WRESTLING

Four York-Adams League wrestlers secure state medals at PIAA championships

Thomas Kendziora
York Dispatch

Four wrestlers from the York-Adams League secured podium finishes at the PIAA state championships Friday, advancing to the final day of action at the Giant Center in Hershey.

Central York's Elias Long and Macon Myers, as well as Spring Grove's Michael Hershey, advanced to the final day of action at the Class 3A state tournament. In Class 2A, Bermudian Springs' Hayden Yacoviello-Andrus weaved through the consolation bracket to secure a medal of his own.

Class 2A took up the majority of Friday's schedule, with quarterfinals and consolation rounds in the morning before 3A quarterfinal and consolation bouts began in the afternoon. The 2A matches resumed in the evening with semifinals and fourth and fifth consolation rounds.

Central York’s Elias Long, back, wrestles Gettysburg’s Gabriel Pecaitis in the 139-pound weight class during PIAA District III, Class 3-A Wrestling Championships at Spring Grove Area High School in Jackson Township, Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023. Long would win by major decision 11-1. Dawn J. Sagert photo

Long, the District 3 champion in the 139-pound weight class, dropped his opening match Thursday to fall into the consolations, but came back Friday and captured a pair of victories. He started the day with a 5-4 decision against Abington Heights' Austin Smith, then earned a narrow 3-2 win over Gettysburg's Gabriel Pecaitis in the evening. Up next is a fourth-round consolation match against Hempfield's Eli Carr on Saturday morning.

Myers fell in the quarterfinals at 172 pounds Friday, losing by technical fall against Waynesburg's Rocco Welsh. He responded, though, with a 14-6 major decision against Souderton's Ben Beckett in the third consolation round. He'll wrestle Kiski Area's Mark Gray on Saturday morning as the podium standings are decided, but he's guaranteed to go home with hardware.

(In other Central York-Souderton news, the Panther girls' basketball team won a double-overtime thriller against the Indians Friday night.)

Hershey, who won twice Thursday to earn a quarterfinal spot in the 285-pound class, started Friday with a loss by pin against Trinity Area's Ty Banco. But the Spring Grove heavyweight secured a podium finish with a 3-1 victory over Strath Haven's Ben Farabaugh. He'll open Saturday against Pine Richland's Joey Schneck.

In Class 2A, Bermudian Springs freshman Hayden Yacoviello-Andrus captured three straight consolation wins Friday, extending his streak to four in a row and sending him into the bronze medal match Saturday afternoon. He beat Midd-West's Matthew Smith by 5-1 decision, Montoursville's David Kennedy by pin and Faith Christian's Arment Waltenbaugh by 4-2 decision. Yacoviello-Andrus will compete for the final time this season against Bald Eagle Area's Coen Bainey for third place in the state.

End of the road: Eight of the 10 York-Adams League wrestlers who advanced to states earned at least one victory Thursday, but four fell short of medals with Friday losses.

York Suburban's Tyler Adams, the District 3 Class 3A champion at 127 pounds, fell into the consolation bracket with a loss Thursday but began his Friday with a 13-0 major decision against Spring-Ford's Quinn Smith. Needing one more win to earn a medal, though, Adams dropped a 5-4 decision to West Scranton's Michael Turi in the afternoon. The Trojan junior had a season to be proud of, but he'll bring unfinished business into his senior campaign.

Dover's Wyatt Dillon and WC East's Max Parnis wrestle in the 138-pound weight class preliminaries during PIAA Class 3-A Wrestling Championships at Giant Center in Hershey, Thursday, March 10, 2022. Parnis would win 10-8 by decision. Dawn J. Sagert photo

Central York's Wyatt Dillon (145) also missed a medal by one bout, dropping a 7-1 decision to Central Mountain's Griffin Walizer. Dillon had won two in a row after losing a preliminary match, including a 3-1 decision against West Chester East's Max Parnis early Friday. Parnis also beat Dillon in the state tournament last year.

Two York-Adams wrestlers also bowed out of the Class 2A bracket Friday. Littlestown's Cameron Mingee (139) dropped his Friday morning match against Marion Center's Liam Cornetto by 5-2 decision. Biglerville's Joey Ney (145) was also eliminated in the morning, suffering a 4-0 defeat to Faith Christian's Max Stein.

Northeastern's Elijah Hewitt (121) and Spring Grove's Teague Conover (215) were eliminated from their respective Class 3A brackets Friday.

Saturday's schedule at the Giant Center is as follows:

  • Class 3A: Semifinals and Fourth Round Consolations, 9 a.m. 
  • Class 3A: Fifth Round Consolations, 11:30 a.m. 
  • Class 2A: Finals, Third-Place, Fifth-Place and Seventh Place Matches, 2 p.m. 
  • Class 3A: Finals, Third-Place, Fifth-Place and Seventh Place Matches, 7 p.m.