BEA’s Coen Bainey highest finisher among four Class PIAA 2A wrestling medalists for Centre County
The PIAA Class 2A wrestling championships came to a close Saturday afternoon with four Centre County athletes bringing home medals.
Bald Eagle Area had the most medalists with three. Penns Valley had the other.
The interesting part about this, all four of the medalists will be back next year, so there will be plenty to look forward to.
Due to having so many medalists, the Eagles had the highest finish as a team in 14th. They tied with fellow District 6 squad Forest Hills as each team recorded 41.5 points. The Rams had 14 points, which was good for a tie for 45th.
Notre Dame Green Pond took the team title with ease as it tallied 116 points. Saucon Valley was in second with 99 points. Faith Christian Academy, Wyoming Area and Bishop McDevitt rounded out the top five in that order.
Here’s how the Centre County Class 2A wrestlers finished:
Bald Eagle Area
Medalists: Lucas Fye (113 pounds, 5th), Coen Bainey (120, 3rd), Caleb Close (172, 8th)
Team score: 41.5, Tied for 14th
Recap: Bainey was in a similar situation as last season, wrestling for third place in the PIAA championships.
He took on the reigning PIAA runner-up in Burrell’s Cooper Hornack, who Bainey beat in the PIAA Southwest Regional tournament last weekend. Sometime within the first 30 seconds of the bout, Bainey said he took a hit to the face that swelled up his right eyelid.
“It definitely hurt. I cannot see out of it at all,” Bainey said. “I have very little visibility.”
However, it didn’t deter him.
The junior and Hornack circled around the mat as they each looked for an opening, but neither could score in the first period. In the second period, Bainey got to show off his improved top game with a full period ride out on Hornack.
“Last year, I was not strong in the top position. This year, I got a lot better in it,” Bainey said. “It paid off in this state tournament a lot, (especially) in the past couple of matches. It’s good to work on things and use them in a match.”
Bainey just needed an escape and solid defense to ensure his highest finish so far in the championships. Ten seconds into the third period, Bainey got the escape he needed. From there, he kept an aggressive Hornack from scoring, and earned a 1-0 win to grab the bronze medal.
“You got to wrestle every match like it’s your last one. You got to win no matter what,” Bainey said, “so I went out there and did what I could. Last year, all I know I was laying on the mat for a little bit because I was not happy with myself. This year, a lot different coming out with the win. It’s definitely motivating me for next year to climb even higher on the podium, and make (the) finals.”
Fye’s fifth-place opponent was all too familiar — West Branch’s Landon Bainey.
The pair have wrestled four times in their varsity careers leading into Saturday’s matchup. Coincidentally, the two might be rivals on the mat, but they are good friends off it.
“It sucks wrestling your friends,” Fye said.
Bainey won all four previous matchups, with the most recent coming by way of pin in the PIAA Southwest Regional last weekend. On Saturday, Fye turned the tables on his buddy.
Neither guy scored in the first two periods, as Bainey used a full period ride out in the second period after Fye chose to start on the bottom.
In the third, Bainey was on the bottom to start, and Fye kept a solid ride going. With just over 30 seconds remaining, Fye cranked Bainey to his back for nearfall points, and a 3-0 lead. Bainey got a penalty point for an illegal hold on Fye, and an escape, but it was too late as Fye added a takedown at the buzzer for a 5-2 finish.
“I’m just thrilled to be here. To place, it’s just an amazing feeling. I’m speechless,” Fye said.
Close set some history in his run to his first PIAA medal for BEA.
He became the first freshman in school history to collect a medal in his rookie campaign.
“Obviously, a lot of good people have come through school, so it’s quite the honor,” Close said. “Honestly, I have to keep working harder because I want to win states.”
Close took on Notre Dame Green Pond’s Garrett Tettermer and each looked for a scoring opportunity in the first period, but neither was able to get the opening.
The pair traded escapes over the second and third periods to send the bout into sudden victory, 1-1. Tettermer found the opening that both wrestlers were looking for at the beginning with 20 seconds remaining for the winning takedown.
“It’s a good feeling. It was like my highest goal coming in as a freshman to place at states,” Close said. “Obviously, eighth is the worst you can do, so next year I want to do better, but it is what it is. It was a lot of fun. I learned a lot of the high stakes and stuff. I’m excited for next year. I obviously have to get better so that I can be at the top.”
Penns Valley
Medalists: Ty Watson (145, 6th)
Team score: 14, Tied for 45th
Recap: Watson was making his first trip to Hershey as a competitor. He’s been here before, but never on the mats.
As his first PIAA championships came to close, he reflected back over what he accomplished.
“It’s going to help me so much. Last year as a freshman, I didn’t get to wrestle a lot,” Watson said. “This year, I got on the podium. It’s going to help me a lot, (to) get better, stronger and faster. I’ll be able to develop some technique in the wrestling room more this year. I’ll be ready. I’ll be back next year.”
He took on a familiar opponent in Notre Dame Green Pond’s Evan Maag in a battle for fifth place. Maag handed Watson his first loss of the season in the quarterfinals on Friday morning.
Watson took what he learned from the first match and applied it to Saturday’s match. Neither wrestler scored in the first period as Watson kept Maag from scoring with a solid defense.
However, Maag tallied a quick reversal to open the second period that Watson escaped from. Maag tacked on a takedown before the final buzzer rang.
In the third period, Maag caught Watson for another takedown, and again defeated the Rams wrestler by sticking him on his back.
Watson was asked what he learned most about himself from his first PIAA experience.
“I knew how to take a loss. Coming into the state tournament, I was undefeated,” he said. “I really didn’t know what losing felt like. After my first match, I had to battle back. I did what I had to do to get on the podium.”
PIAA Class 2A Championships
Saturday at Giant Center, Hershey
Team key: Archbishop Ryan (AR), Athens (A), Bald Eagle Area (BEA), Bedford (BF), Benton (B), Bentworth (BW), Berks Catholic (BC), Beth-Center (B-C), Bishop McDevitt (BM), Boiling Springs (BS), Brandywine Heights (BH), Brockway (BY), Brookville (BV), Burgettstown (BT), Burrell (BR), Cambridge Springs (CS), Camp Hill (CH), Canton (C), Catasauqua (CQ), Central Cambria (CC), Central Valley (CV), Chestnut Ridge (CR), Cochranton (CT), Commodore Perry (CP), Conneaut (CN), Conwell-Egan (CE), Corry (CY), Cranberry (CB), Curwensville (CW), Danville (D), Derry (DY), Eisenhower (E), Elizabeth Forward (EF), Faith Christian Academy (FCA), Forest Hills (FH), Fort Cherry (FC), Fort LeBeouf (FL), Franklin (F), Frazier (FZ), Girard (GR), Glendale (G), Greenville (GV), Grove City (GC), Hamburg (HB), Harbor Creek (HC), Hickory (HY), Hopewell (HW), Hughesville (HV), Huntingdon (H), Jefferson Morgan (JM), Jersey Shore (JS), Johnsonburg (J), Kane (K), Lackawanna Trail (LT), Lancaster Catholic (LC), Laurel (L), Lehighton (LH), Lewisburg (LB), Line Mountain (LM), Littlestown (LTW), Marion Center (MC), Meadowbrook Christian (MDC), Meyersdale (MY), Midd-West (MW), Mifflinburg (MB), Montgomery (MT), Montour (M), Montoursville (MTV), Mount Carmel (MTC), Mount Pleasant (MP), Mount Union (MU), Muncy (MN), Newport (N), North Penn-Liberty (NPL), Northern Lebanon (NL), Northern Lehigh (NLH), Northwestern (NW), Notre Dame-Green Pond (NDGP), Palisades (P), Penn Cambria (PC), Penns Valley (PV), Pope John Paul II (PJP), Port Allegany (PA), Quaker Valley (QV), Reynolds (R), Sagertown (ST), Saucon Valley (SV), Sharon (SH), Somerset (S), South Side Beaver (SSB), South Williamsport (SW), Southern Columbia (SC), Southmoreland (SML), Sullivan County (SCY), Susquenita (SQ), Titusville (TV), Towanda (TW), Tri Valley (TVY), Trinity (TY), Tussey Mountain (TM), Tyrone (T), United (U), Warrior Run (WR), Washington (W), West Branch (WB), West Perry (WP), Williamson (WS), Wyalusing (WY), Wyoming Area (WA), Wyomissing (WM)
Team scores: 1. Notre Dame Green Pond 116, 2. Saucon Valley 99, 3. Faith Christian Academy 68, 4. Wyoming Area 60, 5. Bishop McDevitt 58, 6. Muncy 55.5, T7. Hickory 49.5, T7. Montoursville 49.5, 9. Brookville 45.5, T10. Chestnut Ridge 44, T10. Jersey Shore 44, T10. Sagertown 44, T14. Bald Eagle Area 41.5, T45. Penns Valley 14
Finals
106: Aaron Seidel, NL, dec. Louie Gill, HY, 4-2; 113: Gavin Bradley, A, dec. Branden Wentzel, MTV, 4-3; 120: Jaden Pepe, WA, major dec. Brock Weiss, JS, 15-4; 126: Scott Johnson, MN, dec. Mark Palmer, BY, 9-2; 132: Brandan Chletsos, NDGP, dec. Owen Reinsel, BV, 1-0; 138: Ryan Crookham, SV, dec. Connor Pierce, HC, 5-1; 145: Conner Harer, MT, dec. Eric Alderfer, FCA, 3-0; 152: Jackson Arrington, FH, pinned Andrew Christie, BM, 1:45; 160: Holden Garcia, NDGP, dec. Grant Mackay, L, 2-1; 172: Rune Lawrence, FZ, pinned Jake Jones, SV, 4:43; 189: Isaac Cory, MTV, dec. Cole Karpinski, GV, 5-1; 215: Dayton Pitzer, MP, pinned Brad Morrison, WP, 1:07; 285: Riley Robell, BM, dec. Austin Johnson, MN, 5-0
Consolation Finals
120: Coen Bainey, BEA, dec. Cooper Hornack, BR, 1-0
5th Place Match
113: Lucas Fye, BEA, dec. Landon Bainey, WB, 5-2; 145: Evan Maag, NDGP, pinned Ty Watson, PV, 3:15
7th Place Match
172: Garrett Tettemer, NDGP, dec. Caleb Close, BEA, 3-1 (SV)
This story was originally published March 12, 2022 at 5:48 PM.
