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WRESTLING: Franklin County pushes 6 into District 3-AAA semifinals


HERSHEY >> One of the best things you can have on your side going into the District 3 Wrestling Tournament is experience in big tournaments.

Of the six Franklin County wrestlers who went 2-0 at the first day of districts on Friday at Hersheypark Arena and advanced to Saturday's semifinals, five are veterans of the postseason wars – Chambersburg's Garrett Kyner (132), David Rump (138) and Drew Peck (170), Shippensburg's Chandler Olson (126) and James Buchanan's Casey Glunt (182).

The other semifinalist, Jared Starliper of Greencastle-Antrim at 285 pounds, is making his first appearance in the District 3 event in his senior year. Yet Starliper racked up a pair of pins to sail into the second day.

District 3 has decided to move up the schedule considerably for Saturday, hoping to finish before the expected snow piles up too much. Class AA semifinals start at 8:30 a.m., followed by AAA at 9:45. Wrestling will continue in both classes (3 mats each) until conclusion, which is expected to be by mid to late afternoon.

Starliper is no big surprise, having rolled into the tournament with a 28-3 record. But he added to his pedigree by pinning Josiah Boyer of Elizabethtown in 4:56 in the first round, then sticking Giovani Alvarado of Gettysburg in 3:13.

The match against Boyer was scoreless entering the third period, with Starliper down. He was able to reverse Boyer and kept right on pushing until Boyer was on his back. In the quarterfinals, Starliper led 1-0 in the second when he countered a shot by Alvarado near the edge of the mat. Not only was Starliper able to catch Alvarado's knee to produce a takedown, but he also pulled him away from the edge of the mat and onto his back for a fall.

"I think he let up just a little bit there at the edge," Starliper said. "He was close to going out."

Starliper will need just one more win Saturday to advance to states.

"I'm feeling pretty good," he said. "It's a lot different feeling wrestling with so much on the line. Lots of emotion – I went back and threw up a little after my first match."

Peck had a relatively stress-free day, producing a 9-1 major in the first round over Karrington Washington of Harrisburg, and an 11-2 major over Penn Manor's Jack Zimmerman in the quarters.

"I wasn't expecting it to be easy," Peck said. "I had beaten the first guy earlier this year, but the second guy had beaten a good kid in sectionals, and I'd heard he likes to go for the big move. He was a little funky and he had good hips, so I was being careful not to get pinned."

Kyner was tested in a 5-3 first-round win over Cameron Palmer of Dover, but peaked for the quarters. He faced Victor Kenderdine of Manheim Township, who had beaten Kyner earlier this year, but this time Kyner prevailed, 8-4. He picked up four takedowns, all mostly using his quickness to spin behind.

Rump could not turn his first opponent, Jesse Sterner of Red Lion, but still dominated in a 4-0 win. The quarterfinal match lasted only 1:26 – he took Chad Rosenberger of Elizabethtown down and tilted him to his back, then stuck him there for a pin.

"I think that's the second pin I've gotten on a tilt this year," Rump said. "I feel like I'm wrestling well right now and I really want to get to the final."

JB's Glunt was tough on his feet. He won 13-3 in the first round over Nate Young of Spring Grove, hitting six takedowns, and put up two more in an 8-2 win over Evan Morrill of Lower Dauphin in the quarters.

Glunt said, "It's hard to tilt guys at this level and they know to expect it from me. If I can get a tilt, I get it; if I can't I'll work on takedowns."

Shippensburg's Olson had to work very hard for his two wins. He used a first-period single-leg takedown and a third-period reversal to beat Governor Mifflin's Zack Sheets 4-1 in his opener, but he was tagged for stalling late. In the quarters, a first-period takedown, again on a single, were the only points in a win over Michael Bracey of Kennard-Dale. Bracey rode Olson for the last four minutes, but couldn't turn him.

Olson said, "At this stage, it doesn't matter what the score is, as long as you get your hand raised. That kid (Bracey) was tough, and you just don't want to make a mistake, because it's hard to recover from that. Last year, I felt like I had nothing to lose here. It's a different vibe and mentality this year."

Possibly the toughest loss of the day came at 113 in the quarters. Chambersburg's Aaron Rump led Jake Cherry of Central Dauphin entering the final period and was on bottom. But he was unable to get out, and lost a point for stalling with about 30 seconds left. Desperate, Cherry threw in a cradle and was able to flip Rump to his back with 14 seconds left for a 4-2 win.

JB's Cameron DeLucia fell in the quarters, 2-0, to Chris White of CD, with the only points coming in the second period on a White nearfall.

NOTES >> Aaron Rump and DeLucia are the only other area wrestlers still alive for a place – the other 11 were eliminated ... Waynesboro suffered a tough day, going 1-8, with Cody Frey's consy win the only victory ... Cumberland Valley put eight in the semifinals.

District 3 Class AAA

Friday's Results

(Local results only)

PRELIMINARY ROUND

106 — Cameron DeLucia (JB) d Jacob Flock (R.Lion), 6-4; 113 — Aaron Rump (Chbg) md Brandon Rodriguez (Dover), 10-0; 120 — Derek Wilson (SW) md Matt Strunk (Chbg), 12-1; 126 — Chandler Olson (Ship) d Zack Sheetz (GovMiff), 4-1. Owen Wherley (SW) p Ryan Neff (Way), 2:43; 132 — Garrett Kyner (Chbg) d Cameron Palmer (Dover), 5-3. Wyatt Jennings (Sol) tf Aaron Layman (Way), 15-0, 4:12; 138 — David Rump (Chbg) d Jesse Sterner (R.Lion), 4-0. Dylan Chatterton (C.York) d Kyle Lee (JB), 5-1; 145 — Dalton Groff (Sol) d Colin Runshaw (Chbg), 7-0. Alex Klucker (E.Penn) p Cody Frey (Way), 1:33; 152 — Lucas Ortiz (CoVal) p David Law (Chbg), 3:52; 160 — Jonah Barley (P.Manor) p Greg Wallace (Chbg), 4:53; 170 — Drew Peck (Chbg) md Karrington Washington (Harr), 9-1; 182 — Casey Glunt (JB) md Nate Young (SprGr), 13-3. Josh Colello (C.Cliff) tf Cameron Tinner (Ship), 26-11, 3:40; 220 — J.P. Marrero (CD) p Stefaun Johnson (G-A), 5:13. Matt Reinhart (Read) p Kody Brown (Way), 0:48; 285 — Jared Starliper (G-A) p Josiah Boyer (E-town), 4:56.

QUARTERFINALS

106 — Chris Wright (CD) d DeLucia (JB), 2-0; 113 — Jake Cherry (CD) d A.Rump (Chbg), 4-2; 126 — Olson (Ship) d Michael Bracey (K-Dale), 2-0; 132 — Kyner (Chbg) d Victor Kenderdine (ManTwp), 8-4; 138 — D.Rump (Chbg) p Chad Rosenberger (E-town), 1:26; 170 — Peck (Chbg) md Jack Zimmerman (P.Manor), 11-2; 182 — Glunt (JB) d Evan Morrill (LD), 8-2; 285 — Starliper (G-A) p Giovani Alvarado (Gett), 3:13.

CONSOLATIONS

First Round

120 — Myles Taylor (MH) p Strunk (Chbg), 3:21; 126 — Aidyn Miller (Hemp) d Neff (Way), 4-0; 132 — Tyler Bagoly (Ex) d Neff (Way), 6-1; 138 — Lee (JB) d David Graves (ManTwp), 5-4; 145 — Runshaw (Chbg) d Austin McNamee (K-Dale), 6-0. Frey (Way) d Tyler Davis (Read), 4-3; 152 — Tommy O'Brien (Wil) d Law (Chbg), 7-1; 160 — Nathan Stewart (K-Dale) md Wallace (Chbg), 12-4; 182 — Zach Shaffer (R.Lion) md Tinner (Ship), 9-0; 220 — Ricky White (McCas) d Johnson (G-A), 5-3. Colin Hunt (CoVal) d Brown (Way), 7-4.

Second Round

106 — DeLucia (JB) p Ryan Watts (Ex), 2:52; 113 — A.Rump (Chbg) d Taylor Morrison (Sol), 6-0; 138 — Kody Hart (Sol) p Lee (JB), 5:26 OT; 145 — Nick Shields (Dallas) p Runshaw, 1:43. Koltyn Eason (CD) d Frey, 7-4.