West Scranton’s Tommy Schechterly, back, wrestles Boyertown’s J.D. Heiser in the 160-pound first round Thursday during the PIAA Class 3A Wrestling Championships at the Giant Center in Hershey. BOB GAETANO / CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
HERSHEY — Tommy Schechterly made a major statement Friday night during the PIAA Class 3A Wrestling Championships.
The West Scranton sophomore stormed to a 10-1 major decision in the 160-pound semifinals over Oxford’s Jon Smith, the No. 1 wrestler in the state according to PA Power Wrestling, and advanced to the final.
“I feel like I wrestled it really good,” said Schechterly, who is ranked fourth in the state. “I came prepared, knowing what was going on and what I had to do.”
He’ll be centerstage at the Giant Center on Saturday, with the boys Class 3A and 2A and girls finals starting at 4 p.m.
“It feels amazing,” Schechterly said. “Everything I’ve done has paid off, training, waking up early, getting them early workouts in, lifts. It feels like everything is coming together.”
It certainly came together in the semifinals.
Schechterly scored first with a takedown on the edge of the circle with three seconds left in the first period, keeping his right foot inbounds for the 3-0 advantage.
“Getting that first-period takedown was huge,” Schechterly said. “It started to open up the match a lot. I got the underhook the first time. I felt when we were going out of bounds that it was there, that I could have definitely hit that and scored. And then when I came in, I got into it and I had to hurry up and get that takedown with the last couple seconds left.”
From there, Schechterly took over, securing a six-point move at the end of the second period for a 9-1 advantage entering the third. He added an escape in the third for the 10-1 victory.
“I started to feel him out more,” Schechterly said. “I knew what I was capable of and my scoring abilities. He gets in my leg, and it is what it is. I can get out, so that helped a lot.”
Schechterly started the day with a 2-1 victory over Mount Lebanon’s Cole Gibbons (sixth in state) in the quarterfinals. The two traded escapes, but Schechterly pushed the pace throughout to force a stall warning in the first period and a stall point in the third.
He’ll face Altoona’s Gavin Ciampoli (second in state) — who beat Schechterly, 5-2, at Mid-Winter Mayhem in January — in the final.
Class 3A
Semifinals
114: Gabe Benyo (Hazleton Area) dec. Cael Muller (Notre Dame – GP), 4-2.
160: Tommy Schechterly (West Scranton) maj. dec. Jon Smith (Oxford Area), 10-1.
Consolation fourth round
(Ongoing)
Quarterfinals
114: Gabe Benyo (Hazleton Area) dec. Dom Powell (Upper Dublin), 8-7.
121: Mateo Gallegos (DuBois) dec. Jake Benyo (Hazleton Area), 7-2.
160: Tommy Schechterly (West Scranton) dec. Cole Gibbons (Mt. Lebanon), 2-1.
Consolation third round
121: Jake Benyo (Hazleton Area) dec. Tommy Oswald (Lower Dauphin), 9-2.
133: Mason Whitney (Abington Heights) maj. dec. Shane Young (North Penn), 9-1.
215: Connor Smalley (Notre Dame – GP) maj. dec. Brody Spindler (Pittston Area), 18-4.
Consolation second round
133: Mason Whitney (Abington Heights) maj. dec. Matthew Sommer (Northampton Area), 10-0.
145: Eric Orpin (Northeastern) dec. Micah Engelman (Crestwood), 9-5.
215: Brody Spindler (Pittston Area) pinned Kaleb Dumin (Boyertown), 2:12.
Class 2A
Semifinals
107: Arav Pandey (Trinity) dec. Nathan Schuman (Honesdale), 11-6.
Consolation fourth round
(Ongoing)