ALTOONA — Bald Eagle Area sophomore Tanner Guenot has had a remarkable postseason so far.
Guenot was named the District 6 Class 2A Outstanding Wrestler on Saturday, Feb. 15, after winning the 121-pound title.
Two weeks later, in the Altoona Fieldhouse, he beat Chestnut Ridge’s two-time state runner-up and two-time regional champ Dominic Deputy, 3-2, in their championship finals bout on Saturday, March 1, in the Southwest Regional Tournament.
“I would say that’s just my confidence after districts just having a good tournament,” Guenot said. “Bringing it back to the same building here in Altoona. It’s no different from [the district tournament]. I kind of picked up the momentum that I gained there, went with it and came out on top today.”
The win avenged the 1-0 loss to Deputy in last year’s regional finals at 107 pounds.
“It’s something I’ve been working for. It feels really nice,” Guenot said. “The jobs not finished yet. States are what I’m looking forward to now. I have a lot of respect for Dom. He’s a very good opponent. To beat him, I’ve got to wrestle my absolute best and that’s what happened. I may see him again at States. I’m looking forward to that again.”
Speaking of good postseasons, BEA senior Caleb Close captured his third Southwest Regional Tournament title, beating Tyrone’s very familiar foe Kyle Scott, 14-9, at 189 pounds. Close has beaten Scott in four tournament finals this season, including both postseason tournaments.
Penns Valley had two champions also with Max Dinges at 114 and Erik Carlile at 127. Dinges avenged his District 6 finals ultimate tiebreaker loss to Bishop McCort’s Eli Herring, 8-3, in impressive fashion. Carlile earned an 11-4 decision over Central Valley’s Antonio Boni in the finals.
BEA’s Caden Judice was the runner-up at 133 for the second straight week to Bishop McCort’s returning state champion Jax Forrest. Forrest, an Oklahoma State commit, rang up a 23-4 technical fall in 2:21.
BEA sophomore Dawson Lomison (139) placed third to qualify for his first time in Hershey. The Eagles finished fourth in the team standings with 98.5 points.
“Overall, I thought we had a really good weekend,” BEA coach Ron Guenot said. “We haven’t taken four to Hershey for quite a few years. We’re excited about that.”
The top seven at their weights qualified for the PIAA Championship, which began on Thursday, March 6, in Hershey.
Philipsburg-Osceola junior Caleb Hummel (114) finished sixth to qualify for his third state tournament.
Penns Valley’s Conner Myers (121) and Brayden Lisowski (160) and P-O’s Averi Gable (127) placed eighth — one place shy of qualifying for Hershey.
Guenot (45-7), who is seeded third at 121 in Hershey, was scoreless with Deputy until Deputy scored a reversal with 1:25 left in the second period and rode the rest of the period.
Guenot chose neutral for the third period, and it didn’t look like that choice would pay off as time dropped under 30 seconds. But Guenot took Deputy down at the edge of the mat with 24 seconds left and rode him the rest of the way for the win.
“I was pretty demotivated,” Guenot said. “He had a really nice ride on me in the second period, but I had to build up and fight back. I kept my mental game straight and kept on working. I got a good flurry at the end, and it turned out my way.”
Close, who had three pins in his first three bouts, had built a 14-1 lead after two periods with three takedowns and a four-point nearfall. Hunting a technical fall, he released Scott in the third to make the score 14-2. But Scott pulled a big move out of his toolbox.
Scott, ranked third by PA Power Wrestling, threw the second-ranked Close to his back with 38 seconds left in the bout for a takedown and got four nearfall points.
But Close worked his way off his back with 31 seconds left and Scott rode him the rest of the way to set the final at 14-9.
“He wrestled a really, really good match in the finals,” Coach Guenot said. “He looked sharp. He gave up that move at the end, but he really looked good all weekend long. His plan was to push the pace and expand the gap [between Scott] in his favor.”
Dinges, who went 4-0, took Herring down in the first period and got a reversal with 25 seconds left in the second period to go up 5-1. Dinges countered a Herring takedown attempt and got a takedown of his own in the third period. When time expired, Dinges pointed to the Penns Valley section.
“I worked for it for a couple weeks,” Dinges said. “If I don’t have that (competition with Herring), then there’s no drive every day before states. He’s the reason why I worked so hard for this past month. It just sets a new bar to chase.”
Carlile, who went 4-0, notched three takedowns and scored two nearfall points against Boni.
CUNNINGHAM WINS FOURTH TITLE
State College’s Asher Cunningham breezed to his fourth regional title on Saturday in the West Regional Tournament at Canon-McMillan High School in Canonsburg.
Cunningham captured the 172-pound title with a pin and three technical falls, including an 18-0 romp over Thomas Jefferson’s Bode Marlow in the finals.
The Little Lions, returning state champion, won their first three regional titles in the Northwest Regional. Cunningham (31-3) is the top seed at 172 for the PIAA Class 3A Championships, which began Thursday, Feb. 6, in Hershey.
State College sophomore James Whitbred was unable to repeat as regional champion, finishing second after going 3-1 at 152. After winning by fall in the semifinals, Whitbred was beaten by Thomas Jefferson’s Maddox Shaw, 15-4, in the finals.
Senior Nicholas Berrena, who came in with a 9-15 record, finished fifth at 133 to qualify for the state tournament. Berrena, who had two pins and a major decision, won by injury default over North Allegheny’s Gus Stedeford in 2:30 in the fifth-place bout to qualify for Hershey.
Bellefonte junior Ezra Swisher, who reached the semifinals before being pinned by Shaw, also qualified with a fifth-place finish at 152.
The top five at every weight qualified for the state tournament.
Bellefonte had four wrestlers place sixth with Wyatt Long (127), Andrew Gall (145), Noah Weaver (160) and Jackson Long (172). State College’s Kael Davis (114) placed sixth.
HUNT CAPTURES REGIONAL TITLE
Philipsburg-Osceola sophomore Charli Hunt bulldozed her way to the 136-pound title of the girls Central Regional Tournament on Saturday, March 1, at Milton High School.
Hunt recorded a decision, fall and two major decisions, including a 12-1 win over Montgomery’s Briella Walk in the championship finals.
Hunt took a 30-0 record into the second girls PIAA Championships, which began on Thursday, March 6, at Hershey’s Giant Center.
Bald Eagle Area’s Grace Crestani finished second at 190 pounds, falling to Juniata’s Katelynn Krepps, 6-1, in the finals. Crestani reached the finals with a decision and pin in the semifinals.
BEA’s Eden Eveleth (106) placed fourth to qualify for Hershey.
