WRESTLING: Chambersburg places 2 in Beast
NEWARK, Del. - Chambersburg wrestlers came home with two medals from the two-day Beast of the East Tournament at the University of Delaware that ended Sunday.
Junior Aaron Rump captured fourth place at 132 pounds and junior Drew Peck placed fifth at 182.
The event attracts over 100 teams, including many of the top wrestling programs from the Mid-Atlantic region.
Trojan coach Matt Mentzer said, "In addition to the kids who placed, we had quite a few kids get a couple of wins. The kids who have some experience showed well and were competitive. There were a lot of positives."
Rump, seeded No. 7, won his first three bouts, including a 3-0 nod over Central Dauphin's Jake Cherry, to reach the quarterfinals, but there he was edged 3-1 by Nicholas Farro of Delbarton, N.J. In the consolation semifinals, he defeated the defending champion, Bandon Paetzell of Phillipsburg, N.J., 2-1, but suffered a 4-1 loss to Wyatt Long of Cumberland Valley in the match for third place to post a 6-2 record.
"Aaron had a coming-out kind of tournament," Mentzer said. "He lost only to the kids who finished second and third, so it was a quality effort by him."
Peck, the No. 4 seed, won four straight bouts to get to the championship semifinals, including three straight one-point wins, one of them over Waynesburg's Colin McCracken, a PIAA medalist. But he was handled 8-0 by No. 1 seed Michael Beard of Malvern Prep in the semis. He then lost in his first consolation bout, and won the match for fifth place when Josh Colello of Cedar Cliff forfeited.
Mentzer said, "Peck had an absolutely horrendous draw; it was a meat grinder, and he ended up winning all of the close bouts."
Freshman Seth Runshaw (106) ended up with a 4-2 record and came within one more win over earning a medal. Spencer Runshaw (113), Garrett Kyner (138) and Dalton Grace all managed 2-2 records.
"Seth looked really good; his first match Sunday (an 8-2 win) was his best match so far," Mentzer said, "and Grace had a good tournament. Kyner had a tough draw in the first round, getting the No. 3-ranked kid in the state (Joey Gould of Bethlehem Catholic). Garrett was down 1-0 until he scored a takedown with two or three seconds left to pull it out. Then he lost in sudden victory in his next match, and that was one he probably should have won."
Beast of the East
Chambersburg Results
106 — Seth Runshaw, 4-2. 113 — Spencer Runshaw, 2-2. 126 — Cole Grove, 1-2. 132 — Aaron Rump, 4th place, 6-2, 1 TF. 138 — Garrett Kyner, 2-2. 145 — Drake Brenize, 1-2. 152 — Colin Runshaw, 1-2, 1 pin. 160 — Matt Strunk, 0-2. 170 — Jesse Kaiser, 0-2. 182 — Drew Peck, 5th place, 5-2, 1 pin. 195 — Dalton Grace, 2-2, 1 pin. 220 — Brock Over, 0-2.