Bellefonte, State College each advance 4 wrestlers to semis in Northwest 3A Regional
Bellefonte and State College both had an eventful evening in Altoona, as the PIAA Northwest 3A Regional opened on Friday.
The Red Raiders rolled with four of their six wrestlers advancing with Garrett Choates (113), Aidan O’Shea (132), Gage Long and Jude Swisher (145) moving to the semifinals.
State College had four of their nine wrestlers advance to the semifinals in Asher Cunningham (120), Pierson Manville (138), Nick Pavlecklo (215) and Shane Focht (285).
Here’s how the Red Raiders and Little Lions advanced:
Bellefonte
Advanced: Garrett Choates (113), Aidan O’Shea (132), Gage Long (138), Jude Swisher (145)
Defeated: Cameron Garcia (106), Nate Smith (152)
Swisher has had a decorated career with Bellefonte, compiling a 132-18 record over the course of four years (one with State College) entering Friday’s match. He was able to get the better of General McLane’s Kyle Cousins by a fall in 1 minute, 49 seconds in the quarterfinals. He took down Cousins twice, but was countered with an escape in the first period. Swisher’s fall was all he needed to get the job done.
It’s all about being able to soak in the moment for the senior wrestler. His future is a bright one — heading to the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. He’s already secured an internship with the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association. With some things set up for his future, he’s prepared to live in the present.
“I’ve wrestled a lot of matches in my high school career, and now that I’m toward the end of it, I think my appreciation for not only the wrestlers, but also the officials, the coaches and the fans and all of the people who care about amateur wrestling, has grown,” Swisher said. “I am so grateful to be here competing and to have people sitting in my corner, who want nothing more for me than to succeed. That is really special.”
Raiders head coach Mike Maney has been able to see Swisher up close and personal throughout his career. It was a simple matter of when, not if, his senior wrestler would win his match.
“You want to get that first match to get some momentum going in the tournament,” Maney said. “He came out ready to go, fired up and ready and scored a lot of points and was able to get the pin. It’s off to a great start, and we just want to keep that momentum going.”
Choates defeated Shikellamy’s Alex Reed 7-4 by decision, to advance to the semifinals. Choates got on the board early with a takedown and reversal to lead 4-0. Reed answered with an escape and a takedown to bring the score to 4-3. Choates’ three points from an escape and takedown allowed him to outpace Reed, who was awarded one point for an escape. Choates will take on Penn State commit, Cael Nasdeo of Williamsport, on Saturday.
O’Shea defeated General McLane’s Ben Watkins by a 16-0 technical fall in 3:06 in the round of 16 and finished off Clearfield’s Ty Aveni with a 7-0 decision in the quarterfinals to move to the semis. O’Shea scored on a takedown in the first period, followed by back-to-back nearfall points in the second period. He will take on Williamsport’s Braden Bower in the semifinals.
Long defeated Hollidaysburg’s Mitchell Barronner by a 10-0 fall in 3:25 in the first round and defeated Clearfield’s Nolan Barr 3-0 by decision in the quarterfinals. Long scored two points in the first period with a takedown and followed with an escape in the third period. He will meet up with Central Mountain’s Taylor Weaver on Saturday.
State College
Advanced: Asher Cunningham (120), Pierson Manville (138), Nick Pavlechko (215), Shane Focht (285)
Defeated: Jonathan Coates (106), Jacob Campbell (126), Josh Hershbine (160), Braden Newby (172), Carter Weaverling (189)
Pavlechko has been all about continuing to improve throughout the season, according to head coach Ryan Cummins. The sophomore wrestler compiled a 25-3 record before Saturday’s fall in 3:10 over Shikellamy’s Mason Rebuck. Cummins believes that Pavlechko can continue to improve and has a great amount of success to look forward to.
“First match, I’m not too worried about it,” Cummins said. “He was fine, and he got the fall. So, I wasn’t too worried about that. He did okay, and I think that tomorrow, he’ll lock in and turn it up a little bit. It’s a perfect way to move into the finals. He’s been really tough all season. He’s a kid that’s taken years and has really improved a lot in the last two years. He’s seeing the rewards now.”
Heading into his match with Rebuck, Pavlechko had time to prepare. He was the No. 1 seed for the 215-pound class and had a match to scout out two of his possible opponents. The sophomore used the time to mentally prepare and lock into his routine, regardless of who he’d face.
“I get up and move around, get loose and just go out there and focus on scoring points,” Pavlechko said. “(I want to focus on) wrestling my way, I want to wrestle how I wrestle. I wasn’t really paying attention a whole bunch to the previous match, I was just focusing on myself.”
Cunningham had a bye in the round of 16, before defeating McDowell’s Logan Sallot by a 7-0 decision. He took down Sallot and had nearfall points in the first period for a 5-0 lead. He finished the third period with a reversal for two additional points. Cunningham will take on Central Mountain’s Luke Ananea in the semifinals on Saturday.
Manville racked up a 10-2 lead in the first period, before finishing off General McLane’s Hudson Spires with a 19-4 score on a technical fall in the quarterfinals. He will take on Mifflin County’s Jake Cunningham in the semifinals.
Focht opened up with a 4-2 decision over McDowell’s Jack Sroka in the round of 16. He opened up with an escape in the second period with Sroka briefly taking a 2-1 lead with a reversal. Focht had an escape and a takedown to nab the victory.
Focht had his work cut out for him against Brashear’s Rowere Calloway in the quarterfinals. He just simply needed to manage his 3-0 lead that he took over Calloway in the second period with an escape and a takedown. Calloway only gained one more point with an escape with Focht taking the decision 3-1. Focht will face the top-seed in Charles Crews of Williamsport on Saturday.
This story was originally published March 4, 2022 at 11:39 PM.
