DISTRICT 4 WRESTLING: ATHENS ADVANCES THREE TO SEMIFINALS AT CLASS AA CHAMPIONSHIPS (24 PHOTOS) (2020-02-21)
By TIM BIRNEYValley Sports ReportW'PORT "” Athens suffered through a rough start to the evening, but three of its four wrestlers in the quarterfinals Friday night advanced to the Saturday's semifinals here at the District 4, Class AA Championships at Williamsport High School.
Sophomore Gavin Bradley and senior Alex West, who both received byes in the opening round, won their only match of the night to advance to the semifinals, while senior Keegan Braund registered a pair of falls to move into the semis.
Wildcat wrestlers went 2-5 in the opening round, with sophomore Kaden Setzer, and Braund recording pinfall wins.
"It was a really rough start," said Athens coach Shawn Bradley. "I was hoping for a little better effort the first round.
"It's hard to put a positive spin on that - we went 2-5, and we lost four of those by fall," he noted.
"Hopefully, those kids bounce back tomorrow. They all have the same opportunity to get out of here tomorrow," added Bradley.
Gavin Bradley, a returning state place-winner who is the top seed at 113 this weekend, needed just 51 seconds to flatten ninth-seed Brady Feese of Southern Columbia.
Bradley scored a quick single-leg takedown, then put Feese in a body scissors and turned him with a power-half for the fall.
"I don't like it when Gavin gets legs in on me," laughed Shawn Bradley. "He's a strong kid.
"Right now, he's wrestling well," noted Bradley. "That's a tough bracket - all three of those other kids are ranked in the State, too.
"He's going to have a tough road tomorrow, but if he wrestles there's no reason he can't win," he added.
Bradley, now 32-1, will square off with fourth-seeded Midd-West freshman Conner Heckman (33-4) in one semi-final match-up, while second-seeded Muncy freshman Scott Johnson (37-1) faces third-seed Lewisburg sophomore Kaiden Wagner (28-3) in the other semi.
West, the third seed at 182, scored three takedowns in an 8-5 win over sixth-seeded Mike Cook of Danville in the quarterfinals.
Braund, the fifth seed at 285, needed only 35 seconds to flatten Hunter Minnig of Mount Carmel in the opening round, then pinned fourth-seed Alexx Eveland of Central Columbia in 3:43 in the quarterfinals.
"I'm very happy for Alex (West) and Keegan (Braund) - both seniors," said Bradley. "They've both come a long, long way. They've haven't been wrestling all that long, and they're both peaking at the right time.
"I'm hoping both those kids can find a way to win one more match tomorrow to place in the top five, and get to Regionals.
"They both wrestled well today, and hopefully they get it done tomorrow," added Bradley.
In the quarterfinals, Braund and Eveland spent a scoreless first period on their feet. Braund rode top for more than a minute in the second period, then caught Eveland in a headlock in the midst of a scramble for the pin.
"He just stayed in good position, which is what we've been preaching to Keegan for four years now," Bradley said.
Bradley noted West stuck to his game plan in his win in the quarterfinals.
"The key for Alex was staying in good position, and knowing what positions he's good at. He did a very good job of putting the kid where he wanted to be.
"Alex's style is a little bit different than the rest of the kids," said Bradley. "He doesn't have a ton of leg attacks, but he has a very good front headlock, and his drags are very good.
"He just focused on where he's good, and that's the key," he added.
West (28-8) will face second-seeded Dylan Bennett (31-0) of Montoursville in the semifinals, while Braund (27-10) will square off with top-seeded Lear Quinton (32-7) of Southern Columbia.
The opening round began with freshman Jake Courtney, the eighth seed at 106, dropping an 8-6 decision to ninth-seed Blake Sassaman of Danville.
Courtney scored the initial takedown of the match, but Sassaman scored a reversal with 15 seconds remaining in the first period to tie the bout at 2-2.
Courtney scored another takedown in the second period, but Sassaman tied the bout with a reversal at the buzzer.
After being cut loose to start the third period, Sassaman scored a takedown for a 7-4 lead. Courtney recorded a reversal with 37 seconds remaining, and cut Sassaman loose again, but could not get a takedown to force overtime.
"You can't give up reversals at the end of periods," said Bradley. "He gave up reversals in the last 15 seconds of the first and second periods - that's not going to win you many matches.
"He's better than that. He just has to get more consistent.
"He's put himself in a tougher position, but he was going to have to beat one of those studs to get out anyway, so now he'll just have to do it tomorrow," noted Bradley.
"He has a tough kid right off the bat, and it only gets more difficult from there," added Bradley.
Courtney will face second-seeded Isaac Landis of Canton, who dropped a 10-1 major decision to seventh-seeded Ethan Kolb of Benton in the quarterfinals.
Setzer, the eighth seed at 120 pounds, scored a fall over ninth-seeded Blake Snyder of Montgomery in 1:21 in the opening round, but lost via fall in the quarterfinals in 43 seconds to top-seeded Kole Biscoe of Southern Columbia, who finished second at States last year.
Setzer will face 10th-seeded Chase Crawley of Muncy in the opening round of wrestlebacks Saturday.
Freshman Aiden Garcia, the ninth seed at 126 pounds, lost via fall in 3:27 to eighth-seeded Aidan Steininger of Midd-West in the opening round.
He will face 10th-seeded Patriot June of North Penn-Liberty in wrestlebacks Saturday.
Sophomore Karter Rude, the 11th seed at 145 pounds, scored the initial takedown of the bout, but sixth-seeded Bryce Carl of Line Mountain prevailed via fall in 1:54.
In wrestlebacks, Rude will face fourth-seeded Landon Lorson of South Williamsport, who lost via fall to 12th-seeded Brandon Gedman of Southern Columbia in the quarterfinals.
Junior Zach Stafursky, the 10th seed at 152 pounds, lost via fall in 1:16 to seventh-seed Matty Coller of Line Mountain in the opening round.
He will face eighth-seeded Christian Good of Muncy in the first round of wrestlebacks.
Junior Ben Pernaselli, the eighth seed at 195, lost via fall in 1:27 to ninth-seeded Caleb Moser of Montoursville in the opening round.
He will face seventh-seeded Damon Backes of Mount Carmel in the opening round of wrestlebacks.
Wrestlebacks begin at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, with the semifinals set to begin at 10 a.m.
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IN PHOTOS 1-4: Athens' Gavin Bradley. IN PHOTOS 5-8: Athens' Alex West. IN PHOTO 9-12: Athens' Keegan Braund. IN PHOTOS 13-16: Athens' Kaden Setzer. IN PHOTOS 17-20: Athens' Jake Courtney. IN PHOTO 21: Athens' Aidan Garcia. IN PHOTO 22: Athens' Karter Rude. IN PHOTO 23: Athens' Zach Stafursky. IN PHOTO 24: Athens' Ben Pernaselli. ... PHOTOS BY TIM BIRNEY.
