HERSHEY — Shae Bloom punctuated his outstanding junior season for the Curwensville Area High School wrestling team by earning the 138-pound fifth-place medal at the 2015 PIAA Class AA Tournament in the Giant Center Saturday afternoon.
Making it even sweeter for the Golden Tide middleweight was avenging one of his two regular season losses with a solid 3-0 win over Montoursville junior Keith Batkowski.
Bloom, Curwensville’s first medal winner since 2012, rode the District 4 and Northeast Region runner-up the middle two minutes before securing the victory with an escape and takedown in the third period.
“It was an awesome win for him and a nice finish to the season,” Golden Tide first-year coach Dean Swatsworth said. “It just shows the hard work he puts in every day all year.
“I’m happy for him and happy for his family.”
After being edged 3-2 by Batkowski (38-6) at the Clearfield Duals in mid-January, Bloom was victorious in his next 16 matches, including three falls in the District 9 Tournament where he received the Outstanding Wrestler Award and two bonus decisions at the Northwest Region Tournament where the streak was ended by Saegertown senior Tyler Vath in the finals.
Bloom refocused to post a 4-2 record in the three-day state tourney, vastly improving on two PIAA Class AAA appearances as a DuBois lightweight. He was 1-2 both years.
“He wrestled well and he’s happy he took fifth, but he didn’t get as high on the podium as he wanted,” Swatsworth said.
Only the four region champions stood higher on the podium, though, and the two who defeated Bloom were first and third with 44 wins apiece.
Undefeated Mike Carr of South Fayette downed Vath 3-1 for the gold medal while twice-beaten Kyle Shoop of Boiling Springs pinned Collin Edsell of Wyalusing for the bronze medal.
Shoop was ranked No. 1, Vath No. 2, Carr No. 3 and Edsell No. 5 by Off The Mat going into the tourney.
Bloom, who was No. 4, lost 4-1 to Carr and 5-3 to Shoop.
He is the 14th Golden Tide state placewinner and will have the opportunity to become the school’s sixth matman with more than one PIAA medal next year.
The three-time District 9 champion will carry a 104-18 record into his senior season after a 34-5 finish that ties him for third place on the Golden Tide’s all-time single-season win list.
His 16 pins rank seventh in the Curwensville record book.
D-9 did not have a finalist, but Brookville 120-pounder Taylor Ortz and Smethport 145-pounder James Duffy, both juniors, were bronze medalists. Ortz also was third at 113 last year.
Brockway junior Ryan Carlson (113) and Brookville senior Jimmy Miller (152) placed sixth and Brockway junior Mason Lindenmuth (132) was seventh. Carlson and Miller were eighth at 106 and 160, respectively, a year ago.
The Northwest Region boasted 13 placewinners who were representing District 10.
Three won championships, Reynolds freshman Cole Matthews at 120, Franklin junior Dakota Geer at 182 and Saegertown senior Dylan Reynolds at 195 with a 50-0 record.
Vath and Reynolds junior Seth Hogue (126) lost in the finals.
Reynolds had three other medalists in Michael Bartolo (third at 132), Gene Ringer (sixth at 285) and Cole Rickert (seventh at 220) to reign as team champion with 87 points, three more than Boiling Springs collected.
D-6 had one other champion, Central Cambria sophomore Max Murin at 113.
In the highly-anticipated 132 title bout between the tourney’s only returning gold medalists, Derry
junior Micky Phillippi nipped Boiling Springs senior Korbin Myers 1-0 and was the recipient of the Outstanding Wrestler Award.
Phillippi ruled at 113 two years ago and Korbin reigned at 120 last year, with Phillippi placing third.
In addition to Phillippi and Carr, District 7 (WPIAL) had four other champs in unbeaten freshman Gavin Teasdale (106) of Jefferson-Morgan, Jacob Wentzel (152) of South Park, Greg Bulsak (170) of South Park and Al Beattie (285) of Burrell.
Also climbing to the top of the winner’s stand were Jonathan Gabriel (126) of Bedford, Kent Lane (145) of Southern Columbia and Cole Walter (160) of Mifflinburg. Lane, who did not give up an offensive point all season, and Walter are Lehigh recruits.
TEAM SCORING
1. Reynolds, 87 points; 2. Boiling Springs, 84; 3. Saegertown, 71.5; 4. Benton, 69; 5. Chestnut Ridge, 63; 6. Jefferson-Morgan, 59; 7. South Park, 51; 8. South Fayette, 50; 9. Southern Columbia, 48; 10. Bermudian Springs, 46; 11. (tie) Blairsville and Burrell, 41; 13. Huntingdon, 39; 14. Wyalusing, 35; 15. (tie) Brookville, Berlin-Brothers Valley and Bishop McDevitt, 33; 18. Bedford, 32; 19. Derry, 31; 20. (tie) West Branch, Central Columbia and Tri Valley, 28.
Other Districts 6, 9 and 10 teams:
24. (tie) Ligonier Valley and Franklin, 26; 28. Penns Valley, 24.5; 31. Fort LeBoeuf, 23; 35. (tie) United, 20; 39. (tie) Smethport, 19; 41. (tie) Brockway, Cambria Heights and Forest Hills, 18; 44. (tie) Cambridge Springs, 17; 46. (tie) Westmont Hilltop, 16; 49. (tie) Greenville, 14; 54. (tie) Curwensville, 12; 63. (tie) Central, 9; 69. (tie) Redbank Valley and Moshannon Valley, 7; 73. (tie) Penn Cambria, 6; 80. (tie) Ridgway and Mount Union, 5; 87. (tie) Keystone, Grove City and Harborcreek, 4; 96. (tie) Clarion, Jamestown, Sharpsville and West Middlesex, 3; 105. (tie) Cranberry, Port Allegany, Richland and Sharon, 2; 113. Cameron County, 1; 114 (tie) Hickory, Marion Center and Seneca, 0.
CHAMPIONSHIPS
(District-Place, Region-Place, Grade, Record in Parentheses)
106 – Gavin Teasdale (7-1, SW-1, 9, 46-0), Jefferson Morgan dec. Aaron Burkett (5-1, SW-2, 11, 41-6), Chestnut Ridge, 4-2.
113 – Max Murin (6-1, SW-1, 10, 37-1), Central Cambria vs. Joe Lobeck (3-1, SE-1, 11, 41-3), Lancaster Catholic, 7-4.
120 – Cole Matthews (10-1, NW-2, 9, 43-6), Reynolds, dec. Brian Courtney (4-1, NE-1, 10, 35-1), Athens, 3-2.
126 – Jonathan Gabriel (5-1, SW-2, 11, 30-3), Bedford, dec. Seth Hogue (10-1, NW-1, 11, 41-6), Reynolds, 8-4.
132 – George Phillippi (7-1, SW-1, 11, 43-3), Derry, dec. Korbin Myers (3-1, SE-1, 12, 40-2), Boiling Springs, 1-0.
138 – Mike Carr (7-1, SW-1, 11, 44-0), South Fayette, dec. Tyler Vath (10-1, NW-1, 12, 43-7), Saegertown, 3-1.
145 – Kent Lane (4-1, NE-1, 12, 44-1), Southern Columbia, dec. Robert Patrick (6-1, SW-1, 9, 35-8), Ligonier Valley, 5-0.
152 – Jacob Wetzel (7-1, SW-1, 11, 40-1), South Park, dec. Jacob Oliver (6-2, SW-2, 10, 41-3), Huntingdon, 4-2.
160 – Cole Walter (4-1, NE-1, 12, 41-1), Mifflinburg, dec. John Vaughn (3-1, SE-1, 12, 27-3), Boiling Springs, 9-4.
170 – Greg Bulsak (7-1, SW-1, 11, 34-3), South Park, dec. Nick Stefani (4-1, NE-1, 12, 40-1), Troy, 2-0.
182 – Dakota Geer (10-1, NW-1, 11, 37-1), Franklin, dec. Corey Hazel (6-1, SW-1, 12, 38-2), Penns Valley, 10-3.
195 – Dylan Reynolds (10-1, NW-1, 12, 50-0), Saegertown, dec. Scott Thompson (6-1, SW-1, 12, 40-1), Blairsville, 3-2.
220 – Reynold “Buzzy” Maines (6-1, SW-1, 12, 43-0), West Branch, dec. Jacob Robb (7-1, SW-2, 11, 40-5), Kittanning, 8-5.
285 – Al Beattie (7-1, SW-1, 12, 48-1), Burrell, dec. Jacob Beistel (7-2, SW-2, 11, 38-5), Southmoreland, 3-0.
CONSOLATION FINALS FOR THIRD PLACE
106 – Alan Diltz (4-1, 11-1, 11, 40-6), Benton, dec. Kevan Gentile (11-1, SE-1, 11, 41-2), Jim Thorpe, 6-5
113 – Cameron Newman (4-1, NE-1, 12, 42-3), Line Mountain, dec. Coy Campbell (3-2, SE-2, 12, 35-9), Upper Dauphin, 5-0.
120 – Taylor Ortz (9-1, NW-1, 11, 42-3), Brookville, major dec. John Pipa (3-2, SE-1, 10, 26-4), Bishop McDevitt, 13-4.
126 – David Pipa (3-1, SE-3, 12, 33-5), Bishop McDevitt, dec. Tristan Law (6-1, SW-1, 12, 42-3), Forest Hills, 7-3.
132 – Michael Bartolo (10-1, NW-3, 12, 40-6), Reynolds, dec. Jarrette Carter (10-3, NW-1, 11, 33-8), Fort LeBoeuf, 1-0.
138 – Kyle Shoop (3-1, SE-1, 12, 44-2), Boiling Springs, pinned Collin Edsell (4-1, NE-1, 11, 44-7), Wyalusing, 3:24.
145 – James Duffy (9-1, NW-1, 11, 37-2), Smethport, dec. Nick Monico (10-1, NW-2, 11, 26-7), Saegertown, 3-1.
152 – Michael Comunale (11-1, SE-1, 12, 35-1), Pius X, dec. Dominic Vitale (4-2, NE-2, 12, 33-13), Muncy, 5-2.
160 – Jared Walker (7-1, SW-2, 12, 39-5), South Fayette, dec. Drew Doak (6-1, SW-3, 12, 42-3), Blairsville, 5-2.
170 – Taylor Cahill (5-1, SW-3, 12, 41-6), Berlin-Brothers Valley, dec. Levi Niebauer (6-2, SW-2, 12, 34-5), 6-3.
182 – Colton Dull (3-1, SE-1, 12, 39-2), Bermudian Springs, dec. Michael Collins (1-1, SE-3, 12, 34-4), Pope Paul II, 1-0.
195 – Conner Buttry (5-1, SW-2, 11, 42-5), Chestnut Ridge, dec. Logan Womelsdorf (4-1, NE-2, 12, 24-3), Benton, 4-3.
220 – Tyler Oliver (6-3, SW-3, 12, 35-6), United, dec. Sam McCollum (3-1, SE-1, 12, 43-2), Bermudian Springs, 5-3.
285 – Saul Wilkins (2-1, NE-1, 11, 40-5), Wilkes-Barre G.A.R. Memorial, dec. Ian Wolfe (7-3, SW-3, 12, 39-16), Jefferson-Morgan, 5-4 (UTB).
CONSOLATION FINALS FOR FIFTH PLACE
106 – Jaret Lane (4-2, NE-2, 9, 40-6), Southern Columbia, dec. Jalin Hankerson (3-1, SE-2, 10, 30-9), Boiling Springs, 8-3 (OT).
113 – Jack Hill (11-4, SE-3, 11, 50-11), Saucon Valley vs. Ryan Carlson (9-2, NW-2, 11, 30-8), Brockway, 6-4.
120 – Andrew Wert (3-1, SE-2, 9, 38-6), Trinity, dec. Justin McCoy (5-1, SW-3, 9, 38-8), Chestnut Ridge, 3-2 (OT).
126 – Charles Johnson (2-1, NE-1, 11, 37-2), Wyoming Area, dec. Grant Bond (3-2, SE-2, 12, 20-9), Boiling Springs, 3-0.
132 – Kody Komara (7-3, SW-3, 10, 40-8), Freedom, dec. Anthony Vitale (4-3, NE-2, 35-15), Benton, 3-1.
138 – Shae Bloom (9-1, NW-2, 11, 34-5), Curwensville, dec. Keith Batkowski (4-2, NE-2, 11, 39-6), Montoursville 3-0.
145 – Dakota Nixon (4-3, NE-3, 12, 38-9), Muncy, dec. Gio Vonne Sanders (7-1, SW-2, 10, 34-7), Jeannette, 3-1.
152 – Trent Crouse (5-1, SW-3, 12, 42-6), Chestnut Ridge, dec. Jimmy Miller (9-1, NW-1, 12, 36-9), Brookville, 3-1.
160 – Bryce Fochtman (5-1, SW-1, 12, 37-4), Berlin-Brothers Valley, dec. Jon Wagner (6-3, SW-5, 11, 43-11), Huntingdon, 3-2.
170 – Anthony Welsh (7-2, SW-4, 11, 36-7), Beth-Center, dec. Gavin Hoffman (4-2, NE-2, 12, 41-6), Montoursville, 5-1.
182 – Brett Beltz (7-2, SW-3, 12, 39-8), South Fayette dec. Bill Bowlen (7-1, SW-2, 11, 36-9), Jefferson-Morgan, 4-3.
195 -Luke Fornier (7-3, SW-4, 12, 37-6), Elizabeth Forward, pinned Lucas Barshinger (3-1, SE-2, 12, 33-4), Eastern York, 2:03.
220 – Dylan Otis (4-1, NE-1, 12, 50-3), Wyalusing, dec Zach Stafford (10-1, NW-2, 11, 34-6), Cambridge Springs, 7-4.
285 – Josh Lind (7-7, SW-6, 11, 37-19), Mount Pleasant, dec. Gene Ringer (10-1, NW-3, 11, 41-11), Reynolds, 3-2.
CONSOLATION FINALS FOR SEVENTH PLACE
106 – Abe Guariello (10-1, NW-2, 11, 40-9), Fort LeBoeuf, dec. Tyler Griffiths 7-3, SW-3, 9, 41-10), Southmoreland, 2-0.
113 – Willy Girard (11-2, SE-4, 11, 35-8), Williams Valley, dec. Nolan Link (6-2, SW-2, 12, 35-8), Penn Cambria, 4-1.
120 – Brendan Howard (7-1, SW-2, 12, 43-8), Jefferson-Morgan, dec. Caleb Bordner (11-1, SE-3, 12, 42-7), Tri Valley, 3-2.
126 – Lewis Williams (4-1, NE-2, 12, 36-5), Central Columbia, dec. Mike Stuart (4-2, NE-3, 10, 30-14), Benton, 3-2.
132 – Mason Lindenmuth (9-1, NW-2, 11, 32-5), Brockway, dec. Matt Schmall (11-1, SE-3, 11, 34-7), Northern Lehigh, 7-5 (OT).
138 – Sam Miller (4-4, NE-3, 12, 38-8), Bloomsburg, dec. Nate Jones (4-3, NE-4, 12, 37-8), South Williamsport, 5-4.
145 – Nate Newberry (3-1, SE-1, 11, 38-4), Biglerville, dec. Zach Fry (4-2, NE-2, 11, 33-8), Hughesville, 4-1 (TB).
152 – Damon Greenwald (7-4, SW-5, 46-15), Burrell, dec. Blake Reynolds (10-1, NW-2, 10, 34-9), Greenville, 7-2.
160 – Hunter Harner (11-1, SE-2, 12, 40-5), Tri Valley, dec. Anthony Walters (6-4, SW-4, 9, 36-6), Westmont Hilltop, 5-4.
170 – Jason Lynch (11-1, SE-3, 12, 51-5, Saucon Valley, dec. Derek Dragon (2-1, NE-3, 12, 42-8), Lake Lehman, 8-7.
182 – Connor Frey (11-1, SE-2, 11, 34-6), Lehighton dec. Garrett Hoffman (4-1, NE-1, 11, 44-3), Montoursville, 3-1.
195 – Alex Hummel (11-1, SE-1, 12, 45-3), North Schuylkill, dec. Rian Shubeck (11-3, SE-3, 12, 31-7), Panther Valley, 3-1.
220 – Cole Rickert (10-2, NW-1, 10, 36-11), Reynolds vs. Dan Scheib (11-1, SE-2, 9, 34-14), Tri Valley, 6-4.
285 – Dylan Brennan (4-3, NE-3, 12, 32-10, Troy, dec. Anthony Greggo (11-1, SE-3, 12, 34-6), Pius X, 7-2.