HERSHEY >> In the middle of the Giant Center in Hershey, Friday night, Faith Christian Academy celebrated both an individual milestone, as well as another step in its rise as a power.
About 20 minutes later, and two mats away, Pennridge felt the opposite end of the emotional spectrum, coming just short of a spot in the Class 3A PIAA Team Wrestling Championship final.
The job is not done for either, however. The Rams will have a shot at some redemption, with a chance to secure the program’s first top-four medal. They’ll need to knock off either Connellsville or Trinity at 11 a.m., Saturday, to do so.
The Lions, meanwhile, will attempt to go back-to-back in the Class 2A finals against another powerful collection of talent in Bishop McCort, at 1 p.m.
“It’s gonna be awesome,” Faith coach Ben Clymer said. “The coin flip will play a part and there are going to be several tight matches. There’s some stingy guys taking on guys who expect to score bonus points and we’re going to have some world-level guys competing. A big part of it will be not being tight. We’re not going to be defined by what happens, but it’s another chance to represent Christ and compete together and I think it’s going to be a good one.”
Friday night was highlighted by Faith’s Chase Hontz (145 pounds), who won his 100th career match. From a kid who watched his father, Tom Hontz, lead Upper Perkiomen stars to state tournaments, to winning a team title together last winter, Hershey was a fitting backdrop to the milestone win.
“It’s pretty cool,” Chase Hontz said. “I’ve been coming here since I was four, when my dad was coaching, so to be able to get my 100th here is pretty amazing.”
Faith defeated Notre Dame-Green Pond, 43-18, to start the day and in the semifinals, the Lions won seven of the last eight to run away from Bishop McDevitt, 43-24. The Lions won their first state title a year ago by 42 points, but Saturday’s final looks a bit more challenging against a McCort team that has six nationally-ranked wrestlers and has averaged 57 points in three contests this tournament.
“Our coaches do a great job preparing us for moments like these,” Chase Hontz said. “We have one of the toughest schedules in the country. We know we’ll be on a big stage with a lot of people watching and we’re excited to compete. We had a loose week of practice and I think that’ll carry over and we’ll take care of business.”
Pennridge was coming off a dramatic last-match win over Wilson (West Lawn) in the quarters, where Kevin McFadden (107) and Colby Martinelli (114) scored the final nine points to seal a 30-24 victory.
In the semis, Martinelli and Cole Coffin (121) came up huge to flip an eight-point deficit into a four-point lead with one to go. But Easton’s returning state qualifier, Chris Kelly, was there to negate the comeback, pinning in 45 seconds to send the Red Rovers to the finals against Bethlehem Catholic with a 29-27 win.
“I’m proud of our kids but we wanted it so much for the seniors who turned this program around,” Pennridge coach Brian Kuhns said. “There were a couple spots where we thought we could get bonus and (Easton) fought tough. That will probably haunt us a little bit but the kids still have a chance to make this a historic season and compete for a medal.”
Pennridge won six bouts against Easton, three by fall and three by decision. Quinn McBride (133) started the dual with a 9-3 win, Sam Kuhns (152) was hunting for a takedown to push his decision to a major before getting headlocked in the final seconds in an 11-9 win, and Talan Hogan (172) was a 13-6 winner.
Last winter, Pennridge was eliminated in the third round of consolations, so starting in the fourth round is already a step up, but getting on the podium is the only focus now.“We’ve been motivated by the next best thing,” Brian Kuhns said. “That’s what we said after we lost the district final. This group has done a lot for the program and we’re going to wrestle our butts off and take it as far as we can.”
