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Storm, Wolfgram crowned district wrestling champs


Zurich Storm had qualified for the PIAA Class 3A Wrestling Championships for three consecutive years but had never entered the Giant Center in March as a champion.

Saturday morning, the New Oxford senior took care of that issue in convincing manner.

Storm earned his fourth berth in the state tournament with a not-as-close-as-it-looked 8-2 win over Chris Wright of Central Dauphin in the 120-pound final.

Michael Wolfgram of Central York claimed the other individual big school title Saturday for the league with a dominating 14-5 major decision over Shippensburg’s Cameron Tinner at 285 pounds.

Spring Grove junior Dalton Rohrbaugh, making his third championship final appearance, lost a 7-4 decision to Cedar Cliff’s JJ Wilson in the 113-pound final.

Eight other YAIAA Class AAA wrestlers earned berths in the state tournament with top-four finishes in this week’s district tournament.

Earning victories in the consolation finals were Northeastern’s Cole Wilson (106) and Dallastown’s Bryce Shields (220).

The Spring Grove trio of Clay Baker (120), Jake Meyer (132) and Nate Young (220) along with Gettysburg’s Dylan Reinert (138), Red Lion’s Dylan Gurreri (160) and Northeastern’s Blaine Yinger (285) finished fourth.

Storm (33-1) took control of the bout against Wright early with a takedown 32 seconds into the bout before tacking on another in the last 30 seconds of the period to take a 4-1 lead.

After Wright (42-4) recorded an escape in the second period to cut his deficit to 4-2, Storm was back on the attack in the final period with a third takedown 20 seconds in and this time a physical ride which eventually earned him a two-point nearfall for the last of the scoring.

Always known for his explosive offense from the neutral position, the four-year starter knew he needed to become better on the mat.

“I felt good on top. The biggest thing to win a state title for me this year is to be able to ride someone out for a period,” he said. “It just feels so great (to win).”

Much like his older, smaller counterpart from Adams County, Wolfgram dominated in his bout against the Greyhounds senior, a returning district champion, from the start with his first takedown countering a shot from the smaller Tinner (36-2) just 35 seconds into the match.

Five minutes, 25 seconds and five takedowns later, Wolfgram had a district gold medal and his unbeaten mark still intact.

“I was a lot more nervous than I thought I would. I’m not going to lie,” said the 34-0 sophomore. “I got my offense going. That allowed me to be more dominant.”

Rohrbaugh, the 106-pound champ last season, fell behind the Colts sophomore, giving up a takedown and two back points in the final 31 seconds of the opening period. The 31-3 junior couldn’t get any offense going, finally recording a takedown in the last minute of the match but it was too little too late.

The Rockets' standout admitted to not going into the match with the right mindset.

“I got into my own head about the match, thinking about last year’s match and all the possible things that could happen,” he said, referring to his 2-1 victory over Wilson in last year’s district tournament. “The coaches think I put too much pressure on myself as a returning district champion.

“It’s only one loss. I’m still not done.”

Rockets' coach Tony Miller knows there is another day for Rohrbaugh and is happy to be taking three other participants back to the Giant Center.

“We’ve got some concrete things to work on,” he said. “We’ve never taken four so I’m happy for the kids. It’s tough to get out of this district, regional, whatever you want to call it. Dalton will have wrestling partners (for practice).”

Wilson, only a freshman, notched a takedown five seconds into his consolation final against Cumberland Valley’s Patrick DeMark and another with nine seconds remaining to claim a 5-1 decision over the Eagles' freshman.