SHARON — The third time was a charm for Curwensville Golden Tide senior wrestler Zach Holland, as he qualified for the PIAA AA State Championship during his third and final trip to the North West Region Tournament at Sharon High School.
Holland (32-1) reached Saturday evening’s championship final after defeating Reynolds junior Alex Ischo (31-9) by a 3-1 score in the semifinals. Going into the match, Holland was ranked 11th in the state, while Ischo was ninth.
In the championship finals, Holland ran into a buzzsaw in the likes of Kenneth Kiser (40-3) from Saegertown. Kiser, now a 4-time state qualifier that includes a runner-up finish last year, showed why he is currently ranked second in the state by pinning Holland with one second remaining in the second period.
After a career that’s been hampered by several injuries, Holland is finally making his first trip to the Giant Center in Hershey for the PIAA AA State Championships. He will bring an 80-19 mark into his final high school tourney.
He will face the North East Region third place finisher, Luke Gorg (34-4) of Hughesville. Gorg has qualified for the states for the fourth time, but has yet to place in his previous three tries.
Action at Hershey begins Thursday at 9:00 am with the AA preliminaries.
Holland was joined at regionals by two other Tide wrestlers.
106 pound sophomore Jacob Carfley won his opening match Friday night, but was knocked into the consolations after being pinned in the quarterfinals. Carfley did win his first wrestleback Saturday morning over Owen Hershelman (19-18) of Saegertown 3-0, but then was eliminated by Johnsonburg’s Wyatt Shaffer (29-9) by a 6-2 score. Carfley finished the year with a 27-12 record and will take a career mark of 41-23 into his junior season.
Junior Jake McCracken lost two close matches, 2-0 and 6-3, at 170 to finish his season at 24-9. McCracken will head to his senior season next year with a career mark of 61-34.
Curwensville finished a distant 24th in the team scoring with 19 points. The title was easily won by District 10’s state power Reynolds who amassed 187 points and will be sending nine wrestlers to states. District 9’s Brookville was second with 129.5 points and five qualifiers. In all, District 9 will be sending 18 wrestlers to Hershey.
Complete bracket results courtesy PA-Wrestling.com can be found by clicking here.
Medal Matches Results:
| Championship Finals | |
| 106 | Cayden Walter, Brookville, dec. Kane Kettering, Reynolds, 6-4 |
| 113 | Gary Steen, Reynolds, dec. Owen Reinsel, Brookville, 5-0 |
| 120 | Logan Jaquay, Eisenhower, pinned Cole Bayless, Reynolds, 4:47 |
| 126 | Connor Pierce, Harbor Creek, dec. Alex Kightlinger, Saegertown, 7-0 |
| 132 | Anthony Glasl, Brockway, dec. Kaeden Berger, Reynolds, 6-1 |
| 138 | Kenneth Kiser, Saegertown, pinned Zach Holland, Curwensville, 3:59 |
| 145 | Ethan Wiant, Redbank Valley, dec. Jackson Spires, General McLane, 10-5 |
| 152 | Sully Allen, Sharon, pinned Aiden Zimmerman, Johnsonburg, 3:24 |
| 160 | Gage Musser, Commodore Perry, dec. Cole Casilio, Johnsonburg, 3-1 |
| 170 | Teddy Race, Kane, dec. Cole Karpinski, Greenville, 3-0 |
| 182 | Bryce McCloskey, Reynolds, dec. Cameron Whisner, Kane, 2-0 |
| 195 | Braydon Herbster, Reynolds, pinned Marshall Van Tassel, Union City, 5:42 |
| 220 | Nathan Taylor, Brookville, maj. dec. Joey King, Maplewood, 12-2 |
| 285 | Colby Whitehill, Brookville, pinned Jordan Schell, Girard, 2:53 |
| Third Place | |
| 106 | Lucas Munsee, Corry Area, dec. Mitchell Headley, Jamestown, 6-3 |
| 113 | Bryent Johnson, Port Allegany, dec. Connor Saylor, Hickory, 2-1 |
| 120 | Brayden Kunselman, Brookville, dec. Chase McLaughlin, Jamestown, 4-2 |
| 126 | Braedon Johnson, Port Allegany, dec. Seth Donovan, Titusville, 3-2 |
| 132 | Carter Gill, Hickory, dec. Matt Leehan, General McLane, 3-2 |
| 138 | Ayden Miller, Cambridge Springs, dec. Dalton Stahli, Johnsonburg, 8-2 |
| 145 | Alex Chess, Mercer, dec. Joel Huck, Fort LeBoeuf, 7-1 |
| 152 | Owen Jefferson, Seneca, dec. Jack Rimpa, Fort LeBoeuf, 6-4 |
| 160 | Daiveon Say, Grove City, won by tech. fall over Noah Bash, Brockway, 16-1 |
| 170 | Cole Toy, Reynolds, pinned Holden Cook, Franklin, 3:33 |
| 182 | Ethan Finch, Sheffield, dec. Vito Pilosi, Slippery Rock, 3-2 |
| 195 | Eric Johnson, Brockway, pinned Trevor Tursky, Conneaut Area, 0:28 |
| 220 | Cael Black, Eisenhower, dec. Evan Miller, Reynolds, 3-2 |
| 285 | Guy Rocco John-Daniello, Reynolds, pinned Kobe Bonanno, Redbank Valley, 4:12 |
| Fifth Place | |
| 106 | Alex Bechakas, Kane, pinned Wyatt Shaffer, Johnsonburg, 1:40 |
| 113 | Gunnar Gage, General McLane, pinned Blayke Knauf, Greenville, 2:47 |
| 120 | Jack Martinec, Cochranton, pinned Justin O’Neill, West Middlesex, 0:23 |
| 126 | Carson Filer, Mercer, won by forfeit over Liam Foore, Reynolds |
| 132 | Nolan Shaffer, Johnsonburg, dec. Jaden Reagle, Saegertown, 2-1 |
| 138 | Elijah Petruzzi, Port Allegany, won by forfeit over Alex Ischo, Reynolds |
| 145 | Kaden Dennis, Johnsonburg, pinned Nick Dignall, Sharon, 4:08 |
| 152 | Jacob Wickett, Ridgway, dec. Stetson Boozer, Cochranton, 3-2 |
| 160 | Landon Caldwell, Saegertown, maj. dec. Abraham Keep, Girard, 13-4 |
| 170 | Eli Mosconi, Cambridge Springs, dec. James Laird, General McLane, 5-4 |
| 182 | Tyler Watts, Johnsonburg, won by forfeit over Elliot Park, Brookville |
| 195 | Hayden Linkerhof, Corry Area, dec. Logan Connor, Mercer, 4-2 |
| 220 | Isaac DeVault, Lakeview, dec. Ray Shreckengost, Redbank Valley, 3-0 |
| 285 | Gavin Thompson, Brockway, pinned Jacob Kunselman, Ridgway, 3:38 |