Deegan Ross finished third at 160 pounds and Max Bluhm was fourth at 152 to lead Lackawanna Trail to an 11th-place finish in the Class 2A team standings March 9-11 in the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Individual Wrestling Championships at The Giant Center in Hershey.
Ross went 4-1 in the tournament with a pin and two major decisions. His closest win was a five-point decision, but he was beaten by Grove City’s Hunter Hohman, 12-4, in the semifinals.
Following the loss, Ross won two straight, including beating Conneaut Area’s Collin Hearn, 8-0, in the consolation final.
Bluhm showed a knack for winning close matches in Hershey. He won two straight overtime bouts, lost a major decision in the semifinal, then came back to win his first consolation bout by a single point.
Cael Weidemoyer from team champion Faith Christian Academy defeated Bluhm, 5-1, in the consolation final.
Robbie Schneider, at 172 pounds, and Seth Ross, at 215, each went 1-2 but fell short of a medal.
Faith Christian Academy won with 151 points. Lackawanna Trail finished with 42.
Northeast Regional
Deegan Ross pulled out a 1-0 decision over Milton’s Alex Hoffman March 4 in Williamsport to capture the 160-pound title at the Northeast Regional.
Seth Ross, Deegan’s brother, took second at 215.
Max Bluhm placed third at 152, Robbie Schneider was fourth at 172 and Ethan Lee took fifth at 139 as Lackawanna Trail finished fifth in the team standings.
Benton won with 122 points.
Lackawanna Trail scored 85 points, the best by any District 2 team.
Both Ross brothers reached the finals with consecutive pins. Seth had both pins in the first period while Deegan had one in the first period.
