Centre County sends 8 wrestlers to Class 2A PIAA championships
Ty Watson is a wrestler that lives for the biggest moments.
The Penns Valley junior took on the 152-pound class like a buzz saw, cutting through even the toughest of opposition in Friday and Saturday’s PIAA Southwest Class 2A Regional. He advanced to the state championships by dispatching Beth Center’s Tyler Berish in a 4-2 decision. He went on to dismantle Frazier’s Ryan Celaschi with a 6-0 decision in the finals.
“It feels good,” Watson said. “I came in and I felt like I wrestled well during the whole tournament. I just kept pushing through. My goal yesterday was to keep getting takedowns and score points, then get to the finals and win the finals.”
Bald Eagle’s Lucas Fye’s (121) matchup with United’s Gideon Bracken wasn’t as smooth.
Fye began with a takedown with 26 seconds left in the first period. He followed up in the second period with escapes at both the 1:50 and :49 marks, but Bracken scored a takedown with 1:05 left. Bracken nearly made a comeback with 22 seconds left in the third period with an escape. It was too little, too late as Fye grinded out a 4-3 decision for the gold medal.
“(I) just had to stick to my stuff — my shots and trying to keep his hands off from getting to me,” Fye said. “I just had to stay on him and push the pace.”
His teammate, No. 1 seed Caleb Close (172), advanced to the finals with a 3-0 decision over Burrell’s Isaac Lacinski, who was the No. 5 seed. The two hand fought for the majority of the first period for a 0-0 stalemate. The second period featured the same result. Then, Close proved why he was the first seed with a swift escape at the 2-minute mark and a takedown (1:31) shortly after for three quick points. Close finished off Tyrone’s Kyle Scott with a 5-0 decision to advance to the state tournament with a gold medal.
Close doesn’t feel much pressure understanding that he’s overcome the obstacles of injuries, a self-described “letdown” in last year’s state tournament and a grueling season. If anything, he feels that he’s even more prepared than ever.
“Ever since states last year, I wasn’t happy with my performance,” Close said. “I was proud of it, but you can’t be satisfied. Ever since then, I’ve been practicing as much as I can. I had a few injuries that cut me out for a little bit, but I’ve been practicing hard every chance I’ve gotten. In these past couple of weeks during the postseason, we’ve gotten to show off what we’ve done.”
Here are the final results for Centre County teams in the PIAA Southwest Class 2A Regional.
Bald Eagle
Team Score: 2nd, 96.5 points
Champions: Fye, Close
State qualifiers: Coen Bainey (3rd, 127)
Other placewinners: Jeffre Pifer (7th, 152), Cameron Dubbs (8th, 189)
Eliminated: Alex Surcovec (139), Mason Reese (145), Gage Gardner (215)
Recap: Eagles wrestler Coen Bainey (127) fell by 8-1 decision to Bentworth’s Chris Vargo in the semifinals. Despite falling in the semis, he didn’t falter in his doggedness on the mat — defeating sticking Montour’s Anthony Orlandini in 2:03. He followed up with a 2-0 decision over Chestnut Ridge’s Kobi Burkett for a third-place finish.
Penns Valley
Team Score: 6th, 69 points
Champions: Watson
State qualifiers: Colten Shunk (5th, 133), Kollin Brungart (6th, 215)
Other placewinners: Jack Darlington (7th, 114), Brayden Lisowski (7th, 121)
Eliminated: David Martin (160)
Recap: Watson began with a takedown of Berish for two points at the 40-second mark in the first period for two points. The Penns Valley standout then opened up the second period with an escape (1:41), but Berish answered with a takedown with 30 seconds to go to set the score at 3-2 in favor of Watson. With 9 seconds left, Watson slipped out with an escape and a 4-2 victory to advance.
Shunk took an 18-1 technical fall loss to Montour’s Peter Chacon in 4:59 in the semifinals. Shunk took a 12-3 major decision loss to Burgettstown’s Gaven Suica in the semifinal of the consolations and followed up with a 7-6 win over Mason Weyant to finish fifth.
“We all work hard in the wrestling room,” Watson said of his team. “A guy I train and wrestle with every day, Colten Shunk, he made the states. I’m proud of him.... It feels great. Kollin Brungart really pulled through this tournament. He showed some heart and guts just getting to the state tournament.”
Philipsburg-Osceola
Team Score: 28th, 27.5 points
Champions: None
State qualifiers: Caleb Hummel (6th, 107)
Other placewinners: Nate Fleck (8th, 133), Marcus Gable (8th, 152)
Eliminated: Ben Gustkey (127)
Recap: Philipsburg-Osceola had a tough Friday with Gustkey being eliminated. The following day Fleck and Gable barely nudged into the top 8. It was up to Hummel to get the Mounties to states. Despite losing by a 10-8 decision on Friday to Quaker Valley’s Bruce Anderchak, Hummel reeled off five straight victories to make it to sixth place.
“We came back this morning and started out really well,” Philipsburg-Osceola head coach Justin Fye said. “Caleb Hummel rebounded from his lost yesterday by winning five matches to qualify for Hershey. He finished at sixth to get a better seed for next week.”
Bellefonte
Team Score: 29th, 26 points
Champions: None
State qualifiers: Gage Long (5th, 145)
Other placewinners: None
Eliminated: Cameron Garcia (114), Ezra Swisher (121), Jackson Long (127), Noah Weaver (139), Max Murray (152), Addison Shawley (189)
Recap: Gage Long had never made it to the state championships in his career. How he got there this time around was in one of the most unexpected ways, pulling a victory rabbit from a proverbial hat.
He fell out of the quarterfinals, losing to Chestnut Ridge’s Calan Bollman by 6-3 decision on Friday night. Long dropped down to the consolation bracket and found himself in an uphill battle to make it to states — beginning with a 7-4 decision over Belle Vernon’s Kole Doppelheuer, following with a 5-4 decision against Beth Center’s Tyler Debnar and a 1-0 decision loss to Quaker Valley’s Logan Richey.
Long was exhausted and faced off against Frazier’s Jonah Erdley. Erdley controlled much of the match with a 6-0 lead deep into the third period. Long pulled off a reversal with 42 seconds left, Erdley answered with one of his own and Long positioned himself to pin his opponent with 25 seconds left.
“I was definitely an underdog coming in here,” Long said. “It feels really good. I think that after I beat the first state-ranked guy, I thought to myself, ‘If I can beat these guys, I can compete.’ I really started believing in myself. My coaches helped me a lot with the mindset and everything, and I think that’s why I placed so high.”
Bellefonte head coach Michael Maney has seen the growth of Long from the youth level to junior high school and now as a varsity wrestler. Long had not been able to reach a state-level competition until Saturday and Maney is proud of his accomplishment.
“He’s made a sacrifice at 145 and this weekend, he took a step forward,” Maney said. “I think it was just believing — believing that he’s capable of competing with these guys and being gritty and never stop wrestling. The evidence is right there.”
This story was originally published March 4, 2023 at 10:26 PM.
