HS Wrestling: Spartans’ McGraw, Eagles’ Woll make semis at regionals

The Class AA Southeast Regional Wrestling Championships are being held at Freedom High School, Bethlehem. (Photo by Bob Lipsky)

BETHLEHEM — Cadyn McGraw is proving that his District 11 gold medal was no fluke.

The North Schuylkill junior 215-pounder, who rose from the fourth seed to the top of the podium last Saturday night, earned a pair of tight victories Friday to move into the semifinals of the Class AA Southeast Regional Wrestling Championships at Bethlehem Freedom High School.

In the round of 16, McGraw (30-13) edged Fairfield’s Lincoln Kearchner 5-4. Kearchner was the District 3 fifth seed.

In the quarterfinals, McGraw won an all-Schuylkill League battle over Pine Grove’s Robbie Schaeffer, 5-2. Schaeffer got into regionals as District 11’s fifth seed and pinned Newport’s Kaj Miller in 2:20 in the first round.

McGraw will take on District 1 champion Jason Singer (25-8) of Faith Christian in the semifinals. Schaeffer will continue in the consolations.

In Class 3A, Blue Mountain junior Owen Woll (152) stormed into the semifinals with a pair of falls at the Northeast Regional Wrestling Championships at Bethlehem Liberty High School. Woll (40-6) decked Shikellamy’s A.J. Benedict in 2:56, then planted District 2 champion Liam Evanko of Wilkes-Barre Area in 5:06. Woll will face Northampton’s Chase Grabfelder (28-10) in the semifinals.

Blue Mountain’s Bradley Renninger (189) opened with a 5-2 decision over District 2 champion Mason Marolo of Hazleton Area, then dropped a 9-2 decision to Notre Dame-Green Pond’s Dominic Sumpolec in the quarters. Renninger will continue in the consolations.

Also at 189, Pottsville’s Terrell McFarland fell 12-5 to La Salle College’s Dylan Clair and then injury forfeited out of the tournament.

The Schuylkill League had a strong first round, going 16-10 overall. They hit the wall in the quarterfinals, going 2-14.

In Class AA, Tri-Valley’s Owen Wolfgang (107), Williams Valley’s Magnus Monger (107), North Schuylkill’s Alex Deritis (114), North Schuylkill’s Easton Edwards (121), Williams Valley’s Xzavion Tennis (133), Tri-Valley’s Noah Hanlon (145), North Schuylkill’s Nate Sterner (145), Pine Grove’s Austin Martin (160), Tri-Valley’s Hunter Updegrave (172), Tamaqua’s Jacob Hehn (189), Williams Valley’s Camron Green (285) and North Schuylkill’s Sander Stokes (285) won their first bout but fell in the quarterfinals. They will all continue in the consolations.

Tri-Valley’s Jaxson Bruso (133), Pine Grove’s Aaron Osatchuck (139), Mahanoy Area’s Rory Dixon (160), Williams Valley’s Colin Crisswell (160), Mahanoy Area’s Kyler Quick (189) and Pine Grove’s Zach Kurtz (189) lost in the round of 16 but rebounded with victories in the first round of consolations.

Action resumes this morning, the Class AA wrestlers at Freedom and the Class 3A grapplers at Liberty. Second-round consolations start at 9:30 a.m., with championship semifinals and third-round consolations at 11 a.m., fourth-round consolations including seventh-place matches (Class AA only) at 12:30 p.m. and championship finals, third- and fifth-place bouts (3 mats) at 4 p.m.

The top five placewinners in each weight class in both Class 3A and AA will qualify for the PIAA Wrestling Championships on March 6-8 at the Giant Center in Hershey.

Southeast Regional Wrestling Championships

Class AA

At Freedom HS, Bethlehem

Friday’s local results

Round of 16

107 — Wolfgang (Tri-Valley) pinned Cooper (Pope John Paul II), :48; Monger (Williams Valley) pinned Vazqueez (Bristol), 1:17

114 — Deritis (N. Schuylkill) tech. fall Blaylock (Bristol), 18-0, 2:58

121 — Edwards (N. Schuylkill) tech. fall Cozzo (Lower Moreland), 18-2, 3:51

127 — Adams (No. Lebanon) pinned A. Schlier (Tamaqua), 2:26

133 — Tennis (Williams Valley) pinned Lane (Arch. Carroll), 2:54; Haubert (Palisades) pinned B. Schlier (Tamaqua), 1:38; Grodzki (Conwell-Egan) tech. fall Bruso (Tri-Valley), 17-0, 5:07

139 — Walther (Conwell-Egan) pinned Osatchuck (Pine Grove), 1:24

145 — Hanlon (Tri-Valley) pinned Salmon (Church Farm School), 1:57; Sterner (N. Schuylkill) dec. Hetrick (Big Spring), 8-4

152 — None

160 — Acevedo (Berks Cath.) dec. Dixon (Mahanoy Area), 4-0; Negron (Bishop McDevitt) tech. fall Crisswell (Williams Valley), 21-5, 3:38; Martin (Pine Grove) pinned Lee (Church Farm School), 2:41

172 — Updegrave (Tri-Valley) dec. Shimp (Conwell-Egan), 6-3; Lombardi (Palmerton) tech. fall Stoyer (Mahanoy Area), 23-3, 3:04

189 — Franco (Berks Cath.) dec. Quick (Mahanoy Area), 7-3; Hehn (Tamaqua) tech. fall Sar (Bristol), 17-1, 2:42; Rock (Littlestown) tech. fall Kurtz (Pine Grove), 20-2, 4:00

215 — McGraw (N. Schuylkill) dec. Kearchner (Fairfield), 5-4; Schaeffer (Pine Grove) pinned Miller (Newport), 2:20

285 — Green (Williams Valley) pinned Driscoll (Bristol), 3:07; Stokes (N. Schuylkill) pinned Bland (Church Farm School), 1:50

Championship Quarterfinals

107 — Oman (Brandywine Hts.) maj. dec. Wolfgang (Tri-Valley), 16-4; Walsh (Berks Cath.) pinned Monger (Williams Valley), 3:29

114 — Boyce (Conwell-Egan) pinned Deritis (N. Schuylkill), 1:27

121 — Barrick (Big Spring) tech. fall Edwards (N. Schuylkill), 18-0, 2:22

133 — Seidel (No. Lebanon) pinned Tennis (Williams Valley), 1:17

145 — Comp (Bishop McDevitt) dec. Hanlon (Tri-Valley), 5-2 SV; Brady (Hamburg) dec. Sterner (N. Schuylkill), 3-0 SV

160 — Negron (Bishop McDevitt) dec. Martin (Pine Grove), 14-11

172 — Carroll (Halifax) pinned Updegrave (Tri-Valley), 3:16

189 — Rohn (Saucon Valley) pinned Hehn (Tamaqua), :46

215 — McGraw (N. Schuylkill) dec. Schaeffer (Pine Grove), 5-2

285 — Gutshall (Big Spring) dec. Green (Williams Valley), 4-0; Tyler (Delone Catholic) pinned Stokes (N. Schuylkill), :24

First-Round Consolations

127 — Funck (Annville-Cleona) dec. A. Schlier (Tamaqua), 8-4

133 — Racich (Faith Christian) pinned B. Schlier (Tamaqua), 3:17; Bruso (Tri-Valley) pinned Naoshram (Church Farm School), 1:17

139 — Osatchuck (Pine Grove) pinned Dickson (Bristol), 2:20

160 — Dixon (Mahanoy Area) maj. dec. Oseen (Biglerville), 17-5; Crisswell (Williams Valley) pinned Lee (Church Farm School), :52

172 —Leitz (Annville-Cleona) dec. Stoyer (Mahanoy Area), 9-2

189 — Quick (Mahanoy Area) tech. fall Taylor (Biglerville), 16-1, 4:49; Kurtz (Pine Grove) pinned Bushra (Devon Prep), :29

Northeast Regional Wrestling Championships

Class 3A

At Liberty HS, Bethlehem

Friday’s local results

Round of 16

152 — Woll (Blue Mountain) pinned Benedict (Shikellamy), 2:56

189 — Clair (La Salle College) dec. McFarland (Pottsville), 12-5; Renninger (Blue Mountain) dec. Marolo (Hazleton Area) 5-2

Championship Quarterfinals

152 — Woll (Blue Mountain) pinned Evanko (Wilkes-Barre Area), 5:06

189 — Sumpolec (Notre Dame-GP) dec. Renninger (Blue Mountain), 9-2

First-Round Consolations

189 — Boetsch (Shikellamy) forfeit over McFarland (Pottsville)