Boiling Springs' Joe Spisak, gets Shady Side Academy's Frank Martellotti, on his back

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(CHRIS KNIGHT, The Patriot-News)

Joe Spisak had beaten state champions. He had lost to state champions.

But he had never been a PIAA wrestling champion.

He is now.

Not one to forego a little drama, Spisak, the senior from Boiling Springs, took his leap into history by escaping former PIAA champion Frank Martellotti of Shady Side Academy with 5 seconds left for a 4-3 win.

That came with quite the prize: the PIAA Class AA 130-pound championship Saturday at Giant Center.

A lot of frustration evaporated the moment that Spisak (47-1, 164-15 career) broke free from Martellotti.

The victory not only affirmed all of Spisak's hard work, it was a do-over for his last-second, 9-7 loss two years ago to Keystone Oaks' Anthony Zanetta in the state finals at 112.

"Of course that was motivating," said Spisak, Boiling Springs' first PIAA wrestling champion in 48 years. "But that match helped me much more than anyone realized."

For two years, the loss burned in Spisak's gut, especially after Zanetta beat him in last year's quarterfinals and sent Spisak tumbling to a seventh-place finish.

That ignited an endless stream of work, work and more work, all for that moment he and his support system will never forget.

"I've been so blessed," Spisak said. "I have a great family, a great community, great teammates. Being able to share this with them means everything to me."

Spisak was joined atop the medal stand at by Line Mountain freshman Zain Retherford, who was strong throughout his 6-2 triumph over Bermudian Springs' Brad Farley at 103. Retherford (40-1) became Line Mountain's 11th champion.

Not as fortunate was Juniata's Seth Beitz, who couldn't stop Schuylkill Valley's Colin Shober from either taking him down or winning a second straight title. Shober took down Beitz five times to win the 140-pound title, 11-4.

Spisak's title, the first at Boiling Springs since Joe Eremus and Larry Karper had their famous back-to-back wins at 145 and 154 in 1962, was hardly preordained.

He had to battle through a grueling semifinal with Tyrone's Ronnie Garbinsky on Friday, then an even more grueling match Saturday.

After a scoreless first period, Martellotti escaped early but Spisak went to work late in the second period on a low shot. With Martellotti perched on an ankle, Spisak kept grinding until he rolled up Martellotti and put him on his back at the buzzer.

But it took an official's conference to determine that Spisak had gained control, even though Martellotti still had a counter possibility.

That was good for a 2-1 lead, and a quick escape made it 3-1, Spisak.

After Martellotti (48-3, 168-21 career) took a brief injury timeout with 1:13 to wrestle, Spisak burned some time before the Shady Side wrestler caught him, lifted and got the takedown with 24 seconds left.

On a restart with 20 seconds left, Spisak nearly sprang free but Martellotti dropped on the ankle. That was good for Spisak; Martellotti was warned for stalling with 9 seconds left.

That forced another restart, and Spisak took advantage, leaping away from Martellotti at the whistle, and broke free with 5 seconds left.

A gold medal was on its way to the Yellow Breeches.

"I knew he was going to get out," Boiling Springs head coach Rod Wright said. "I can't tell you how I knew it, but I knew it."

"It was kind of a fairy tale ending, wasn't it?" Spisak said.

Retherford completed an outstanding tournament with two distinct highlights, his semifinal victory Friday over returning PIAA champion and weight favorite Nick Roberts of North Star and his win over Farley.

"I've been dreaming about this since I was little," said Retherford, who's still little; he weighs only 102.

Retherford wrestled a different style against Farley, who got the opening takedown but was dominated the rest of the way, than he did against Roberts.

He spent most of his time throwing in the boots against Farley, who just could break the ride. Retherford gained control when he turned Farley and got a fast two when the latter hit a high bridge.

"I like wrestling that way," said Retherford, who had to score from neutral against Roberts.

Beitz (44-8) had an outstanding tournament, starting with his upset of former PIAA runner-up Philip Steinberg of Central Cambria, the first of three straight wins.

But Shober, who finished an exceptional career with 194 victories, the most by a Pennsylvania Class AA wrestler, was simply a wall too high to scale.

Other midstate Class AA medalists this weekend were Juniata's Zac Beitz (fifth at 125) and Dan Fultz (sixth at 285) and Milton Hershey's Cris Ramirez (eighth at 285).

Milton Hershey's Cris Ramirez pins Shamokin's Wes Tillett in their preliminary match at the PIAA Wrestling Championships.

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(CHRIS KNIGHT, The Patriot-News)

Cris Ramirez probably never saw the movie “Cool Hand Luke.”
               
But he pulled a significant piece of advice from that classic con-on-the-run film. After a disappointing PIAA Class AA Southeast Region Wrestling Tournanment last week, he decided, in the word of Strother Martin’s famous Captain, to get his mind right.

It’s right.

Ramirez (25-8) turned his fifth-place regional finish into a flurry of improvement over the last four days, all of it resulting in a stunning first-round pin of Shamokin’s Wes Tillett (34-5) in the PIAA Class AA Wrestling Championship Thursday at Giant Center.

Ramirez’s victory was one of two stunners by midstate wrestlers in a mixed bag for the locals.

The other came from Juniata senior Seth Beitz (42-7), who knocked off Central Cambria’s Phillip Steinberg, last year’s runner-up at 135 pounds, by a 6-3 score.

Six other midstate wrestlers scored first-round wins: Line Mountain’s impressive freshman Zain Retherford at 103 and Adam Kritzer at 130, Juniata’s PIAA champion Arty Walsh at 119 and PIAA runner-up Zac Beitz at 125, and Boiling Springs’ Joe Spisak at 130 and hot-as-slag Tylor Unger at 285.

But the victories by Ramirez and Seth Beitz were show-stealers for the locals.

“After regionals, we went back in the room and worked,” Ramirez said. “And not just baby practices. There was a lot of running, a lot of work.”

It wasn’t just physical work, either.

“We watched a video [of Tillett] and learned some things about him,” Ramirez said. “I was looking for his weakness, and when I found it, I went after it.”

What Ramirez found, in part because of the video that Milton Hershey assistant coach Ed Neiswender pulled of the wrestling site flowrestling.com, was that Tillett could be thrown. And that’s what Ramirez did … twice.

The first was a counter when Tillett, leading 2-1, attempted to tackle Ramirez, who went over and under and flipped Tillet for a takedown near the edge.

The second throw was much better. Ramirez walked into a low bear hug, lifted and tossed Tillett and got the pin at 3:27.

“I think maybe he thought it’d be easy since I was a No. 5 guy [from the region],” Ramirez said. “I know I thought that about Unger last week.” Unger (33-15), who pushed through a grueling 3-2 win over Wyalusing’s Pete Champluvier.

Unger, who entered the District 3-AA tournament with a 26-12 record, but has since gone 9-3 against good competition, turned in a stunning 9-2 decision over Ramirez last week.

“I learned from that,” said Ramirez, a Bronx resident who once loved theater.

Unger, for his his part, is thrilled with the new him, even if he’s not quite sure how to articulate his new-man turn of events.

“Everything’s just going well,” Unger said. “I just look at my opponent as my enemy and treat him that way.”

Boiling Springs head coach Rodney Wright was more concise about Unger’s improvement.

“He’s found a new love for the sport,” said Wright, the three-time PIAA champion from Lakeview. “Just the other day, he said ‘I can’t wait for next year.’ I told him, ‘Hey, let’s take of this year first.’ ‘’

Unger’s more famous teammate, Spisak (44-1), got in just 43 seconds of work, the time it took him to pin Bentworth’s Francis Mizia.

“I just wanted to come out physical, get the feel for it,” Spisak said. “Having only one match today is kind of anticlimactic, but that’s the way it’s set up. It’d be nice to have another.”

Seth Beitz showed he’s capable of reaching Saturday’s state finals by wrestling a smart, tough match against Steinberg. He trailed 3-2 after two periods, but was the aggressor in the third and outscored Steinberg 4-0 with a takedown and nearfall.

Beitz’s brother Zac had no problems, dumping Iroquois’ Dylan Simmer 9-2 at 125 while Walsh got enough of a fight from Blairsville’s Adam Weinell in a 9-3 decision.

Retherford was especially impressive in his 10-0 execution of Mount Union’s Ryan Wilson, who had just three losses entering the tournament, while Kritzer pulled off a mild surprise by topping North East’s Levi Morton 10-5. He gets Spisak in this morning’s quarterfinals.

Among those falling short in the opening round were Milton Hershey’s Nick Lamoreaux, who couldn’t find any openings against PIAA runner-up Evan Link of Penn Cambria in a 6-2 loss.

Annville-Cleona’s Dylan Killian fell behind Loyalsock’s Alec Eggerton 8-2, turned him with a third-period cradle, but couldn’t get the pin and lost 8-5.

Juniata’s Dylan Treaster at 152 and Dan Fultz at 285 also dropped first-round matches, Treaster to Tyler Gargano of Hickory 12-4 and Fultz to PIAA runner-up Tyler DeMott of Benton 10-2.   Williams Valley’s Ben Ancheff was pinned in overtime by Forest Hills’ Robert Oshaben.

When the Cedar Crest swim team entered last weekend’s District 3 swimming championships, the Falcons had expectations of doing well. But those expectations were tempered by the knowledge that they were facing some outstanding opposition.

On the boys side, Wilson and Cumberland Valley would be tough. For the girls, Wilson and Hershey would be the top contenders.

Cedar Crest did not beat those squads. But the Falcons got the most out of their own performances to finish third in the boys standings and sixth in the girls standings.

“For us, coming into this event, that was spectacular,” Cedar Crest head coach Beth Yocum said.

Perhaps the most spectacular performance for the Falcons was delivered by freshman Maddie Hoch. She won the gold medal in the AAA girls 500-yard freestyle in 4:57.52. She beat two-time gold medalist Claire Loht of Red Land by 1.41 seconds.

Not only did that put Hoch on top of the medal stand, but that time made her the top seed in the PIAA swimming championships. The state swimming meet will be at Bucknell University from next Wednesday through Saturday.
Yocum said that Hoch’s success in states will depend on how strong her practices are.

“As long as she feels confident in practice, she’s able to transfer that into meets,” Yocum said.

Hoch also qualified for states in the 200 freestyle, in which she placed third with a 1:50.87.

Skylar Doss will be headed to states in two individual events. She was fourth in the 200 Individual Medley with a 2:09.91 and eighth in the 100 breaststroke with a 1:07.00.

Kathleen Gast qualified in the 200 freestyle with an 11th-place 1:57.19.

Cedar Crest’s relay teams in the 200 and 400 free will move on to states as well. The 200 free team was fifth with a 1:39.65, and the 400 free team was third with a 3:36.40.

The Falcon boys did not claim any gold medals, but sent three individuals and two relay teams to states.

Allen Weik was the silver medalist in the 500 freestyle with a 4:44.38. He will also be in states in the 200 freestyle. He had a third-place 1:43.60 in that race.

Also moving on are Andrew Miller, sixth in the 100 freestyle with a 47.68, and Michael Lightner, sixth in the 100 backstroke with a 54.24.

The Falcons’ 200 free relay team was second with a 1:27.26, and the 400 free relay team was third with a 3:12.56.

Yocum said that Cedar Crest’s relays did not necessarily peak at the district meet.

"With our relays, we still have opportunities for improvement if you look at the individual splits,” Yocum said.

Two Falcon boys medaled at districts without qualifying for states. Austin Yocum was eighth in the 200 free with a 1:51.06, and Ryan Sullivan was fourth in the 100 breaststroke with a 1:05.79.

LEBANON COUNTY NOTES

- In AA boys, Palmyra had three individuals and two relays grab medals and state berths. The Cougars’ 200 medley relay was fifth with a 1:43.92, while the 400 free relay was sixth with a 3:22.69. Steve Tunitis was sixth in the 200 freestyle with a 1:49.76. Ben Annibali took seventh in the 100 backstroke with a 56.15. Michael Lacroce was eighth in the 100 butterfly with a 55.01. The Palmyra girls medaled in the 400 free relay with a sixth-place 3:46.96, but did not qualify for states.

- Having an actual swim team is not required to be successful at the district meet. Ask Annville-Cleona’s Travis and Austin Bohn, or Andrea May. Or Northern Lebanon’s Brooke Gehino. Although the Dutchmen have no official swim team, Travis Bohn took third in the AA boys 100 backstroke with a 53.80 and sixth in the 200 IM with a 2:00.83, qualifying for states in both events. Austin Bohn was eighth in the 200 IM with a 2:01.46, also qualifying for states. On the AA girls side, May had a 1:11.81 in the 100 breaststroke, good for third place and a state spot. Gehino was fourth in the 200 IM with a 2:15.82. That put her in states. She also had an eighth-place 1:02.77 in the 100 backstroke, which got her on the medal stand but was not enough to get her into states.

- Annville-Cleona’s Dylan Killian is the only Lebanon County wrestler to make it to states, after placing second in the AA Southeastern Regional last weekend. Killian, who is 35-8 this year, will face Loyalsock’s Alec Eggerton in the preliminaries. Eggerton was third in the Northeastern Regional and has a 26-5 record.

Central Dauphin's Marshall Peppelman works an arm bar on Spring Grove's Logen Wisner during their 160-pound match in the District 3 Wrestling Championships.

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(CHRIS KNIGHT, The Patriot-News)

To an outsider, it might seem easy being Central Dauphin’s Marshall Peppelman.
   
He’s in tiptop shape, chiseled out of granite. He’s a 160-pound locomotive who has run over countless opponents, leaving them bewildered and out of sorts on his way to being a two-time defending state champion.
   
Peppelman’s family is comfortable, enjoying the benefits of his father being a successful orthopedic surgeon. He will attend Cornell of the Ivy League in the fall.
   
Any of the above could be the reason Peppelman has gotten booed. Maybe all of them; who knows?
   
“It’s never fun being booed, ever,” Peppelman said. “Even though I can say that I’ve gotten thicker skinned, it gets to me at times.
   
“It hurts, especially last year when I wrestled [Bryce] Busler and beat him 7-2. I mean, he was the second-best wrestler in the state at the time, and I couldn’t understand how I could wrestle someone that many times and people not have respect for the rivalry.”
   
Peppelman (46-0) has received solid advice from Rams head coach Jeff Sweigard, who is no stranger to jeers since CD has marched to six straight state titles. Sweigard has helped his star wrestler adopt the philosophy of “I have big shoulders, and I can take this on.”
   
His mother has also helped with the quirky slogan, “Fake it until you make it,” which has given her son the strength to shrug off any cat-calls from naysayers.
   
“It bothers me to hear any of my kids booed, but especially him,” Sweigard said. “It bothers me because if they only knew the time that he puts in behind the scenes. ... I just want to look around and say ‘why?’
   
“He’s going to Cornell. He’s not a problem discipline wise. He’s probably only missed one or two practices in four years. He’s in the room every day. I can count on him. He’s a leader, and the kids look up to him.”
   
See, it’s not so easy.
   
The Peppelman file is the most impressive District 3 has ever seen. He’s earned three district titles, a state runner-up finish as a 130-pound freshman, two state titles and the District 3-AAA wins record of 177-7, which surpasses the 172 by his brother, Walter.
   
If he can win the 160-pound championship at this weekend’s PIAA Wrestling Championships, which begin Thursday at Giant Center, he will be only the second District 3 wrestler to win three state titles. South Western’s Joey Wildasin (1988-90) accomplished the feat.
   
Numbers like that don’t come through talent alone. They certainly don’t come through luck. It takes hours of hard work and determination.
   
“My freshman year, I came in at 130 and it was a big jump,” Peppelman said. “I knew I was going to wrestle a bunch of seniors, guys that were physically mature and done growing. The physicality of wrestling an 18-year-old grown man as a 15-year-old kid was the biggest thing for me.
   
“After my freshman year, when I ended up losing in the state finals, I looked at it and realized that I was the best underclassman in the bracket and that next year there was only one more step to take. We kept training because my goal was to be a state champion and win it as many times as I possibly could.”
   
There is no shortage of work ethic.
   
Peppelman works out twice a day. He is in the Central Dauphin wrestling room, one of the toughest in the state, from 3 to 5:30 p.m. Then at 6:30, he is off to the renowned Peppelman Barn, which sits on his family’s property, for another 90-minute session.
   
That doesn’t include the summer workouts, the extra running and the extra lifting needed to be the best in the state at his weight.
   
“Our family got into wrestling early and just fell in love with it,” Peppelman said. “Coach [Ken] Courts has been such a huge part, and it really started as a little slice in our basement with me, Walter, Kenny [Courts], Tony [Dallago], [Kenny] Stank and [Simon] Rice going at it.
   
“We realized that we needed a bigger spot, so we moved it a little further down on the property and built something bigger. We are fortunate that Antonio [Giorgio], Joe [Spisak] and a bunch of good guys come down. It is a good atmosphere. We all really benefit from it, and we have all become really close in the process.”
   
But not all of Peppelman’s success is because of technique. There is a certain attitude that needs to be in place. That of a winner, someone who wants no part of losing.
   
“He is a fierce competitor,” said Walter Peppelman, who wrestles at Harvard but is home this season because of an elbow injury. “There is nobody who walks out on the mat that wants to win more than him.
   
“Two practices a day and lifting, it’s hard to find someone that works that hard.”
   
It would be easy for Marshall Peppelman to hold himself in higher regard than his teammates or other wrestlers. That isn’t the case. Peppelman is a student of wrestling. He is always looking to perfect his craft and pass it along to others in the CD room.
   
“His personality is great for the team,” Sweigard said. “He doesn’t want to be treated any different than anyone else. I yell at him as much as anyone else. We have to jump on him at times to push him through those tough times, but he is very coachable.”
   
And very confident.
   
Peppelman will need that swagger to carve his way through a 160-pound bracket that features seven wrestlers with three losses or fewer.
   
“When I go out on the mat, I think about all the work and time I put into it,” Peppelman said. “It’s not my past accomplishments. I think back to all the practices, the work in the room, the work over the summer and the work these last three days.
   
“It’s only four matches, but I feel I have worked harder than everyone in that bracket, and it would mean a lot for me to finish out on top. I’ve been so blessed to have all the team state titles and all the individual titles that I really just want to end it on a positive note.”

Cris Ramirez, left, came to Milton Hershey from the Bronx, N.Y.

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(CHRIS KNIGHT, The Patriot-News)

Cris Ramirez did what few of us will ever admit to doing out loud: He willfully deceived his mother.

Living in the Bronx, N.Y., at the time -- Ramirez was 13 -- the Dominican Republic native looked around and didn't like what he saw.

"I wanted out; I wanted to get away from New York City," said Ramirez, currently a senior wrestler at the Milton Hershey. "I just didn't like the city.

"The only way I could think to get out was to go to military school," Ramirez said.

So he started researching military schools, even though he didn't necessarily have a military mien. All he knew is that it was an open door, out of the tight spaces and the constant flurry of New York living.

"One of my counselors asked me what my obsession with military school was about," Ramirez said. "I told her about how I wanted to go to college, to get out of the city to somewhere with good academics.

"She said, 'You don't need a military school,'" Ramirez remembered. "She said I needed a boarding school.

"I didn't even know what that was."

But he wanted to know, so it was back to the brochures and the Web sites. He found Milton Hershey. It had everything he needed and wanted.

"And," he said, "it was the only place where I could go for free."

Here's where Ramirez's mother, a Dominican who still does not speak fluent English, comes in, albeit in the background.

Ramirez set about doing all of the legwork: downloading forms, navigating the path that would lead him to Hershey. There was just one problem: His mother needed to sign the forms.

"She didn't know what she was signing," Ramirez said. "I'd give her a paper and tell her it was something for [the local public] school. She got quite a surprise when I told her I was going to Milton Hershey School."

Several discussions later, Mom was on board. And Ramirez was boarded.

This week, Ramirez (24-8) will join nine other midstate wrestlers, including Milton Hershey classmate Nick Lamoreaux (31-3 at 112), in their quest to win medals -- and possibly a state championship -- at the PIAA Class AA Wrestling Championships at Hershey's Giant Center.

Wrestling begins at 9 a.m. Thursday with the preliminary round. It continues Friday at 8 a.m. with quarterfinals and 6:30 p.m. with semifinals. The championships will be broadcast live statewide on PCN at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.

Most of the midstate focus will be on Juniata 119-pounder Arty Walsh (43-0), last year's PIAA Class AA champion at 112 who transferred from Wyomissing over the summer, and three-time medalist and one-time runner-up Joe Spisak (43-1) of Boiling Springs at 130.

Walsh is one of five Juniata wrestlers in the AA field, enough for an outside run at a team championship, especially if sophomore Zac Beitz (46-2 at 119) can return to the finals (he lost to Walsh in the 112-AA title match)

But given Juniata's draws -- even Walsh has a mega-semifinal showdown in the making with Reynolds star Mason Beckman (45-0) -- the hill is tall and steep. Seth Beitz (41-7) at 140, Dylan Treaster (37-10) at 160 and Dan Fultz (46-4) at 285 also qualified for Juniata.

Spisak, a University of Virginia recruit, has to be considered one of the favorites at 130. But so is Tyrone junior Ronnie Garbinsky (38-0); they are in the same semifinal bracket.

Other midstate wrestlers in the field are Annville-Cleona's Dylan Killian (35-8) at 140 and Boiling Springs' Tylor Unger (32-15), last week's surprise runner-up in the Southeast Region tournament at 285.

But the Milton Hershey wrestlers have followed the most twisted and interesting paths. Lamoreaux, from Bethesda, Md., didn't have to fool family to reach the Hershey school, but like Ramirez, he had no idea what scholastic wrestling was until he came to Hershey as a freshman.

"I thought it was like [pro wrestling on TV]," Lamoreaux said.

Said Ramirez, "I thought it was hitting someone with a chair."

Both were guided into wrestling by Jimmy Taylor, Milton Hershey's freshman football and wrestling coach. And, despite the lack of flying chairs, both took to it, especially Lamoreaux.

"I fell in love with it," Lamoreaux said. "I was a little disappointed after my freshman year after the season ended because it was over, but I went to a lot of summer camps and clinics. I couldn't get enough of it."

Ramirez and Lamoreaux have talent off the mat. Ramirez is into theater ("I drive two departments nuts," he said); Lamoreaux is a graphic artist who developed the logo for Milton Hershey head coach Chris Cassel's soon-to-open winery.

"I asked Nick if he wanted a project, and he said sure," Cassel said. "I told him what I was looking for, and about 20 e-mails later, he'd designed exactly what I was looking for."

Boxing champion James Toney (72-6-3 Boxing, 0-0 MMA) already has a trainer to shepherd him into the world of mixed martial arts.

Juanito Ibarra, a 30-year veteran of boxing and MMA who once trained
champions Oscar De La Hoya and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, is training
Toney in his Southern California MMA gym.

Ibarra told MMAjunkie.com on Wednesday that he's
been working with Toney for the past month and will act as head coach
for Toney's first MMA fight.

Do not abandon hope, Lebanon Catholic fans.

The Beavers’ chance at a District 3-A boys basketball title disappeared when they lost to Greenwood 48-33 in the semifinals on Monday night. But a team does not need to be a district champion, or even a finalist, to have a run in the state tournament.

Lebanon Catholic’s own history proves it.

Since head coach Scott Clentimack took the reigns of the program in 1998, the Beavers have entered the PIAA Class A playoffs four times as the third, fourth or fifth seeded team out of District 3. The Beavers’ record in those four state appearances is 6-4. Their only first-round defeat was in 2003, and that was in overtime.

Clentimack’s club cannot quite focus on states yet. They have a third-place contest with Millersburg at 6:30 p.m. tonight at East Pennsboro High School. The result will affect seeding in the state tournament only, as both teams know their seasons will continue into the following week.

But Clentimack sees the game as a starting point for preparing for states.

“You want to get some kind of momentum,” Clentimack said. “You feel better about the next game. The other thing is getting that bad taste out of our mouth [from losing to Greenwood]. We’re not going to go out there to go through the motions. And third looks better than fourth any day.”

The difference between third and fourth place is not a matter of pride only. The fourth-place team will have to face the District 12 runner-up in a play-in game for the right to meet the District 1 champion in the Round of 32. The third-place team avoids the play-in round and will face the District 6 champion next Friday.

Getting a good spot in the bracket can be important. It may have helped Lebanon Catholic in the district tourney. The Beavers were the No. 6 seed, which matched them up with No. 3 New Hope Academy in the quarterfinals. The Mighty Ants were 17-2 when they met the Beavers, but had little big-game experience. Lebanon Catholic won 74-61, clinching a state spot.

“I think we got a good draw being No. 6,” Clentimack said. “You have to be good, but you also have to be a little lucky.”

The “good” part of that equation has been the balanced scoring for the Beavers. They had five double-digit scorers against New Hope. Only two of them, Zach Arnold with 14 points and Nick Fortna with 11, were starters. Reserves Darius Zook (13), Michael Wolfe (11) and Timmy Orr (11) also were key contributors.

But the lack of one go-to shooter can backfire on the Beavers as well. No one scored double-digits in the 48-33 loss to Greenwood.

In addition to the times Lebanon Catholic made states as a District 3 also-ran, the Beavers have won three district titles since 2000. Those teams won at least two games each. The 2005 squad won three games before dropping the state semifinals to Bishop O’Reilly.

LEBANON COUNTY

- When the Lebanon Catholic girls lost to Camp Hill in the 3-A quarterfinals on Saturday, head coach Patti Hower was left heading into the offseason with 599 career wins. The 44-42 loss to the Lions on a basket with two seconds left was the fourth time in Hower’s career that her Beavers had their season end on a bucket at or just before the buzzer. The others were in the 1993 state second round (49-48 to Forest City), the 1994 state semis (54-52 to Lourdes Regional) and the 2008 state second round (43-42 to Bishop Guilfoyle).

- The top scorers in Lebanon County are now done with their seasons, so Annville-Cleona’s Trey Blanding and Cedar Crest’s Meghan Phillips take those titles. Blanding had 16.0 points per game, while Phillips finished with 20.3 per contest.

- Dylan Killian was closer than any other Lebanon County wrestler to winning a district championship last weekend. The Annville-Cleona junior won by tech fall in the AA-140 quarterfinals and edged Elisha Gaylor of Wyomissing 5-4 in the semifinals. But then Killian ran into Colin Shober of Schuylkill Valley, who now has a 46-0 record after beating Killian 20-5 for the gold. Killian, who is 33-7, is still in the mix at the South Central Regional Tournament, receiving a bye into the quarterfinals.

- Two other Dutchmen are still grappling in the regionals. Junior 112-pounder Tony Yohe will meet up with Dylan Long of Northern Lehigh in the Round of 16. Another junior, 125-pounder Chris Shifflet, will face off with Justin Mazza in the opening round. Yohe is 32-9 after finishing fourth in the District 3 tournament, and Shifflet is 36-7 after placing fifth last weekend.

Every team needs a front man, someone who carries the torch.

When the East Pennsboro wrestling team was forced into Class AAA competition --- a mere eight kids over the Class AA limit --- to face heavy hitters from the likes of Central Dauphin and Cumberland Valley, head coach Todd Klucker knew he needed someone to jumpstart this program and put it on the map.

The Panthers found there man in Zachary Nye.

This 215-pound thumper embraced the role. He improved his skills enough in two seasons to not only compete against the best, but beat the best. No longer is Nye an unknown; he is a champion.

Nye was tenacious in securing a hard-fought and entertaining 7-1 decision over Cumberland Valley’s Travis Friend to earn the 215-pound gold in the District 3-AAA Championships, giving the Panthers their first district champion in only two seasons fighting against the big boys.

“This is awesome,” Klucker said. “There are a lot of good guys that have supported our team, but he is the face of the program.

“He knows how to win. He is a tough kid and incredibly smart. He gets great grades and is the nicest kid you want to be around. I don’t think there is a mean bone in his body.”

After beating Central Dauphin’s Kyle Wolfe last week at sectionals, Nye had the confidence to go with his aggressiveness. He never backed off in this tournament as evidenced by his three falls before he reached the finals.

Once there, you could sense that he was going to continue to apply the pressure to Friend..

Nye had a takedown in the first and another in the second to go along with an escape for a 5-0 lead. After Friend escaped to start the third, the Panthers junior went into lockdown mode and didn’t allow another point.

For good measure, he shot late and scored another takedown just before the buzzer as the East Pennsboro faithful erupted in Hersheypark Arena stands.

“Central Dauphin and Cumberland Valley are such good wrestling schools,” said Nye, who is East Pennsboro’s 15th district champion overall. “They really made me work so much harder.

“My first couple matches, I was more off and not as aggressive. I was definitely not trying to lose. But knowing he [Friend] was aggressive, I had to stay aggressive. I was definitely more prepared for that match.”

It showed.

And with it, Nye pushed his record to 35-0, should have a good slot at states and has achieved instant stardom in the halls of East Pennsboro.

“I hoped I would win districts, but I didn’t expect it,” said Nye, who has 98 career wins. “My goal this year was to win districts, place at states and reach 100 wins.”

One down, two to go.

Susquehanna Twp.’s Averee Robinson also reached his goal of proving that Susquehanna Twp. Wrestlers can compete at a high level.

Robinson capped Mid-Penn dominance at the top of the podium --- the conference had eight gold medals in 14 weight classes --- by slipping by Conestoga Valley’s Cole Dillman 2-1 in three overtimes at 285.

“I’m proud to represent the school,” Robinson, a sophomore said. “Daniel King also had a good showing, and we showed that Susquehanna Twp. has good wrestling.”

You will get no argument from a battered Dillman, who gave up an escape in the second overtime period and couldn’t get out of Robinson’s clutches in the third.

“My goal was to come and be a district champ,” said Robinson, who was pinned in last year’s final by Keith Dahlheimer. “I’m so happy about this. Now I want to get on the podium at states.”

Carlisle’s Jayshon Wilson moved up to 152 for the postseason and walked out with a second-straight district championship.

Wilson dominated the second period against Mechanicsburg’s Zach Thomson, racking up nine points on his way to a 13-7 decision.

“I didn’t feel I could cut weight and be comfortable,” said Wilson, who wrestled at 145, 152 and 160 this season. “I’m happy with my conditioning. It’s a lot better than last year.

“It feels good to win my second district title. No one at the school has ever done it.”

Big Spring’s Dereck Enders won the 112-pound title in an 8-3 decision over Cumberland Valley’s Jon Brigham.

“Wrestling 119 this year helped a lot,” Enders said. “It helped me get ready for the lighter kids. Plus, it is always helps getting your butt kicked a few times.”

State kingpin Central Dauphin got a pair of championships from Marshall Peppelman (160) and Kenny Courts (171), who outlasted Cumberland Valley’s Tristan Warner 4-2 in overtime after hitting a takedown 32 seconds in.

But it wasn’t a good day for the Rams, who won the team title but only advanced four wrestlers to states.

“It was a frustrating day,” CD coach Jeff Sweigard said. “It was kind of like getting your teeth kicked in.

"I think we wrestled tired today. But we got four kids to states and won the team title. That isn’t bad, and we didn’t even wrestle great. We have to take a positive out of this and learn from it.”

Call it a rookie mistake.

We couldn’t help getting caught up in the Class AA wrestling scene entering this year’s District 3-AA Wrestling Championships at Hersheypark Arena.

Guess that’s what happens when you have Juniata’s Arty Walsh (119), Nick Hodgkins (135) and Colin Shober (140), all state champions, in the field. We also couldn’t avoid being enamored with a couple of loaded weight classes, specifically 130, 171 and 189.

But after scouring the bracket and seeing the first round and quarterfinals, which was completed in 150 minutes, we realized that there is no longer a reason to have sectional tournaments in Class AA.

Sure, there are hammers in this class, but the depth is lacking.

Big time.

Out of 56 first round matches, 39 were decided by major decision, tech fall or pin. That’s 69 percent of the matches providing bonus points. Out of those matches, 27 bouts finished off by fall.

It didn’t get any more competitive in the quarterfinal round. It’s not that there weren’t a few quality matches, but 37 of 56 bouts consisted of bonus points, with 21 coming via a pin.

In eight matches at 189 alone, there were seven pins, three of which ended in less than a minute, and a tech fall. There were 29 falls of two minutes or less throughout Friday’s championship and consolation matches in Class AA.

“A lot of the guys feel the postseason is big for their guys that don’t have a great record,” Boiling Springs head coach Rod Wright said. “If they make it out of sectionals, that is big for them.”

Fact is, excellence shouldn’t be given out. It should be earned. And under the current system, it is a free lunch.

There were 24 Class AA wrestlers entering districts with a .500 record. Get rid of sectionals and go to a two-day, blowout event for districts and seed the top wrestlers based on a power-rating system that is based on strength of schedule, wins and losses and tournament championships.

Would going to one weekend eliminate so many miss-matches, No. But it would eliminate the “pat on the back” mentality that seems to be developing in wrestling. It would also advance the best guys from districts to regionals and give them a good shot at states.

This tournament should be seeded and elite. The best-of-the-best in the district are supposed to meet in Saturday’s final. That isn’t happening right now in Class AA. Not at this level.

There have been rumblings --- or displeasure --- from a smattering of coaches with the slotting process and how two of the best wrestlers at a weight end up on the same side of the bracket.

For instance, at 112, Biglerville’s Trevor Hernandez (30-3) and Schuylkill Valley’s Nate Giorgio (39-3) will meet at 9 a.m. today in the semifinals. That should be the championship match.

District 3 Wrestling chairman Gerry Schwille took a straw vote at the coaches meeting and by a quick eye-ball count, most of the coaches were in favor of leaving things as is instead of going to a district only, two-day format.

“I don’t really care what they do,” Wright said. “But if they go to one tournament, they should seed it. That way, you get the best guys away from each other.

“If you keep it the same as it is, it should be seeded. Why can’t you seed the sectional champs? I don’t want to here that argument that you still get to regionals, because coming out of here as a No. 3 you could hit a hammer.”

Well said.

The District 3 brass is planning to send out a ballot to all the school principal’s, athletic director’s and coaches in an effort to come up with the best solution to this issue.

And majority will likely rule.

“We are going to put together a committee that will be made up of the executive director’s and wrestling chairs from each conference,” Schwille said. “We are going to ask everyone how they feel about it.”

The answer is simple: With only 30 Class AA teams in the district, this tournament should be contested over a two-day weekend. No sectionals needed.

Not everyone can wrestle. It isn’t all inclusive, so you shouldn’t draw it out for the sake of mediocrity.

That isn’t what this sport’s about.

Bo Candelaria is quiet and unassuming. His smile is polite and courteous.

But inside the wrestling circle, this fierce 145-pounder is different. That flashy smile is replaced by an intense focus and determination. His refined skills and strength are feared by his opponents.

Candelaria is the pride of the Middletown High School wrestling program. Not just for being the best chance the Blue Raiders have to capture a title at this weekend’s District 3-AAA Wrestling Championships at Hersheypark Arena, but also because of how far he has come as a person.

There was a time when that grin wasn’t as wide as it is these days. In fact, two years ago, it was non-existent.

Candelaria, now a senior, wasn’t always a member of the Blue Raiders wrestling team. He started his high school career at Muhlenberg and during his sophomore campaign, he lost only once in the regular season and was a sectional champion before finishing fourth at districts.

Life couldn’t have been better.

But wrestling quickly took a back seat when his parents, Bione and Maria had a messy separation and Candelaria moved with his mother to the Middletown School District when he was 16. Everything he knew was left back in Berks County.

“It was tough,” Candelaria said. “I had grade problems and there were court hearings. There was pressure between both parents, always talking about their relationship. I just tried to walk away.”

Anytime a situation like this arises, it is the kid that suffers. No matter how much he or she wants to disappear and just enjoy being a child, they are forced to deal with adult situations and make adult decisions.

Candelaria was no different. He was being pulled in two different directions, and he struggled at times dealing with his parents problems and his performance in the classroom suffered.

Luckily, he found a safe haven in the Blue Raiders wrestling room.

“There were a lot of days I didn’t even want to leave practice,” Candelaria said. “I just wanted to stay in the room, whether it was wrestling or just sitting on the mat.

“There were even times I would leave to go to school early just to get out of the house and be with friends.”

Middletown and the sport of wrestling saved Candelaria.

“It was a new school and a new environment,’ he said. “I was brought in pretty well. It was nice to make new friends.

“The wrestling team here is tough, which is a bonus. I came in and tried to keep my head on straight, kept my head on straight and I’m still trying to move forward.”

Thanks to head coach Mike Nauman, friends and family, Candelaria was put on the right track.

Nauman took his new talent under his wing and helped mold his skills. But the real challenge was keeping Candelaria’s mind on his schoolwork and improving his grades.

“As far as potential to be a state champion, we knew he had that from the get-go,” Nauman said. “As far as grades, we knew we had work to do.

“I guess I get too attached to these kids, but my job as a coach is to make sure these kids show up at school. If they don’t, I knock on their door. Whatever I can do for a kid, I will do.”

Candelaria responded with 61 wins to 10 losses in a Blue Raiders singlet so far. He has captured two sectional titles and finished second to Cumberland Valley’s Joey Napoli a year ago at districts.

More important, Candelaria has developed into a good student. He is just short of the honor roll and is looking to wrestle at a Division I program.

“Coach Mike was a big figure,” Candelaria said. “He was more like a leader and guardian to me. He watched over me and made sure I was doing everything right and keeping away from bad people.

“I owe a lot to him, both on and off the mat. He is a superstar to me. Right next to my father, I look up to him. He is one of the people who has led me in the right direction.”

Which could be at the top of the 145-pound podium when the district tournament comes to a close Saturday night.

“I put a lot of effort and discipline into this year,” Candelaria said. “I have a responsibility to this team, and I’m pushing myself.

“A district title would mean a lot to me but not as much as a state title, which is what I’m going for now.”

No question, life has thrown a few hard balls in Candelaria’s direction and yet, he has managed to swat them away one-by-one.

He’s done it with plenty of help from practice partner Michael Simmons, teammate Shane Miller, his coaches and the tough competition in the Mid-Penn Conference.

Candelaria‘s succeeded where many would have taken a different path and failed.

“He has always been a polite, good person,” Nauman said. “It’s a pleasure to be around him. I‘m real proud of him.”