Bethlehem Catholic knocked Abington Heights out of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Dual Meet Wrestling Tournament with a 49-20 victory Feb. 3 in a Class 3A second-round match Tuesday at Scranton High School.
The Hawks went on to reach the semifinals of the 20-team tournament. They used the win over Abington Heights to be among the eight teams that advanced to the final two days in Johnstown.
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 over 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.
The Comets 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.
Roundup
Lackawanna Trail wrapped up a 3-11 season with a 53-12 loss to Lake-Lehman in a non-league match on Senior Night, Feb. 3.
Cidney Schaffer had a pin at 107.
Scranton Prep wrestled three more times between the conclusion of the dual meet tournament and the start of the individual tournament season.
The Cavaliers lost all three, all on the road, to finish 5-11. They were beaten 54-24 by West Scranton, 40-18 by Crestwood and 72-6 by Wallenpaupack.
