Karas caps career on medal stand
Exeter senior places 6th at 220 in 3A
HERSHEY » It generated mixed emotions for Dennis Karas.
On the one hand, Karas was happy to come away from the PIAA Wrestling Championships with his first medal in two trips. At the same time ...
“Overall, it’s bittersweet,” the senior upperweight from Exeter said after receiving a sixth-place medal in Class AAA’s 220-pound bracket Saturday. “I placed, not where I wanted. But it’s been a hell of a ride.”
Karas also came away from three days of mat action at the Giant Center with the distinction of being the Berks Conference’s lone competitor to reach the medal stand. Qualifying for the medal round, he was edged by Laurel Highlands’ Ian Edenfield 2-1 ... a better showing than the 5-1 verdict Edenfield posted when they met in the quarterfinal round Friday.
In their encore bout, Karas took a 1-0 lead into the third period. But Edenfield (33-7), the South West AAA Regional champ, scored in the third to secure fifth place.
“I’m proud about being the only representative from Berks,” Karas (42-6) said. “It’s a shame there weren’t more.”
Karas, the South Central regional runner-up two weeks ago, got his second state appearance off to a flying start by pinning Crestwood’S Shane O’rourke in 59 seconds. After dropping into wrestlebacks with the loss to Edenfield, he pinned Delaware Valley’s John McCarthy in 1:43 and followed with a 16-8 major decision of Selinsgrove’s Nate Schon to qualify for the medal round.
Karas missed qualifying for the third-place bout after sustaining at 7-3 loss to Shippensburg’s Cole Forrester.
His final high-school season was marked by Karas winning a third straight District 3-AAA Section 1 title. He was a South Central runner-up twice in the past three years, and a sectional medalist each of his four seasons.
Karas will look to continue his academic and athletic endeavors at Messiah College. He looks forward to attending the private Christian college in Mechanicsburg, and competing for the Falcon program headed by Bryan Brunk, which went 16-5 in dual matches an entrant in the Middle Atlantic Conference.
“It’s a great fit for me,” he said. “The coach is a great guy.”
Elsewhere in Class AAA, Governor Mifflin’s Jordan Espinosa went 1-2 at 285, ending his junior year 29-8. Espinosa pinned Altoona’s Nate Simmers in the second period of their firstround consi.
Muhlenberg’s Stefahn Mayo went 1-2 at 152, finishing his senior season 367. Mayo’s lone victory came in the first round of consolations, where he edged Columbia’s Drake Bernize.
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In Class AA, the Gimbors of Brandywine Heights both made it to Friday’s consolation action before being eliminated.
The freshmen each went 2-2 at Hershey. Bailey, wrestling at 106, was edged by Joey Fisher 2-1 in their opening bout, then blanked Annville-Cleona’s Matthew Inman (7-0) and Middletown’s Luke Fegley (1-0) before seeing his season end with a loss to Benton’s Gable Strickland.
Dalton, competing a 113, was dropped into wrestlebacks by Curwensville’s Blake Passarelli. He responded with wins over Northern Lebanon’s Kyler Anspach and Blairsville’s Jack Bruce, but his Hershey experience ended with a one-point loss to Burrell’s Ian Oswalt.
Bailey and Dalton ended their seasons with respective records of and 39-6 3910.
Hamburg’s two state qualifiers, Shane Strausser and Reese Mason, both bowed out of the tourney with two consecutive losses.
Strausser, a junior wrestling at 126, ended his season with a 36-9 record. Mason, a senior 182-pounder, finished his scholastic career with a 37-5 record this winter.
Kutztown’s Tyler Fisher went 1-2 at 170, finishing his junior season with a 19-7 record. Fisher was extended in his preliminary-round opener with Corry Area’s Tyler Burlew 2-1 OT (TB2), but he was dropped into wrestlebacks by Ligonier Valley’s Robert Patrick and eliminated by Southern Columbia’s Anthony Scicchitano.