Chambersburg's Drew Peck back on the hunt for college

Chances are good that Drew Peck's final college destination will work out well for the Chambersburg wrestler.

But it's not going to be as easy as he thought.

Peck believed he had put that decision behind him in the fall when he accepted an offer from Brown University. But Peck was thrown a curveball when he was informed on Dec. 15 that Brown had rescinded the offer. The reason given was that Brown had questions about several school suspensions Peck had in previous years.

"We had the (Brown) coach look into it, people wrote letters on my behalf and our principal (Cathy Dusman) tried to call the school," Peck said. "But they didn't give us any response, and what we heard was that since they get so many applications, they don't really look at the whole thing if there's a question."

So it's back to the drawing board, although there is no shortage of interest for Peck, who is ranked No. 3 in the state (Pa. Power) and No. 14 in the country (Intermat) at 182 pounds.

Peck said he's had contact from quite a few schools, including Div. I schools Arizona State, Ohio State, North Carolina, Virginia, Lock Haven, Bloomsburg and Binghamton.

He said he has two official visits left, and he'll wait until after states (March 9-11) and the NCAA Tournament on March 18 to take them.

"I'm trying to look past it and just focus on improving the rest of the season," Peck said. "But it's still there. I'll try to ignore it, and but it will make me work harder to prove myself."

WEEKEND DUALS: Despite having only 10 wrestlers, Greencastle-Antrim finished 2-3 at the Juniata Duals on Saturday. The Blue Devils beat West Perry and Tulpehocken and lost a 39-38 heartbreaker to Danville. G-A fell 38-27 to Trinity in the seventh-place match.

Three Blue Devils went 4-1 for the day -- Kaylee Hengst at 106 picked up four forfeit wins, Thomas Richmond (145) had two pins and Ralondas Green (285) also had a pair of falls.

James Buchanan's four-man band competed in the Bloody Run Duals at Everett and was 0-4. But in the 16 bouts actually wrestled, the Rockets went 8-8.

Derek Pine (113) was 4-0 and Jae-Lin Carmack (120) went 3-1.

NICE TITLE: Mercersburg Academy competed in the Bissell Tournament at Hill School on Saturday and freshman Aurelius Dunbar of Greencastle picked up an impressive victory at 145.

Dunbar earned a tough 6-3 win over Blair Academy senior Anthony DeMartino in the quarterfinals, then roughed up Chris Hisey of Malvern Prep in the final, 12-3. Hisey is a two-time National Prep qualifier.

QUOTABLE: During the Wilson Duals on Saturday, Chambersburg freshman Luke Nichter notched a pin in just 12 seconds against his opponent from Spring Grove.

But in the next match, against Scranton, Peck needed just 0:08 to hit a standing gator roll and flatten his foe. It was not, however, his fastest - he had one in seven seconds a year ago.

Peck said, "Luke was telling us that his pin was the fastest of the year. So after I got mine, he came up and said, 'Seriously, Drew?' And I just said, 'You've had your half hour of fame.'"

LOOKING AHEAD: On Thursday, Shippensburg must go on the road to defeat Waynesboro in order to keep its Mid Penn Colonial Division title hopes alive.

This weekend is a big one for tournaments. Chambersburg and Mercersburg travel to Council Rock South for the tough Escape the Rock Tournament, Ship competes in the Gettysburg Duals, and Greencastle is a part of the Dutchmen Duals at Annville-Cleona.

Waynesboro also hosts its own duals tournament, which also includes Central York, West York, Lancaster Catholic, Mechanicsburg and favorite South Western.