Wyoming Seminary’s Tyler Vince and Scranton Prep’s Ivan Balavage claimed titles by winning the two closest bouts of the final round Friday at the Tunkhannock Kiwanis Wrestling Tournament.
Vince, a former Wyoming Area wrestler, went overtime to pull out a 13-11 victory over Blue Ridge’s Fred Lewis at 120 pounds.
Balavage, a junior from Avoca, used a takedown at the final buzzer to defeat Tunkhannock’s Sam Rice, 8-7.
Wyoming Area finished tied for 14th out of 26 teams at the tournament with 68 1/2 points with the help of a pair of third-place finishes by Adam Buczynski and Damon Barhight.
Wyalusing beat out Wyoming Seminary’s B team, 222 1/2-188 1/2, for the team title.
Balavage led Scranton Prep to a 10th-place finish with 94 points.
Buczynski and Barhight each made it through Thursday’s action unbeaten.
They lost semifinal matches early Friday, but bounced back with two straight wins to finish third.
Buczynski pinned Kutztown’s Logan Bachman in 1:52 of the consolation final at 182 pounds. He had been pinned by Hanover Area’s J.J. Hooper in 59 seconds of the semifinals for his only loss of the tournament.
Barhight took third by beating Northeast Bradford’s Owen Maryott, 2-0, at 285 pounds. He had been knocked out of title contention when Hanover Area’s Nick Hannon pinned him in 2:36 of the semifinals.
Following their semifinal losses. Buczynski came back with a technical fall victory while Barhight posted the first of two straight shutouts.
Buczynski and Barhight were the only two Warriors to go unbeaten Thursday.
They took different routes into the semifinals. Buczynski pinned Tunkhannock’s Jeremy Stephens in 5:14 of the quarterfinals Thursday while Barhight advanced with a 5-3 decision in his first of two meetings with Maryott.
Wyoming Area was at its best in the upper weights.
Justin Joseph worked his way back through the consolation brackets to take fifth place at 195 pounds, beating Valley View’s Connor Judge, 9-7, in the last match. He went 2-1 Saturday, splitting a pair of one-point decisions and winning the two-pointer.
Buckskin Classic
Pittston Area did not place a single wrestler in the top eight in a weight class when it finished last in the 26-team field of the Buckskin Classic at Conestoga Valley High School Thursday and Friday.
The Patriots scored 25 points, three behind Manheim Township.
Exeter won the team title over Central Mountain, 200 1/2-195.
Ryan Lombardo turned in the top effort for Pittston Area. He began the tournament with a technical fall and pin and missed out on a top-eight finish at 126 when he lost 1-0 to Chris Matthews from team champion Exeter.
Brandon Lopez (106) and Tony DeMark (138) each had pins in the winners’ bracket. Jason DeBoard began with a technical fall at 170 before being knocked out of the tournament on an injury. Nick Lynch picked up a win by a one-point decision in the 220-pound consolation bracket.
The week ahead
Both Wyoming Area and Pittston Area are back in tournament action next weekend. They compete in the Wyoming Valley Conference Tournament Friday and Saturday at Lake-Lehman.
Prior to that, Pittston Area is at Scranton for a non-league match Wednesday.
