Quakertown’s Gaj captures gold at 145 pounds at PIAA Championships

HERSHEY >> Quakertown’s Collin Gaj upset two-time state champion Mac Church of Waynesburg to capture the Class 3A, 145-pound state title before a packed house at the Giant Center in Hershey Saturday night, while two other locals, Quakertown’s Mason Ziegler and Owen J Roberts’ Dillon Bechtold had to settle for runner-up finishes after falling in their championship bouts.

Gaj earned his slot in the championship finals with a 5-4 decision over Matt Repos of Central Dauphin. Scoreless to start the second, Gaj cut Repos loose for one, then came out on top at the end of a crazy scramble to go up 2-1.

“Getting that first takedown was huge,” said Quakertown coach Kurt Handel. “So many times it looked like he was going to have it, but Repos fended it off and kept the action going until finally Collin finished on top.”

With Gaj up 4-1 late in the third, Repos gave the Panther faithful a scare, getting an escape and takedown to cut the lead to 4-3, then cut Gaj loose in hopes of getting the equalizer takedown. But Gaj remained unfazed, and held off the last burst of action for the 5-3 victory.

“I got a little sloppy there at the end, but I got the win,” said Gaj. “It’s very cool to have two of us in finals. Mason is like a brother, not just a friend. We’ve wrestled together since we were seven years old. I’m really proud of him.”

It was the first time since 2005 for two Panthers to reach finals, when Pat Flynn and Nate Nauroth did it.

Becoming the first Panther to reach the top of the podium since Flynn would be no easy task, with a three-time medalist and two-time lined up across from him, but Gaj was more than ready to face the best.

“This is a year-round effort for Collin,” said Handel. “He wrestled all summer, traveling all over the country. He came within seconds of reaching national finals in Fargo, and came away with a third place finish. He wants the competition.”

Gaj took an early lead when Church, a Virginia Tech recruit, was penalized for a hands-to-the-face, an infraction Church was nailed for again in the third, which put Gaj up 3-1. With time ticking down, Gaj survived several scrambles, then iced the bout with a takedown in the final fifteen seconds to win by a convincing 5-1 win.

“It was nice to see that takedown, because then the penalty points didn’t make a difference,” said Handel. I’m so happy for him, We’ve been hearing all about him coming up through youth and middle school, and he’s been everything a coach could ask for.”

For Gaj, it was the ultimate goal.

“Mac Church is a great competitor, and I wish him all the best at Virginia Tech,” said Gaj. “But this is the kind of match I wanted, and wanted to win. I want to be the best, and to be the best you’ve got to beat the best.”

Ziegler squared off against a familiar foe in the semis Daniel Boone’s Dean Houser who Ziegler trains with at the local Steller Trained club, Ziegler punched his ticket to the championship finals with a convincing 5-3 victory, Ziegler jumped out to a 5-1 lead, and held off a late push from Houser to earn the victory.

“Dean’s a good wrestler and a drill partner of mine,” said Ziegler. “I knew coming in it was going to be a good match because we know each other so well. Just focused on getting the early takedowns. My re-attacks were pretty solid, and I was just looking to keep scoring points.”

In the finals, Ziegler would face Cael Nasdeo of Williamsport. Nasdeo pulled out the win with a first period takedown and a reversal in the second to win 4-0.

Owen J. Roberts put three wrestlers on the medal stand, led by Dillon Bechtold, who reached the 215-pound finals following a 7-5 victory over Jose Garcia of JP McCaskey. Bechtold scored three takedowns in the match to advance to the championship finals.

“It was pretty much the match I expected coming in,” said Bechtold. “I knew I was better on my feet. I’m really excited to be in the finals, and ready go one more time.”

The five points scored by Garcia were the only points Bechtold had given up in the tournament.

“He was winning the handfight battles, controlled positions, and kept his feet moving,” said OJR coach Steve DeRafelo. “He and the coaches had a great game plan and executed it well.”

Up next for Bechtold was Sonny Sasso of Nazareth, a state champ at 189 a year ago. Sasso built an early lead, then held on for a 7-5 win.

“Obviously Sasso is tough, but it’s state finals in Pennsylvania—everyone is tough or they wouldn’t be there,” said DeRafelo. “Dillon has done everything he’s had to do to prepare himself this opportunity. He’s going to go out and give it everything he has.”

Sam Gautreau (152) rebounded from a quarterfinal loss to win three straight in wrestlebacks to earn a spot in the third place bout, while Dean Bechtold (189) was wrestling for a fifth place medal.

Pennridge had a pair of wrestlers in the semis in Colby Martinelli (107) and Talan Hogan (172), but both fell to the consolation bracket after dropping their semi-final bouts. Martinelli rebounded with a 4-3 win over Altoona’s Braiden Weaver to earn a spot in the bronze medal match, where he thrashed Butler’s Santino Slobodo 12-1. Hogan battled for a fifth place medal, but fell 9-4 to Bethlehem Catholic’s Luke Thomas.

Other area wrestlers to earn a spot on the podium were Max Tancini of Perkiomen Valley, who finished sixth at 107, Central Bucks West’s Chris Dennis, sixth at 114, and Boyertown’s Gavin Sheridan, who was seventh at 133.