FRANCONIA >> This was why Sam Kuhns put in all the hard work.
The Pennridge junior and Oxford’s Austin McMillan remained in a scoreless draw after six minutes of regulation and three overtime periods in their 139-pound final at the South East Class 3A Regional.
That left the ultimate tiebreak round to determine gold with Kuhns needing a way to get out of McMillan’s grasp in that last half-minute.
“I just knew I was going to win cause all week we were training these situations,” Kuhns said. “There’s 30 seconds to escape, so I just knew that I was prepared. I just had to get to my feet, break away and I won. That’s all I had to do.”
Kuhns found a way to slip free from McMillan to claim a 1-0 victory, securing his first regional title and giving Pennridge its second champ Saturday night at Souderton.
“Nothing was really happening so I was just expecting ultimate rideout,” Kuhns said. “I wasn’t just trying to make a mistake at the end then he’d take me down. I was just kind of honestly get to overtime at that point so I knew that I was more conditioned than him and I’d be able to win.”
Pennridge’s Sam Kuhns look to escape from Oxford’s Austin McMillan during their 139-pound final at the South East 3A Regional Tournament on Saturday, March 4, 2023 at Souderton. (Mike Cabrey/MediaNews Group)
Sophomore Colby Martinelli collected the Rams’ first gold at 107 as Pennridge and rival Quakertown dueled for first place in the team standings. It was the Panthers – boosted by titles from Mason Ziegler at 121 and Collin Gaj at 145 – that earned the top spot, their 129.5 points edging out the Rams’ 128.5.
“My teammates, couldn’t really ask for a better group of guys, right?” said Gaj, who was named the regional’s Most Outstanding Wrestler in improving to 45-0. “Mason, Calvin (Lachman), Zach (Borzio) – Zach’s leaving us, but that’s all right we’ll miss him. Ike (Williams), Gavin (Carroll) – Gavin’s my family, it’s great to see him finally make states.
“You know, even the guys who weren’t here today, some guys who got eliminated in districts are here today and it’s just great to see that they’re still supporting us, we’re wishing they’re here but they’ll get here next year.”
Pennridge qualified five wrestlers for the PIAA Championships, which begin Thursday at the Giant Center in Hershey.
Central Bucks West’s Chris Dennis celebrates after his 4-3 win in the 114-pound final over Haverford’s Cole McFaland at the South East 3A Regional Tournament on Saturday, March 4, 2023 at Souderton. (Mike Cabrey/MediaNews Group)
Along with Kuhns and Martinelli – the Rams’ first regional champs since 2018 – Quinn McBride (121) and Talan Hogan (172) earned second-place finishes with Cole Coffin taking third at 114 with a pin of Council Rock South’s Luke Reitter in 3:57. Prior to the finals, Pennridge coach Brian Kuhns was honored as Southeastern Pennsylvania Coach of the Year.
“This weekend, we just kept wrestling how we’ve been wrestling,” Sam Kuhns said. “We wrestled awesome this entire year. Just it started off rough with a bunch of bad things happening but then we just picked it up and we’re just doing amazing right so we got to just keep it going.”
As a freshman in 2021, Kuhns placed second at 113 but last year came up short of reaching states as he lost in the fifth-place match at 126. Saturday, he sealed his return trip to PIAAS with a 2-1 semifinal win over Central Bucks South’s Jake Neill after losing twice to Neill by decision earlier this season.
I still have the medal from sixth place last year hanging up in my room – I use that as motivation,” Kuhns said. “Every day I wrote down I was going to win regionals and even practice, every situation I took it like it was the regional final. I trained like a regional champion this week.”
Quakertown’s Collin Gaj has his hand raised after his 18-8 major decison over Sun Valley’s Brandon Carr in the 145-pound final at the South East 3A Regional Tournament on Saturday, March 4, 2023 at Souderton. (Mike Cabrey/MediaNews Group)
Quakertown had six state qualifiers, a total matched only by Kennett and Perkiomen Valley. The Panthers’ Borzio at 152 and Lachman at 215 both took silver, Carroll claimed third at 139 while Williams earned fifth at 114 with a pin of Downingtown West’s Chase Sigle in 5:51.
Kennett was third with 114.0 points while Owen J. Roberts – which had three champions – took fourth with 100.5 points.
Central Bucks East junior Joe Collins at 285 and Central Bucks West freshman Chris Dennis at 114 each won regional titles, Collins adding to his family’s gold count after his brother Quinn took first at 189 last season.
“It means a lot to me especially cause Quinn was up there last year and just being able to do this year what he was able to do is phenomenal,” Joe Collins said. “And seeing where he is now, thinking that one day I could get to that level.”
Pennridge’s Colby Martinelli looks to get a hold of Ridley’s Curtis Nelson during the 107-pound final at the South East 3A Regional Tournament on Saturday, March 4, 2023 at Souderton. (Mike Cabrey/MediaNews Group)
Collins captured a regional title in similar fashion to Kuhns, as his 285 final with Strath Haven’s Ben Farabaugh was scoreless heading into the ultimate tiebreak. Collins came through with an escape just before the period’s end for a 1-0 victory.
“Listening to my corner, listening to Quinn, he’s teaching me throughout the match,” Collins said. “Telling me how I could get up, easiest way and I tried to implement that as best as I could.”
Dennis became the first CB West freshman to take first at regionals, rallying to defeat Haverford’s Cole McFarland 4-3 in the 114 final.
“I was always set high goals for myself,” Dennis said. “I always, like ‘I want to be district champ, I want to be regional champ, I want to be a state champ.’ So yeah this is all part of the plan.”
Central Bucks East’s Joe Collins raises his hands in victory after his 1-0 ultimate tiebreaker win over Strath Haven’s Ben Farabaugh in the 285 final at the South East 3A Regional Tournament on Saturday, March 4, 2023 at Souderton. (Mike Cabrey/MediaNews Group)
Trailing 2-0, Dennis pulled even with a second-period reversal then grabbed a 4-2 advantage with another reversal in the third.
“I knew I just had to keep fighting cause I knew I could win,” Dennis said. “There’s always time to win.”
A fast start propelled Martinelli to his first regional title, the Pennridge sophomore earning four early points and led 6-0 after the opening period. A takedown in the third helped him hold on for an 8-5 decision.
“I just try to come out quick and come out at score points,” Martinelli said. “Score as many points as I could. Come out strong.”
Ziegler was regional champ as a freshman at 113 but last season lost in the 120 final on a defensive pin just before the third period buzzer. The Quakertown junior returned to the top of the podium Saturday with a 16-2 major decision over Pennridge’s McBride in the 121 final.
“It feels great,” Ziegler said. “I put in so much work in the offseason. Last year, obviously in the regional final it was a fluke. I got put in a bad spot, time was winding down and I stopped wrestling and I gave up the fall. But the main goal is to go get the gold out in Hershey. And that’s my big thing, that’s what I’ve been training for. This is just stepping stones to that spot.”
Quakertown’s Mason Ziegler tries for a pin against Pennridge’s Quinn McBride during their 121-pound final at the South East 3A Regional Tournament on Saturday, March 4, 2023 at Souderton. (Mike Cabrey/MediaNews Group)
Gaj, who picked up pins in the tournament’s first three rounds, secured his second straight regional title with an 18-8 major decision over Sun Valley’s Brandon Carr.
I wanted a little more points in that match but, you know at the end of the day a win’s a win,” Gaj said. “And at this point in the states you just got to survive and advance.
CB South juniors Neill (139) and Collin Goetter (285) both qualified for states with fourth-place finishes. Souderton’s Ben Beckett earned a spot at Hershey by taking fifth at 172 by edging Pennsbury’s Mason Keller 9-8.
