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Wrestlers claim just one victory in AA


HERSHEY >> It wasn't a fun morning for the Class AA locals on Thursday in the preliminary and first rounds of the PIAA Wrestling Championships.

After Annville-Cleona's Josh Renninger opened the day with a victory in his prelim bout at 132 pounds, the area's wrestlers went 0-5 in the morning session.

Northern Lebanon's Luke Funck put up the best fight. Battling against four-loss Jared Walker of South Fayette, Funck took a scoreless tie into the final period. About 30 seconds into the frame, Walker secured a reversal but Funck quickly tugged out for an escape. Walker hit a takedown, and Funck escaped again but he couldn't get any offensive points on the board. He took a 4-2 loss before dropping to the consolation bracket.

A-C's Jeffrey Inman also looked like he was in for a tight match through the first period of his 152-pound match against Jacob Oliver, of Huntingdon. But Oliver caught him with a five-point move in the second period to take a big lead.

In the second, Inman went for shot, but Oliver countered with a takedown and then quickly collected three back points before Inman could regain his control. Oliver earned a 10-0 victory.

After Renninger's victory in the prelims, he had to immediately take on Derry's George Phillippi, the winner of the Southwest Region 1. Phillippi overpowered Renninger from the start. He came out quick with his first takedown in the opening 20 seconds of the bout, and although Renninger escaped, Phillippi took him right back down. The pattern continued until Phillippi earned a 12-2 major decision.