Reruns Dominate AA Finals

By David Ackley

For Tom Elling's PA Wrestling News

HERSHEY – The 2005 PIAA Class AA Wrestling Championships looked like reruns from last weekend’s four regional championships with rematches in six of the 14 bouts repeats. And just like television reruns the repeats posed no surprises.

The repeats started just two bouts in as Derry Area’s Troy Dolan continued the dominance he’s had over Wet Green’s Justin Blumer. Not only did Dolan score a 7-4 win for the state crown. It was the third time in as many weeks that Dolan downed Blumer

103 pounds, Jason Guffey became the first state champion from Warrior Run since 1994 when Jason Betz won his third title. The win gave coach Wayne Smythe his seventh and the school its eighth individual crown.

Kane’s only state champion was John Fidelibus a 132-pound winner in 1986.

Moran scored the opening two points on takedown. Guffey tied the bout with a reversal. Starting in the neutral position for the second period, neither wrestler was able to score. Guffey took his option and elected the down position for the third period, Moran was called for stalling for a second time with just 10 seconds left. On the restart, Guffey scored a reversal and a 5-2 win.

“I’ve been working for this all year and was confident coming into the tournament,” Guffey said after receiving his gold medal. “My coach kept telling me to take this match like all the others, it wasn’t any different. Actually I wasn’t nervous for this, I was though for my first match here.”

Adam Whetestone became Claysburg-Kimmel’s third state champ and the first since Jarret Mussleman won in the final championship held at the Hersheypark Arena. Like Dolan in the bout before, Whetstone defeated Belle Vernon’s Jason Weslager in the Southwest Regional and capped his journey to the top of the podium after finishing eighth the previous two years.

Line Mountain junior Kellon Balum scored three takedowns and a late trhree-point near fall for a 10-9 win over 2003 state champion Matt Dunn of Reynolds.

“I was more nervous as the tournament went along,” Balum told a throng of reporters following his championship performance.

Dunn trailing 4-1 after one period allowed and escape then scored a takedown and a three-point near fall to take a 6-5 lead into the final two minutes.

“I didn’t think I could pin me with the hold, because it’s the move I always use for points,” Balum said.

The win was the first for Line Mountain in the finals since Mike Shingara won his third state title at 152 pounds in 1997. Balum’s uncle Dana, the coach at Wilkes-Barre Coughlin and a 1967 PIAA runner-up greeted his nephew after the bout.

“It’s as exciting as one of my own wrestlers winning it and it seems like Lon (Kelon’s father) and I were always second or third.”

Juniata Valley junior Garrett Scott hasn’t had to think about second or third at the PIAAs. The Hornet 11^th grader made it three titles in three years with a 16-1 technical fall over Oley Valley’s Caleb Walsh in 4 minutes and 25 seconds.

“I train hard to go a full six minutes and I feel once I’m at states there is no pressure,” Scott said.

Next year Scott will attempt to become the 10^th wrestler in PIAA history to win four crowns.

“I’m not thinking about that now, and when the season starts I know I’ll just have to take one match at a time.”

Also scoring a technical fall win was Lake Lehman’s Matt Dragon. The Black Knight became his schools first champs since 1981 when Ricky and Rocky Bonomo along with Mike Leskowsky all won titles for the late Floyd “Shorty” Hitchcock. Dragon domintated Pius X junior James Sciascia 17-1 in 2:58.

Mike Letts became Octorara’s first state champ when he downed Bermudian Springs’ Jone Hade, 3-1. It was a repeat of a win in last week’s Southeast Regional final.

AJ Graves of Jeanette beat District 7 rival Logan Downes of Valley for the 171 pounds title 8-1. Graves had finished second to Freedom Area’s Damian Rose last year after beating him in the regional final.

The lone wrestler to avenge a regional loss was at 189 pounds where Pat Bradshaw pinned Curwensville sophomore Nick Sipes 2:32.

The Sipes family only had to wait six minutes to get back on the winning side as Nate won his second-straight state championship downing Valley View’s Kyle Davis 12-3 for the 215-pound title. The loss was the second-straight in the championship for Davis.

After winning a 2-1 decision over Shane Valko in Friday’s semis for the state record 174^th of his caree, Matt Fisk added a 5-1 over Nick Stabile of Hamburg for his second state title.

“I know people were booing last night after Matt won, but it’s like I told him, they weren’t booing him, they were booing the way he won (on  a point for stalling),” said Wyalusing assistant coach Martin O’Conner. “I think the fans wanted to see the match decided by the wrestlers, not the referee.”

Also winning state championships were Brockway’s Andy Rendos  (140), Mount Pleasant’s Donnie Ament (145) and Tyrone 275-pounder Terry Tate.

Reynolds took the team crown despite losing both its finals matches.