CC’s Murin beats nemesis in final
Ridge takes team title
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BEDFORD -- With the Thomas Chevrolet Tournament approaching, Central Cambria's Max Murin and Athens' Brian Courtney agreed that it was best for both of them that they would be at the same weight at Bedford.
The chances were high that they would wrestle each other in the championship finals in a rematch of the 2016 126-pound PIAA Class 2A title bout. Courtney beat Murin, 3-2, in the state finals -- one of three former state champs he beat in Hershey -- and in the Thomas semifinals last year, handed the Red Devil 2015 state champion his only two losses of the season.
Courtney had made the drop to 132 in the last few weeks, so he moved up to Murin's win at 138. As expected, the two breezed to Saturday night's finals with a combined two pins and four technical falls.
The bout was so much anticipated that tournament officials made it the last bout of the finals.
An overflow crowd at Bedford Area High School hung on every point as Murin avenged last year's losses, 3-1, with a second-period takedown making the difference.
"It feels good," Murin said. "I thought I wrestled pretty good. Brian is a really tough opponent. I lost to him last year, and it felt pretty good to finally beat him."
"I thought I wrestled well," Courtney said. "I thought he wrestled super well, too. I made a few mistakes, and I have to work on them."
Chestnut Ridge, which took a 47-point lead over Athens into the finals, breezed to its third straight Thomas team title and fourth in the last five years. Ridge won by 56 points, 212-158, over Athens, and the Lions had three champions.
"Everyone has been doing well on our team," Justin McCoy said after winning the 145-pound title. "There are kids fighting for extra points. We try to focus on ourselves, but the team aspect comes with it."
Ridge's top-seeded McCoy, Morgan Deremer (160) and Justin McCoy (170) claimed titles, as did Everett's Liam Flaherty (132).
"All three of them controlled their matches," Ridge coach Greg Lazor said.
Everett's Garret Cornell (113) and Wes Graham (182), Northern Bedford's Zach Clark (126), Penn Cambria's Derek Brown (160) and Central's Jared Smith (195) finished second.
After a scoreless first period, Murin escaped quickly. He missed on a takedown attempt -- like in last year's state finals -- but he hit a lightning-quick, low double-leg shot with 15 seconds left in the second to take a 3-0 lead. Courtney escaped in the third, but Murin avoided any danger, including a stalemate situation with 16.3 seconds left.
"I took him down here last year, and I took him down at Disney (Duals)," Murin said, "so I knew if I hit it nice, it was going to work. I felt it in the match, and I hit it."
"He got to that (takedown) last year a few times,'' Courtney said. "I kind of knew it was there, and I didn't really give any respect to it, I guess. He got it, and it was a really nice shot. He finished it quick."
Flaherty, who beat Central's Braeden Swab, 3-1, in the semifinals, earned a 3-1 decision over Greenville's J.J. Rogue in the finals. It was 1-1 in the third of a bout with a lot of flurries when Rogue was penalized two separate times for essentially slapping Flaherty.
"I feel really good," Flaherty said. "I wrestled well, wrestled smart. He was like clawing my face, trying to get me to react, and that's what the points were for."
McCoy, ranked No. 1 in the state by Off The Mat, breezed to his second tournament title. In the finale, he built an 11-2 lead on Athens' Gage Cannavino before reversing him to his back and getting the fall in 4:56.
"I felt great out there. This tournament gets me so pumped up," McCoy said. "I had a rush going the whole time."
"McCoy was offensive as always," Lazor said. "He did really well on his feet, getting his angles."
Deremer scored a takedown and escaped from Brown, and he scored two late nearfall points in the shutout.
"Deremer controlled the match," Lazor said. "He rode well on top, had a couple nice takedown attempts."
McGill reached the finals with two technical falls and a pin. In the finals, he rang up a 10-0 major decision over Athens second-seeded Nate Bradley. McGill took Bradley down to his back in the second period.
"McGill had a couple nice takedowns on his feet," Lazor said, "and was very dominant on top. None of them gave up an offensive point."
Cornell, who had two pins and a technical fall, dropped a 6-4 decision to Athens third-seeded A.J. Burkhart in the finals. Burkhart had two takedowns and a two-point nearfall.
Clark ran into Jefferson-Morgan two-time state champion Gavin Teasdale for the second year in a row in the finals. Teasdale, a junior and an Iowa recruit, rang up a 22-6 technical fall in 3:08, scoring eight takedowns. It was Clark's first loss of the season.
The second-seeded Graham dropped an 8-2 decision to Beth-Center top-seeded Dominic Fundy. Four of those points came late when Fundy reversed Graham to his back.
Smith ran into a buzzsaw in North Schuylkill's Brady Mickatavage, who pinned his way through the tournament. He pinned Smith in 2:57, which was Smith's first loss.
Finishing third were Cambria Heights' Allen Simmons (106) and Central's Brock Biddle (152).
Ridge's Dylan Williams (113) and Austin Crouse (195) and Bedford's Jorge Canales (285) placed fourth
Taking fifth were Ridge's Caleb Holderbaum (106) and Levi Hobson (152), Central Cambria's Austin Washic (132) and Nate Martin (285).
Finishing sixth were Central Cambria's Caliber Castel (182), Everett's Evan Brennan (120), Central's Braeden Swab (132), Bedford's Brandon Greise (220) and Cambria Heights' Cody Bogus (285).
Placing seventh were Penn Cambria's Chase Proudfit (120) and Jarred Stoy (170), Ridge's Seth Harbaugh (126), Central's Ethan Kennedy (145), Cambria Heights' Ben Yahner (152), Bedford's Vinny Fernandez (195), Central Cambria's Jon Croft (220) and Everett's Kyle Peterson (285).
Northern Bedford's Ian Sherlock (113), Ridge's Cody Brown (120) and Central's Cameron Norris (182) took eighth.
KEY, TEAM STANDINGS: 1. CR--Chestnut Ridge; 2. A--Athens; 3. F--Freedom and N--Newport 142; 5, BUR--Burrell 135.5; 6. E--Everett 122.5; 7. G--Greenville 116; 8. CC--Central Cambria and MU--Mount Union 108; 10. C--Central 102; 11. NOS--North Schuylkill 94; 12. NS--North Star 87.5; 13. S--Somerset 83; 14. B--Bedford 79.5; 15. BBV--Berlin Brothersvalley 78; 16. PC--Penn Cambria 73.5; 17. BC--Beth-Center 73; 18. CH--Cambria Heights 72; 19. SF--South Fayette 71; 20. NG--Northern Garrett 69; 21. TV--Tri-Valley 66; 22. M--Meyersdale 63.5; 23. MP--Mount Pleasant 60; 24. NB--Northern Bedford 58; 25. JM--Jefferson Morgan 54; 26. CK--Claysburg-Kimmel 32; 27. CT--Conemaugh Township 18; 28. TM--Tussey Mountain 8.
Championship FinalS: 106--Boozel, MU, maj. dec. Blose, N, 17-5; 113--Burkhart, A, dec. Cornell, E, 6-4; 120--Bechtold, BUR, dec. Boyer, NOS, 7-2; 126--Teasdale, JM, tech. fall Clark, NB, 22-6, 3:08; 132--Flaherty, E, dec. Rogue, G, 3-1; 145--McCoy, CR, pinned Cannavino, A, 4:56; 152--Winters, A, dec. Hemminger, S, 8-6. 160--Deremer, CR, dec. Brown, PC, 5-0; 170--McGill, CR, maj. dec. Bradley, A, 10-0; 182--Fundy, BC, dec. Graham, E, 8-2; 195--Mickatavage, NOS, pinned Smith, C, 2:57. 220--Ryan, MU, pinned Klinger, N, 2:54. 285--Sweesey, F, won by forfeit over Scheib, TV; 138--Murin, CC, dec. Courtney, A, 3-1.
Third Place: 106--Simmons, CH, pinned Valovchik, BUR, 3:32; 113--Ward, F, dec. Williams, CR, 4-2; 120--Bryner, N, dec. Furry, NS, 1-0; 126--Jeffrey, BUR, dec. Mihalchik, MP, 6-2; 132--Madden-Edwards, NOS, dec. Gonzalez, N, 6-3; 138--Cole, S, dec. Lee, BBV, 2-1 TB; 145--K. Komara, pinned Cusick, SF, 2:20. 152--Biddle, C, dec. Lineman, G, 6-3; 160--Schwalm, TV, pinned Galasso, A, 1:37; 170--Thompson, CC, pinned Wills, E, 3:48; 182--Marra, BUR, dec. Hutzell, M, 2-0; 195--Tremain, NS, dec. Crouse, CR, 3-2; 220--Walker, SF, dec. Simmons, F, 7-6; 285--Cahill, BB, dec. Canales (B), 4-0.
Fifth Place: 106--Holderbaum, CR, pinned Lee, BBV, 2:27; 113--Schoffstall, TV, dec. Gelvin, G, 8-3; 120--Yutzy, NG, dec. Brennan, E, 2-0; 126--Wilhelm, NG, dec. Pugh, BBV, 3-1; 132--Washic, CC, dec. Swab, C, 1-0 UTB; 138--C. Komara, F, won by forfeit over Todaro, MU; 145--Christie, BUR, pinned Day, NG, 1:31. 152--Hobson, CR, pinned Paden, N, :29; 160--Krause, S, won by forfeit over Alexander, NS; 170--Stoy, PC, maj. dec. Bastaroli, 13-5; 182--Miller, F, dec. Castel, CC, 3-0; 195--Herr, N, dec. Hockenberry, MU, 7-5; 220--Harvey, M, maj. dec. Greise, B, 16-4; 285--Martin, CC, dec. Bogus, CH, 1-0.
Seventh Place: 106--Talley, S, dec. George, MP, 7-1; 113--Gaul, BUR, dec. Sherlock, NB, 8-1; 120--Proudfit, PC, dec. Brown, CR, 2-0 OT; 126--Harbaugh, CR, dec. Horton, A, 9-3; 132--Miscovich, MP, dec. Agnew, JM, 8-1; 138--Karpinski, G, pinned Lowery, NG, 2:50; 145--Kennedy, C, dec. Christner, G, 3-2. 152--Yahner, CH, dec. Supanick, NS, 7-5 OT; 160--Mele, BUR, dec. Gentile, G, 7-1; 170--Scriven, G, dec. Krause, M, 3-2; 182--Calvin, G, dec. Norris, C, 8-2; 195--Fernandez, B, pinned Marple, S, :38; 220--Croft, CC, dec. Brick, NG, 3-0; 285--Peterson, E, dec. Vokes, MP, 5-2 TB.