BEA’s Stem earns spot on national wrestling team

WINGATE — Bald Eagle Area’s Grace Stem made history on May 8 by qualifying for the Cadet World Team with a first-place finish at 65 kilograms at the Women’s Nationals in Irving, Texas.

The BEA junior, who was 2-5 during the high school season, went 6-0 in the freestyle event at 65 kilos (143.3 pounds).

Stem won her first three bouts by scores of 10-0, 13-2 and 10-6 to reach the semifinals. She then advanced to the finals with an 11-0 victory over New Jersey’s Veronica Whitacre.

In the best-of-three championship finals, Stem needed only two bouts to secure the title, beating Missouri’s Maddie Kubicki, 6-2 and 4-3.

Stem, who was the only Pennsylvanian to make the team, will compete with Team USA at the United World Wrestling Cadet World Championships in July in Budapest.

Stem also finished in seventh place at 62 kilograms in the junior women’s classification.

AIKEY, OHL PICK EDINBORO

Bellefonte’s Lane Aikey and St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy’s Amonn Ohl have both committed to wrestle for Division I Edinboro University.

Ohl, who is expected to wrestle at 149, according to an Edinboro tweet, placed twice at the PIAA Championships, including a third-place finish at 138 at this year’s state tournament. He went 121-33 in his career.

Aikey, who will likely wrestle at 125 for the Fighting Scots, went 8-2 at 120 this season. He missed the entire regular season, but won a District 6 and Northwest Regional title. He went 75-21 in his career.

SWISHER FALLS IN OT

Bellefonte’s Jude Swisher was one of just two wrestlers from outside of District 7 to wrestle in the Stand Your Ground wrestling event on Saturday at Kiski Area High School.

Swisher, the two-time state place-winner who took third at 132 in Hershey, dropped a 6-4 overtime decision to Hempfield 132-pound Class 3A runner-up Briar Priest. Priest didn’t wrestle Swisher at the state