Eastons Jaron Trimmer wrestles Gettysburgs Gabriel Pecaitis in the 145 weight bout Friday, Feb. 9, 2024, during the PIAA Wrestling Team Championship at the Giant Center in Hershey.
HERSHEY — It didn’t come easy, but it came for the fourth time in the last five non-COVID years, the PIAA Class 3A team tournament final will be an all-District 11 affair.
Easton got a 45-second pin from Chris Kelly in the final bout to beat District 1 runner-up Pennridge 29-27 in one Friday night semifinal.
Bethlehem Catholic was inspired throughout and pulled away from District 6 champion Central Mountain for a 31-19 win in the other semifinal.
The Red Rovers and Golden Hawks battle for a third time this season in Saturday’s state final at 1 p.m. from the Giant Center.
Easton won the regular-season match. Bethlehem Catholic won last Saturday’s District 11 final.
“It’s going to be a good one,” Golden Hawks coach Mike Cole said. “It’s good for District 11.”
Easton led 23-15 with three bouts left, but Pennridge got big-time pins from Colby Martinelli at 114 and Cole Coffin 121 to take a four-point.
The Rams forced Kelly to get big bonus in the 127-pound finale. The junior stepped up and didn’t waste time.
“Once [Salamone’s] match was over,” Kelly said, “I thought it was going to come down to me. I just stayed calm, acted like it was a normal match.”
It hardly was. The Red Rovers are in the state team final for the first time since 2011.
Kurtis Crossman had a big decision at 285. He held off Chase Washington 8-6. Noah Fenner followed with a technical fall at 107, and Easton appeared on its way.
But Martinelli, a returning state third-place finisher who has missed much of the year with injuries, was all over Salamone at 114 finally cradling him up in 2:29 to give the Rams life.
Coffin followed it up with another six-point win, and, suddenly, Pennridge had the lead 27-23.
But Kelly, who descended from 133, was calm and confident. He quickly got on top of Pennridge’s Cole Meenan before finishing him off and setting off a wild celebration.
“We’ve been in big situations before, bigger crowds,” Kelly said. “I just acted like it was practice and let it fly.”
Bethlehem Catholic was much sharper in both its matches Friday after a sluggish Thursday performance against Central Dauphin.
The Golden Hawks knocked off District 7 runner-up Trinity 41-24 in Friday’s quarterfinals before competing well throughout the semis against Central Mountain.
Marco Frinzi wrestled aggressive and well in a 7-4 loss early in the match against Central Mountain’s two-time state medalist Dalton Perry. Cole said Frinzi’s hand fighting was outstanding and the junior was one takedown from perhaps turning that match in his favor.
Shane McFillin lost only 4-1 to returning state champion Luke Simcox at 145. After Kollin Rath picked up a pin at 152, Charlie Scanlan knocked off Griffin Walizer 2-1 in a tie-breaker 2. Scanlan got an escape in the first 30-second rideout, then held onto Walizer just long enough in the next 30-second period.
Dario Cruz then exactly revenge for Scanlan by rallying late to beat Jacob Weaver 7-5 at 172. Weaver beat Scanlan in the junior high state final when they were eighth graders.
“How about Cruz and [James] DeLuise?” Cole said. “What beautiful matches. And I’m telling you that if [Jacob] Lance needed to win that match, Lance would have to won that match. But he had to be risk averse.”
After Gavin Heverly’s major decision at 107 got Central Mountain within 20-19, Bethlehem Catholic won the final three bouts to secure its 11th state finals appearance. The Golden Hawks are 9-1 in their previous state title matches.
“Our kids performed,” Cole said. “They stepped up. I talked yesterday about going through the motions. We certainly didn’t go through the motions today. There was a lot of team spirit. The kids knew that they needed to show up today. They did.”
Easton also had a sweat in its semifinal. It trailed 21-8 before winning the last five bouts, capped by Nick Salamone’s pin at 114 for a 29-21 victory over Gettysburg. Noah Fenner scrapped for a big 6-2 decision at 107 to give the Red Rovers their first lead at 23-21.
The Red Rovers will need to be at their best to claim their first state title since 2004.
“The kids never question our moves [as coaches],” coach Jody Karam said. “That’s the kind of support you need. The kids are willing to do whatever it takes to win.
“We’ve taken it one match at a time. We’ll do the same thing tomorrow. There’s no more coaching. We’re not going to show any technique tonight. We know what they have. They know what we have. There’s only so many moves you can make.”
Morning Call reporter Tom Housenick can be reached at 610-820-6651 or at [email protected]
PIAA Team Wrestling Championships
Friday at Hershey’s Giant Center
CLASS 3A SEMIFINALS
Easton 29, Pennridge 27
133: Quinn McBride (P) dec. Ben Riehl, 8-4
139: Jaron Trimmer (E) maj. dec. Anthony Granite, 15-2
145: Ben Fanelli (E) tech. fall Brady McMahon, 24-9, 5:32
152: Sam Kuhns (P) dec. Quentin Hammerstone, 11-7
160: James Geiger (E) dec. Ryan Gallagher, 4-2
172: Talan Hogan (P) dec. Justin Cosover, 13-9
189: Shae Linegar (E) dec. Ryan Rowe, 8-3
215: Riley Cullen (P) pinned Ladearus Conyers, 1:53
285: Kurtis Crossman (E) dec. Chase Washington, 8-6
107: Noah Fenner (E) tech. fall Kevin McFadden, 15-0, 2:57
114: Coby Martinelli (P) pinned Nick Salamone, 2:29
121: Cole Coffin (P) pinned Ethan Krazer, 3:40
127: Chris Kelly (E) pinned Cole Meenan, 0:45
Bethlehem Catholic 34, Central Mountain 19
133: Mason Thomas (BC) dec. Pat Tarantella, 10-5
139: Dalton Perry (CM) dec. Marco Frinzi, 7-4
145: Luke Simcox (CM) dec. Shane McFillin, 4-1
152: Kollin Rath (BC) pinned Luke Ananea, 1:39
160: Charlie Scanlan (BC) dec. Griffin Walizer, 2-1 TB-2
172: Dario Cruz (BC) dec. Jacob Weaver, 7-5
189: James DeLuise (BC) tech. fall Bryce Brungard, 16-0, 4:00
215: Rocco Serafini (CM) pinned James Bozzi, 0:37
285: Gio Tarentella (CM) dec. Jacob Lance, 5-2
107: Gavin Heverly (CM) maj. dec. Louden Hower, 14-6
114: Reef Dillard (BC) tech. fall Caden Stoner, 17-2, 4:40
121: Keanu Dillard (BC) pinned Colin Bauman, 0:09
127: Ryder Campbell (BC) dec. Aiden Kunes. 5-2
QUARTERFINALS
Bethlehem Catholic 41, Trinity 24
121: Keanu Dillard (BC) pinned Dominick Canali, 1:26
127: Ryder Campbell (BC) dec. Zane Garner, 6-1
133: Devin Junko (T) dec. Mason Thomas, 9-8
139: Blake Reihner (T) pinned Pete Vanance, 1:04
145: T.J. Allison (T) pinned Marco Frinzi, 5:19
152: Shane McFillin (BC) pinned Behr Bruckner, 1:21
160: Kollin Rath (BC) pinned Ian Holub, 1:41
172: Charlie Scanlan (BC) dec. Cael Nicolella, 5-3
189: Bodie Morgan (T) dec. Dario Cruz, 6-0
215: Robbie Allison (T) pinned James DeLuise, 1:58
285: Jacob Lance (BC) pinned J. Banco, 3:08
107: Louden Hower (BC) tech. fall Mickey Horne, 16-0, 4:40
114: Reef Dillard (BC) pinned Jacob Wright, 3:32
Easton 29, Gettysburg 21
121: Myles Grossman (G) dec. Ethan Krazer, 8-3
127: Isaiah Jackson (G) dec. Brendan Bowman, 8-4
133: Chris Kelly (E) maj. dec. Kainan Holmes, 10-1
139: Ben Fanelli (E) maj. dec. Reid Grossman, 13-5
145: Gabe Pecaitis (G) dec. Jaron Trimmer, 7-1
152: Caiden Shearer (G) dec. Quentin Hammerstone, 7-6
160: Nolan Reinert (G) dec. James Geiger, 5-1
172: Jaxon Townsend (G) pinned Andrew Flores, 0:52
189: Justin Cosover (E) tech. fall Jahansaib Nasiri, 12-0, 5:04
215: Shae Linegar (E) maj. dec. Mason Rebert, 15-4
285: Kurtis Crossman (E) dec. Adrian Ramirez, 3-2
107: Noah Fenner (E) dec. William Yordy, 6-2
114: Nick Salamone (E) pinned Blake Haines, 1:27
Pennridge 30, Wilson-West Lawn 24
121: Cole Coffin (P) tech. fall Reese Eidle, 15-0, 4:18
127: Kaeden Speece (WWL) maj. dec. Quinn McBride, 17-4
133: James Garcia (WWL) tech. fall Danny Metzler, 16-0, 4:43
139: Anthony Granite (P) maj. dec. Jameson McKeown, 16-2
145: Dominic Delgado (P) dec. Brady McMahon, 10-9
152: Sam Kuhns (P) tech. fall Kamron Koch, 25-10, 4:47
160: Matteo Garcia (WWL) dec. Ryan Gallagher, 7-3
172: Talan Hogan (P) dec. Blaise Eidle, 5-1
189: Ryan Rowe (P) maj. dec. Ethan Brownback, 14-3
215: Ryan McMillan (WWL) pinned Riley Cullen, 3:16
285: Logan Kurzweg (WWL) dec. Chase Washington, 6-5
107: Kevin McFadden (P) dec. Trevor Hertzog, 7-4
114: Colby Martinelli (P) pinned Isaac Eidle, 1:34
Other Class 3A quarterfinal
Central Mountain 32, Council Rock South 27
Class 3A second-round consolations
Franklin Regional 29, Wilson-West Lawn 22
Central Dauphin 30, Gettysburg 28
Trinity 45, LaSalle College 23
Connellsville 31, Council Rock South 28
©2024 The Morning Call. Visit mcall.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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