg (SB), Solanco (SO), South Fayette (SF), South Western (SW), Spring Ford (SFD), Spring Grove (SPG), State College (SC), Strath Haven (SH), Stroudsburg (STB), Sun Valley (SVY), Susquehannock (SQ), Thomas Jefferson (T), Upper Darby (UD), Upper Perkiomen (UP), Waynesburg (WB), WC Henderson (WH), West Allegheny (WA), West Chester Rustin (WCR), William Tennant (WT), Williamsport (WT), Wilson (W), Wissahickon (WC), Wyoming Valley West (WVW), York Suburban (YS)
Team scores: 1. Bethlehem Catholic 65.5, 2. Nazareth 47.5, 3. Central Dauphin 46, 4. Waynesburg 43, 5. Central Dauphin 38, 6. Council Rock North 35, 7. Seneca Valley 33, T8. Easton 29, T8. Kiski Area 29, 10. Hempfield Area 27, T19. Bellefonte 22, T44. State College 10
Consolation Third Round
120: Lane Aikey, B, dec. Dylan Coy, NA, 3-1; 126: Jude Swisher, B, pinned Andrew Harmon, BC, 4:05; 160: Connor Quinn, OJR, dec. Ethan Richner, B, 5-3; 182: Joey Milano, SF, def. Ethan Rossman, B, injury def. (4:40)
Quarterfinals
120: Nathan Lucier, CTV, dec. Aikey, B, 1-0; 126: Rocco Welsh, WB, dec. Swisher, B, 5-2
Consolation Second Round
106: Cunningahm, SC, pinned Dominic Flatt, SO, 2:21; 113: Ben Monn, CV, dec. Aidan O’Shea, B, 6-0; 138: Kibwe McNair, M, major dec. Clayton Leidy, SC, 10-0; 160: Richner, B, dec. James Lledo, LM, 8-2; 170: Austin Boaman, OJR, dec. Lance Urbas, SC, 7-4; 182: Rossman, B, major dec. Max Gourley, G, 9-0
