FARGO, N.D. — Two Centre County wrestlers achieved a milestone not many high school wrestlers in the United States can pull off — placing in the top eight of the U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals.
Bald Eagle Area’s Tanner Guenot placed fourth at 138 pounds in the junior boys’ freestyle division, while State College’s Teag Sanderson finished seventh at 175 in the 16-and-under boys freestyle division on July 10-12 at the Fargo Dome in Fargo, N.D.
Guenot is the first BEA wrestler to place in the tournament since Skip Pighetti finished fourth and eighth in Greco-Roman in 1989, according to the Bald Eagle Area Athletics Facebook page.
Guenot, who was a state runner-up last season as a junior, advanced all the way to the semifinals after dominating his first four bouts, winning by technical fall twice, a pin and a 9-3 decision.
He dropped a 9-2 decision to Iowa’s eventual runner-up Dawson Youngblut in the semifinals. Guenot rebounded with a 6-4 decision in the consolation semifinals before falling to Michigan four-time state champ Nick Sorrow, 6-2, in the third-place bout.
Sanderson, who finished third in Hershey as a freshman last season, bulldozed his way to the quarterfinals with three technical falls, including two in less than a minute. But Sanderson lost by decision, 3-3, to North Carolina’s Braylen Yates in the quarterfinals.
Sanderson responded with another technical fall in the consolation quarterfinals to make the medal round. He lost by technical fall in the consolation semifinals, but he won by medical forfeit in the seventh-place bout.
State College had two other wrestlers advance to day three of the tournament in James Whitbred at 157 in the junior boys’ division and Noah Williams at 190 in the 16-and-under division.
