Bethlehem Catholic knocked Abington Heights out of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Dual Meet Wrestling Tournament with a 49-20 victory in a Class 3A second-round match Tuesday at Scranton High School.
The PIAA conducted two rounds of competition on Tuesday to trim the field from 20 teams to the eight that are competing in Johnstown on Friday and Saturday, along with the top eight teams in Class 2A.
Abington Heights, the District 2 Class 3A and Lackawanna League Division 1 champion, received a bye in the first round while District 11 runner-up Bethlehem Catholic routed Owen J. Roberts, 56-18. The Comets finished the team portion of their season with a 15-5 record.
The Comets led briefly.
After Bethlehem Catholic opened the match with a Connor Gillahan pin at 189 pounds, Abington Heights won the next two bouts.
Frank Scialpi tied things up when he pinned James Bozzi in 1:08 at 215. Dane Wheeler then gave the Comets their only lead with a 9-5 decision of Grant Mulhern to put them in front 9-6.
Abington Heights forfeited at 107, then Bethlehem Catholic won the next six bouts on the mat to open an insurmountable 43-9 lead.
Gino Bozzi’s technical fall was followed by Nico Emili and A.J. Gomez pins, a Reef Dillard overtime decision, an Andre Cerrato technical fall, and a Kenau Dillard first-period pin from 114 through 145.
Abington Heights won the next two bouts.
Lucas Drake had a pin in 54 seconds over Julian Augello at 152, and Jack Kotchick won by technical fall with a 17-1 score in 3:51 against Smil Sperling at 160.
Zach Papcsy wrapped up the match with a pin for Bethlehem Catholic at 172.
Abington Heights wrestlers will join individuals from other teams in trying to advance through districts to regional and ultimately state competition. The District 2 Tournament is scheduled for Feb. 20-21 at Wilkes-Barre Area.
