HERSHEY – As the only freshman in his weight class, Bison Mark McGonigal (30-10) lost out in the first night of wrestling, falling a few wins short of his goal of a PIAA state wrestling medal this year.
The 152 pounder was eliminated in the first round of consolation by junior Cole Flanagan (36-14) of Council Rock South by an 11-4 score, though the match was a closer 6-4 with five seconds left in the match when McGonigal was taken to his back.
Prior to that, McGonigal lost in the championship round of 16 to senior Jackson Erb (38-7) of Neshaminy by a 7-1 score. McGonigal’s lone point came in the second period when he scored an escape with 53 seconds to go.
There are still 13 wrestlers in the championship bracket from the Northwest Region, including five wrestlers from the D4/9 area.
Still remaining in the Northwest region are sophomore Matt Sarbo (36-3) of Altoona at 126, senior Tyler Dilley (33-5) of Saint Marys at 132, junior Cade Balestrini (33-2) of Shikellamy at 132, junior Ed Scott (36-0) of DuBois at 138, sophomore Paniro Johnson (36-5) of Erie Cathedral Prep at 145, sophomore Ethan Richner (36-4) of Bellefonte at 152, sophomore Trey Kibe (38-1) of Mifflin County at 160, senior Carter Starocci (40-0) of Erie Cathedral Prep at 182, senior Cole Urbas (34-0) of State College at 195, freshman Brayden Crocker (30-2) of Cranberry at 195, junior Dorian Crosby (44-5) of Erie Cathedral Prep at 220, sophomore Nate Schon (37-1) of Selinsgrove at 220, and senior Kawaun Deboe (37-0) of Erie Cathedral Prep at 285.
After one night of wrestling, Nazareth leads the team race with 27 points, followed closely by Erie Cathedral Prep with 25 points. DuBois is in 15th place overall with 12.0 points and three wrestlers still alive.
Full results, courtesy of PA-Wrestling.com, can be found here.
