HERSHEY, Pa. — The PIAA state tournament is a place where you expect to see the best on display.
Manheim Township's Kaedyn Williams is one of the best—at 20-0, he wants a second state title.
Williams used a mix of agility and takedowns to open up a lead, and then late after the match got tighter Williams pulled a reverse to seal a 9-6 decision at 114 pounds.
Warwick's Marco Tocci controlled his bout at 121. A quick go-behind sealed the match in a 8-3 decision.
Rocco Fratelli of Northern saw his hand get raised after an overtime shot propelled him to a 3-1 victory at 133 pounds.
Gettysburg's Gabriel Pecaitis looked cool, calm and collected through a tight match that saw him grab a 4-2 decision to advance to the quarterfinals at 139.
A milestone was reached at 145 when Aiden Swann, of Cocalico, used a takedown and near-fall points to wrap up a decision. The victory was career #100.
Central Dauphin’s Matt Repos is one of the favorites at 145 pounds. He has been on this stage before and was last year's silver medalist. His opening bout was smooth and technical as Repos cruised to a major decision 10-2.
After the Repos win, Central Dauphin saw a run on mat four as Ryan Garvick and Michael Beers advanced at 152 and 160 pounds.
That 160-pound weight class was pretty big for District III. Manheim Central’s Brett Barbush had enough of his opponent in the second period when he locked in a fall to move on.
Regional champ Dominic Frontino, of Shippensburg, put on a show for the young fans in the front row. First Frontino used back points to create a cushion, and as his corner watched, Frontino worked his way to a major decision to place him in the quarters.
At 172, we start a run of McCaskey wrestlers. Kevin Olavarria entered at 34-0, and after round one, you could bump that to 35-0. Olavarria admitted that he didn't have his best, but he had enough to punch his ticket to the quarterfinals.
Teammate Jose Garcia doesn’t move like a 215-pounder—fast and smooth. Right off the start, Garcia registered a takedown and pulled a big five-point move. That was not the only big move for Garcia as he quickly locked in a fall for the win.
Heavyweight Donegal’s Nicholai Brotzman went to double overtime and used a quick reverse to secure two and a victory to move on.
On the other side of the arena, Carlisle’s Layton Schmick came up clutch. With his cheering section in the stands, Schmick secured a late third-period takedown to cement a 6-3 decision.
Extra notes:
Lebanon's Griffin Gonzalez won his pigtail bout and also his first-round match to advance to the quarterfinals of 152.
Spring Grove's Michael Hershey also won two matches to advance to the quarters at 285.
Macon Myers, of Central York, won a 4-0 decision to advance at 172 pounds.
Northern's Rocco Fratelli advanced to the quarterfinals after a 3-1 victory at 133.
Cole Bartram, of Northern, used a 6-1 decision to move on
Seamus Mack, of Hempfield, registered a first-period fall just over a minute in his match 127 pounds.