Local schools boast 10 Sectional champions
Including 10 gold medal winners, local high schools will be sending 24 wrestlers to the District 3-AAA Wrestling Tournament. The 24 competitors all finished within the top three of their weight class at the Sectional tournament held Feb. 13 and 14 at Governor Mifflin High School.
Governor Mifflin and Exeter each had five section champions – Governor Mifflin: Alexz Centeno, Colin Johnson, Allen Arentz, Jan Johnson and Keith Miller; Exeter: Austin DeSanto, Brett Kulp; James Harkness, Ethan Stever and Scott Schaeffer.
Taking second place finishes were: Ryan Watts, Exeter; Elijah Horst, Gov. Mifflin; Robert Karmonick, Gov. Mifflin; Tyler Bagoly, Exeter; Tyler Borton, Exeter; Ben Maack, Governor Mifflin; and Jon Greenleaf, Exeter.
Finishing third were: Zach Sheetz, Gov. Mifflin; Joseph Yohn, Daniel Boone; Christian Fernandez, Daniel Boone; Dylan Harr, Gov. Mifflin; Brenden Valverde, Daniel Boone; Nolan Buck, Exeter; and Jesse Enck, Daniel Boone.
106 Pounds
Governor Mifflin’s Alex Centeno swept through the field to a gold medal, with Exeter’s Ryan Watts taking second. Centeno began his trek to gold with a 46 second pin of Connor Spalding of Daniel Boone. In the semfinals, he needed just 56 seconds to pin Jordan Stone of Muhlenberg. That sent him to the championship match were he defeated Watts, 9-7.
Watts pinned Mason Bennett of Twin Valley in 1:34 of their quarterfinal round bout, then got by Josiah Geh of Cocalico in the semifinals, 6-5.
Spalding went on to finish fifth in the weight class.
113 Pounds
Austin DeSanto of Exeter was the champion of this weight class. He started with a 51 second pin of Timothy Spangler of Lebanon. He won by a technical fall in 3:51 of his semifinal round bout against Adam Miller of Cocalico. In the championship bout, he pinned Elijah Horst of Governor Mifflin in 49 seconds.
Horst needed just 39 seconds to pin Kyle Walter of Muhlenberg in the quarterfinals, then he earned a 6-4 victory over Gary Clark of Garden Spot.
120 Pounds
Exeter’s Brett Kulp got nothing but pins in his trip to the champion position at the podium. He started with a 1:12 pin of Nate Fritz of Cocalico in the quarterfinals, then pinned Tyler Wilkies of Wilson in 1:55 of their semifinal round bout. In the championship, He needed just 1:12 to pin Governor Mifflin’s Robert Karmonick.
Karmonick pinned his first opponent, Justin Persecketti of Daniel Booone, in 1:42. In the semifinals, he defeated Steve Ramos of Reading, 7-4.
126 Pounds
James Harkness of Exeter proved himself a champion when he swept through this field. In began with a 13-0 decision over Dillon Kramer of Conrad Weiser. In the semifinals he defeated Zach Sheetz of Gov. Mifflin, 2-1. He followed that up with a 3-1 decision over Aaron Wildonger of Twin Valley in the championship match,
Sheetz pinned his first round opponent in 1:50, but was sent to the consolation bracket after losing to Harkness in the semifinals. He battled back with a 38 second pin of Cam Krow of Elco, then pinned Kramer in the third place bout.
132 Pounds
The local teams continued to produce champions, as Governor Mifflin’s Colin Johnson came out on top in the 132 pound weight class. He started with a 16-6 decision over Cross Cossitor of Twin Valley, then earned a 57 second pin of Nick Ronco of Oley Valley in the semifinals. In the championship match he earned a 4-3 decision over Exeter’s Byler Bagoly.
Bagoly pinned his first opponent, Tommy Bliar of Lebanon in 1:40, then got a 6-0 win over Garden Spot’s Tyler Marburger to earn a spot in the championship bout.
138 Pounds
Governor Mifflin’s Allen Arentz was the champion in this weight class. He pinned Nick Smith of Elco in 2:39 of their quarterfinal round match-up, then earned a 9-2 decision over Joseph Yohn of Daniel Boone. Then he needed just 20 seconds to pin Tyler Borton of Exeter Township in the championship bout.
Borton pinned Max Martin of Cocalico in 5:08 of their quarterfinal round bout, then pinned Bailey Funk of Wilson in the semifinals in 4:58.
152 Pounds
Ethan Stever of Exeter was crowned champion at 152. He started with a technical fall over Ethan Steffey of Cocalico. In the semifinals he earned a hard-fought 3-1 victory over Dan Swarr of Garden Spot. That sent him to the championship bout where he topped Tommy O’Brian of Wilson, 1-0.
Daniel Boone’s Dillon James finished fourth, just missing out on a trip to the districts. He lost to Swarr in the third place bout, 11-3.
160 Pounds
Governor Mifflin’s Ben Maack earned a trip to the districts by taking second in this weight class. He began with pin in 3:41 of Austin Rueppel of Elco. A 5-3 semifinal round victory over Christian Fernandez of Daniel Boone earned him a spot in the finals. There he lost to Keaton Eidle of Wilson, 7-4.
Fernandez needed just 55 seconds in his quarterfinal round to pin Aaron Carter of Twin Valley. After losing to Maack in the semifinals, Fernandez fought back with a 22 second pin of Darin Youndt of Cocalico, and a 3-0 shutout of Rueppel in the third place bout.
170 Pounds
Dylan Harr of Governor Mifflin earned a spot in the districts with a third place finish. He pinned Shayne Bookwalter of Daniel Boone in their quarterfinal round match-up, but lost to Adam Brown of Wilson in the semifinals, 7-3. In the consolation bracket, he bounced back with a 7-4 victory over Dennis Karas of Exeter, then defeated Bookwalter in the third place bout, 10-4.
182 Pounds
Scott Schaeffer became Exeter’s fifth champion when he swept through the 182 pound weight class. He needed just 20 seconds to pin Kyle Hemphill of Conrad Weiser in their quarterfinal round match-up. In the semifinals, Schaeffer earned a 6-3 decision over Scott Goodwin of Wilson. That sent him to the championship match where he topped Abdul Saad of Cocalico, 8-5.
Daniel Boone’s Brenden Valverde qualified for districts by taking third place. He began by pinning Josh Liptock of Governor Mifflin in 3:47 of their quarterfinal round bout. But he lost in the semifinals to Saad, 2-0. But he bounced back with a 2-1 victory over Austin Jackson of Reading, then earned a 3-2 decision over Goodwin in the third place bout.
195 Pounds
As expected, Jan Johnson of Governor Mifflin had no trouble winning the weight class. He pinned Jason Fetterman of Twin Valley in 2:20 of their quarterfinal round match, then needed just 53 seconds to pin JJeremy Habowski of Elco in the semifinals. In the championship match, Johnson took 1:31 to pin Joaby McMinn of Muhlenberg.
Exeter’s Nolan Buck took third place in the weight class. He did it the hard way, losing his first round bout to Hobowski, 5-1. But he followed thjat with a 4:35 pin of Fetterman, a 4:55 pin of Bryce Kramlich of Wilson, and a 4:14 pin of Habowski in the third place bout.
220 Pounds
Exeter’s Jon Greenleaf took second place in this weight class. He opened with a 3:14 pin of Lorenzo Santos of Governor Mifflin in the quarterfinals. He then earned a 7-6 victory over Jesse Enck of Daniel Boone in the semifinals, before losing the championship bout to Matt Reinhart of Reading.
Enck pinned his first opponent, Robert Kreps of Elco in 1:45 of their quarterfinal round bout. After losing to Greenleaf in the semifinals, Enck fought back with a 6-4 victory over R. J. Walker of Garden Spot, then pinned Tyler Moore of Conrad Weiser in the third place bout.
285 Pounds
Governor Mifflin’s Keith Miller pinned all three of his opponents to capture gold at 285 pounds. He needed just 19 seconds to pin Lucas Imm of Lebanon in the quarterfinals. Then it took him 1:55 to pin Exeter’s Oscar Daniels in the semifinals. In the championship bout, he took 2:29 to pin Wes Bankus of Elco.
Daniels fought his way back through the consolation round, getting a shot at the district tournament with a victory in the third place bout. But it was not to be, as Conrad Weiser’s Dustin Yoder pinned him in 59 seconds.
