HERSHEY – After being one win away from wrestling for a gold medal, Curwensville\’s Derek Brothers will have fifth place as his goal when he returns to the Giant Center for the PIAA Class AA Tournament consolation finals Saturday afternoon.
The Golden Tide junior 119-pounder advanced to the semifinals with a solid 7-2 victory over District 5 champ and Southwest Region fourth-placer Cory Thomas of Bedford in the morning, but losses to a pair of District 6 standouts in the evening session forced Brothers to reset his goal.
Undefeated Southwest Region champ A.J. Schopp of Tyrone dropped the District 9 champ and Northwest Region runner-up into the wrestlebacks with a 9-3 decision.
Then, in the consy semifinals, Brothers was edged 1-0 by SW Region third-placer David Fogle of Westmont Hilltop.
Coming off a third-period pin against District 11 champ and Southeast Region third-place Adam Phillippi of Saucon Valley on Thursday, Brothers looked sharp against Thomas, taking down the junior and turning him twice for a 7-0 lead before losing the shutout.
Thomas, who had surprised District 4 and Northeast Region titlist Mike Rhone of Benton 6-4 in overtime Friday, later was eliminated one win shy of the medal round.
In the semis, Brothers was locked in a 2-2 tie with Schopp (39-0) after one period, but the Golden Eagle junior wriggled out of Brothers\’ crab ride for a reversal and later tilted him for two back points in the second period.
Brothers chose neutral for the third period, but Schopp came up with the takedown for his ticket to the finals against returning state champ Anthony Zanetta (44-1) of Keystone in a rematch of last week\’s Southwest Region title bout.
Schopp, who placed third at 103 in 2007 and fourth at 112 last year, eked out a 3-2 tiebreaker win over Zanetta, who won his gold medal at 112 a year ago.
Like many wrestlers who find it difficult bouncing back after being so close to the championship match, Brothers couldn\’t get started against Fogle (35-6) in the consy semi.
Fogle, who already had clinched his fourth PIAA medal, shut down the Golden Tide matman\’s offense to advance to the third-place bout against District 10 and NW Region champ Adam Matthews (39-6) of Reynolds.
Schopp was named the Outstanding Wrestler for the District 6 tourney after blanking Fogle 3-0 in the finals.
Brothers (34-5) will have a little extra incentive when he takes on Jeremy Landowski (37-14) of Burrell for fifth place. Last year, Landowski beat Brothers 2-0 in the first round, a pair of caution points making the difference.
Landowski qualified for states by placing fifth in the SW Region after losing 11-3 to Zanetta in the District 7 (WPIAL) finals.
Defending 152-pound champ Dirk Cowburn (28-3) of Coudersport will be the lone District 9 wrestler going for the gold. He posted a 7-3 victory over District 10 titlist Sam Kuhn of Harbor Creek in a much-anticipated bout. They were ranked one-two in the state.
In addition to Brothers, Redbank Valley 171-pounder Logan Shirey and Ridgway 285-pounder Joe Chittester lost in the semis, both by 3-2 decisions.
The only other D-9 qualifier who will medal is Ridgway 130-pounder Garet Pisani.
The NW Region was 3-for-14 in the championship semis.
Joining Cowburn in the finals will be Greenville 125-pounder Coty Burnett and Grove City 171-pounder Caleb Kolb. Both are District 10 champs.
The SW Region has the most finalists, 11, followed by the SE Region with nine and the NE Region with five.
No less than five of the eight returning champs have been dumped into the wrestlebacks.
They are Montoursville 112-pounder Luke Frey (103 champ last year), Shady Side Academy 130-pounder Frank Martellotti (103 in 2007), Sharon 135-pounder Jordan Moss (135 last year), Shady Side Academy 189-pounder Roman San Doval (189 last year) and Westmont Hilltop 189-pounder Zac Bennett (189 in 2007).
The consolation finals will start at 12:30 p.m. and the championships at 2:30.
