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Chambersburg's Peck reaches PIAA semifinals


HERSHEY - Chambersburg wrestling coach Matt Mentzer knows that his 182-pounder, Drew Peck, can't have the same kind of match Saturday morning that he did Friday afternoon.

Even though Peck did win his bout in the quarterfinals of the PIAA Class AAA Championships.

A 9-5 victory over Csts Hatzipavlides (not a misprint) of Bayard-Rustin advanced Peck to the semifinals and assured himself of a medal. He will join two other Franklin County wrestlers on the podium Saturday - Trojan teammate Garrett Kyner (138) and Shippensburg's Chandler Olson (126) will also earn medals.

Peck zoomed out to a big lead with a takedown and nearfall in the first period and another nearfall in the second for an 8-0 advantage.

"Drew had a great start to his match," Mentzer said. "But he has to finish his matches and finish the periods. He took his foot off the gas and didn't keep the other guy on the defensive."

Hatzipavlides scored a reversal to end the second. After Peck escaped to start the third period, he was taken down and ridden out, and lost a point for stalling.

Peck said, “I had a conversation last night with a kid who wrestled (Hatzipavlides) yesterday and he said he didn’t really do much off bottom, so I thought I could turn him. At first he was getting up a lot, but I was able to hold on and I think I eventually wore him down on top."

In the semifinals, Peck (37-5) will face the No. 1-ranked wrestler at 182, Jake Woodley of North Allegheny (39-3), who defeated No. 2-ranked Kyle Gentile of Pennridge, 5-3 in overtime.

Peck said, "I think we’re all about the same level, so I’ve got a chance.”

"Woodley is tough – he’s ranked No. 1 for a reason," Mentzer said. "He has some great coaches and he will do things correctly. Drew has the potential to win; he just has to wrestle his match.”

Kyner was making his third trip to states and now has his first medal. It took a pair of nail-biters to achieve his goal.

First he edged his rival, Will Kaldes of Cumberland Valley, 4-3, using a second-period takedown to get ahead. Then he captured a 3-2 verdict over Doug Gudenburr of Ringgold. A tilt off the whistle in the third period gave him a 3-0 lead and he hung on.

"I was definitely thinking about what it meant more than just about that one match," Kyner said. "Because I know all of the work that went into it, and I didn’t want to look back on every match and leave here empty-handed.

“I’ve been in that situation a lot of times (holding a narrow lead). Sometimes I’ve won and sometimes I have to learn from it. I just tried to counter his shots when they came.”

Mentzer said, "I know that match meant a lot. For him to win this one today like he did, was just like a lot of matches he’s won for us in his four years. We knew he’d have to win some one-point matches up here to medal at this weight."

Shippensburg had Olson and Cameron Tinner in the quarterfinals, and both suffered defeats. Olson was handled 11-0 by Luke Karam of Bethlehem Catholic, a two-time defending state champion, and Tinner lost his first match of the season, 8-3 to Freedom's Evan Callahan.

Olson came back to notch a 4-2 win over Parkland's Andrew Mastrangelo to guarantee his medal - his third in three trips to states. He reversed and got back points, which was enough to overcome a late reversal.

"Chandler made a nice comeback after that loss to Karam," Greyhound coach Tony Yaniello said. "He's on the podium at one of the toughest weights up here."

Tinner was taken down three times by Callahan, and couldn't get his offense going. In the consolation round, he was nipped 5-4 by Jesse Enck of Daniel Boone on a takedown with two seconds left.

He trailed 3-2 when Enck was called for stalling with 25 seconds left, then went ahead on an escape with 18 left. But he allowed Enck to catch him in a bear hug and trip at the edge.

"There are a lot of things I learned from this," Tinner said. "It was hard to come back from that loss - it took me more than a half hour to stop thinking about it. I just wasn't myself this weekend."

In consolation bouts Saturday, Olson (36-3) will face Ethan McCoy of Latrobe (32-4), while Kyner (36-8) meets Jake Hinkson of North Allegheny (38-10).

PIAA Wrestling Championships

Saturday's Results

CLASS AAA

Quarterfinals

126: Luke Karam (Bethlehem Catholic) md Chandler Olson (Shippensburg), 11-0. 182: Drew Peck (Chambersburg) d Csts Hatzipavlides (Bayard-Rustin), 9-5. 220: Evan Callahan (Freedom) d Cameron Tinner (Shippensburg), 8-3.

Second Round Consolations

138: Garrett Kyner (Chambersburg) d Will Kaldes (Cumberland Valley), 4-3.

Third Round Consolations

126: Chandler Olson (Shippensburg) d Andrew Mastrangelo (Parkland), 4-2. 138: Garrett Kyner (Chambersburg) d Doug Gudenburr (Ringgold), 3-2. 220: Jesse Enck (Daniel Boone) d Cameron Tinner (Shippensburg), 5-4.