OXFORD >> By all accounts, the 2021 season was a lost season for Downingtown West’s Mason Hale.
After reaching regionals as a freshman, Hale went 0-2 at the sectional tournament and finished his sophomore year with a 2-4 record.
“Something clicked in my head during football season about how bad I wanted to make my wrestling career a good one,” Hale said.
Downingtown West’s Mason Hale. (Nate Heckenberger – For MediaNews Group)
Sunday, at the Ches-Mont Championships at Oxford, Hale proved to himself, and many others who saw him, that he may be ready to become the next star from his wrestling family.
In the 215-pound final, Hale jumped out to a lead against Kennett sophomore, John Pardo, before pinning him midway through the second period and was named Outstanding Wrestler.
Hale’s teammate, Troy Mack (285 pounds), followed minutes later with a last-second win over Kennett’s Bailey Shindle to complete West’s four-for-four run in the finals.
Downingtown West’s Troy Mack. (Nate Heckenberger – For MediaNews Group)
“Troy is really strong, so when I start to get moves to work on him in practice, I know I can get them on anyone,” Hale said. “Being a smaller 215-pounder, I’ve been working on my technique and trying to be the aggressor. Instead of being passive and winning one-point matches, now I’m trying to score bonus all the time.”
Chase Sigle (106) and Dom Findora (138) won by fall in the finals to help the Whippets to a runner-up finish in the team standings. West Chester Henderson claimed the title, outscoring West by 58 points, with three champs and 10 top-three finishers.
Downingtown West’s Chase Sigle pins Unionvlle’s Cole Haines in the 106-pound final. (Nate Heckenberger – For MediaNews Group)
Max Jackman (126), Billy Wilson (132) and Palmer Delaney (145) won golds, all while barely being threatened in their brackets.
“It felt good,” Jackman said. “I’ve been having a good season and had a good tournament, and it was fun to win it as a team, as well.”
West Chester Henderson’s Billy Wilson. (Nate Heckenberger – For MediaNews Group)
Kennett finished third, as a team, but Josh Barlow (160) was the only champ out of four Blue Demon finalists. Barlow knocked off West Chester Rustin’s Ryan Corp, who swapped weights with teammate, Chris Yanko.
Kennett’s Josh Barlow. (Nate Heckenberger – For MediaNews Group)
At 172 now, Yanko had a major, a pin, and then a 7-0 win over Downingtown East’s Connor Huntoon in the finals, to climb to the top of the podium. Rustin’s Marek Seaman, who has also wrestled at 172 this season, bumped up and won at 189, with an 8-3 win over Sun Valley’s Chase Thompson.
“I was feeling great,” Yanko said. “One-sixty was good, but Ryan wanted to go down and I was happy to bump up, and it worked out for both of us.”
West Chester Rustin’s Marek Seaman tries a cradle against Sun Valley’s Chase Thompson. (Nate Heckenberger – For MediaNews Group)
Unionville’s Topher Tryon (152) had to go all six minutes in a semifinal win over Downingtown East’s Ryan Loraw, but in the final, the junior Longhorn found his groove and defeated Henderson’s Brett Patton by technical fall.
“That last match was really good for me,” Tryon said. “It was a big statement. I wish I did a little better my second match, but I still made the statement I wanted to make.”
Unionville’s Topher Tryon cradles West Chester Henderson’s Brett Patton during a technical fall win in the 152-pound final. (Nate Heckenberger – For MediaNews Group)
Oxford’s Cannon Hershey (120) was one of three undefeated wrestlers in the tournament, and knocked off one of the others, Sun Valley’s Shane Holefelder, in the finals. Hershey scored a takedown in the first and then kept Holefelder away for a 3-1 win. Hershey is now 21-0 on the season and is 12 wins away from 100 for his career.
Oxford’s Cannon Hershey. (Nate Heckenberger – For MediaNews Group)
Coatesville’s Andrij Szczesniuk (113) had the easiest win in the finals, accepting a forfeit after Sun Valley’s Timmy Kearney was ejected from the tournament earlier in the day.
Szczesniuk may not have been pleased with how he won his title, but with a 21-5 record as a freshman, he will likely have more opportunities to earn gold in the future.
“I was pretty disappointed, but hopefully I’ll be able to wrestle (Kearney) at districts,” Szczesniuk said. “Getting my hand raised felt worse than a loss since I didn’t get to wrestle.”
Coatesville’s Andrij Szczesniuk works on a tilt against Unionville’s Mason Coursey in a win in the 113-pound semifinals. (Nate Heckenberger – For MediaNews Group)
Sun Valley’s Alexander Gamble-Williams was injured during a consolation match and taken off on a stretcher, but Vanguards’ coach, Tommy Ellis, said he was up and moving and they’re hopeful for a full recovery.
Team Standings
1. West Chester Henderson, 226; 2. Downingtown West, 168; 3. Kennett, 142; 4. Sun Valley, 140; 5. West Chester Rustin, 124.5; 6. Unionville, 107; 7. Oxford, 98; 8. Downingtown East, 79.5; 9. Coatesville, 74; 10. West Chester East, 73.5; 11. Great Valley, 59.5; 12. Avon Grove, 15
Championship Finals
106- Sigle (Downingtown West) pinned Haines (Unionville), 3:17
113- Szczesniuk (Coatesville) won by forfeit over T. Kearney (Sun Valley)
120- Hershey (Oxford) dec. Holefelder (Sun Valley), 3-1
126- M. Jackman (WC Henderson) maj. dec. Strickland (Sun Valley), 13-5
132- Wilson (WC Henderson) dec. McMillan (Oxford), 5-3
138- Findora (Downingtown West) pinned E. Seagreaves (Coatesville), 3:47
145- P. Delaney (WC Henderson) won by medical forfeit over Maiers (Kennett)
152- Tryon (Unionville) tech. fall Patton (WC Henderson), 15-0
160- Barlow (Kennett) dec. Corp (WC Rustin), 6-4
172- Yanko (WC Rustin) dec. Huntoon (Downingtown East), 7-0
189- M. Seaman (WC Rustin) dec. Thompson (Sun Valley), 8-3
215- Hale (Downingtown West) pinned Pardo (Kennett), 2:55
285- Mack (Downingtown West) dec. Shindle (Kennett), 5-3
Consolation Finals
106- Schalluer (WC Henderson) maj. dec. A. Jackman (WC Henderson), 12-2
113- Coursey (Unionville) tech. fall Jo. Schaible (Oxford), 18-0
120- Cortese (WC Henderson) dec. Lengel (Kennett), 9-7
126- Son (Great Valley) dec. Canaday (Oxford), 3-1
132- D. Kearney (Sun Valley) dec. H. Delaney (WC Henderson), 2-0
138- English (WC Henderson) pinned Voghel (Sun Valley), 2:08
145- Parnis (WC East) no contest Pagaduan (Downingtown East)
152- Kochersperger (Kennett) dec. Loraw (Downingtown East), 3-2
160- McMonagle (WC Henderson) dec. Rock (Downingtown West), 7-1
172- Vance (Oxford) med. forfeit O’Leary (Unionville)
189- McCarthy (WC Henderson) pinned T. Sbur (WC East), 4:30
215- Laird (Sun Valley) pinned Melnick (WC Henderson), :32
285- Keevil (WC Henderson) dec. An. Meadows (WC Rustin), 8-1
