HERSHEY UNWRAPPED
The sweetest place on earth for Pennsylvania wrestling fans sure tasted good this past weekend. The AAA PIAA Wrestling Championships were historic and provided much excitement for all in attendance. The Giant Center once again rocked as PA’s best took to the mats. From the time I pulled into the Hershey Lodge, I could not wait to unwrap my first Hershey bar, taste the sweet chocolate and begin a three-day venture of watching not only the state’s best wrestlers, but also some of the nation’s best compete for Hershey Gold.
The quality of wrestling was outstanding, with no one backing down in his quest for a spot on the podium. SOL wrestlers did not disappoint, as nine SOL wrestlers medaled after three days of competition. Pennridge’s Scott Parker finally reached the finals after finishing third a year ago and fifth in 2012. Although he lost on a heartbreaking takedown on the edge in overtime to two-time state champion Luke Pletcher from Greater Latrobe 3-1, he capped a tremendous career with three medals to his name. He surely wanted to close out his senior year with a state title, but it was not meant to be. He finished as the 120-pound runner-up with a record of 43-2, a Beast of the East title, Bethlehem Christmas title, and a silver medal at Escape the Rock. He defeated his nemesis at the state tournament, two-time state champion Ethan Lizak (Parkland) 7-2 in the semifinals with a takedown and back points at the end of the match to lock down his spot in the finals. Parker will go down as Pennridge’s greatest wrestler, breaking the career win mark (Parker’s career record 149-11) of Ram head Ccach Dan Goetter this season, and pocketing three precious PIAA AAA State medals.
Pennridge finished with three medals total in the 2014 Championships as Kordell Rush reached the 106-pound bronze medal bout after wrestling all the way back after a quarterfinal loss to finalist Dan Moran (Northampton) 3-1. Rush was pinned in the consolation finals by last year’s 106-pound runner-up Connor Sheehan from Solanco. Rush once again defeated Council Rock South’s Riley Palmer in the third round of consolations 5-0 to spring him into the consi-semis. There he defeated Exeter Township’s Brett Kulp 2-1. Palmer rebounded with seventh place finish after downing Liberty’s Luke Werner 5-2. Palmer, only a freshmen, will certainly be back to the Giant Center to improve his placement in the year’s to come. Rush will do the same, as he finished his sophomore campaign with a fourth place medal with a 38-11 record.
The Rams 126-pound entry in Hershey, Ben Ross, finished his career with a medal (eighth place) after a disappointing 6-1 loss to another SOL wrestler and former medalist Dan Martoccio (CRS). Ross finished fifth a year ago. Along with Kyle Gentile participating at 160 pounds, the Rams were able to garner enough points to finish just out of the top 10 in 11th place with 37.5 points in the team standings. Pennridge was the only SOL team to place in the top 20.
Franklin Regional ran away with the team title, amassing 119 points to outdistance runner-up Greater Latrobe (60 pts.). Norristown’s Mikey Springer garnered fifth place at 152 after losing in the semifinals to Josh Shields (Franklin Regional) 9-2. Springer beat Parkland’s Josh Ortman 7-2 in the fifth place bout.
Alex Price (North Penn) had an outstanding weekend at the Giant Center as he won the fifth place bout at 182 pounds, defeating James Buchanan’s Casey Glunt 6-4. Price never backed down as he reached the semifinals, only to lose to Kellan Stout (Mt. Lebanon) 5-0.
Central Bucks East’s Francesco Fabozzi also reached the semifinals at 145 pounds but was no match for returning PIAA champ Joey Galasso (Father Judge), losing a major decision 10-0. In perhaps the best weight class – some would argue 120 was the toughest man for man, Fabozzi was still able to reach the fifth place bout. He placed fifth in 2013, but this time around he came up short and had to settle for sixth place after dropping a 3-1 decision to Max Good of Cedar Cliff.
Tommy Stokes (Bensalem) made his return to Hershey a memorable one as he walked away with a medal at 132, finishing in eighth place. Stokes dropped a 7-2 decision to always-tough Jalen Palmer from Del Val. Stokes defeated Cumberland Valley’s Alex Wolfe 2-1 in his medal match.
I am sure some would say that with the SOL having five semifinalists and just one reaching the finals would be considered a disappointment, but with the level of competition in these 2014 Championships, I would consider it a success.
Two wrestlers, Chance Marstellar (Kennard Dale) 170-pounds and Thomas Haines (Solanco) 285-pounds, became four-time PIAA State Champions. The tournament featured eight returning state champions, including two at both 120 and 145 pounds, seven runners-up, and a multitude of returning medalist throughout. Thus, a medal in any weight class was truly an accomplishment and honor for our SOL wrestlers.
District One as a whole fared well with one champion in Michael Boykin (Coatesville) who defeated D1 rival Jordan Wood (Boyertown) 5-2 in the 220-pound final, and two other runner-ups in Parker and Pottsgrove’s Pat Finn at 285. Finn lost to Haines admirably 6-1 in the finals. The South West region boasted eight champions, the South Central five, and SE one with Boykin.
Pennsylvania has seen a shift in individual and team power over the past couple of years with District 7 taking the lead, as Franklin Regional alone had three champs, a dual title, and a team title in 2014. The shift from the traditional powers of Central PA is slight, but nonetheless significant at the same time. As the old guard, District 11 had no champions. However, these kinds of things are always cyclical as D11’s Parkland (fourth), Nazereth (sixth), and Northampton (eighth) all placed in the top 10 along with District 3’s Solanco (third), Central Dauphin (fifth), and Cumberland Valley (10th). D7’s Cannon Mac (seventh) and Pitt Central Catholic (ninth) rounded out the top 10 in the team race.
If you were taking notice, I picked 10 of 14 champions correctly, not bad for an old coach!
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