Pennsylvania wrestlers dominate

[kytwell 179]

Yeah! Hands down we're number 1, year in and year out.

One of the best high school wrestling tournaments was dominated by wrestlers from one of the best — if not the best — wrestling states in the country.

That’s Pennsylvania, of course, as five Keystone State wrestlers won championships in the Super 32 Challenge in Greensboro, N.C., over the weekend while another eight were runners-up.

Here is a look at some of the highlights from the Pa. contingent:

106 pounds: Spencer Lee of Saegertown was second while Luke Pletcher of Latrobe was third. Zach Elvin of Central Dauphin competed but did not place.

120: Sam Krivus of Hempfield won here by knocking off highly touted Joey Wert of Christianburg, Va., 3-2. Darian Cruz of Bethlehem Catholic was third.

126: PIAA champ Ryan Diehl of Trinity High placed third, losing 4-3 in overtime in the semifinals to Michael Kemerer of Franklin Regional. Another top-flight Virginia wrestler, Joey Dance, trimmed Kemerer 4-3 in the finals.

132: Bryce Killian of Middletown won three straight matches, then lost to the eventual runner-up, won two more and lost to the eventual eighth-placer. Kittanning’s Jason Nolf, who lost to Diehl in last year’s PIAA finals, placed third.

138: Penn State recruit Zain Retherford of Benton dominated the weight class, going 6-0 and dumping Neal Molloy 7-0 in the finals. CD’s Tyson Dippery won five straight matches but lost 7-6 to Molloy; Dippery placed sixth.

145: Solomon Chishko of Canon-McMillan lost by injury default in the finals. Patrick Duggan of Cumberland Valley, fourth in the PIAA meet at 126 as a freshman, jumped to 145 and won two matches before losing and won two more in the consolations but did not place.

152: PIAA champ Garrett Hammond of Chambersburg also breezed to the finals but was downed 8-5 by Mark Hall of Minnesota in the championship round.

160: Garrett Peppelman of CD, last year’s 152-pound PIAA champ, won four straight before losing 7-3 to Josh Lopez of Maryland and placed sixth.

170: Pitt recruit Cody Wiercioch won an all-Pa. final by trimming Brett Harner of Norristown 5-3. Peter Renda of Brandywine Heights, an N.C. State recruit, placed third. Colton Peppelman of CD won a pair of matches before losing 7-1 to Wiercioch. He won a consolation bout and lost to the eventual eighth-placer.

182. Cornell recruit Jacob Taylor of Bald Eagle Area won six straight matches and downed B.J. Toal of Ohio 3-1 in the finals.

195: Penn State recruit Matt McCutcheon of Kiski Area downed Raymond O’Donnell of Saucon Valley in the finals, 4-1.

220: The tournament’s highlight match was between Thomas Haines of Solanco, a junior ranked sixth nationally in the Class of 2014, against Kyle Snyder of Good Counsel, Md., who is ranked second in that class. Snyder will keep that ranking after an 8-4 victory over the two-time champ.

285: Luke Fleck of Franklin Regional was second.

http://blog.pennlive.com/patriotnewssports/2012/10/pennsylvania_wrestlers_dominat.html