BENNETT, HALL ADVANCE TO PJW YOUTH STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
Valley Sports Report
STATE COLLEGE — The Athens Youth Wrestling Club had three wrestlers medal recently at the Keystone State Wrestling Championships at the Bryce Jordan Center, and had two advance to the PJW Youth State Championships later this month in Harrisburg.
Maverick Baird, wrestling at 75 pounds, placed second in the 6U Division, while Silas Bennett, at 90 pounds, was third in the 12U Division, and Beau Hall, at 160 pounds, finished eighth in the 12U Division.
Baird opened with a 17-2 technical fall in 1:31, and followed it up with a fall in 1:27 in the quarterfinals.
In the semifinals, Baird built an 11-2 lead over Corry's Hudson Willis before finishing off the fall at 2:11.
In the 75-pound title match, Baird scored four near-fall points midway through the third period to take an 11-10 lead, but Conemaugh Township's Wes McDonnell reversed into a pinning predicament at 2:50 for the win.
Bennett was 5-1 on the day to finish third in the 90-pound division.
Bennett won his opening-round match, 5-0, then forged a 9-1 major decision in the round-of-16.
In the quarterfinals, Bennett registered a 33-second pin, but he dropped an 8-3 decision to Methacton's Mitch Nolan in the semifinals.
Bennett bounced back, making a first-period takedown stand in a 3-0 win over Hempfield's Nathan Pfursich in the consolation semifinals.
Bennett capped his day with a 6-0 win over Great Valley's Brady Sobuto in the the third-place match.
Hall was 4-3 on the day to place eighth in the 160-pound division.
After a hard-fought 8-5 decision in the opening round, Hall dropped a 7-0 decision in the round-of-16.
Hall bounced back with a 92-second fall in his first wrestleback match, then topped Seneca Valley's Ryder Dingledein, 5-1.
In the blood round, Hall edged Wilkes-Barre's Layton Lucas, 1-0.
Hall dropped a 4-0 decision in the consolation quarterfinals, then also dropped the seventh-place match.
Chace VanDyke, wrestling in the 15-16 age group was 3-2 in the 110-pound division.
After dropping a 6-5 decision in the opening-round, VanDyke bounced back with a 34-second fall, then a wild 18-15 sudden-victory win over Wyoming Area's Chase Wilhelm.
VanDyke pulled out a 5-4 tie-breaker win over Nazareth's Jack Dressler, but his run to the podium came to an end in the blood round with a 9-6 sudden-victory loss to Penn Ridge's Deklan Wills.
Jacob Cobb, wrestling in the 11-12 age group, was 30-2 in the 100-pound bracket.
After dropping an 11-3 major decision in the opening round, Cobb bounced back with wins of 6-4, 6-5, and 3-0, to advance to the blood round, where his tournament ended via third-period fall.
Kruze Payne, wrestling in the 11-12 age group, was 3-2 in the 125-pound bracket.
Cruz dropped his first match, but bounced back with pins in 24 seconds and 1:59, before a 7-0 win over Sharon's Eli Thomas.
Payne was knocked out of the tournament one win shy of the blood round.
Nathaniel MacBride, wrestling in the 13-14 age group, was 2-2 in the 157-pound bracket.
After a loss in the opening round, MacBride bounced back with a second-period pin and a 1-0 win over Anneville-Cleona's Sam Cantor, but lost via decision in his next bout.Keystone1.
Jaxson Camp, wrestling in the 9-10 age group, was 1-2 in the 150-pound bracket, his lone win an 8-4 decision over James Katona over Colonial's James Katona.
Liam Warner, wrestling in the 13-14 age group, was 0-2 in the 103-pound bracket.
Bennett and Hall will continue their postseason journey as they travel to Harrisburg at the end of the month to compete in the PJW Youth State Championship.
