The Abington Heights wrestling team finished the dual meet portion of its season in Hershey where it finished tied for seventh in the state in Class 3A.
Submitted photo
Abington Heights won two consolation matches and Lackawanna Trail one during the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Dual Meet Wrestling Championships at the Giant Center in Hershey.
The Comets went 2-2 to tie for seventh in Class 3A, making it to the final day of the three-day event Feb. 10-12. The Lions went 1-2 to place in a four-way tie for ninth in Class 2A.
Both tournaments had 20-team fields and the two District 2 champions had byes into the Round of 16, which is where competition in Hershey began.
Abington Heights lost to eventual runner-up Nazareth, 53-14; bounced back to defeat Gettysburg, 40-30, and Central Dauphin, 39-26; then lost to Connellsville, 49-17.
Lackawanna Trail lost a meeting of unbeatens to Chestnut Ridge, 35-21; defeated Hickory, 38-27; and lost to Brookville, 41-21. Chestnut Ridge wound up third in the state.
Caleb Marzolino and Luke Sirianni each went 4-0 for Abington Heights in the tournament.
Robbie Schneider and Jonah Houser were 3-0 for Lackawanna Trail.
Connellsville 49, Abington Heights 17
Connellsville used seven pins to end Abington Heights’ season in the consolation quarterfinals.
Marzolino, Sirianni, Austin Smith and Connor Beck had the wins for Abington Heights, which fell behind 14-0 and 26-3 through three and six bouts.
Smith had the only early win with a decision at 145.
Beck had a pin at 106, Marzolino won a technical fall at 172 and Sirianni bumped up to win an overtime bout at 113.
Abington Heights 39, Central Dauphin 26
Tomas Delos Rios came up with the clinching pin at 4:57 of the 215-pound bout for the second Abington Heights win of the day.
Lure Sirianni followed with a major decision.
The Comets opened an early lead by winning four of the first five bouts to make it 21-5. They won seven of the first nine to put the win away early.
The match started at 126 where Cole Kroptavich won by pin. Brian Heard’s pin at 132 was followed by pins from Smith and Schiavone at 145 and 152.
Hutch Lynott won a 1-0 decision at 172 and Marzolino followed with a technical fall.
Brookville 41, Lackawanna Trail 21
Brookville won the final four bouts to break a tie and end Lackawanna Trail’s season in the second round of consolations.
Schneider and Brayden Clarke won by pin for the Lions. Deegan Ross and Houser won decisions in regulation and Michael Blum won a decision in overtime.
Abington Heights 40, Gettysburg 30
Sirianni needed only to avoid a bonus-points loss in the final bout of the first round of consolations, but instead won by 57-second pin to clinch the team’s first state dual win.
Brady Kareha won a decision at 113, then after falling behind for the only time in the match, the Comets won five straight bouts for a 28-6 lead.
Kroptavich, Stevens and Smith won pins during that streak while Heard had a major decision and Schiavone a decision.
Lackawanna Trail 38, Hickory 27
Cole Henry provided the clinching pin in the second period of the closing 120-pound bout to complete Lackawanna Trail’s comeback from an early, 17-0 deficit in the first round of consolations.
The Lions won six straight bouts to take a 32-17 lead.
Michael Bluhm, Schneider, Mason Zayac and Jonah Houser had pins during that streak while Deegan Ross had a technical fall and Seth Ross won a decision.
Nazareth 53, Abington Heights 14
Marzolino’s first-period pin at 172 was the highlight for Abington Heights during the first-round loss.
Sirianni won a technical fall and Heart pulled out a decision in overtime.
Chestnut Ridge 35, Lackawanna Trail 21
Chestnut Ridge stretched out a six-point lead over the final four bouts of the meeting between unbeaten teams in the first full round of the state tournament.
Houser, at 285, and Max Bluhm, at 138, each won by second-period pins for the Lions.
Lackawanna Trail’s Schneider (160), Seth Ross (189) and Henry (113) won decisions.
