PIAA WRESTLING: Pair of area wrestlers advance to Class AAA semifinals

Ed Gotwals | GameTimePA

HERSHEY >> Winning a match to advance to the PIAA Class AAA Wrestling Championship semifinals is reward enough.

But Casey Glunt's 7-3 victory in a 182-pound quarterfinal bout on Friday afternoon over Evan Wilson of Central Bucks East was worth a little more than that – with the win, Glunt broke the James Buchanan school record for career wins with 118.

"It's cool, but all I want is a state title," Glunt said.

He was one of two Franklin County wrestlers to reach Saturday morning's semifinal round. Chandler Olson of Shippensburg notched his second straight pin, in 5:55 over Joe Blumer of Kiski Area, to get through at 126. Both Olson and Glunt are assured of medals for the second straight year and a top-six finish.

Chambersburg senior David Rump was edged 3-1 by Stephen Maloney of Bethlehem Catholic in his 138 quarterfinal, but he came back to win a consolation bout and is guaranteed a medal.

The Trojans' Drew Peck won his second-round consy bout, but lost in the next round, falling one win short of a medal. Teammate Garrett Kyner was eliminated in the second round of consolations.

Glunt (32-1) will face John Jakobson of Stroudsburg (36-1) in the semifinals, while Olson (34-1) will take on Bethlehem Catholic's Luke Karam (36-2), who won a state title in Class AA last year at 113.

Olson had his quarterfinal match in hand, leading 6-2 late in the third period, when Blumer tried a desperation throw and Olson took him down to his back for a quick pin five seconds from the end.

"I was just trying to stay in good position, and stay low, and not give him anything cheap," Olson said. "In that situation, the only way he can hit something big is if I'm out of position."

The Greyhound sophomore had jumped ahead with a hard-earned takedown in the first period, that was earned when he locked in a cradle, just missing additional back points.

Ship coach Tony Yaniello said, "He just couldn't quite hold him long enough to get those nearfall points."

After Blumer reversed Olson in the second, Olson reversed him right back to hold a 4-2 lead after two. He added a point for an escape and another for an illegal hold before he ended it.

"I knew he'd be tough; I just had to wrestle smart," Olson said.

Yaniello said, "Chandler is wrestling with confidence and he's doing what he has to do to win these matches."

Glunt was taken down by Wilson for the opening points on a single-leg shot near the mat's edge. But the Rocket senior reversed with a switch later in the period to make it 2-2.

"Getting that reversal was big," JB coach Matt Gordon said.

In the second, Glunt escaped, then connected on a sweet double-leg shot to go ahead 5-2. He allowed a late escape, then locked up Wilson in a bear hug and just stayed patient before taking him down in the final seconds.

Glunt said, "I knew he'd be strong, and he was damn strong. I had to stay out of ties. At the end, he was trying to throw a headlock, but I could feel it coming a mile away. All I was thinking was to drop to a leg."

"We had watched this kid and it looked like his style was very similar to Casey's," Gordon said. "It felt like we had to win it on our feet, and that's what happened."

Chambersburg's Rump lost a heartbreaker in the quarters. He was tied 1-1 with Maloney with time running out. With about 14 seconds left, Rump tried a gator roll, but Maloney sniffed it out and kept his balance, converting a winning takedown with 14 seconds left.

Rump said, "I just thought I should try for something to end it then. I rushed it."

In his consy bout, Rump beat Travis Stefanik of Nazareth 4-1 in a tiebreaker. It was 1-1 when Stefanik chose down for the second tiebreaker period. Rump broke him down and tilted him for three points and the win.

"I almost got him on that in the third period," Rump said, "so I used the same tilt. He was hard to get in on because of his length. This feels good to get a medal, but now I want third place."

Kyner was knocked out 3-0 by Josh Stillings of Pennridge in his only bout of the day.

Peck was in a scoreless match with Idris White of Father Judge when he connected on a takedown in the sudden victory period to win 2-0. Kyle Gentile of Pennridge then handed Peck an 8-0 defeat.