The Herald, Sharon, Pa: Winter sports '96-'97

Published Friday, March 7, 1997

PIAA AA WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS

9 countians in quarterfinals
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CONTINGENT LED BY AREA'S 3 UNBEATENS

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CP is 2nd, Sharon is 5th in team race after Day 1

RESULTS LIST

By Lynn Saternow
Herald Sports Writer

HERSHEY, Pa. _ Everybody knows about the joy of victory and the agony of defeat. But for Jamestown High's Kevin Brown, an opening-round victory in the PIAA State Class AA Wrestling Championships was much more a relief than a joyous experience.

The Muskies' junior was in his third trip to Hershey, but his previous first-round bouts both ended in defeat. However, the third time was a charm Thursday as Brown upped his season record to 35-0 with a 16-7 victory over Nick McDivih of Williamson.

``It feels great,'' said Brown, with a smile on his face and a cut on his nose. ``That's all I was thinking about coming down here, `Just get through that first match.' Now maybe I can get on a roll.''

His coach Stan Skakalski, also admitted being anxious about the state opener: ``I can't take this, I'm a nervous wreck. I think I was more nervous than Kevin.''

All three of Mercer County's undefeated matmen advanced, as Commodore Perry's Nevada Walker (145) and Josh Pearce (275) joined Brown in the winner's circle. However the opening round took a heavy toll on the locals, as only nine of the 16 area entries won.

Other winners were: Tom McMath (125), Sharpsville; Craig Griffin (130) and Eric Mausser (189), both of Sharon; Mike Dye (145), Lakeview; Mark Chess (171), Commodore Perry; and Joe Rendos (189), Grove City.

Falling in the opening round, but bouncing back for a consolation victory were:

Mike Germano (112), Sharpsville; Jared Moss (125) and Brian ``Bubba'' Griffin, both of Sharon; and Bob Tumpak (135), Reynolds.

Eliminated after two straight defeats were: Steve Popovitch (112) and Jason Nestor, both of Reynolds; and Mercer's Kevin Myers (171).

By advancing all three wrestlers in the championship round, Commodore Perry let it be known that the Panthers may contest for the team title.

``It's too early to think about that,'' said head coach Bob Parker. ``But we've got three winners moving on, that's what counts. These guys push each other. They're competitive, even against each other.''

Sharon also could be in the team hunt, with four matmen still alive. After the opening-day competition, Wyalusing led with 11 points, while Commodore Perry was tied for second with Line Mountain and Northern Lehigh, with 10 each. Sharon followed with 91/2.

The tourney quarterfinals were to begin at 8 a.m. this morning, followed by second-round consolations at 10:30. The semifinals are slated for 7:30 p.m. today.

First-Round Winners

Sharpsville's McMath put the first victory of the morning on the board for the locals as he dominated Rocky Miller of South Williamsport from the start. The Blue Devils' junior opened with a 5-point move and was in control all the way for a 19-3 technical fall that went the full 6 minutes. McMath improved to 35-2 on the season.

``After that first takedown, I think it was all over,'' said a happy Sharpsville mentor Ron Haywood, bouncing back emotionally after his 112-pounder Germano lost in overtime a short time before. ``Tommy's peaked and ready to go. He wanted to start last weekend. After the finals he said, `Let's go tomorrow.' He's wrestling real aggressive and real smart. But we've got a tough one coming up.''

That ``tough one'' is McMath's quarterfinals foe, Rob English of West Branch, the 32-0 Southwest Region champ.

Sharon junior Griffin continued the impressive wrestling he demonstrated in winning the Northwest Regional last week, as he built an early lead against Mike Keys of Jefferson-Morgan and easily held on for a 9-3 triumph. Keys' final point came on stalling as he was riding Griffin late in the match.

``Hey, we'll give up a couple of stalling calls with an 8-2 lead,'' said Sharon coach Dave Ciafre. ``During that injury timeout (in the third period), we told him `Just don't get turned.' We knew that kid used legs. Actually, that guy is a clock-burner, I don't know why he took top. But Craig knew what he had to do to win it.''

In the semis this morning, Griffin (34-4) was to take on Ben Miller of Delone Catholic (31-1), the South Central runner-up.

Lakeview senior Dye put on a takedown clinic early, then held off Ryan Fasnacht of Pine Grove for a 10-8 victory. Dye nailed three takedowns quickly for a 6-3 lead in the opening period, but gave up a costly takedown near the end of the frame. Dye stayed on top the rest of the way.

``That first period I didn't like the way it ended,'' said Sailors coach Eric Mount. ``He hits some nice throw-bys in that first period. He did all the work, but then he gave up that takedown and led only 6-5. But we got through that one, that was the big one we had to win. Everything down here is just gravy; he's had such a great career.''

Dye (34-2) was slated to take on Southwest champ Joel DesLauriers of Burrell this morning.

Perry junior Walker is on a mission _ returning to the state finals where he lost last season. Walker picked up a 5-point move early on Jason Gessner of Lewisburg and continued to build a 9-1 margin before decking Gessner with a half-nelson with six seconds remaining in the second stanza.

Walker (33-0) was slated to take on Tim Mitchell of Southern Huntingdon this morning.

Jamestown's Brown said he had another good reason why he rolled through his first-round opponent: ``Pitzer isn't here.'' The Muskie junior lost to Brian Pitzer of Biglersville both times in previous trips here.

Brown dominated on his feet against McDivih, notching six takedowns for a 12-7 lead after two periods. In the third, Brown coasted before hitting a 4-point move near the end for a 16-7 rout.

``Kevin's wrestling the way I want him to wrestle,'' said coach Skakalski. ``He's opening up. He was too cautious at regions, and you have to open up down here. After he built the big lead and had that match won, then he wrestled cautious and smart. It's the kids that wrestle smart down here that win.''

Brown was to face Chad Teasdale of Jefferson-Morgan in today's quarterfinals.

Perry junior Chess got off to a slow start against Tom Kerin of West Branch, but picked up speed as the time ticked by. After no first-period takedown, Chess scored an escape midway through the second period then added a penalty point. Late in the stanza, Chess picked up a takedown then pinned his foe in 3:56.

``Mark's smart, he knows when to turn it up,'' said Parker. ``I think he's going to do better this week than he did last week (finishing second in the regional.). He prepared better this week.''

In the semifinals, Chess (24-6) will go up against Jason Schlingman of Meyers, the Northeast Region champ with a 35-0 mark.

Sharon's Mausser started where he left off in the Northwest Regional finals _ dominating his opponent. The Tigers' junior jumped out early with a 5-point move Thursday and never looked back as he chalked up a technical fall, 16-1, in a time of 5:39.

Since being upset in the District 10 tournament, Mausser has been rolling through his opposition. But that's the way Ciafre maps it out.

``We pick up the intensity in the tournaments,'' said Ciarfre. ``As a team, we focus a lot on the tournaments; we don't want to peak in the dual meets. ... (And) Eric is really looking good.''

Ciafre gave a lot of credit for Mausser's success to his workout partner, 171-pounder Josh McCullough, who just missed a trip to state by finishing fourth at regions. ``Those two guys have been beating each other up in the room for a month,'' said Ciafre, who brought McCullough along for the trip. ``I look for (McCullough) to be here wrestling next year.''

Mausser (32-3) was slated for a quarterfinals meeting with Shawn Weaver of Bald-Eagle Nittany, a third-place finisher at 171 last season.

Grove City's Rendos continues to show amazing poise for a sophomore, winning his opening-round match by a fall in 3:24 against Charlie Welch of Montrose, the Northeast champion.

``He's something, isn't he?'' said Grove City coach Marty Ruley. ``When he keeps the pressure on the other guy, he's tough to compete with.''

Rendos kept the pressure on Welch after scoring a first-period takedown. In the second period, Rendos rode hard, finally turning Welch for the pin.

The Eagles' ace (32-4) is scheduled to face Derek Tipton of Claysburg Kimmel in the quarterfinals.

Panthers' big man Pearce survived a real scare and some questionable refereeing to advance with a 3-2 victory over Jason Coleman of Central Columbia.

Leading 3-1 late in the bout, Pearce was called for stalling even though he was working out to the side and apparently trying to turn his foe, who was basing out underneath. Pearce (34-0) was able to hold on until the final whistle, as Coleman was almost out for an escape.

``I didn't think that was a very well-refereed match,'' said Parker, referring to the stalling call. ``I think Josh is putting too much pressure on himself. He's got to relax a little bit. It's tough coming in here as a senior with everyone picking you to win. But he'll be all right.''

First-Round Losers

Reynolds' Popovitch, leading 4-2 after one period, gave up a 5-point move early in the second frame, which proved his downfall as he lost a tough 9-8 decision to Mike Snyder of Milton, the Northeast Region runner-up. Popovitch fought back, but couldn't overcome the deficit.

In the consolations, Popovitch took on Derek Sola of Conrad Weiser, last year's 103 runner-up. Despite an outstanding effort, Popovitch dropped a 4-3 decision.

Sharpsville's Germano, the Northwest Regional champ, was upset by Northeast fourth-place finisher Nick Rockwell of Canton, 5-3, in overtime. The Blue Devils' junior got out to an early lead with a takedown and led 2-1 after two periods. Germano was turned to his back in the third, but later escaped for a 3-3 deadlock. In the overtime, Germano got in deep on a double-leg, but the lanky Rockwell managed to fight him off for almost a minute and then spun behind for the winning points with 1:24 gone in the extra period.

In the consys, Germano came back with a vengeance against Brian Peiffer of Upper Dauphin, nailing a quick 5-pointer early and coasting to an 13-4 rout.

Sharon's sophomore surprise Moss held off Northeast Regional champ John Thompson of Sayre for a scoreless first period, but in the second frame Moss was turned to his back twice and Thompson came away with a 9-2 triumph.

In the consolations, Moss took on Howard Kressley of Brandywine Heights. Moss trailed 3-2 late in the match, but came up with a takedown for a 4-3 triumph.

Reynolds sophomore Nestor lost a heart-breaker in overtime after a gutsy late-match rally. Trailing 3-1 in the third period against Todd Beatty of Chartiers-Houston, Nestor came up with a reversal at the buzzer to send the match to overtime. Nestor was in deep for a leg drop, but the Southwest runner-up (29-1) fought him off for a stalemate. A short time later, Beatty hit a single-leg and finished it off for a takedown with 1:02 gone in the extra session.

In the consolations, Nestor couldn't get his offense untracked. He suffered a 1-0 loss at the hands of Nate Harris of Loyalsock, a second-period escape making the difference as Harris rode out Nestor (31-5) in the final frame.

Reynolds junior Tumpak gave last year's fourth-place finisher Rusty Bollinger of Cambria Heights a real tussle, but couldn't pull it out in a 5-4 defeat.

In the consolations, Tumpak (32-3) wrestled a solid match to score a 6-2 victory over Mark Miller of East Pennsboro and save what had been a nightmare for Reynolds in previous action.

``We just didn't wrestle very well,'' said Raiders' coach Brian Hills. ``We had some close calls and lost some real close matches. The kids are all young, so they're getting experience, but sometime you've got to learn how to win those kind of matches.''

Mercer's Myers battled to the finish, but suffered a tough 3-2 defeat at the hands of Tony Moten of Conrad Weiser (21-1), the Southwest champion. A first-period takedown proved to the difference as Myers picked up two escapes, but Moten grabbed an escape in the third period for the victory. In the consolations, the Mustangs' senior went against Andy Sines of Meyesdale. Myers (27-9) put up a battle, bouncing back from a 5-1 deficit to knot the score in the third period, but Sines pulled away for a 9-6 win.

The loss closed the book on the scholastic history of the outstanding career of the Myers triplets at Mercer. Kevin and Keith both surpassed the magical number of 100 victories for the Mustangs.

Sharon's Griffin faced a tough task in the opening round, paired against last year's third-place finisher, Ryan Kehler of Tri-Valley.

The Tigers' senior trailed only 3-2 after the opening period, but Kehler turned the all-state football player to his back in the second frame and pinned Griffin in 3:19.

In the consys, Griffin faced off against Josh Baker of Bedford. He trailed 3-2 midway through the final frame, but took Baker to his back on a takedown and pinned him in 4:55.

RESULTS LIST

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Updated March 7, 1997
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