You never forget your first time
HERSHEY — You never forget your first time … I mean at the PIAA Individual State Wrestling Championships.
I had the privilege of covering the PIAA Class AA/AAA state tournament from Thursday through Saturday evening at the beautiful Giant Center in the town dubbed the “Sweetest Place on Earth,” Hershey.
And what a first time it was. I wrestled in high school for Uniontown under veteran head coach Jerry Simon, assistant Jeff Spinetti and Pat Tressler.
Jerry’s son, Mike, who is currently an assistant on Duane Dupont’s staff at Albert Gallatin High School, and also helps his dad at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus, with Jerry handling the head coaching duties, was the third assistant.
Spinetti won a state championships for Uniontown in 1985 to cap his senior year undefeated at 185 pounds before wrestling in college at West Virginia University. Both Simons and Tressler were grapplers in high school.
I wasn’t a shining star on the team, and probably wouldn’t have started if the Red Raiders wrestling team was more competitive but I was able to compete three years on the varsity level starting at 103 pounds as a freshman. I missed my sophomore season due to being sick and my grandmother hating the sport and cutting weight, but I was allowed to wrestle my last two years in high school if I signed a contract that I wouldn’t cut weight and develop an eating disorder.
I competed at 119 and 125 my junior and seniors seasons. I was lucky enough to get out of Section 2-AAA my senior year and qualify for the WPIAL Class AAA/Regional Individual Wrestling Championships at Canon-McMillan High School. I finished third in our section. I didn’t have a great regional and was bounded in the preliminary round by some guy from Pine-Richland.
If I won my pigtail match, I would have wrestled No. 2 seed Nick Nelson from Shaler. Nelson (38-6) would finish as the regional runner-up to Waynesburg Central’s Coleman Scott (53-0). Scott was in the weigh-in area and I was flattered to be standing next to one of the greatest wrestlers to come out of this state. I knew in 13 years ago that he was going to be one of the great ones.
I had the opportunity in my high-school career to be soundly beaten by some studs. Two-time state champion Ashtin Primus from Connellsville comes to mind. He took me down in less than five seconds and I ran out of bounds for a restart. Before I knew it, I was in the words of the late, great Jim Kriek, “planked by Primus in 14 seconds for the most dominate performance” of the night.
I was honored to wrestle Primus, even though I was embarrassed. I also lost twice to Waynesburg and Pitt grad, who is now acting head coach for the Panthers, Drew Headlee, in junior high.
I apologize for such a long preamble to to my column but I wanted to let it be known that I wasn’t a very good wrestling but I did compete in the sport and loved it. I wish I would have trained hard and had more of a killer instinct, so I attempt to use my knowledge of the sport to provide the best coverage possible for the area.
And what a wrestling hotbed our corner of the globe is. We had 12 Class AAA state qualifiers and 8 Class AA state qualifiers for 20 from their respective regional tournaments.
I had gotten to know these kids and their coaches throughout the regular season and post-season tournaments, which made the state tournament that much more gratifying to see these kids do well.
Jefferson-Morgan’s Gavin Teasdale (40-0, 122-0) proved that he is the most dominate wrestler in our area with a 13-5 major decision over Bermudian Springs’ Austin Clabaugh (41-5, 149-31) in the Class AA finals at 126 pounds. I have done many interviews with Teasdale since he started to show his dominance after winning a national freestyle championship prior to his freshman year, and the junior and Iowa recruit was just as accommodating at Hershey from his opening match till the finals.
Southmoreland’s Tyler Griffiths (38-3, 121-16) had a strong tournament with a run to the finals at 132. The junior was pinned in 3:20 by Athens Area’s Brian Courtney (39-2, 122-15) in the finals. Griffiths was in on six shots but could only finish one takedown. Courtney, who won the Outstanding Wrestler Award last season after knocking off three state champions to the title, is known to lure in his opponents to have them shoot, and counter. The senior and Virginia recruit used that strategy.
Beth-Center’s Dominic Fundy (39-1, 75-12) made it all the way to the finals at 182 but lost a 6-0 decision to Saegertown’s Cody Mulligan (46-3, 128-18) to grab the second state silver medal for the Bulldogs.
It was really sad for me to see some these wrestlers lose. I have to be unbiased in my coverage, and I am always professional, but it was tough to watch kids that worked so hard all year go down in defeat but they should keep their heads held high.
Frazier freshman Thayne Lawrence (36-6) wrestled all the way back from a quarterfinal setback to Tri-Valley’s Sammy Hepler to place third by avenging the loss to Hepler in a 5-2 decision for third at 138. The Commodores were in their first varsity season, and didn’t have much success filling weights with a consistent three wrestlers competing during the regular season for coach Greg Boggs. Hopefully, Lawrence’s success will change that attitude.
Bentworth’s Manny Dovshek (30-7 at 113), Beth-Center’s Jimmy Gwyer (29-19 at 120) and Southmoreland’s Ryan Mauro (24-15 at 220) should be commended for qualifying despite losing both matches on Thursday.
It was a tough end to the career of Mount Pleasant’s Austin Mihalchik (32-17), who won his pigtail match but was pinned in back-to-back matches to be ousted from the tournament on Friday at 126. Mihalchik’s emotions got the best of him as he left the arena floor, but kudos for carrying himself with some much class.
Laurel Highlands’ Ian Edenfield (32-5, 54-16) showed about as much class as you can have during his run through the 220-pound bracket in Class AAA. Edenfield was edged in double-overtime, 3-2, to Upper Darby’s Brian Kennerly (38-0, 102-23) to miss out on the gold but his second-place finish is the highest in school history at the state wrestling tournament. The junior will be back in 2018.
Albert Gallatin’s Tim Wallace (39-3, 102-17) won his 100th career match over the weekend and was a takedown away in sudden-victory to becoming the first Colonial to make it to the state finals. Wallace came back to finish third at 170.
Waynesburg Central’s Colin McCracken (42-6, 146-34) showed that it’s not over till it’s over. Coach Joe Throckmorton’s senior 195-pounder lost in the first round and won five consecutive matches to place third. McCracken is headed to Kent State to wrestle in college, but will compete for the WPIAL All-Stars in the Dapper Dan Pittsburgh Wrestling Classic on March 25 at the University of Pittsburgh’s Fitzgerald Field House.
Belle Vernon’s Billy Korber (36-9, 111-45) qualified for the semifinals in his first year wrestling at the state meet as a senior and bounced back from the setback in the round of four to take fourth.
Belle Vernon’s Brock Godzin (40-9, 90-37) battled through injury and a couple of tough setbacks to finish fifth at 152 in the junior’s first trip to the state tournament. Godzin was happy with placing but is not satisfied.
The Leopards didn’t have the firepower this season as they did in their record-breaking 2016 campaign but Jacob Dunlop’s eighth-place finish at 113 provided Belle Vernon with three place winners to lead the area. Dunlop, who will wrestle for Gannon University in college, finished his high-school career at 41-8 and 146-46.
Belle Vernon’s Tyler Seliga (32-17 at 145) won his opening match but lost two in a row to finish his career at the state meet. Teammate Zachary Hartman (37-8 at 160) won his opening match, and had placed at the state meet the previous two seasons as a freshman and sophomore but lost his next two to finish without a medal. Hartman’s tournament is a key indicator of the level of talent that comes to Hershey every year in the early to middle stages of March.
Connellsville’s Colin Franks (26-12 at 120) and Nate Ansell (26-12 at 195) weren’t able to make it to the podium. Franks lost on Thursday and Ansell won his first-round match but lost the next two to see his season come to a close on Friday.
The Raiders’ Caleb Morris (35-6 at 132) qualified for his third state tournament in as many years as a junior but lost his first two matches to be ousted from the tournament. Teammate Kyle Homet (34-8 at 170) was eliminated early after losing two consecutive matches.
Spencer Lee’s controversial 6-5 setback to Exeter Township’s Austin Desanto that dashed Lee’s hopes of a fourth state title and undefeated high-school career will be documented with photos in Wednesday’s Herald-Standard.
Thank you to all the wrestlers, coaches, schools and administration for an excellent season of wrestling.
I was fortunate enough to be able to work with the great PIAA staff, officials and security personnel at the Giant Center and surrounding areas of Hershey. I would love to go back to Chocolate World and get a big candy bar and ride a roller coaster.
But not after watching some of the best high school wrestling in the country. I can’t wait till next year.
Sports writer Jonathan Guth can be reach at jguth@heraldstandard.com or jonathanguth85@gmail.com