SHARON – What started out to be a great day ended in disappointment for Curwensville wrestlers Derek Brothers and Jeff Thomas at the Northwest Regional Class AA Tournament Saturday in Sharon High School.
Both of the District 9 champions lost decisions to District 10 titlists in the gold-medal matches after posting impressive wins in the morning semifinals that assured them of a trip to Hershey for this week\’s PIAA Class AA Championships.
Brothers, a junior 119-pounder, was denied his third consecutive crown by revenge-minded Adam Matthews of Reynolds in a 6-5 thriller.
Thomas, a senior 145-pounder making his first appearance in the regionals, found it very difficult to score against Hickory senior Fabio Boccuzzi and came out on the short end of a 5-2 decision.
\”Things didn\’t turn out the way we had hoped, but considering District 9 got only one champion, we feel fortunate we\’ve got two out of the 10 who are going on,\” Golden Tide coach Duane Wriglesworth II said. \”Our goal was to get in position to go to Hershey, and we\’re happy Derek and Jeff wrestled very hard Friday night and Saturday morning. They had it set in their minds that they weren\’t going to drop into the consolations.\”
In the crucial semifinal matches against D-10 runners-up, Brothers shut out Grove City\’s Christian Drain 4-0 and Thomas handled Reynolds\’ Luke Taylor in surprising 13-2 fashion.
A duck-under takedown in the first period and a reversal in the second period against Drain earned Brothers a rematch of the last year\’s 103 finals when he defeated Matthews 4-2.
Brothers (32-3) got the upper hand again with a slide-by takedown late in the first period, and reversed in the middle period for a 4-0 lead. However, Matthews (36-5) broke free and notched his own takedown.
An escape by Brothers made it 5-3 going to the third period, when the Reynolds standout, who is undefeated since dropping from 125 in late January, again escaped and engineered the winning takedown with about one minute remaining.
\”Matthews hit us with some deep singles to doubles, and we couldn\’t sprawl or get any good reaction to those shots,\” Wriglesworth said. \”We just couldn\’t get out at the end. He was tying us up on top with legs and a crab ride.\”
Wriglesworth noted that Brothers got sick during the bout and was very sick after leaving the mat.
\”I just hope he\’s okay this week,\” Wriglesworth said.
Thomas (30-4) put Taylor on his back five times for the major decision in the semis, but he managed only two escapes against Boccuzzi, who had edged Taylor 5-4 in the section and district finals the previous two weeks.
Takedowns in the first and second periods were key for Boccuzzi (39-7), who wrestled as high at 171 pounds before cutting to 145 in the third week of January.
\”He dominated us on our feet,\” Wriglesworth said. \”He was very quick on his shots and is very strong. Jeff had a hard time getting underneath him.\”
\”You could tell we were scouted pretty hard. Jeff has a certain style, and Boccuzzi was prepared for it. Different styles make a huge difference.\”
Brothers and Thomas standouts were two of five D-9 matmen to lose in the finals.
The district\’s lone champion was Ridgway junior 130-pounder Garet Pisani, who The Elker junior who shocked the capacity, partisan D-10 crowd by escaping in the third period for a 3-2 upset of Reynolds\’ Cody Kelly.
The Raider senior was bidding for his fourth region championship and also his 176th win, which would have tied the Mercer County career record. The Cornell recruit has placed second once and third twice in his three trips to the state tourney.
District 9\’s other runners-up were Smethport\’s Jon-Marc Burdick at 140, Keystone\’s Mike Switzer at 160, Redbank Valley\’s Logan Shirey at 171 and Kane\’s Ross Nicholson at 215.
Also qualifying for states were consolation final winners Tim Hubbard of Smethport at 125, defending PIAA champ Dirk Cowburn of Coudersport at 152 and Joe Chittester of Ridgway at heavyweight.
Five of the eight returning champs were unable to repeat. The others were Burdick, Cowburn and Port Allegany 189-pounder Dylan Major, who failed to place.
Picking up their second region gold medals were Reynolds sophomore 112-pounder Mason Beckman, Greenville senior 125-pounder Coty Burnett and Sharon junior 135-pounder Jordan Moss.
All three fared well at the 2008 state tourney, Moss winning the 135 title, Beckman losing a 3-2 ultimate tiebreaker decision to Montoursville\’s Luke Frey in the 103 finals and Burnett, who has 129 wins, finishing seventh for his second PIAA medal.
Claiming their first region crowns were Reynolds freshman Dylan Durso at 103, Commodore Perry senior Jordan Powell at 140, Maplewood senior Nick Bancroft at 152, Grove City freshman Wesley Phipps at 160, Grove City senior Caleb Kolb at 171, Greenville junior R.J. Malson at 189, Sharpsville senior Justin Buchanan at 215 and Reynolds senior Will Ringer at 285.
Six of the championship matches paired the D-10 champs and runners-up, and the only reversal came at 152 where Bancroft handed Harbor Creek\’s Sam Kuhn his first loss of the season, 6-2, after knocking off Cowburn 7-6 in the semis. All three were ranked among the top six in the state.
Phipps is the only other region champ who didn\’t finish atop the winner\’s stand in D-10. He placed fourth.
Kolb, a Nebraska recruit and No. 1 ranked by Off the Mat, and Buchanan sport the only undefeated records. The placed third and seventh, respectively, at last year\’s PIAA tourney. Kuhn took sixth.
With four champs and one runner-up, Reynolds amassed 106 points to win the team title for the eighth year in a row.
TEAM STANDINGS AND KEY
1. Reynolds (Rey), 106; 2. Grove City (GC), 75; 3. Commodore Perry (CP), 56; 4. Greenville (Gv), 52; 5. Fort LeBoeuf (FL), 45; 6. Harbor Creek (HC), 43; 7. North East (NE), 42; 8. Ridgway (R), 36; 9. (Tie) Curwensville (Cur), Redbank Valley (RV) and Sharon (Sh), 31; 12. Smethport (Sm), 28; 13. Union City (UC), 24; 14. Sharpsville (Sv), 22; 15. (Tie) Hickory (H) and Maplewood (Ma), 20; 17. Kane (K), 16; 18. (Tie) Cochranton (C) and Keystone (Key), 15; 20. Jamestown (Ja), 14; 21. Coudersport (Cou), 13; 22. Saegertown (Sae), 12; 23. Johnsonburg (Jo), 11; 24. Brockway (Bw), 10; 25. Brookville (Bv), 8; 26. (Tie) Fairview (F) and Iroquois (I), 7; 28. Mercer (Mer), 2; 29. (Tie) Northwestern (N), Port Allegany (PA), Seneca (Sen) and Sheffield (Sh), 1; 33. (Tie) Cambridge Springs (CS), Cameron County (CC), Eisenhower (E), Oswayo Valley (OV) and Youngsville (Y), 0; 38. Clarion (Cl), -1.
CHAMPIONSHIPS
(Wrestler\’s Name Preceded by District-Place and followed by grade and record in parentheses)
103 – (10-1) Dylan Durso (9, 41-2), Rey, tech fall (10-2) Tyler Roberts (10, 29-6), J, 16-1 (6:00).
112 – (10-1) Mason Beckman (10, 45-3), Rey, pinned (10-2) Johnny Pas (12, 31-4), GC, 1:57.
119 – (10-1) Adam Matthews (10, 36-5), Rey, dec. (9-1) Derek Brothers (11, 33-3), Cur, 6-5.
125 – (10-1) Coty Burnett (12, 25-2), Gv, tech fall (10-2) Matt Gregory (12, 30-9), NE, 18-3 (5:01).
130 – (9-1) Garet Pisani (11, 35-2), R, dec. (10-1) Cody Kelly (12, 44-3), Rey, 3-2.
135 – (10-1) Jordan Moss (11, 33-1), Sh, dec. (10-2) Kyle Eisaman (12, 22-7), NE, 5-4.
140 – (10-1) Jordan Powell (12, 34-5), CP, injury default over (9-1) Jon-Marc Burdick (12, 31-2), Sm, 5:18.
145 – (10-1) Fabio Boccuzzi (12, 39-7), Hickory, dec. (9-1) Jeff Thomas (12, 30-4), Cur, 5-2.
152 – (10-2) Nick Bancroft (12, 35-4), Ma, dec. (10-1) Sam Kuhn (12, 35-1), HC, 6-2.
160 – (10-4) Wesley Phipps (9, 30-8), GC, pinned (9-2) Mike Switzer (12, 31-3), Key, 5:10.
171 – (10-1) Caleb Kolb (12, 35-0), GC, major dec. (9-1) Logan Shirey (12, 30-5), RV, 11-3.
189 – (10-1) R.J. Malson (11, 38-4), Gv, dec. (10-2) Tim DeFrances (12, 32-6), CP, 5-4.
215 – (10-1) Justin Buchanan (12, 42-0), Sv, dec. (9-1) Ross Nicholson (12, 23-4), K, 3-1.
285 – (10-1) Will Ringer (12, 40-5), Rey, dec. (10-4) Mike Paradise (12, 31-9), HC, 3-2 (ultimate TB).
CONSOLATION FINALS
103 – (10-4) Tyler Pier (11, 19-6), HC, pinned (9-3) Corey Bush (9, 30-8), R, 2:35.
112 – (10-5) Shane Rankin (10, 30-6), UC, dec. (10-3) Matt Bryer (9, 33-10), C, 5-3.
119 – (10-2) Christian Drain (12, 27-7), NE, dec. (9-2) Tyler McCauley (11, 26-8), RV, 7-1.
125 – (9-1) Tim Hubbard (12, 32-2), Sm, dec. (9-2) Trevor McCauley (11, 25-9), RV, 4-3.
130 – (10-3) Adam Armstrong (10, 33-8), Sae, dec. (10-2) Riley Smith (9, 32-9), FL, 3-2.
135 – (10-3) David Church (11, 24-15), FL, dec. (10-4) Tony Durso (12, 38-10), Rey, 5-1 (OT).
140 – (10-3) Cody Copeland (9, 42-6), Gv, dec. (9-2) Jaron Licatovich (12, 23-6), Bw, 4-1.
145 – (10-3) Jeremy King (11, 34-7), FL, dec. (10-5) Cody Northcott (12, 31-10), C, 5-2.
152 – (9-1) Dirk Cowburn (11, 25-3), Cou, major dec. (10-3) Josh Eckendorf (12, 36-7), F, 14-6.
160 – (10-2) Lewendo Teague (11, 33-2), Sh, dec. (10-1) Chris Reitz (12, 33-3), I, 5-3 (OT).
171 – (10-3) Steve Ceremuga (10, 35-8), CP, dec. (10-2) Andrew Church (12, 35-8), CP, 6-4 (OT).
189 – (10-3) Nick Miller (12, 28-3), GC, dec. (9-2) Jacob Shields (10, 28-10), Bv, 3-1 (OT)
215 – (10-2) Jared Burger (11, 34-6), UC, major dec. (10-3) Brian Hooks (11, 36-7), CP, 15-6.
285 – (9-1) Joe Chittester (11, 35-3), R, dec. (10-5) Tyler Miller (12, 33-9), GC, 2-1.
CONSOLATION SEMIFINALS
103 – Pier, HC, dec. (10-5) John Fischer (12, 36-13), H, 5-3 (OT); Bush, R, pinned (10-3) Matt Spragale (10, 41-11), Mer, 2:43.
112 – Rankin, UC, major dec. (10-4) Sean Byham (10, 30-10), Sae, 14-2; Bryer, C, dec. (9-1) Brett Smith (9, 26-11), Bv, 6-0.
119 – Drain, NE, dec. (10-5) Nate Dias (10, 32-12), CP, 6-0; Ty. McCauley, RV, dec. (9-3) Ian Grecco (11, 30-8), Bw, 3-1.
125 – Hubbard, Sm, dec. (10-3) Matt Graff (12, 33-11), 6-0; Tr. McCauley, RV, dec. (10-4) David Osterberg (10, 29-11), N, 3-1.
130 – R. Smith, FL, dec. (10-5) Brady Fyffe (12, 22-9), GC, 2-0; Armstrong, Sae, dec. (10-4) Levi Morton (11, 19-13), 3-2.
135 – T. Durso, Rey, dec. (10-5) Randy Perkins (9, 30-16), Gv, 2-0; D. Church, FL, pinned (9-3) Tanner Hannold (9, 27-10), Key, 3:58.
140 – Licatovich, Bw, major dec. (9-3) Preston Mahoney (11, 25-10), Jo, 10-1; Copeland, Gv, dec. (10-4) Thomas Woodward (12, 31-11), FL, 3-0.
145 – Northcott, C, dec. (10-2) Luke Taylor (11, 35-10), Rey, 7-1; King, FL, major dec. (9-3) Kasey Haines (12, 24-10), RV, 12-2.
152 – Cowburn, Sm, dec. (9-2) Josh Woodford (12, 28-5), Jo, 10-4; Eckendorf, F, dec. (10-4) Nate Smith (10, 33-12), Sen, 6-4.
160 – Teague, Sh, dec. (10-5) Tyler Gargano (10, 30-13), H, 5-3; Reitz, I, dec. (9-1) Zac Zelcs (11, 33-5), R, 3-1.
171 – A. Church, FL, major dec. (10-5) Tyler Rhoades (11, 25-14), Rey, 10-1; Ceremuga, CP, dec. (10-4) Tony Lisek (12, 30-8), N, 6-5.
189 – N. Miller, GC, major dec. (9-1) Dylan Major (12, 36-5), PA, 11-2; Shields, Bv, dec. (9-3) Derek Kreitzer (12, 27-8), 9-5.
215 – Burger, UC, dec. (9-2) Joel Yahner (10, 30-10), Bw, 7-3; Hooks, CP, dec. (9-3) Jimmy Hahn (11, 22-9), Sh, 4-0.
285 – T. Miller, GC, dec. (10-2) Joe McElhinney (12, 15-4), C, 4-1 (OT); Chittester, R, dec. (9-2) Shane Bowser (12, 17-11), RV, 7-1.
CHAMPIONSHIP SEMIFINALS
103 – D. Durso, Rey, pinned Spragale, M, 1:04; Roberts, J, dec. Pier, HC, 6-4.
112 – Beckman, Rey, tech fall Bryer, C, 20-5 (5:45); Pas, GC, dec. Byham, Sae, 8-6.
119 – Matthews, Rey, dec. Ty. McCauley, RV, 7-3; Brothers, Cur, dec. Drain, NE, 4-0.
125 – Burnett, Gv, major dec. Tr. McCauley, RV, 15-3; Gregory, NE, dec. Hubbard, Sm, 10-4.
130 – Kelly, Rey, dec. Armstrong, Sae, 3-1; Pisani, R, dec. R. Smith, FL, 4-3.
135 – Moss, Sh, dec. D. Church, FL, 4-0; Eisaman, NE, dec. T. Durso, Rey, 3-1.
140 – Powell, CP, dec. Copeland, Gv, 3-1 (OT); Burdick, Sm, dec. Mahoney, J, 3-1.
145 – Boccuzzi, H, dec. King, FL, 2-1 (SV); Thomas, Cur, major dec. Taylor, Rey, 13-2.
152 – Kuhn, HC, pinned Eckendorf, F, 1:59; Bancroft, Ma, dec. Cowburn, Cou, 7-6.
160 – Switzer, Key, dec. Reitz, I, 8-4; Phipps, GC, dec. Teague, Sh, 4-2.
171 – Kolb, GC, pinned Ceremuga, CP, 3:27; Shirey, RV, dec. A. Church, FL, 5-2.
189 – Malson, Gv, pinned Shields, Bv, 3:16; DeFrances, CP, pinned Major, PA, 5:31.
215 – Buchanan, Sh, pinned Hooks, CPO, 5:02; Nicholson, K, pinned Burger, UC, 1:29.
285 – Ringer, Rey, dec. Bowser, RV, 6-4; Paradise, HC, dec. McElhinney, C, 3-2 (UTB).
CONSOLATION QUARTERFINALS
103 – Fischer, H, dec. (9-2) Trey Constable (9, 17-12), Bv, 5-1; Bush, R, dec. (9-3) Mike Bauer (10, 27-5), Cl, 6-4.
112 – Rankin, UC, major dec. (9-2) Kyle Caggiano (9, 22-15), R, 12-1; B. Smith, Bv, dec. (9-3) Jesse Wolfe (10, 29-5), Jo, 4-3.
119 – Dias, CP, dec. (10-3) Ian Abplanalpo (11, 23-14), GC, 12-8; Grecco, Bw, dec. (10-4) Ian Chiesa (11, 17-7), N, 4-3.
125 – Graff, Ma, major dec. (10-5) Dakota Schultz (10, 31-16), Sae, 11-1; Osterberg, N, dec. (9-3) Jeff Slattery (11, 23-13), R, 6-1.
130 – Fyffe, GC, major dec. (9-2) Dylan Zimmerman (9, 23-14), Bv, 14-2; Morton, NE, dec. (9-3) Chet Tanner (10, 31-5), PA, 10-6.
135 – Perkins, Gv, dec. (9-2) Dustin Dombrowski (10, 16-17), Bv, 5-4; Hannold, Key, dec. (9-1) Nic McCauley (12, 19-15), RV, 5-2.
140 – Licatovich, Bw, dec. (10-5) J.T. Mannozzi (10, 34-14), Mer, 8-1; Woodward, FL, injury default (10-2) Mike Vernille (12, 32-10), H, 5:22.
145 – Northcott, C, dec. (9-2) Nathan Hartless (10, 31-6), Bw, 3-0; Haines, RV, dec. (10-4) Brandon Collins (11, 29-10), CP, 5-3.
152 – Woodford, J, dec. (10-5) Kaine Kulka (12, 11-10), Rey, 5-0; N. Smith, Ma, dec. (9-3) Sam Skraba (11, 24-14), R, 3-1.
160 – Gargano, H, dec. (10-3) Greg Baptiste (11, 32-11), Rey, 3-2; Zelcs, R, dec. (9-3) Mike Baker (12, 13-6), CC, 1-0.
171 – Rhoades, Rey, dec. (9-2) Kyle Jones (12, 26-9), Key, 6-4 (OT); Lisek, N, dec. (9-3) Zigmund Reichenbach (12, 26-15), PA, 8-4.
189 – N. Miller, GC, dec. (10-5) Brandon Bradney (10, 27-10), FL, 9-5; Kreitzer, Sm, major dec. (10-4) A.J. Johnston (12, 28-9), N, 15-2.
215 – Yahner, Bw, major dec. (10-5) Justin Yuran (10, 25-18), Sh, 10-0; Hahn, Sh, dec. (10-4) Jared Merritt (11, 13-10), N, 3-1.
285 – T. Miller, GC, pinned (10-3) Bob Borton (12, 33-7), E, 4:36; Chittester, R, dec. (9-3) Mark Divins (12, 28-8), Cl, 1-0.
CHAMPIONSHIP QUARTERFINALS
103 – D. Durso, Rey, pinned Fisher, H, 2:42; Spragale, Mer, dec. Constable, Bv, 11-4; Roberts, Ja, dec. Bush, R, 9-4; Pier, HC, dec. Bauer, Cl, 6-5 (OT).
112 – Beckman, Rey, dec. Rankin, UC, 1-0; Bryer, C, dec. Caggiano, R, 6-2; Pas, GC, dec. Wolfe, Jo, 8-7; Byham, Sae, dec. B. Smith, Bv, 5-2.
119 – Matthews, Rey, major dec. Dias, CP, 14-0; Ty. McCauley, RV, dec. Abplanalpo, GC, 5-1; Drain, NE, dec. Grecco, Bw, 1-0; Brothers, Cur, injury default Chiesa, N, 5:25.
125 – Burnett, Gv, tech fall Schultz, Sae, 17-0 (2:51); Tr. McCauley, RV, dec. Graff, Ma, 5-1; Gregory, NE, major dec. Slattery, R, 15-2; Hubbard, Sm, pinned Osterberg, N, 2:19.
130 – Kelly, Rey, major dec. Fyffe, GC, 13-3; Armstrong, Sae, dec. Zimmerman, Bv, 12-5; R. Smith, FL, pinned Tanner, PA, 4:50; Pisani, R, dec. Morton, NE, 3-1.
135 – Moss, Sh, major dec. Perkins, Gv, 20-8; D. Church, FL, dec. Dombrowski, Bv, 7-0; Eisaman, NE, pinned Hannold, Key, 1:20; T. Durso, Rey, dec. N. McCauley, RV, 7-1.
140 – Powell, CP, dec. Mannozzi, Mer, 7-2; Copeland, Gv, dec. Licatovich, Bw, 6-0; Mahoney, Jo, injury default Vernille, H, :01; Burdick, Sm, dec. Woodward, FL, 5-3.
145 – Boccuzzi, H, dec. Northcott, C, 3-2; King, FL, major dec. Hartless, Bw, 20-6; Taylor, Rey, dec. Haines, RV, 7-2; Thomas, Cur, dec. Collins, CP, 5-1.
152 – Kuhn, HC, major dec. Kulka, Rey, 11-2; Eckendorf, F, dec. Woodford, Jo, 10-6; Bancroft, Ma, dec. Skraba, R, 5-1; Cowburn, Cou, pinned N. Smith, Sen, :29.
160 – Reitz, I, dec. Gargano, H, 3-1; Switzer, Key, dec. Baptiste, Rey, 4-3 (SV); Teague, Sh, pinned Baker, CC, 5:09; Phipps, GC, dec. Zelcs, R, 3-1.
171 – Kolb, GC, dec. Rhoades, Rey, 12-5; Ceremuga, CP, dec. Jones, Key, 7-0; A. Church, FL, major dec. Reichenbach, PA, 12-4; Shirey, RV, dec. Lisek, N, 6-1.
189- Malson, Gv, dec. Bradney, FL, 6-4; Shields, Bv, dec. N. Miller, GC, 5-3 (OT); DeFrances, CP, pinned Kreitzer, Sm, 4:26; Major, PA, dec. Johnston, N, 10-3.
215 – Buchanan, Sh, pinned Yuran, Sh, :47; Hooks, SP, dec. Yahner, Bw, 3-0; Burger, UC, pinned Hahn, Sh, 2:45; Nicholson, K, dec. Merritt, N, 7-3.
285 – Ringer, Rey, dec. T. Miller, GC, 6-3; Bowser, RV, dec. Borton, E, 5-2; McElhinney, C, dec. Divins, Cl, 3-0; Paradise, HC, dec. Chittester, 5-3.
