DB’s Hogan, Spitko, PJP’s Alexander advance
Wrestling
SOUTH CENTRAL CLASS AAA REGIONAL >> Tucker Hogan and Stephen Spitko continued their march through the post-season this weekend by making medal finishes in the Class AAA regional tournament at Spring Grove.
Hogan placed second in the 172-pound weight class, and Spitko was third at 126. Both Blazers now advance to the Pa. West Super-Regional being held Saturday at Altoona — the first step toward qualifying for both the PIAA Class AAA competition at Hershey March 13, and securing state-level hardware.
Hogan (18-1) came up one point short of regional gold, the freshman edged by Chambersburg’s Tate Nichter 6-5. The freshman opened the tournament with a second-period pin of Northern York’s Bay Blaschak, then went overtime to nip Spring Grove’s Thomas Dressler 3-2.
Spitko (18-2) earned bronze with a 6-3 decision of Wilson (West Lawn) Dominic Jurado. His early wins were against Chambersburg’s Luke Mentzer (5-2) and Spring Grove’s Ivan Vega (2:29 pin), against a semifinal loss to Central Dauphin’s Matt Repos.
J.T. Hogan (17-2) also fell short of qualifying for the super-regional phase. The Boone junior, a state-level qualifier his sophomore year, was nipped by Shippensburg’s Dominic Frontino to end up fourth; it was a rematch and similar outcome when the two grapplers faced off in the quarterfinal round.
Boone, which advanced five wrestlers to the regional, was ninth in the team standings with 42 points. Accompanying the team were juniors Gavin Richard (120, 15-4) and Colin Leahy (285, 12-6). SOUTH EAST CLASS AA REGIONAL >> Pope John Paul II junior Alan Alexander started out with a loss Saturday, but he rebounded in a big way to medal at the Class AA regional tournament hosted by Central Dauphin.
Alexander fell short of Boiling Springs’ Michael Duggan in their opener, 10-9. But the PJP junior answered with a third-period pin of Northern Lebanon’s Kayden Clark and a 14-5 major decision of Palisades’ Mason Smeland. He then claimed third place at 152 by edging Joseph Lapenna of Notre DameGreen Pond 4-3.
Alexander (13-2), a transfer from Boyertown, had qualified for Class AAA regional competition the past two seasons.
Fill in the grid so that every row, every column and every 3x3grid contains the digits 1 through 9. That means that no number is repeated in any row, column or box.