WESTTOWN >> Even after a good 20 minutes had passed and Downingtown West’s Chase Mielnik collected his Outstanding Wrestler plaque, the Whippets junior could hardly come to grips with what had happened.
After a very successful, yet close-but-no-cigar first half of his career, Mielnik finally got his marquee win, with a 7-2 decision over Unionville’s returning eighth-place state medalist, Tyler Mousaw, in the District 1-3A West Sectional finals.
“It means everything,” Mielnik said. “I worked really hard for that. I’m kind of at a loss for words. I needed that.”
It was a productive Saturday night for the Downingtown schools, as East and West accounted for six of the 14 champions at West Chester Rustin.
Downingtown West’s Joe Shafer (Nate Heckenberger – For Digital First Media)
The Whippets won three in a row, starting with a major decision by Max Hale (170 pounds) and ending with a first-period pin by Joe Shafer (195).
Mielnik earned his win in the middle thanks to a takedown in each period, and an important escape from the dangerous Mousaw on top.
“I knew I just had to stay in good position,” Mielnik said. “I knew it’s never over until time runs out so I wanted to finish strong at that point.”
Downingtown East’s Lukas Richie (Nate Heckenberger – For Digital First Media)
West finished third in a very close team race won by Garnet Valley. Only 13 points separated the Jaguars and fourth-place Oxford, who both advanced a tournament-high seven top-four finishers to the Southeast Regional at Souderton next weekend.
Oxford crowned two champs, with the second in upset fashion. Senior Sam Blevins (285) used a throw-by to score the only takedown against Garnet Valley’s Coltin Deery, and he held on for a 4-2 win. Deery entered as the top-ranked heavyweight on pa-wrestling.com, while Blevins was fifth.
“To me it means the hard work was worth it,” Blevins said. “I’ve been working for (Deery) all year. He ended my season last year (at regionals) so I wanted revenge.”
Oxford’s Sam Blevins (Nate Heckenberger – For Digital First Media)
Brandon Sheffield (138) climbed the podium earlier in the evening for Oxford after an 8-5 win over Unionville’s Jacob Lehman. It was the senior’s first postseason title since winning districts as a freshman.
“It feels good to have no injuries this year,” Sheffield said. “I lost two seasons to injury and it was horrible. This was big for me.”
Downingtown East’s Keanu Manuel (106) started off the night taking out crosstown rival, Dom Findora of West, 6-4 in sudden victory. Lukas Richie (132) cruised to a technical fall over Penncrest’s Christian Reed for the Cougars, and Spencer Uggla gave East its third champ with a 9-3 win over Austin Filippone of Garnet Valley.
Entering as the No. 4 seed, Uggla used a lateral drop to get a five-point lead against top-seeded Marquell Hudnell of Chichester in the semifinals, and rode the momentum to his first postseason title.
Downingtown East’s Spencer Uggla (Nate Heckenberger – For Digital First Media)
“Coming in as an underdog, I knew I had to wrestle with a chip on my shoulder,” Uggla said. “I was gunning for anyone in front of me.”
Shafer’s semifinal win gave him 100 for his career, as he reached the top of the podium for the first time, as well.
“All my friends and family showed out and I couldn’t think of a better place to do it,” Shafer said of his 100th victory.
Also making their maiden voyages to gold were West Chester Henderson’s Sammy McMonagle (113), West Chester East’s Corey Celenza (126), Avon Grove’s Nick Barnhart (145) and Rustin’s Alex Pratzner (152).
Barnhart’s came after finishing runner-up four times in the last two seasons.
“It was nice to break through and finally get one,” said Barnhart, who edged Penncrests Brendon Stocku, 5-4.
Avon Grove’s Nick Barnhart (Nate Heckenberger – For Digital First Media)
McMonagle and Killian Delaney (120) won back-to-back championships to help Henderson to a second-place finish. McMonagle saw a familiar foe in the finals, Coatesville’s Nate Lucier. In their third meeting of the season, McMonagle moved to 3-0 by riding out Lucier in the tiebreaker period.
“It’s great to be in close, tight matches because it sets you up for regionals and down the road, at states,” McMonagle said. “In a tight match, it’s nice to know you can get out when you need and to be able to hold a guy down.”
West Chester East’s Corey Celenza and Rustin’s Josh Viarengo (Nate Heckenberger – For Digital First Media)
Celenza shook off an early takedown by Rustin’s Josh Viarengo and rolled to a 12-6 win, while Pratzner’s bump up to 152 paid off with a 12-8 win over Chichester’s Tymeir Bush.
Sun Valley’s Hunter Catka (220) showed his strength as a returning state champ with an 11-2 major decision against West’s Pat Cusack, and Blevins’ win in the finale secured the Ches-Mont League’s 14-for-14 sweep in the finals.
Henderson’s Sammy McMonagle (Nate Heckenberger – For Digital First Media)
Team Standings
1. Garnet Valley, 175; 2. West Chester Henderson, 168; 3. Downingtown West, 162.5; 4. Oxford, 162; 5. Downingtown East, 149.5; 6. West Chester Rustin, 125.5; 7. Unionville, 117; 8. Chichester, 104.5; 9. Penncrest, 95.5; 10. West Chester East, 94; 11. Avon Grove, 79; 12. Sun Valley, 53; 13. Coatesville, 48.5; 14. Kennett, 48; 15. Glen Mills, 34
Championship Finals
106- Manuel (Downingtown East) dec. Findora (Downingtown West), 6-4 SV
113- S. McMonagle (Henderson) dec. Lucier (Coatesville), 2-1 TB
120- K. Delaney (Henderson) won by forfeit over Quin (Oxford)
126- Celenza (WC East) dec. Viarengo (Rustin), 12-6
132- Richie (Downingtown East) tech. fall Reed (Penncrest), 5:26
138- Sheffield (Oxford) dec. Lehman (Unionville), 8-5
145- Barnhart (Avon Grove) dec. Stocku (Penncrest), 5-4
152- Pratzner (Rustin) dec. Bush (Chichester), 12-8
160- Uggla (Downingtown East) dec. Filippone (Garnet Valley), 9-3
170- Hale (Downingtown West) maj. dec. DiBernardo (WC East), 13-3
182- Mielnik (Downingtown West) dec. Mousaw (Unionville), 7-2
195- Shafer (Downingtown West) pinned Jones (Rustin), 1:32
220- H. Catka (Sun Valley) maj. dec. Cusack (Downingtown West), 11-2
285- Blevins (Oxford) dec. Deery (Garnet Valley), 4-2
Consolation Finals
106- Hershey (Oxford) dec. Wilson (Henderson), 5-3
113- King (Rustin) maj. dec. Wood (Garnet Valley), 9-0
120- Gr. Hollingsworth (Garnet Valley) dec. Kochersperger (Kennett), 5-4
126- C. Johnson (Oxford) won by forfeit over D. Chaclas (Unionville)
132- Meredith (Oxford) dec. Tran (Henderson), 7-2
138- Ga. Hollingsworth (Garnet Valley) pinned Eadie (WC East), 3:40
145- Elsen (Unionville) pinned Perry (Garnet Valley), 2:03
152- Stevens (Penncrest) dec. Clifford (WC East), 7-2
160- Hudnell (Chichester) dec. Bauman (Henderson), 10-6
170- W. Johnson (Oxford) dec. Baney (Chichester), 6-3
182- Buonocore (Avon Grove) maj. dec. Crowe (Rustin), 15-7
195- DiTrolio (Garnet Valley) pinned S. Cooper (WC East), :57
220- Averett (Glen Mills) inj. def. Richardson (Chichester)
285- Watson (Kennett) pinned Sharaf (Downingtown East), 2:16
