Wyoming Area’s Jaden Pepe continued his impressive freshman season Friday night by following up his District 2 Class 2A championship with a win in his opening match at the Class 2A Northeast Regional in Williamsport.
The 106-pounder improved to 43-1 with a 7-4 decision over South Williamsport’s Robert Gardner to reach the regional semifinals, which were scheduled for Saturday.
Pepe was the only one of five Wyoming Area wrestlers to get a win in the first round of the regional tournament. His only loss of the season came 1-0 in January to Meadowbrook Christian’s Cade Wirnsberger, who he has also beaten, 4-1.
Class 2A Northeast Regional
Connor Wrobleski, the team’s other district champion, was the only Wyoming Area wrestler to go the distance while losing Friday night.
Wrobleski dropped a 5-0 decision to Muncy’s Ethan Gush at 170 pounds.
The four quarterfinal losers all dropped into the consolation brackets where they still had a chance to work their way back to a top-four finish that would mean a spot in the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association state tournament in Hershey.
By winning Friday, Pepe put himself in position where he just had to win either of his first two bouts Saturday to make it to Hershey.
Kyle Emsley lost by technical fall at 132. Garret Pocceschi and Ethan Speece lost on first-period pins at 113 and 285.
Class 3A Northeast Regional
Pittston Area freshman James Spindler won his first bout in Bethlehem Friday before losing in the quarterfinals to fall into Saturday’s consolation rounds.
Spindler opened with an 11-2 decision over Father Judge’s Thomas Palinkas at 145 pounds.
Northampton’s Jagger Conodomitti then pinned Spindler (34-12) in 5:11 of their quarterfinal.
District 2 Class 2A
Wyoming Area used two champions and two third-place finishers to come in fourth out of 11 teams when the District 2 championships, a two-day event, wrapped up Feb. 22.
Lackawanna Trail beat out Tunkhannock, 263½-221. Wyoming Area had 118 points, 22 behind third-place Western Wayne while edging fifth-place Lake-Lehman by three and sixth-place Hanover Area by 4½.
Pepe reached the final with an 8-1 decision over Lackawanna Trail’s Max Bluhm, then defeated defending champion Owen Woods from Tunkhannock, 3-2.
The closet win for Pepe during the regular season was a two-point win over Woods.
Wrobleski pinned Mason Zajac of Lackawanna Trail in 1:19 of the semifinals and dominated his championship match, posting a 14-0, major decision over Jordan Williams from Blue Ridge.
Emsley was Wyoming Area’s other district semifinalist.
After losing, 16-6, to Scranton Prep’s Antonio D’Apollonio, Emsley came back to finish third with a major decision, then a pin of Hanover Area’s Nate Ayala.
Pocceschi also finished third, using two pins and a decision to make it through three consolation bracket bouts on the final day.
Speece was fourth.
Vincenzo Giambra placed fifth at 152 and Rocco Pizano was sixth at 138.
District 2 Class 3A
Pittston Area finished 12th out of 16 teams at the District 2 tournament Feb. 21-22.
The Patriots scored 66 team points.
Delaware Valley outscored Hazleton Area, 252½-215½, for the top spot in the team standings.
Spindler split a pair of 3-2 decisions to begin his action Feb. 22, losing to Wilkes-Barre Area’s Jamie Pahler in the semifinals, then beating West Scranton’s Randy Bonitz in the consolation semifinals.
Spindler decisioned Delaware Valley’s Jay Shauger, 5-2, for third place.
A.J. Gorto had also reached the semifinals for the Patriots and wound up placing fifth at 160 pounds.
After two straight losses, Gorto pinned West Scranton’s John Fuller in 2:09 in the fifth-place match at 160.
John Symons was fifth at 195 after pinning Zach Wilken from Honesdale with 11 seconds remaining in his last bout.
