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Done for the day
Girard's Abe Keep, Corry's Hayden Linkerhof and Eisenhower's Cael Black will each medal in the Class 2A 215 division.
Keep, thanks to a 4-2 decision over Brookville's Bryce Rafferty in the consolation semifinals, will face Wyalusing's Nicholas Woodruff for the bronze medal.
Linkerhof, who lost his consolation semifinal following his defeat in the championship semifinals, goes for fifth place against Rafferty.
Black meets Dante Mahaffey of Saucon Valley for seventh place.
That will do it for an extremely long day and an anticipate short night from Hershey.
Fort LeBoeuf's JoJo Przybycien goes for bronze
Fort LeBoeuf sophomore JoJo Przybycien knows he'll medal in his second PIAA 2A tournament in as many years. All that's left to determine is if it's the third- or fourth-place award at 126.
Przybycien and Kaden Milheim will determine their order Saturday. Milheim is a junior from Warrior Run.
Friday's consolation matches in the lightweight rounds are concluded. Saegertown's Carter Beck will vie for fifth place at 106 and teammate Hunter Robison for seventh at 113.
Other Crawford County medalists set to learn where they'll medal are Conneaut's Hunter Gould in the fifth-place match at 120 and Cochranton's Jack Martinec in the seventh-place match at 132.
Quaker Valley's Justin Richey loses in 152 semis
Quaker Valley senior Justin Richey sought to reach the 152 championship match as a participant in its preliminary round.
Forest Hills star Jackson Arrington emphatically made sure that didn't happen.
Arrington, already a two-time PIAA gold medalist, only needed 64 seconds to pin Richey in their semi. The North Carolina State recruit goes into his last varsity match with a season record of 38-2.
Richey dropped into the consolation bracket at 38-9. He'll still medal at 152.
Cole Karpinski wins, Hayden Linkerhof and Josh Perrine lose semis
District 10's run of championship finalists ended with Cole Karpinski.
The Greenville star will take a perfect record of 41-0 into Saturday's 189 final. His latest win was an 8-5 decision over Patrick Cutchember of Quaker Valley.
Karpinski, who will attend the United States Military Academy, drew Montoursville's Isaac Cory as his last high school wrestling opponent.
Cory blanked Brockway's Seth Stewart 4-0 in their 189 semi. The senior has a season record of 40-6.
Finishing one match shy of championship berths were Corry's Hayden Linkerhof and Saegertown's Josh Perrine.
Linkerhof conceded an escape point to West Perry's Brad Morrison in the second period of their 215 match. Little did the Bucknell University recruit know that it would hold up as the only point Morrison needed.
Linkerhof will now set his sights on third place at 215. He'll return to action later this session.
Perrine trailed throughout his 285 semifinal against Austin Johnson. The Muncy freshman, the only first-year wrestler in the field, will take a 41-1 mark into the last title match for the 2A tournament.
Conner Pierce with epic effort in 138 semifinal
A 16-0 technical fall.
Achieved in 3 minutes, 32 seconds.
Of a state semifinal.
Harbor Creek's Connor Pierce checked all of those boxes en route to a berth in Saturday's 138-pound championship match of the PIAA Class 2A tournament.
Pierce's beyond-dominant victory over Central Valley's Ambrose Boni left him one victory away from becoming the Huskies' first state gold medalist since University of Michigan recruit Jeff Catrabone went back-to-back at the 1992 and 1993 tournaments.
To do that, though Pierce (37-0) must defeat someone who also has two state championships. The senior will face Saucon Valley's Ryan Crookham during Saturday afternoon's finals at the Giant Center.
Crookham sat out last season with injuries. However, the senior was a PIAA gold medalist in 2019 and 2020.
Crookham's 10-1 major decision against Meadowbrook Christian's Cade Wirnsberger means the 138 final will pit wrestlers whose combined season record is 53-0.
Louie Gill back in 106 final
Hickory's Louie Gill is six minutes away from defending as the PIAA's best Class 2A lightweight.
Gill, with a one-sided performance against Saucon Valley's Cole Hubert, clinched a berth in the tournament's 106 championship match for the second time in as many years. The sophomore recorded a 15-0 technical fall that only required 4:18 of mat time.
Now 42-1 this season, Gill goes for another gold medal against Aaron Seidel. The Northern Lebanon freshman also won his semifinal by a comfortable margin.
Seidel blanked Burgettstown's Parker Sentipal. He's a mammoth 48-1 in his first season of varsity wrestling
Griffin Buzzell assured of podium appearance
Meadville's Griffin Buzzell, District 10's lone Class 3A wrestler from outside Erie County, clinched a top-eight finish in the Class 3A tournament's 189 division.
Buzzell won two consolation matches Friday. The senior's second one was a 6-1 decision against Wayne McIntyre of East Stroudsburg North.
Buzzell dictated the action throughout, with McIntyre's lone point coming when Buzzell was called for locking hands.
Now, Buzzell begins the chance to finish as high as third at 189. He'll take a 30-3 record into his consolation quarterfinal vs. Trey Shoemaker of Mifflin County.
The consolation third round concluded the lone 3A session held Friday. The championship semifinal session starts Saturday at 9 a.m.
Wilson Spires out, Griffin Buzzell still in
The junior season for General McLane heavyweight Wilson emphatically ended Friday afternoon.
Spires and Carlisle's Layton Schmick were tied at 1-all throughout most of regulation and then into the sudden-victory minute. It was during the second 30-second period of the tiebreaker format that Schmick rolled Spires for a fall at the unique time of 6:40.
Spires bowed of the tournament with a season record of 38-7.
That leaves Meadville's Griffin Buzzell as the only wrestler besides Cathedral Prep's Jake Van Dee and Kaemen Smith, already championship semifinalists, who can still medal. He stayed alive in the 189 consolation bracket with a 1:47 fall of Ephrata's James Ellis in the second round of that bracket.
Buzzell (29-3) is assured of a top-eight berth on his division's podium if he defeats East Stroudsburg North's Wayne McIntyre in their upcoming "blood round" match.
Middleweights Ty Watters and Kaemen Smith move on to semifinals
West Allegheny junior Ty Watters and Cathedral Prep senior Kaemen Smith cut short their appearances during Friday's Class 3A session.
That's a good thing, given they advanced to Saturday's championship semifinals in their respective weight classes.
Watters made the final four at 145 with his 7-3 quarterfinal decision over Andrew Harmon of Bethlehem Catholic. The Southwest Region's second seed improved to 33-3.
Smith, a classmate of Van Dee, joined his 126-pound teammate with a berth in the 152 semis. He conserved enough energy from the bottom position in the third period to record a late takedown that clinched his 8-3 victory against Lebanon junior Griffin Gonzalez.
Smith, who surpassed 100 career victories earlier in the postseason, takes a season record of 30-3 into his semi against Kelin Laffey. The Pine-Richland senior advanced with a 2-1 victory over Dallastown's Caden Dobbins.
The wins by Van Dee and Smith mean Meadville's Griffin Buzzell and General McLane's Wilson Spires will be the only District 10 wrestlers active in the consolation rounds that pafollows the current championship quarterfinals.
Van Dee easy winner at 126
Jake Van Dee likened it to a casual workout more than a state match.
That's how dominant the Cathedral Prep senior was throughout Friday's 13-4 major decision over Pine-Richland's Anthony Ferraro in their 126 quarterfinal.
Van Dee needed an ultimate tiebreaker session to claim victory in Thursday'sfirst-rounder vs. Bethlehem Catholic's Dante Frinzi. There was no such drama this time, though, as the University of Nebraska recruit scored the first 11 points against the outmatched junior.
Ferraro dropped into the 126 consolation bracket at 38-7, while Van Dee has the rest of Friday to rest and prepare for Saturday morning's championship semifinals back at the Giant Center.
It's then the 2021 PIAA gold medalist will meet Ethan Lebin of Hempfield Area. Lebin also enjoyed a comfortable win in his quarterfinal, which ended up an 8-0 major decision against Clearfield's Brady Collins.
Lebin now has a 32-7 record, while Van Dee is 19-1.
Class 3A session starts at 2:15 p.m.
It will be the lone large-school session that takes place Friday. District 10 has two wrestlers active in championship quarterfinals.
Cathedral Prep's Jake Van Dee, a 2021 PIAA gold medalist, starts at 126 pounds. Senior teammate Kaemen Smith vies for a berth in the championship final at 152.
Also alive in consolation brackets are Meadville's Griffin Buzzell (189) and General McLane's Wilson Spires (285).
Girard's Abe Keep shed happy tears in blood round
No Erie County wrestler epitomized the tournament's consolation third round, better known as the "blood round," than Abe Keep.
The Girard junior, who trailed most of his 215 match against Bentworth's Vitali Daniels, rallied for an 8-6 decision in sudden-victory time. The result left each wrestler nearly prone on the mat, but for opposite reasons.
Daniels was eliminated one round from the guarantee of a top-eight medal, while Keep rejoiced in the knowledge he'll stand on the Giant Center's podium some Saturday afternoon.
Saegertown lightweights Carter Beck and Hunter Robison also were among the District 10 and western Pennsylvania wrestlers who celebrated after blood round victories.
Beck moved on at 106, while Robison moved on at 113 with his 100th career win.
Others now assured of medals are as follows: Conneaut's Hunter Gould (120); Quaker Valley's Logan Richey (120); Fort LeBoeuf's JoJo Przybycien (126); Cochranton's Jack Martinec (132); Hickory's Connor Saylor (138) and Carter Gill (145); Grove City's Hunter Hohman (152); Saegertown's Landon Caldwell (189); Eisenhower's Cael Black (215); and Corry's Xavier Reyda (285).
Seveninto semifinals
Western Pennsylvania advanced five wrestlers into Friday night's semifinals, plus twofrom Quaker Valley, for the Class 2A portion of the PIAA tournament.
The last thee on that list were Quaker Valley's Justin Richey and Patrick Cutchember; Greenville's Cole Karpinski and Saegertown's Josh Perrine.
Richey advanced to the final four at 152 with a 5-2 decision over West Perry's Justice Hockenberry-Folk. He'll be challenged to move on to the final, as his next opponent is two-time state victor Jackson Arrington of Forest Hills.
Karpinski upped his perfect record to 40-0 with a 5:47 fall of Ty Csencsits of Saucon Valley in their 189 quarterfinal. The future United States Military Academy cadet faces Cutchember.
It was Perrine, and not Corry's Xavier Reyda, who advanced to the heavyweight semifinals. The Saegertown senior will take a 37-7 record into his next match vs. Austin Johnson of Muncy.
The consolation third round, the "blood round," will conclude Friday's initial 2A session.
Corry big men Hayden Linkerhof and Xavier Reyda split results
Hayden Linkerhof, thanks to a basketball-like, buzzer-beater, advanced to the semifinals in the tournament's 215 bracket.
Linkerhof definitely dropped Mount Carmel's Damon Backes for a takedown. The dispute was did it happen before the third-period buzzer and was it signaled before that same buzzer.
The two match officials conversed with others at the scorer's table and confirmed the decision. Linkerhof won with a dramatic 3-1 victory that left him 35-6.
The Bucknell University recruit will vie for a berth in Saturday's final when he faces Brad Morrison in Friday night's 2A session. Morrison, a West Perry senior, won his quarterfinal with a 9-0 major decision against Bentworth's Vitali Daniels.
Corry's other upperweight, Xavier Reyda, wasn't as fortunate. The heavyweight was pinned 3:40 into his match vs. Kade Sottolano of Williamson.
Reyda (31-5) dropped into the consolation third round later this session.
Mixed news for Quaker Valley'sJustin Richey
The good news for Justin Richey is that he advanced to the championship semifinals at 152. The senior did so with a 5-2 quarterfinal decision over West Perry's Justice Hockenberry-Folk.
The bad news for Richey, though, is his semifinal opponent is Jackson Arrington. The senior is a two-time PIAA gold medalist, who's also 37-2 this season and beat his first two tournament opponents by a 19-4 technical fall and a regular fall.
All-Mercer County match prevented
The possibility existed that Reynolds' Camren Klenke could face Hickory's Carter Gill if Klenke won his 145 consolation second-rounder.
Hayden Mann scrapped that anticipated meeting. The Conwell-Egan junior eliminated Klenke 6-2.
Mann and Gill will later this session, with the winner assured of a top-eight medal.
Fort LeBoeuf's JoJo Przybycien prevails in marathon 126 match
Fort LeBoeuf sophomore JoJo Przybycien required overtime to eliminate Chase Hontz in the 126 consolation bracket.
Przybycien, seeking his second state medal in as many appearance at Hershey, pinned the Faith Christian Academy freshman 30 seconds into their one-minute, sudden-victory period. The Bison lightweight advanced to a third-rounder against South Williamsport's Robert Gardner later this session.
If Przybycien (39-5) wins that match, he's assure of a spot on the PIAA's podium for that weight class.
Logan Richey still wrestling
Quaker Valley's Logan Richey remained alive in the 120 consolation bracket.
Richey, the Southwest Region's fifth seed, decisioned Meyersdale's Trevor Donaldson 4-1 in their second-rounder. Richey is assured of a medal if he defeats Meyersdale's Trevor Donaldson later this session.
Harbor Creek's Connor Pierce prevails, Girard's Story Buchanan stumbles in quarters
Harbor Creek's Connor Pierce is halfway to become the school's third individual PIAA gold medalist, and fourth gold medalist overall, with Friday's 10-2 major decision over Kobin Karper of Boiling Springs at 138 pounds.
Pierce improved to 36-0 with his latest victory. He'll return to action during Friday night's semifinal session, where he'll face Ambrose Boni of Central Valley.
Boni, now 36-3, decisioned Warrior Run's Cameron Milheim in their quarterfinal.
Girard's Story Buchanan lost in his first on-mat competition of the tournament. The sophomore 145-pounder advanced by forfeit on Thursday when his opponent failed to make weight.
That wasn't the case Friday, when Montgomery's Conner Harer maintained his perfect record of 45-0 when he doubled up Buchanan by the unusually high score of 26-13.
Buchanan (31-10) dropped into the consolation third round, which will take place later this session. If he wins that match, he's assured of medaling at 145.
Saegertown's Hunter Robison, Conneaut's Hunter Gould fall into consolation bracket
Saegertown's Hunter Robison and Conneaut's Hunter Gould lost their respective quarterfinals at 113 and 120.
Montoursville's Brandon Wentzel blanked Robison 7-0. Gould lost for only the second time in 38 matches this season when Bentworth's Chris Vargo won 3-0.
Robison, a former General McLane student, and Vargo will return this session for their consolation third-rounders.
Hickory's Louie Gill wins 106 quarterfinal
Hickory's Louie Gill is halfway to a second PIAA championship in as many seasons.
Gill, seeking to repeat at 106, doubled up Notre Dame-Green Pond's Ayden Smith in their quarterfinal. The Hornets sophomore improved to 41-1 and will face Saucon Valley's Cole Hubert during Friday night's semifinals.
Saegertown freshmanCarter Beck dropped into the consolation bracket when Northern Lebanon's Aaron Seidel pinned him with nine seconds left in the first period.
Beck (35-6) must win his consolation third-rounder in order to medal.
Hello from Hershey
Mike Copper back here at the Giant Center for Friday's PIAA wrestling tournament.
Class 2A sessions will start at 9 a.m., highlighted by the championship quarterfinals, and 7:30 p.m., which will feature the championship semifinals.
Thursday coverage:2022 PIAA Wrestling updates from Hershey as consolation round begins
2A Action:Scenes from the 2022 PIAA Class wrestling championships
3A photos:Scenes from the 2022 PIAA Class 3A wrestling championships
The lone Class 3A session begins at 2:15 p.m. The championship quarterfinals will take place amid those matches.
The 2A quarterfinalists include Harbor Creek's Connor Pierce at 138 pounds, Girard's Story Buchanan at 145 and Corry's Hayden Linkerhof (215) and Xavier Reyda (285).
Cathedral Prep boasts the only two 3A quarterfinalists from District 10.
Jake Van Dee, a 2021 PIAA gold medalist, is in the 126 field. Senior classmate Kaemen Smith remains in title contention at 152.
