Gov. Mifflin battles at regionals
Daniel Boone’s Gavin Richard finished fourth in the Class AAA 113-pound bracket to punch his ticket to states. Richard was defeated in the championship semifinals by Central Dauphin’s Josh Miller 10-3, but fought his way through with a 1-0 victory over Tanner Stefanik of Penn Manor in the consolation semis.
Richard (27-4) is the Blazers’ first freshman state qualifier.
Governor Mifflin’s Jordan Espinoza, who had won 31 of his 34 bouts heading into Hershey, finished fourth at 285. Espinoza defeated Adam Kase of Conrad Weiser in a consi-semi before dropping the thirdplace match to Kyler Wuestner of Lower Dauphin, 2-0.
Fellow Mustang Johnny Arentz reached the semifinals of the 160 weight class before dropping a 19-5 major decision to eventual silver medalist Dylan Reinert of Gettysburg. He ultimately placed fifth, a spot short of advancing to states.
The only other Berks wrestlers to make it out of the regional was 145-pound silver medalist Brandon Connor of Wilson.
Class 2A
No one placed more wrestlers at the District 3 tournament than the Hamburg Hawks. Hamburg’s Class AA contingent placed combatants in 12 of 14 weights heading into Hersheypark Arena this weekend.
The talent flood paid off: The Hawks emerged with a gold medal winner, a silver medalist and a team points title. And 10 of those 12 wrestlers move on to regionals next weekend.
Hamburg, which earlier won a AA district team title to complement its unbeaten Berks 2 team crown this winter, continued to show off its squad depth and mat prowess Saturday afternoon at the Arena by clinching its first team championship at the individual tournament.
The Hawks, who led AA coming into the second day of competition, amassed 155.5 points to earn the program something it had never accomplished before, under first-year head coach and program alum Glenn Miller – himself a gold-medal winner at districts in 2010.
“This was one our goals coming in. We wanted to get as many guys as possible to sectionals and we wanted to compete for the team title,” Miller said. “This one meant a little bit more because we needed everyone to compete against the best kids from each team. It’s not just our kids versus one other team. It’s our kids versus the best kids from other programs. We had to battle through it and we ran away with it today.”
It took until late into the afternoon on Saturday, but Ben Weidenhammer finally scored gold in 195 with a 7-1 win over Daniel Criley of Susquenita to deliver a top prize in the program’s last shot. Weidenhammer’s 31st match victory of the season was a convincing verdict, unlike the 2-1 squeaker he had to endure in the 195 semifinals earlier in the day against Ben Cope of Upper Dauphin.
Reese Mason won a district title for Hamburg, at 182, last season. Before Mason, the Hawks’ last gold medalist at this level was Miller, nine years ago.
Until Weidenhammer’s gold, Hamburg’s best performance came from Brendan Hamilton, who made it to the title bout at 170 before coming up short against Littlestown’s Carl Harris by a 7-4 count. Harris led 7-1 headed into the final period and comfortably rode it out.
“I didn’t open up enough,” Hamilton said. “Against kids like that, I have to open up. Not being able to get a takedown when I need it is something that shouldn’t happen. I wasn’t clearing his head or his hands and couldn’t get a good shot at him.”
Hamilton reached the championship bout by de-
feating Trace Grim of Bermudian Springs 5- 4 in semifinals.
Other Hawks to reach regionals were Parker Davidson (106), Bailey Gimbor (120), Dalton Gimbor (126), Kyle Vernon (132), Shane Strausser (138), Brant Mason (152), Nick James (182) and Austin Gromlich (220).
Miller, 27, put in four
years as a junior high school coach in the program before being elevated to the top spot last summer. It’s proven to be a natural fit in a program full of tradition and yes, expectation.
“I had worked with these guys a lot in junior high and we went right to work,” Miller said. “We went down to Disney na-
tional duals, went to Kutztown camp and have been putting in the time in the weight room.
“We’re getting kids to come out and we want to make sure they want to be a part of this family we’re building. … The best part of being a Hamburg wrestler is family.”
*** Kutztown’s Tyler Fisher secured a bronze medal at the District 3 wrestling tournament, held Saturday at Hersheypark Arena.
Fisher’s run at 170 came to an end in the Class AA semifinals, where he dropped an overtime decision to Littlestown’s Carl Harris, who later went on to win the gold over Hamburg’s Brendan Hamilton. He still qualifies for regionals next weekend, the final AA stop before the PIAA tournament. A 6-2 verdict over Northern Lebanon’s Seth Ebersole secured third place.
Fisher said he has wrestled Harris many times but has never beaten him. A narrow 3-1 decision with the title bout in view kept that record intact.
“Third obviously isn’t what I wanted because of a tough loss in the semifinals,” Fisher said of his bronze, “but I’m happy. We’re moving on. Another week to prove myself so I’m happy with it.
Fisher, a senior who came into the weekend at Hershey with a 26-5 mark, is happy to be representing his hometown as he moves through the postseason.