Franklin Regional wrestling pushes No. 1 Council Rock South to brink before losing
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Thursday, February 8, 2024 | 10:49 PM
Franklin Regional senior Troy McClelland dominates the 215-pound match against Council Rock South’s Aryn Valeriano on Thursday at the PIAA Class 3A team wrestling tournament.
Franklin Regional senior Juliano Marion pins Council Rock South’s Jeff Gessner on Thursday at the PIAA Class 3A team wrestling tournament.
Franklin Regional’s Luke Ankney controls the arm of Council Rock South’s Ben Brillhart during the 145-pound match Thursday at the PIAA Class 3A team wrestling tournament.
HERSHEY — Three close losses proved to be the difference in Franklin Regional’s first-round loss to No. 1 Council Rock South at the PIAA Class 3A wrestling team championships Thursday at Giant Center.
The Hawks won close matches at 133 pounds, 145 and 172 and defeated the Panthers, 37-24.
Franklin Regional (20-2) now will face Boiling Springs in the consolation round 10:30 a.m. Friday. The Bubblers lost to Central Mountain, 35-25.
Franklin Regional closed the gap to 25-24 with two bouts left, but pins by Connor Lenahan at 114 and Luke Reitter at 121 ended the Panthers’ upset bid.
“We gave the best team in the state a good run,” Franklin Regional coach Matt Lebe said. “I’m proud of our effort. We just needed to reverse those close matches.”
A win by Troy McClelland at 215, a pin by Juliano Marion at 285 and a victory by Titus Colangelo at 107 had Council Rock South fans worried.
But close wins by Pat Woloshyn at 133, Ben Brillhart at 145 and Aidan Murray at 172 were the difference.
Woloshyn edged Nico Sarnic, 4-3. Brillhart defeated Luke Ankney, 10-8, and Murray squeezed out an 8-5 win against Henry Patts.
“We had our chances,” Lebe said. “We didn’t win the toss, and they elected to not wrestle Ty (Kapusta). We just have to learn from this experience.”
Kapusta started things for the Panthers with a second-period pin.
Council Rock South recorded three consecutive wins to grab a 10-6 advantage before a pin by the Panthers’ Ethan Cartwright at 152 made it 12-10.
But Council Rock South won the next three bouts, which included pins by Gavin Cole at 160 and Bekhruz Sadriddinov at 189 to take a 25-12 lead.
But the Panthers wouldn’t go quietly, winning the next three bouts to make it 25-24.
“This is great experience for the team,” Lebe said. “Any time you can wrestle in this arena and in this environment, it has to be good.”
Council Rock South 37, Franklin Regional 24
107: Titus Colangelo (FR) d. Eddie Alvarez , 7-1.
114: Connor Lenahan (CRS) p. Mike Ruane, 3:24.
121: Luke Reitter (CRS) p. Sal Nassif, 3:51.
*127: Tyler Kapusta (FR) p. Christian Zimmerman, 2:50.
133: Pat Woloshyn (CRS) d. Nico Sarnic, 4-2.
139: Ajay Bhatt (CRS) major Cohen Buccicone, 14-1.
145: Ben Brillhart (CRS) d. Luke Ankney, 10-8.
152: Ethan Cartwright (FR) p. Max Nepochatov, 3:26.
160: Gavin Cole (CRS) p. Jordan Perks, 1:20.
172: Aiden Murray (CRS) d. Henry Patts, 8-5.
189: Bekhruz Sadriddinov (CRS) p. Ben Hartman, :25.
215: Troy McClelland (FR) d. Aryn Valeriano, 3-0.
285: Juliano Marion (FR) p. Jeff Gessner, 2:46.
(*) match started at 127 pounds.
Records: FR 20-2, CRS 16-1.
Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.
Tags: Franklin Regional
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