YOUTH WRESTLING: PAIR OF ATHENS GRAPPLERS WIN MEDALS AT KEYSTONE STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS (2022-03-28)

Valley Sports Report
ERIE, Pa. — Athens youth wrestlers Silas Bennett and Nathan Wagner both brought home State medals from last weekend's Keystone State Championships here at the Erie Insurance Arena.

Bennett placed fourth in the 8U 65-pound weight class, while Wagner finished fifth in the 8U 110-pound bracket.

Bennett and Wagner both came out of the gates ready to wrestle Saturday, combining to go 5-0 with five pin falls across the opening three rounds of action.

Bennett received a first-round bye before posting pins in the round-of-16 and quarterfinals, while Wagner's day began in the round-of-32, and he recorded three consecutive pins, including a come-from-behind fall in the quarterfinals; landing both in Sunday afternoon's sem-ifinal round.

"Coming out Saturday, I think all the boys had some nerves from the bright lights and the big stage, but when the first whistle blew they were ready to go,” said coach Travis Bennett.

“The last hour in the Arena Saturday was pretty exciting,” he noted. “First Silas pinned his way into the semis and then, about 20 minutes later, Nate pulled off a big comeback win to punch his ticket into the semis.

“Heading back to the hotel with two kids in the state semifinals was exciting,” added Bennett.

Bennett started things off on Day 2 matched up against Central Bucks standout Gino Carpino.

Bennett gave up a first-period takedown and trailed 2-0 heading into the second period. Bennett got himself back into the match with an impressive second-period ride out from the top position, but ultimately came up short, giving up a third period takedown and dropping a 4-0 decision.

Carpino would go on to win the State Championship in the finals.

"Silas has wrestled Geno before, and we knew what to expect; he is well-coached, tough in all three phases, and he doesn't make a lot of mistakes,” said Bennett. “Silas was a little tight early on, but when you break it down, he was down 2-0 going into the third period with his choice and just didn't execute, but he's right there with the best.”

Bennett then dropped into the consolation semifinals, where he won a hard fought, 6-4, overtime decision against another familiar opponent — eventual fifth0place finisher Max Bartelbaugh of Central Dauphin.

In the third-place match, Bennett dropped a 7-2 decision to North Allegheny's Quinn Bates, capping an impressive tournament run.

"Silas has been on a mission this year, he set some high goals to come back and place here this year and it was nice to see him achieve that goal after all the hard work he's put in,” said Bennett.

Wagner ran into a buzzsaw in the semifinals, losing to the eventual State Champion Griffin Murcko of Pine Richland by fall.

Wagner then dropped his consolation semi-final match, before ending his day with a big win over Nicholas Spontak of North Hills to capture fifth place.

“This was such a huge accomplishment for Nate this weekend,” said Bennett. “For him to come down here on the big stage for his first time and win four matches and medal is a testament to his hard work and toughness.

"We had three wrestlers competing this weekend and they all won matches and two of them ended up on the podium with top-five medals,” he added. “I’d say that's a pretty good weekend."

Athens’ Kruze Payne went 1-2 in the 8U 75-pound weight class, and Sayre’s Ethan Glielmi was 1-2  in the 8U 75-pound weight class.

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IN PHOTO: Nathan Wagner (left) and Silas Bennett. ... PHOTOS PROVIDED.