SHARON — Three Pennsylvania Big 30 wrestlers still have a shot at winning a PIAA gold medal next weekend, with Bradford senior Dillon Keane claiming a Class AAA Northwest Region championship in Altoona while Port Allegany sophomore Braedon Johnson placed second and Coudersport senior Eli Ayers (Coudersport) finished fourth at the Class AA event at Sharon.
Keane, the lone Bradford grappler to advance out of the District 4-5-6-8-9-10 brackets, opened his tournament with a pin and a tech-fall before downing Selinsgrove’s Coy Bastian, 15-5, in the 170-pound final. Younger brother Colby Keane came agonizingly close to joining his older brother in Hershey, advancing to the 160-pound semis before dropping a 1-0 heartbreaker in the third-place match which decided the final state qualifier.
Johnson, the Smethport sophomore competing for the Port Allegany co-op, was the lone Gator wrestler of six to advance. Polishing off the seventh-ranked wrestler in the state, Hunter Thompson (Titusville), 14-8, in the semifinals to secure his PIAA berth, he ran into Reynolds senior Beau Bayless in the final. The second-ranked Bayless, the 2017 106-pound Class AA champ and a three-time state medalist, collected his fourth consecutive Northwest championship with a pin at the 3:51 mark.
“We knew he was a really tough opponent. We knew going in what to look out for, but that’s the reason he’s a state champ, because he can get those moves even on good kids,” Port coach B.J. Greenman said. Noting that the score of the match was just 3-0 in Bayless’ favor before he turned his takedown into a pinning combination, he added, “I think it’s a good learning experience for Braedon to just know that he can compete with these kids even if they’re up in the higher level of states.”
A year after going two-and-out at Sharon as a freshman, Johnson was understandably thrilled to be taking the next step.
“It’s been a great experience. I wish I would’ve secured the gold, but I’m happy with the second place finish. I’m just going to build on that, and I’m ready for next week,” Johnson said. “I knew it was going to be a tough match. I wish it would’ve been a little closer, or me even coming out on top, but it is what it is. It’s just surreal, being able to go to states as a sophomore, especially being in the finals at regionals.”
While Greenman had hoped to take multiple wrestlers to Hershey for the fourth time in his eight-year coaching reign, the five-year streak of state qualifiers matches the program record set between 1985-89. Braedon’s older brother Bryent came the closest to advancing, falling in his 106-pound blood-round match before coming back to take fifth, pinning Ashten Armagost (Commodore Perry) in 1:44.
“He could’ve come out and laid an egg in that fifth-place match, but I think he had the mindset of, ‘I’ve got to wrestle hard, I’ve got to go out and pin this kid.’ That’s good for him for next season to build from,” Greenman said of the Smethport junior. “He’s talking about, all our kids are already talking about the summer wrestling club and doing work over the summer. I think this gives them a little bit of a feel for how close they are to making it to states, that they’re going to work extra hard to get there. And I think Braedon, seeing how well he’s doing against really good kids is going to push him to get to even higher levels.
“When you get down to here, it’s not ability that wins and loses you matches. It’s how you’re feeling and how you’re thinking when you’re out there on the mat. I think it’s all mindset, and we can build from that.”
Ayers’ path to Hershey was similar to last year’s trek, battling back through the consis to take fourth place following a semifinal loss, but with a few added bumps in the road. The combination of moving up a weight class and fighting off a stomach bug left him giving up “a good 7-10 pounds” to his 195-pound opponents, Coudy coach Tom Storey said, “and sometimes it shows out there. But that’s the gut in him, the heart, that gets him through it.”
Ayers needed a last-second escape to send his blood-round match to overtime, then came up with the sudden-victory takedown for the second time in three matches to punch his ticket to states.
“It was just about outgutting the other guy and getting it done when I needed to the most.
That was pretty crazy,” he said. “It’s certainly a moment I won’t be forgetting for quite a while. Being able to go back down to Hershey again this year is quite the experience, as it always is competing at the highest level, especially in a state like PA. It’s all about moving on to the next level, and I got that done.”
Two-time defending AA champ Reynolds claimed its seventh consecutive Northwest title, outpointing runner-up Greenville, 198-115. Right behind the second-place Trojans was Kane, which matched its 1986 school record with four state qualifiers to take third with 95.5 points. The Wolves were led by senior 160-pounder Alec English (32-1), who collected his second consecutive regional title with an 8-5 decision over District 10 champ Peyton Hearn (Conneaut), the same wrestler he faced in last year’s 152-pound final.
“I was really calm going in,” English said. “I was really excited for this tournament, but I went out and kind of just did my thing. When he shot, I felt that my ‘Jonesy’ was there and I just hit it. After that, I was comfortable through the rest of the match.”
While the setting and the opponent were the same, he said the feeling at the end of the match was different, “because this is my last time and I never get to do it again. I kind of just took it all in there for a second. It’s a great feeling, and I was really excited.”
Already looking forward to next week, he added, “I want to win. I really do. Senior year, lay it all on the line and whatever happens, happens. No regrets.”
The weekend couldn’t have gone much better for Kane coach Mike Swartwood, who also saw a pair of third-place finishers from last week, juniors Cameron Whisner (170 pounds) and Teddy Race (182), surprise higher-seeded wrestlers to take fourth and advance to states along with Noah Blankenship (138).
“I’ve been doing it for 10 years or so, and I’ve sent a couple (to states) a few times, taken one kid here, one kid there, but this is pretty special for me to have four kids moving on,” he said. “Last week, we had four district champs and qualified nine here, and now we’re in third place as a team. That’s pretty big for a small school like us, coming into the postseason with only 12 kids, not even a full lineup.
“As the competition has gotten better, I think we’ve gotten better. We’ve been practicing hard, had a couple good weeks of practice and seemed to have been pretty focused. I’m real proud of their effort. It’s an honor to be a part of something like this.”
