Hazleton Area’s Jake Benyo, top, wrestles Council Rock South’s Logan Worth in the 121-pound first round Thursday during the PIAA Class 3A Wrestling Championships at the Giant Center in Hershey. BOB GAETANO / CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Hazleton Area’s Gabe Benyo, top, wrestles Penn-Trafford’s Dylan Barrett in the 114-poud first round Thursday during the PIAA Class 3A Wrestling Championships at the Giant Center in Hershey. BOB GAETANO / CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
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Hazleton Area’s Jake Benyo, top, wrestles Council Rock South’s Logan Worth in the 121-pound first round Thursday during the PIAA Class 3A Wrestling Championships at the Giant Center in Hershey. BOB GAETANO / CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
HERSHEY — West Scranton’s Tommy Schechterly and Hazleton Area’s Jake and Gabe Benyo had their eyes on the quarterfinals.
The sophomore wrestlers all achieved that goal in different ways.
For Schechterly, it was about getting that first takedown and securing early control of the match.
For Jake Benyo, it was about getting in position to build the lead with tilts.
For Gabe Benyo, it was about doing just enough to stay in the hunt for gold.
The three District 2 wrestlers will compete for a spot in the PIAA Class 2A semifinals after first-round victories Thursday night at the Giant Center in Hershey.
“I felt a little off on my feet probably because of the weight cut, but I still felt really good on top, which is my best position,” Jake Benyo said. “So, overall I think I felt pretty good, and hopefully I could do the same thing in the quarters tomorrow and then carry it on to the semis.”
Coming off a Northeast Regional title last weekend, Schechterly didn’t waste much time taking control of his 160-pound first-round match, securing a takedown 44 seconds in against Boyertown’s J.D. Heiser.
“I didn’t want to be going through the second and third period worried about anything,” said Schechterly, who is ranked fourth in the state according to PA Power Wrestling. “I just wanted to get in there and score, so I didn’t have to do it later on.”
Schechterly chose down to start the second period, got his escape and secured another takedown.
“The second takedown definitely stopped the match, stopped his offense, and I started to get a little more attack,” Schechterly said.
He took a 7-2 lead into the third, and rode out Heiser (20th in state) for all but 10 seconds of the final period.
“It took a lot of thinking,” Schechterly said. “He’s ready on bottom with the legs, he’s ready to catch you. So, it was hard to ride him, but we got it over with.”
He’ll face Mount Lebanon’s Cole Gibbons (sixth in state) in the quarterfinals, which are scheduled for Friday at 2:15 p.m.
After a scoreless first period, Jake Benyo compiled 11 points in the second against Council Rock South’s Logan Worth (27th in state).
The Hazleton Area sophomore (seventh in state) secured a takedown with 37 seconds left in the period, and then tacked on eight back points.
“Basically every time I get a takedown, I always try to look for my tilts because the arms are normally everywhere, so you could pretty much look for one,” Jake Benyo said. “And if I get the tilt locked up, it’s pretty much over. I’m really good at tilts.”
He chose top in the third period, and tacked on one more tilt to secure the 15-0 technical fall.
He’ll face DuBois’ Mateo Gallegos (first in state) in the 121 quarterfinals.
Gabe Benyo (third in state) wasn’t happy with the way he wrestled Thursday, but still secured his spot in the 114 quarterfinals.
The Cougars sophomore turned Penn-Trafford’s Dylan Barrett (12th in state) in the second period for two back points.
“I’m pretty good on top, so I got a nice two in,” Gabe Benyo said.
Barrett got an escape in the second, but Gabe Benyo tacked on an escape in the third for a 3-1 advantage. Then, Gabe Benyo thwarted every shot, only allowing a stall point for a 3-2 victory.
He’ll face Upper Dublin’s Dom Powell (fourth in state) in the quarterfinals.
“(I’ll) just try to get some fluids in me and feel better from the weight cut,” Gabe Benyo said.
Others from District 2
Abington Heights’ Mason Whitney (133), Crestwood’s Micah Engelman (145) and Pittston Area’s Brody Spindler (215) lost their openers, but won in the consolation first round.
Whitney (third in state) rolled to an 18-2 tech fall over Hempfield’s Brady Deck (30th in state). He’ll face Northampton’s Matthew Sommer (21st in state) in Friday’s consolation second round.
Engelman (16th in state) got a late escape against Souderton’s Dominic Ramos (ninth in state) for a 5-4 win. He’ll face Northeastern’s Eric Orpin (14th in state) in the consolation second round.
Spindler (11th in state) secured takedowns in the second and third periods to earn a 7-2 decision over Stroudsburg’s Zion Essington (19th in state). He’ll face Boyertown’s Kaleb Dumin (13th in state) in the consolation second round.
Abington Heights’ Brady Full (127) and Wallenpaupack’s Gabe Caufield (172) each lost two matches and were eliminated from the tournament.
First round
114: Gabe Benyo (Hazleton Area) dec. Dylan Barrett (Penn-Trafford), 3-2.
121: Jake Benyo (Hazleton Area) tech fall Logan Worth (Council Rock South), 15-0 4:44.
127: Dom Canali (Trinity) dec. Brady Full (Abington Heights), 4-0.
133: Braiden Weaver (Altoona) dec. Mason Whitney (Abington Heights), 1-0.
160: Tommy Schechterly (West Scranton) dec. J.D. Heiser (Boyertown), 7-3.
215: Sawyer Ermigiotti (Pennridge) maj. dec. Brody Spindler (Pittston Area), 13-4.
Consolation first round
127: Deklan Barr (Altoona) dec. Brady Full (Abington Heights), 2-1.
133: Mason Whitney (Abington Heights) tech fall Brady Deck (Hempfield), 18-2 3:59.
145: Micah Engelman (Crestwood) dec. Dominic Ramos (Souderton), 5-4.
172: Xayden Sallit (Emmaus) dec. Gabriel Caufield (Wallenpaupack), 2-1.
215: Brody Spindler (Pittston Area) dec. Zion Essington (Stroudsburg), 7-2.
Preliminaries
145: Aidan Finnigan (Canon-McMillan) dec. Micah Engelman (Crestwood), 1-0.
172: Brady Allessie (Donegal) dec. Gabriel Caufield (Wallenpaupack), 6-0.