(Photo provided courtesy of Council Rock North wrestling.)
PIAA AAA WRESTLING
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH PLACES FOUR, TEAM FINISHES FIFTH
By Glenn Kaiser
HERSHEY, PA-Council Rock North wrestlers came up short on some of their individual goals, but nonetheless, four wrestlers were able to climb onto the podium to enable the team to place in the top five at the Giant Center this weekend. North compiled 64 points over the three-day PIAA AAA Individual Wrestling Championships that began Thursday and culminated Saturday night in Chocolate Town, USA.
Cam Robinson returned to the finals for the second straight year but was denied a title by DuBois’ Ed Scott. Scott, a defending state champ, controlled the 152-pound finals tilt winning 11-8. Scott won the 138lb title in 2019. Robinson finished his scholastic career with 152 wins and three state medals, two silver and one fifth place. Robinson will head to Iowa State in the fall after a 43-3 senior season and a 152-26 career record.
Luke Lucerne lost his semifinal bout to Rocco Welsh (Waynesburg Central) 3-2 at 126-pounds, but rebounded to garner bronze. Lucerne, like Robinson finished his career with three state medals. He improved every time at Hershey, earning a sixth place finish as a freshman, fourth as a junior and third in 2020. Lucerne defeated CR South’s Kyle Waterman 9-2 in the consolation semifinals. He downed Bellefonte’s Jude Swisher 6-2 to win the consolation bracket.
Kyle Hauserman was not as fortunate but finished fourth in a loaded 120-pound weight class. Hauserman dropped down to the consolations after an early first round loss to Nazareth’s Andrew Smith 3-0. Nonetheless, he wrestled back to medal avenging that loss to Smith with a 5-3 win in the consi-semis. He won four straight before dropping a 4-2 decision to Carlisle’s Rafael Portilla. Hauserman finished third a year ago and will look to win it all next year.
Dillon Sheehy capped his career with a win and a seventh-place finish at 160-pounds. Sheehy made his third trip to the Giant Center pay off, winning 5-3 over Susquehannock’s Colby Romjue. Sheehy took out CR South’s Matt Colajezzi 4-2 in the consi-round of eight. The Golden Hawks Kyle Waterman was the only place winner for South, as he finished in sixth place, narrowly losing to Central Dauphin’s Josh Miller 12-10. Waterman finished out his scholastic career with three medals, a fifth and two sixth place finishes.
Neshaminy’s Zac Martin placed sixth at 132-pounds. 132 was stacked with talent and Martin was well prepared for the battles here. He defeated William Tennent’s T.J. England 5-2 in the wrestle-backs, and dropped his fifth-place match to Waynesburg’s Cole Homet 5-0. Martin finally climbed on to the podium with his third trek to Hershey. He will get another chance to climb even higher next year as a senior.
Hatboro-Horsham’s A.J. Tamburrino never really got it going this go-round at the Giant Center, as he dropped his first-round bout and had to battle back thru the consolations. Nonetheless, he was successful with a fifth-place finish at 152-pounds. He avenged a regional semifinal loss to Spring-Ford’s Jack McGill, winning 6-4 in a placement bout, but he dropped a close one to Matt Lackman (Bethlehem Catholic) 3-2, who he lost to in the first round, in the consi-semis. Tamburrino was third a year ago at 145lbs and finishes with a 126-14 career record after a shortened season at Tennent in 2018. He will be joining Lucerne at the United States Naval Academy where they will be collegiate teammates.
Overall, the SOL had a good portion of District One wrestlers who placed in 2020. Although, D1 grapplers struggled for the most part in Hershey this season. Hunter Catka (Sun Valley) was the only state champ for D1 as he captured his second title, this time at 285-pounds. Bethlehem Catholic won the team title with 110.5 points and two state champions.
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