Dallas 145-pounder Lucas Tirpak and Pittston Area 215-pounder Brody Spindler each used dramatic finishes against Southern Lehigh opponents in the consolation semifinals to clinch their spots in the PIAA Individual Wrestling Championships, which open Thursday at the Giant Center in Hershey.
The Northeast Regional Class 3A consolation semifinal victories at Bethlehem Liberty High School Saturday clinched a top-four finish in a tournament where the top four in each weight class proceed to the state tournament.
Both Tirpak and Spindler lost their consolation finals to take fourth.
Tirpak defeated Brook Frable, 4-2, on a takedown with 10 seconds left to secure his spot in Hershey. He scored the bout’s first points on a reversal 31 seconds into the second period, but Frable came back to tie with two escapes.
Spindler trailed Ryan King into the final 30 seconds.
A reversal tied the match, but Spindler kept going and pinned King seconds later, finishing the bout in 4:39.
Tirpak began Saturday in the consolation bracket and had a stressful day. He won three straight two-point decisions to extend his season, then dropped a 3-0 decision in the consolation final.
Spindler started the day as one of two Class 3A semifinalists from the WVC. He lost 12-4 to Brandon Stiehler from Pocono Mountain West.
Stiehler pulled away after leading just 3-2 at the end of the first period and 6-4 going into the third.
Spindler lost 5-2 to Kurtis Crossman from Easton in the consolation final.
Hazleton Area’s Robbie Anderson, the other WVC semifinalist, wound up fifth at 189, making him the alternate if one of the four qualifiers is unable to compete in Hershey.
Dominic Innamorati added a fifth-place finish for Pittston Area at 145 by going 3-1 on the final day and 4-2 for the tournament.
Pittston Area led all WVC teams by placing 13th with 33 points.
The top six in each weight class earned medals.
Dallas 114-pounder Sidney O’Donnell, Wyoming Valley West 127-pounder Louden Giza and 133-pounder Caleb Hoffman and Crestwood 285-pounder Kyle Draina all went 2-2 Saturday and 3-3 for the weekend to place sixth.
Pittston Area’s Oscar Ciriaco (107), Crestwood’s Sam Jeckell (121), Wilkes-Barre Area’s Liam Evanko, Hazleton Area’s Mason Marolo (172) and Dallas’ Dan Sabaluski (215) all won one consolation bout Saturday before being eliminated.
Lackawanna League member Abington Heights accounted for both titles from District 2.
Brian Heard and Caleb Marzolino won at 172 and 215. Austin Smith was third at 152 and Mason Whitney was fourth at 121, making it to Hershey while helping Abington Heights finish fourth in the team standings with 101 points.
Bethlehem Catholic beat out Nazareth for the team title 184.5-168.5.
West Scranton was fifth with Michael Turi reaching the 139-pound final and two other teammates, Tyson Cook and Connor Lagier, advancing to Hershey.
Wallenpaupack 160-pounder Gunnar Myers also made the final. Teammate Xaiden Schock was fourth at 189.
Dom Moyer from Delaware Valley was third at 133.
CLASS 2A
Hanover Area junior Derek Warman landed the Wyoming Valley Conference’s only Class 2A spot at the PIAA Individual Wrestling Championships by finishing fourth at 114 pounds when the Northeast Regional concluded Saturday in Williamsport.
Warman, a District 2 champion, heads to Hershey Thursday with a 22-12 record.
After winning a quarterfinal bout Friday, Warman started Saturday in the semifinals.
Canton’s Lyle Vemilya stopped Warman’s title pursuit with an 8-0 decision.
Warman then posted a major decision over eventual fifth-place finisher Carmen Malt from Berwick 10-0.
Mason Vanderpool from Athens pinned Warman in 1:38 for third place.
Berwick led all WVC teams, finishing in a fifth-place tie with 58 points, even though it was unable to advance a wrestler to Hershey.
Montoursville won the team title 124-115 over Montgomery.
Kyle Winter (127) and Liam Carroll (215) were also fifth for Berwick, making them alternates in the event one of the four qualifiers is unable to compete in Hershey.
The Bulldogs also got sixth-place finishes from Sawyer Keller (133), Tyler Winter (139) and Jacob Guerriero (152).
Wyoming Area placed Nate Obrzut fifth at 285 and Connor Novakowski sixth at 121.
Tyler Daniels from Tunkhannock was sixth at 107.
District 4 accounted for the top four teams and 11 of the top 12 as well as all 26 finalists and 11 of the 13 third-place finishers.
Blue Ridge’s Jackson Maby and Honesdale’s Joey Giannetti led District 2 individuals with third-place finishes at 133 and 171.
The other state qualifiers from District 2 were fourth-place finishers Matthew Almedina from Mid Valley at 139, Tyler Barletta from Western Wayne at 152, Mason Avery from Honesdale at 160 and Louis Paris from Scranton Prep at 215.
GIRLS
Wyoming Valley West’s Isabell Seip and Lake-Lehman’s Alahna Morris pinned their way into the Central Region finals, leading a group of six Wyoming Valley Conference wrestlers and 15 total from District 2 who advanced to the first PIAA-sanctioned girls state championships.
Seip, at 118 pounds, and Morris, at 148, each finished second in the tournament, which was conducted Saturday at Milton High School.
Seeded seventh in a 12-wrestler bracket, Seip needed three wins to get to the finals.
Seip made it by pinning three straight opponents. She was shutting out each before finishing her bouts in 18 seconds, 2:47 and 2:17.
Morris had a preliminary round bye, then posted pins in 1:33 and 2:40.
Honesdale’s Saige Olver pinned Seip in the second period of the championship match.
Marissa Rumsey from champion Williamsport pinned Morris in 3:02 of the final.
Nanticoke’s Sierra Ripka was third at 170, losing only on a pin with four seconds left in a bout that she led until giving up the tying takedown seconds earlier in the semifinal against Central Mountain’s Kendall Wagner.
Ripka had three pins in 1:27 or less, including in 1:16 of the consolation final with Abigail Wagner from Athens.
Crestwood’s Rachel Shoemaker (118), Hazleton Area’s Miah Molinaro (130) and Wyoming Valley West’s Brooke Long (148),
Shoemaker pinned two opponents, but also lost twice, including to Seip in the semifinals.
Molinaro had two pins, including one when she was locked in a one-point battle in the semifinals.
Long worked her way back from a preliminary round defeat with three straight consolation bracket wins.
Hanover Area had the highest finish for a WVC team in 15th place with 38 points, but did not advance a wrestler.
The Hawkeyes got fifth-place finishes from Santina Saraka and Kaidence Ankner at 106 and 124.
Berwick’s Kaley Palmer was fifth at 155.
Jaidyn Mikulak won at 235, giving Honesdale both champions that came from District 2.
Delaware Valley used three fourth-place finishers to help compile 88 points and finish second, 4½ behind Williamsport.
The state championships will be held, along with the boys tournament, at the Giant Center in Hershey, beginning Thursday.
