SHARON – Two-time champion Derek Brothers and Jeff Thomas of Curwensville passed their first tests in the PIAA Northwest Region Class AA Wrestling Tournament Friday in Sharon High School Friday night.
Both of the Golden Tide\’s District 9 champions posted solid wins to advance to the Saturday morning semifinals.
Brothers, a junior 119-pounder, had rolled up a 14-3 lead when Northwestern\’s Ian Chiesa (17-6) defaulted because of a shoulder injury with 35 seconds remaining.
A slide-by takedown got Brothers (31-2) in front early, and he picked a penalty point for interlocking before reversing midway through the second period.
\”He had a hard time getting out in the beginning,\” Curwensville coach Duane Wriglesworth II second. \”The kid was going from legs to a crab ride. Then he got his legs too wide, and Derek was able to hip-heist right into him for the reversal.\”
Chiesa, who placed fourth in the District 10 tourney, reversed near the end of the period to trail 5-2.
Brothers dominated the third period with another slide-by takedown and three sets of back points before Chiesa ran out of injury time at the 5:25 mark.
\”Brothers was running a crab ride to a half to a power half to turn him,\” Wriglesworth said. \”He was stretching that shoulder pretty good. Chiesa must have had a prior injury, because he started yelling as soon as Derek put pressure on it. They stopped the bout twice.
\”Derek looked very good.
\”And Jeff didn\’t look too bad, either.\”
After a scoreless first period, Thomas (29-3) came off the bottom for a five-point move in the second period and rode most of the third period before allowing an escape for a 5-1 victory over Commodore Perry\’s District 10 fourth-placer Brandon Collins (29-8).
\”What happened was the kid was working legs right away, and on a reset, Jeff did like a switch to a turn-in,\” Wriglesworth explained. \”He turned in so hard he ended up in a front headlock position, and then he grabbed the kid\’s elbow and dumped him right to his back for two-and-three.\”
Collins went into D-10 Section 2 tourney as the top seed but wound up fourth. He then upset the Section 1 champ Jeremy King of Fort LeBoeuf in the district quarterfinals but lost 4-2 to Reynolds\’ Luke Taylor in three overtime periods in the semis.
Taylor (35-8), who was edged 5-4 in three overtimes by Hickory\’s Fabio Boccuzzi (37-7) in the D-10 championship bout, will meet Thomas in the semis after ousting D-9 third-placer Kasey Haines (23-9) of Redbank Valley by 7-2.
The other semi will pair Boccuzzi, who nipped Cochranton\’s D-10 fifth-placer Cody Northcott (29-9) 3-2, and King, who beat D-9 runner-up Nathan Hartless (31-5) of Brockway by a 20-6 major decision.
Brothers\’ semifinal opponent will be D-10 runner-up Christian Drain (24-7) of North East, a 1-0 winner over D-9 third placer Ian Grecco (29-7) of Brockway via a third period escape.
The other match will pit D-10 champ Adam Matthews (34-5) against D-9 runner-up Tyler McCauley (25-6) of Redbank Valley.
Matthews major decisioned D-10 fifth-placer Nate Dias (31-11) 14-0 while McCauley bested D-10 third-placer Ian Abplanalp (23-13) 5-1.
Brothers, who topped McCauley 3-0 for the D-9 crown last week, edged Matthews 4-2 in the 112 region finals last year.
Wriglesworth expects tough matches for both of his wrestlers.
\”They had a very good start, but they definitely had quality opponents that they have to be well-prepared for,\” he said. \”To come up here and win the first bout gives the kids confidence going into second day, and that\’s so important here.\”
Only seven other District 9 champs advanced along with Brothers and Thomas.
They were Smethport\’s Tim Hubbard at 125 and Jon-Marc Burdick at 140, Ridgway\’s Garet Pisani at 130, Coudersport\’s defending state champ Dirk Cowburn at 152, Redbank Valley\’s Logan Shirey at 171, Port Allegany\’s Dylan Major at 189 and Kane\’s Ross Nicholson at 215.
Bounced into the wrestlebacks were Clarion\’s Mike Bauer at 103, Brookville\’s Brett Smith at 112, Redbank Valley\’s Nic McCauley at 140 and Ridgway\’s Zac Zelcs at 160 and Joe Chittester at 285.
Four D-9 runners-up moved on, Redbank Valley\’s Trevor McCauley at 125 and Shane Bowser at 285, Keystone\’s Mike Switzer at 160 and Brookville\’s Jacob Shields at 189.
Preston Mahoney of Johnsonburg was the lone D-9 third-placer to make the semis. He won by injury default over D-10 runner-up Mike Vernille of Hickory.
The consolation finals will start at 4:15 p.m. with the first championship match set for 6.
The top three placewinners at each weight will advance to the PIAA Class AA Tournament next weekend in the Giant Center at Hershey.
The Escape Sports brackets: http://test.escapesports.com/Results/2009/2009_NWRegion.html
