Mount Pleasant counting on three heavyweights and a set of smaller twins
HERSHEY – A coach who has built a heavyweight program will pin his PIAA wrestling hopes this week on a trio of heavyweights and a set of considerably smaller twins. Mt. Pleasant coach Mark Mears will be transporting five Viking wrestlers to Hershey for the PIAA Class AA wrestling championships Thursday through Saturday at Giant Center. This year’s quintet brings to 19 the number of wrestlers Mears has had qualify for the state’s elite wrestling event over the past four years.
Making the trip are heavyweight Paul Snyder, who placed seventh last year and is currently ranked fourth in the state, as well as Stefan Firmstone at 215, Nic Harr at 189 and twins Colin (119) and Zach (125) Sheridan.
They’ll be joined locally by West Greene senior Kory Bissett, who placed third last year at 135, Jefferson-Morgan’s Ethan Virgili at 189 and Beth-Center’s Chris Stay at 152 and return qualifier Aaron Hrutkay at 160.
Mt. Pleasant’s Snyder, just a junior, is 38-5 and, remarkably, all five losses have been by one point to Keystone Oaks’ Myles Caragein, the Pitt football recruit who is the top-ranked Class AA heavyweight after placing fourth last year in Class AAA. The latest one-point setback came in the Southwest Regional finals last week.
“It came down to who won the toss (in overtime) and Caragein had choice because he scored first,’ Mears explained.
The good news is that Caragein isn’t in Snyder’s half of the PIAA bracket. The bad news is that two wrestlers ranked between Caragein and Snyder – Eli Morres of Brookville, last year’s runner-up, and Richie Smith of Pen Argyl – are.
“In my mind, any of the four kids in that bracket, depending on how things go, could win and could be the Outstanding Wrestler,’ said Mears.
“The winner has to go through the top three ranked guys in the state.
Snyder’s first match is against Jed Ritter (30-10) of Hughesville.
A victory there likely would set up a match with Smith, who placed fourth last year.
The pairings weren’t exactly kind to Firmstone at 215. The senior who is 37-6 meets defending 189-pound champ Kellen Harris of Sharon, who has 78 wins in his last 80 matches.
“Stefan is a pretty tough kid,’ Mears said. “He’s a little light for the weight but he likes wrestling there. He’s good on his feet and he’s a year-round wrestler. My goal is for him to place. I think he could battle into the top eight.’
Harr, a senior who is 32-9, also has a difficult opener in Kevin Bolinsky, the Southeast Region champ from North Schuylkill who is 36-1.
“Harr is really tough and physical,’ Mears said. “He’s my blue-collar guy.
“He scratched out of regionals last year because of a high fever. He was WPIAL runner-up and he lost to Aaron Bennett (Southwest Region from Westmont-Hilltop). I told him if he gets a (region champ or runner-up), that they’re probably no tougher than the guys he’s already wrestled.’
Mt. Pleasant’s morning will start on Thursday at 119 and 125 with the sophomore Sheridan twins.
Both fifth-place finishers in the regionals, both will face regional champs in the first round.
Colin will meet Cameron Moran (35-0) of Kane, ranked fourth statewide, and Zach will face Marty Borowsky (34-0) of Harriton, the Southeast Region titlist who is ranked first.
“This is their first trip to states and they are very sound wrestlers,’ Mears said.
“Zach won the WPIAL but lost in the regional semis, so he’s a sleeper fifth-placer; he could surprise some people.
“They’re very similar and their records are always so identical. I said, ‘Did you both have to get fifth?’ They push each other and they’re very close. Their grandfather died on Friday and the funeral is Tuesday. It’s been tough on them but they’ve stayed focused.’
The good news for Mears is that the Sheridans and Snyder return next year. “What you don’t notice during the course of a season is how good the other kids are getting. They (underclassmen) take their lumps and now it’s paying off for them.
“Success breeds success and it starts to feed off itself.’
West Greene’s Bissett will be looking for more success. He lost a tough regional final to Burrell’s Devon Maloney, 1-0, and is set to face Derek Schmelyun (33-10), a sophomore from Bermudian Springs.
A win there and it’s a likely match with defending state champ Nikko Leitzel of Ridgway.
Nick Sanko of Hamburg and Joey Anceravage of Bloomsburg add depth to a solid 140-pound weight class.
Jefferson-Morgan’s Virgili (31-8) at 189 will meet Joe Joseph (33-3) of Sharpsville in the first round.
Beth-Center’s Stay (30-8) is ticketed for Jonathan Brothers (39-1) of Redbank Valley while teammate Hrutkay, a qualifier last year as sophomore who lost two straight matches at 152, will face Southeast Region champ Scott Sechler (32-8) of Northern Lehigh.
Sechler is ranked eighth statewide at 160 while Hrutkay is ranked 14th.
Returning Class AA champs, aside from Leitzel and Harris, are John Prezzia (119) of South Side Beaver; Derry Area’s Troy Dolan (130), who is going for his third state title, and Scott Clymer (135) of Northwestern Lehigh.