Fast start helps Seneca Valley defeat Mifflin County in PIAA 1st round

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, February 7, 2019 | 8:57 PM

HERSHEY — Seneca Valley shrugged off its disappointing performance in the WPIAL Class AAA championship with a solid win Thursday in the first round of the PIAA team tournament at the Giant Center.

Seneca Valley (14-3) won six of the first seven bouts and defeated District 6 champion Mifflin County, 35-24.

Dylan Chappell, the No. 1-ranked wrestler at 106 pounds by Trib HSSN, started things off with a second-period pin at 113.

Returning state champion Alejandro Herrera-Rondon followed with a 6-1 win against Christian Fisher at 120.

After Mifflin County got a win at 126, the Raiders won the next four bouts to open up a 29-3 lead. Antonio Amelia (145) won by technical fall, and Nick Montalbano (160) picked up a pin.

The Raiders clinched the match with a pin by Nick Funovits at 220.

“You can’t take anyone for granted it here,” Seneca Valley coach Kevin Wildrick said. “The 220 win, actually a pin, was big. We needed wins like that to pull out the win. The matches at 120 and 138 were huge.

“We’re looking forward to our next match. Hopefully, we won’t give up many bonus points.”

Seneca Valley faces No. 1-ranked Bethlehem Catholic at 2 p.m. Friday in the quarterfinals. Bethlehem Catholic defeated Boyertown, 57-9, in the first round.

Paul Schofield is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Paul at pschofield@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Schofield_Trib.

Tags: Seneca Valley