ALTOONA — Saturday marked the end of the 2022-23 season for the Bradford High wrestling team, as five Owls competed at the Class AAA Northwest Regional tournament at Altoona High School.
A top-three finish was required to advance to the PIAA tournament. Jordan Thompson finished 4th at 145 pounds and Lucas Laktash was 5th at 160, headlining Bradford’s results.
“The margin of error as you advance in postseason wrestling gets smaller and smaller,” Bradford coach Stefan Chaussard said. “We didn’t make many mistakes but the ones we did make really cost us. I thought we wrestled pretty well overall but just made too many mistakes and those cost us in matches.”
Thompson started his tournament with a quarterfinal victory over Jake Cunningham of Mifflin County. After a semifinal loss, Thompson beat Charles Keener of Shikellamy, 6-0, to reach the consolation final.
“(Thompson) was impressive,” Chaussard said. “His expectation and ours was to qualify for states, so it’s tough when you don’t meet that expectation, but to come within a takedown of getting there is quite the accomplishment. I thought he handled the environment well and kept really good composure.”
Carter Weaver of Williamsport used a second-period takedown to make the difference in a 3-1 win over Thompson to decide 3rd and 4th place.
“He was in deep on an ankle pick but Weaver is very lanky and kind of caught him in a funk,” Chaussard said. “In a situation where we thought we were going to get two, we ended up giving up two. It’s hard to get upset with the effort and, in any of his matches, he was right there. He walked away hungry and motivated to continue some of the momentum he built up this year.”
Laktash was edged, 2-1, by eventual-runner-up Gino Serafini of Central Mountain in the quarterfinals. He responded with victories over Aviv Diamant of Taylor Allderdice and Jaden Crockett of Cathedral Prep, but dropped his consolation semifinal, leaving him to wrestle for 5th place.
“(Laktash) handled himself with excellent composure and I think that’s a testament to his character,” Chaussard said. “It’s difficult as a senior to come up short.”
Laktash’s final varsity match was a 5-1 victory over Ethan Miller of Sellinsgrove, in which he got takedowns in the first and third periods to win comfortably.
“That 5th-place match could have been meaningless but (Laktash) really showed his willingness as a competitor and a drive to win that last match,” Chaussard said. “He’s not really sure about continuing at the next level but I don’t think he’s reached his full potential as an athlete or a wrestler. I think he’s going to do some pretty remarkable things at the next level if he chooses to continue and take that route.”
Quinn Lasher (133 pounds), Dawson Smith (172) and Joe Cary (189) also represented Bradford at the tournament. Each finished 0-2.
Central Mountain won the team race with 145.5 points, edging runner-up State College (140).
Punxsutawney (66) was 11th in team scoring, DuBois (61) was 13th and Bradford (18) was 18th. Twenty-three teams were represented.
CLASS AAA NORTHWEST REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
107 — Braiden Weaver (Altoona) dec. 6-1 Brody Bishop (Hickory)
114 — Logan Sallot (McDowell) tech. fall 17-1 (4:53) Alex Reed (Shikellamy)
121 — Cael Nasdeo (Williamsport) forfeit Hunter Johnson (Mifflin County)
127 — Hayden Cunningham (State College) maj. dec. 11-3 Sammy Staab (Cathedral Prep)
133 — Luke Simcox (Central Mountain) maj. dec. 15-3 Brendan Orr (DuBois)
139 — Pierson Manville (State College) dec. 3-0 Dalton Perry (Central Mountain)
145 — Asher Cunningham (State College) dec. 2-0 Griffin Walizer (Central Mountain)
152 — Luke Sipes (Altoona) dec. 3-2 Artis Simmons (McDowell)
160 — Caleb Butterfield (McDowell) SV 7-5 Gino Serafini (Central Mountain)
172 — Carter Weaverling (State College) dec. 3-1 Avery Aurand (Mifflin County)
189 — Haydn Packer (Jersey Shore) p. :54 Tucker Teats (Selinsgrove)
215 — Mason Rebuck (Shikellamy) p. 2:00 Troy Peterson (McDowell)
285 — Nicholas Pavlechko (State College) p. 1:56 Peyton Kearns (Mifflin County)
CONSOLATION FINALS
107 — Ben Fuller (Meadville) dec. 5-0 Daniel Noel (Westinghouse)
114 — Dysen Gould (Punxsutawney) p. 1:50 Amir Johnson (Cathedral Prep)
121 — Keegan Oler (Cathedral Prep) dec. 5-3 Jordan Rutan (Punxsutawney)
127 — Caleb Fasick (Altoona) maj. dec. 12-2 Samson Deeb (Dubois)
133 — Isaac Mcgregor (Shikellamy) dec. 2-1 Blake Aumiller (Mifflin County)
139 — Connor Saylor (Hickory) maj. dec. 10-1 Brandon Byrd (Cathedral Prep)
145 — Carter Weaver (Williamsport) dec. 3-1 Jordan Thompson (Bradford)
152 — Parker Kearns (Mifflin County) dec. 9-8 Brighton Anderson (Meadville)
160 — Connor Wetzel (Shikellamy) p. 3:14 Dante Duncan (Obama Academy)
172 — Tyler Bauder (Jersey Shore) dec. 6-0 Ty Tidball (Meadville)
189 — Rocco Serafini (Central Mountain) dec. 1-0 Brody Rebuck (Shikellamy)
215 — Rhoan Woodrow (Meadville) dec. 4-3 Giovanni Tarantella (Central Mountain)
285 — Zach Gallagher (Dubois) TB2 5-2 Jack Sroka (McDowell)
5TH/6TH PLACE
107 — Collin Bauman (Central Mountain) dec. 3-2 Collin Nasdeo (Williamsport)
114 — Tyler Boyle (Hickory) forfeit Mi’ere Green (Obama Academy)
121 — Dylan O’brien (Hickory) dec. 7-1 Caleb Anderson (Meadville)
127 — Mike Reardon (Hickory) maj. dec. 10-2 Landyn Lukens (Selinsgrove)
133 — Jacob Campbell (State College) SV 8-6 Brady Moyer (Columbia Montour V-T)
139 — Davey Aughenbaugh (Dubois) p. 2:34 Trent Turner (Selinsgrove)
145 — Charles Keener (Shikellamy) SV 4-2 Elijah Elser (Carrick)
152 — Garrett Paradis (Selinsgrove) dec. 5-1 Braylen Corter PA (Central Mountain)
160 — Lucas Laktash (Bradford) dec. 5-1 Ethan Miller (Selinsgrove)
172 — Jacob Weaver (Central Mountain) forfeit Grant Miller (Punxsutawney)
189 — Ty Holland (Hickory) p. 2:11 Landon Martz (Punxsutawney)
215 — Steven Miller (Selinsgrove) p. 2:43 Nariq Burks (Williamsport)
285 — Brycen Delker (Williamsport) dec. 5-1 Jack Peters (Selinsgrove)
