South Western, Gettysburg drop district openers
Both South Western and Gettysburg dropped their matches in the first round of the District 3 Class 3A team tournament on Tuesday.
Gettysburg, the No. 8 seed, fell 50-24 to No. 9 Cocalico, 50-24 at Central Dauphin. The Eagles later fell to No. 1 Central Dauphin, 38-27.
The Warriors fell behind 24-0 after four matches as Cocalico got pins from Ben Fromm (195), Austin Shaver (220), Brady Maxwell (285) and Seth Fritz (106). That lead grew to 44-0 just four bouts later as the Eagles clinched the victory.
Gettysburg won five straight bouts after that as Dylan Reinert (138), Daniel Ziegler (145), Joseph Pecaitis (152), Edward Wells (160) and Michael Fortney (170) each picked up wins.
South Western, meanwhile, traveled to Berks County to face No. 2 seed Exeter Township and came away with a 51-19 loss. The Mustangs found themselves in a similar hole as Gettysburg after five bouts. Exeter picked up a pin, tech fall, a major and two decision to take a quick 21-0 lead.
Tom Aumen scored a fall at 220 to briefly make it 21-6, but Exeter won the next four bouts all by fall to go ahead 45-6. Chase Mowery (126), Jordan Shepard (138) and Gage Donovan (145) picked up victories down the stretch. Exeter Township added a 48-16 win over Big Spring to reach the semifinals Thursday at Spring Grove.