Chucks Wrestling takes part in Regionals; Rutan finishes 2nd to go to States
ALTOONA — The Punxsutawney Chucks Wrestling team had seven individuals take part in the North West AAA Regionals Tournament over this past weekend at the Altoona High School, with one wrestler advancing to States in Hershey for the second year in a row.
The seven individuals were Dysen Gould (121), Hunter Dobson (127), Jordan Rutan (133), Logan Moore (152), Landon Martz (189), Austin Fischer (215) and Logan Baun (285).
“Overall, we had a pretty good weekend,” said Chucks Head Coach DJ Gould. “Somethings didn’t go like we wanted to, but overall, everyone wrestled pretty well.”
He added, “The effort that the seniors had and their leadership all season is something I’m very proud, and I want to wish them a lot luck in their future plans.”
In the top finish of the weekend for the Chucks, Rutan (sophomore) finished in second to earn a silver medal and make a trip to States in Hershey.
Rutan entered the tournament on a bye and advanced to the semi-finals with a 3-2 decision Mifflin County’s Kamden Everly.
In the semi-finals, he won via pinfall over Erie Cathedral Prep’s Andrew Gammon to make it to the championship round.
In that championship round, Rutan’s opponent was James Whitbred of State College, and after battling for two tough periods, Whitbred stepped ahead in the third period to win the championship with a 9-3 decision.
In the first period, Whitbred was up 2-1, and by the end of the second, Rutan was only down 4-2.
Last year as a freshman, Rutan finished third at Districts and fourth at Regionals, just missing a trip to States by one place.
“We’re very proud of Jordan,” said Gould. “He came in as a district champion and wrestled to make it to the finals. He took second and is on his way to States.”
He added, “We’re looking forward to another week-and-a-half of good practice and see what he can at States. He wrestled a lot of tough matches this year, and I think that’s what really prepared him for the last couple of weeks.”
The PIAA State Singles Tournament will take place on next week, March 7-9, at Hershey’s Giant Center.
Besides Rutan’s finish, some other younger wrestlers had a good weekend as well.
“Some of the new guys that came on this year that got some wins for us, like Logan Baun,” said Gould. “He’s a first-year wrestler and went out and won a match at Regionals, and that was impressive.”
Baun (285) won in the opening round with a pinfall victory, but was bested in the quarterfinals and consolation rounds.
Another sophomore was Moore (152), who won with 10-0 major decision in the opening round, but was knocked into the consolation rounds with a loss in the quarterfinals. Moore had one more victory with a 3-0 decision in the consolation round.
“Logan had a really good sophomore season,” said Gould. “He had a late start, but he wrestled really well at Districts and Regionals, and that’s a really good start for him for the next two years.”
Also, Gould opened the tournament with a 15-0 tech fall, and made it to the semis with a pinfall victory. But, a pinfall knocked him into the consolation rounds.
In other Punxsy wrestling news, Lady Chucks Wrestling junior Jael Miller took first place in the 170-pound bracket at the District 5/6/9 Singles Tournament on Saturday, where she won via pinfall in the semis after coming on a bye. In the championship, she won via forfeit.