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Yinger beats rival to reach district semifinals


HERSHEY - The last thing Blaine Yinger wanted was overtime.

The Northeastern heavyweight was heading into the quarterfinals of Thursday's District 3 Class 3A Championships at the Giant Center facing a familiar opponent in Exeter Township's Oscar Daniels. The two previously faced each other in the districts finals last season, with Yinger winning the title in overtime.

Yinger made sure the extra period wasn't necessary this time, beating Daniels, 3-2, in regulation. The Bobcat senior broke a 1-1 tie with a second-period takedown and held Daniels off in the final period.

"Last year three out of my four matches went into overtime, I didn't want to do that again, it wasn't fun," Yinger said. "I didn't want the series to be tied and also this is my last year, I didn't want to lose."

As the final seconds ticked off the clock in the quarterfinals, Yinger turned toward the center of the mat and flexed. The reigning Class 3A champion is supremely confident, even if he's not the favorite to repeat this year.

Yinger's opponent in Friday's semifinal matchup will be Shippensburg's Cameron Tinner, who has already beaten him this season. The likely opponent for either of them in the finals will be Central York's Michael Wolfgram, who has pinned Yinger twice.

Despite those results, Yinger is determined to repeat.

"I know I can hang with all these kids if not beat them all," Yinger said. "I want to be a two-time (district champion), I've been working all year for it and I don't want it to go to waste now. (A rematch against Wolfgram) is a big one, and that's another one I want to get."

Yinger will be joined in Friday's semifinals by teammate Cole Wilson, who dominated the first two rounds of the 106-pound bracket Thursday. The freshman earned pins over Penn Manor's Owen Rohrer and Cedar Cliff's Cole Baer in a combined 1:49.

Wilson will face Manheim Central's Will Betancourt in the semfinals, a sectional champ with a 31-2 season record. While he said he's still adjusting to the atmosphere of the district tournament, the freshman hasn't seemed fazed yet

"The first match I was pretty nervous, but I was nervous warming up and when I got on the mat it felt like a normal match," Wilson said. "I just want to let people know I'm here to wrestle."

Of the 10 York-Adam wrestlers to advance to Friday's Class 3A semifinals, only two are freshman. The other is Gettysburg 138-pounder Dylan Reinert, who took a much more dramatic route than Wilson.

Facing Carlisle's Colton Jumper in the quarters, Reinert registered a takedown in the final seconds to earn a thrilling 12-10 win. He'll face fellow freshman Clayton Ulrey of Lower Dauphin in the semifinals on Friday.

"I was just worried about finishing (the takedown), but I'm going to wrestle until the ref blows the whistle," Reinert said. "He got some good shots on me but I just kept with my offense."

Storm dominates at 120

New Oxford senior Zurich Storm was barely tested on Thursday.

The Colonials senior breezed into the semifinals, earning a first-round pin over Red Land’s Bryce Brennan before getting a 16-0 tech fall over Twin Valley’s Mason Bennett.

A year after finishing second at districts, Storm is in position to make it back to the finals on Friday. He'll face Waynesboro's Matthew McCann in the semifinals, a wrestler he pinned earlier this season.

Despite that result and his desire to win the gold medal, Storm is trying not to think past McCann.

"Biggest thing that I learned from when I was little until now is to never underestimate a kid," Storm said. "I've been that person whose been underestimated and come out on top. I've got to treat him like every other kid in front of me."

While Storm was one of just two Adams County wrestlers to advance to the semifinals, he was not the only YAIAA senior to roll through Thursday's matches. Dallastown 220-pounder Bryce Shields earned pins in both his matches.

The Wildcats got a second semifinalist in 126-pounder Dalton Daugherty, making them one of three YAIAA teams to advance multiple wrestlers along with Northeastern and Spring Grove. The Rockets had three competitors to make the top four in 113-pounder Dalton Rohrbaugh, 132-pounder Jake Meyer and 220-pounder Nate Young.