Taylor Ortz of Brookville won a huge bout in the semifinals. Photo courtesy of Brookvilleraiderswrestling.com
HERSHEY, Pa. – For the first time since 1999, Brookville will wrestle for a state championship after the Raiders beat Reynolds, 29-27, in the semifinals Friday night at the Giant Center in Hershey.
And the Raiders got there thanks to its big guns coming up big.
After watching a 16-3 lead go away, Brookville trailed 21-20 with just three weight classes left to be wrestled.
But fortunately for the Raiders, the first of those three was at 132 pounds where they could send out their top-gun, senior Taylor Ortz, the No. 1 ranked wrestler in the state at that weight class and a Clarion University recruit.
And Ortz came up big when he pinned Ryan Harnett 1:26 into the bout to put Brookville up 26-21.
Cole Aaron was up next, and Brookville knew Aaron, who is going to Franklin & Marshall next season, needed to win with Reynolds having the No. 2 wrestler in the state at 145 pounds in Seth Hogue.
And Aaron answered the bell beating Chaise Hauck, 5-1, to clinch the victory for Brookville.
“Ortz and Aaron are our big guns, and we lean on them pretty heavy,” Brookville head coach Dave Klepfer said. “And they came through tonight in a big, big way.”
The victory is win No. 599 for the Raiders in their history.
Brookville started out on fire taking the 16-3 lead.
Dominic Palmer got things started with a 6-0 win over Matthew Gosser at 152 pounds.
Caleb Hetrick followed by pinning Daniel Blayney at the 2:52 mark of the 160-pound match.
Xavier Molnar then won a 5-0 decision from Ben Wilcox at 170 pounds to make it 12-0.
Reynolds got on the board at 182 pounds when Joel Leise beat Dane Clever, 9-6. But in a way, that was a win for Brookville, as Leise had been on a pinning rampage this year with 20 pins out his 25 wins going into the weekend.
Noah Cieleski then scored four big points for Brookville when he won an 11-0 major decision over Jarod Miller.
Down 16-3, Reynolds started its comeback at 220 pounds when Cole Rickert won a 4-3 decision over Tyler Cook.
Then at heavyweight, Gene Ringer topped Bryce Town, 3-1 to cut Brookville’s lead to 16-9.
Beau Bayless then made it 16-12 when he beat Brookville’s Keelan Kunselman, 3-2 in rideout in overtime.
Gavin Park stopped the bleeding for Brookville at 113 pounds when he won a 10-1 major decision over Andrew Isco to make it 20-12, but Reynolds took the next two bouts to take the lead.
First, at 120 pounds Gage Bayless won a 6-2 decision over Kai Sorbin, then at 126 Cole Matthews, ranked No. 1 in the state, pinned Dontae Constable in 1:10.
After Ortz and Aaron gave Brookville the insurmountable lead, the Raiders elected to forfeit the 145-pound bout.
CENTRAL DAUPHIN 50, CLEARFIELD 19
Clearfield’s dual-meet run came to an end in the second round of the consolation bracket when Central Dauphin beat the Bison, 50-19.
Clearfield scored on a pair of pins, a major decision and a decision.
The falls came from Tallin Norris at 145 pounds and Luke McGonigal at 170 pounds.
Norris punned Joey Stoaks at 4:02 and McGonigal put down Brenden George in just 41 seconds.
Travis Ogden added 12-2 major decision over JP Marrero at 220 pounds Levi Wisor got a 2-1 decision over Hunter Neilson at 195 pounds.
Brookville will face Saucon Valley in the championship match at 1 p.m. Saturday in Hershey.
Results courtesy of pawrsl.com
Brookville 29, Reynolds 27
152- Dominic Palmer , (Brookville) Dec Matthew Gosser , (Reynolds) 6-0
160- Caleb Hetrick , (Brookville) Fall Daniel Blayney , (Reynolds) 2:52
170- Xavier Molnar , (Brookville) Dec Ben Wilcox , (Reynolds) 5-0
182- Joel Leise , (Reynolds) Dec Dane Clever , (Brookville) 9-6
195- Noah Cieleski , (Brookville) Major Jarod Miller , (Reynolds) 11-0
220- Cole Rickert , (Reynolds) Dec Tyler Cook , (Brookville) 4-3
285- Gene Ringer , (Reynolds) Dec Byrce Town , (Brookville) 3-1
106- Beau Bayless , (Reynolds) Dec Keelan Kunselman , (Brookville) 3-2 TB
113- Gavin Park , (Brookville) Major Andrew Isco , (Reynolds) 10-1
120- Gage Bayless , (Reynolds) Dec Kai Sorbin , (Brookville) 6-2
126- Cole Matthews , (Reynolds) Fall Dontae Constable , (Brookville) 1:10
132- Taylor Ortz , (Brookville) Fall Ryan Harnett , (Reynolds) 1:26
138- Cole Aaron , (Brookville) Dec Chaise Hauck , (Reynolds) 5-1
145- Seth Hogue , (Reynolds) For , (Brookville) For
Central Dauphin 50, Clearfield 19
138- Austin Bentz , (Central Dauphin) Fall Logan Gilbert , (Clearfield) 2:50
145- Tallin Norris , (Clearfield) Fall Joey Stoaks , (Central Dauphin) 4:02
152- Skitch Light , (Central Dauphin) TF Zane Morgan , (Clearfield) 16-0 2:30
160- Carter Talbot , (Central Dauphin) Dec Hunter Wright , (Clearfield) 2-0
170- Luke McGonigal , (Clearfield) Fall Brenden George , (Central Dauphin) 0:41
182- Koltyn Eason , (Central Dauphin) For , (Clearfield) For
195- Levi Wisor , (Clearfield) Dec Hunter Neilson , (Central Dauphin) 2-1
220- Travis Ogden , (Clearfield) Major JP Marrero , (Central Dauphin) 12-2
285- Evan Childs , (Central Dauphin) Dec Nate Lash , (Clearfield) 5-2
106- Mitchell Arch , (Central Dauphin) Fall Matt Ryan , (Clearfield) 2:06
113- Chris Wright , (Central Dauphin) Fall Jude Pallo , (Clearfield) 0:38
120- Jake Cherry , (Central Dauphin) Fall Cole Smay , (Clearfield) 0:51
126- Tyshawn White , (Central Dauphin) Fall Hunter Blake , (Clearfield) 0:46
132- Andrew Wert , (Central Dauphin) Dec Josiah McClarren , (Clearfield) 8-3
