Bermudian wins 7th straight Division III title
Isaiah Fannin was so excited by his victory in Thursday's dual that he jumped into his teammates' arms before the referee could even raise his hand to declare him a winner.
The entire Bermudian Springs team mobbed the senior 195-pounder after a dramatic 7-6 win against Colton Sentz, while the Eagles fans filling up half the gym celebrated as if they'd just won a seventh straight YAIAA Division III title.
The Eagles didn't officially seal a 36-21 victory over rival Biglerville and another division crown until a couple matches later, but Fannin's unexpected win put Bermudian Springs ahead 26-21 and left little doubt that they would close it out.
“That was all heart," Bermudian Springs coach Dave McCollum said. "Sentz has been around a little bit longer than Fannin, but Isaiah, that was all heart, he just gutted it out. That was great to see him, being a senior, getting a big win for the team like that. Isaiah’s just a hard-working kid with not a whole lot of wrestling background or athletic talent, he’s just got a lot of heart.”
Fannin took a 5-2 lead after giving up an early takedown, then avoided getting taken down multiple times in the final seconds while clinging to his one-point lead.
“I just tried to not make any dumb decisions," he said. "We’ve been working on stuff all week, we’ve been talking about it.”
Logan Luckenbaugh won a major decision 13-5 against Victor Lopez at 220 pounds, and Brady Linebaugh pinned Alex Pirich in 45 seconds to cement the victory. The Eagles also got a pin from 126-pounder Austin Clabaugh and a technical fall from 113-pounder Landon West.
Fannin's match was one of three matches decided by two points or fewer, all won by Bermudian Springs. Noah Fleshman beat Alex King 3-2 in a chippy 170-pound match, and Dylan Griffie gave the Eagles the lead for the first time with a 9-7 defeat of Eli Tuckey at 120 pounds.
“He’s sort of a newcomer, but really not," McCollum said of Griffie. "People just don’t know him. He’s been in the program, but he didn’t wrestle last year. He came to team camp with us this summer and he was a big addition to our lineup when we got him down to 120. He only has two losses this year.”
The Eagles' lineup looks a lot different than it was expected to early in the season, after injuries to Chase Dull, Bailey Oberlander and Tyler Lawson. But the end result was the same: a win against Biglerville and another division title.
“Classic Biglerville-Bermudian match," McCollum said. "We talk about winning the title, it puts a lot of pressure on kids to come out and perform. I’ve gotta be honest, I don’t think we performed at our best tonight, but we did just enough.”
Both teams will likely qualify for next week's District 3 AA dual meet tournament. Despite the loss, Biglerville coach Nate Becker saw signs that his team will be competitive next week.
“Our effort was a positive," he said. "We didn’t have a great effort last night (against Littlestown), but we put a lot of effort in tonight and I’m proud of them.”
Bermudian Springs 36, Biglerville 21
at Biglerville
106 — Josh Tuckey, Big, won by forfeit. 113 — Landon West, BeS, tech fall Will Davis, 16-1. 120 — Dylan Griffie, BeS, dec. Eli Tuckey, 9-7. 126 — Austin Clabaugh, BeS, pinned Mitchell Thomas, 3:21. 132 — Curtis Fouchie, Big, dec. Brady Sanders, 8-4. 138 — Jarod Miller, BeS, dec. Seth Getz, 5-2. 145 — Darren Beall, BeS, dec. Gabe May, 7-3. 152 — Scott Cooper, tech fall, Lucas Glatfelter, 4:20 (15-0). 160 — Nate Newberry, maj. Dec. Ashton West, 9-0. 170 — Noah Fleshman, BeS, dec. Alex King, 3-2. 182 — Michael Southerly, Big, dec. Nate McCollum, 7-0. 195 — Isaiah Fannin, BeS, dec. Colton Sentz, 7-6. 220 — Logan Luckenbaugh, BeS, maj. Dec. Victor Lopez, 13-5. 285 — Brady Linebaugh, BeS, pinned Alex Pirich 0:45.