C-H’s Williams on a mission in 2A regional
Owen Ivcic of Bentworth, back, gets backpoints against Hunter Schnarrs of West Branch during their 139-pound bout in the PIAA Class 2A Southwest Region tournament at Altoona High School Friday. Ivcic won by decision.
Joe Tuscano/Observer-Reporter
Chris Vargo of Bentworth, top, rides Jackson Long of Bellefonte during their 127-pound bout in the PIAA Class 2A Southwest Region tournament at Altoona High School Friday. Vargo won by fall.
Joe Tuscano/Observer-Reporter
Lucas Barr of McGuffey, back, has Ezra Fisher of Bellefonte in trouble during their 121-pound bout in the PIAA Class 2A Southwest Region tournament at Altoona High School Friday. Barr won by fall.
ALTOONA – Jorden Williams is learning to wrestle Western Pennsylvania style and he is a fast learner.
The junior from Chartiers-Houston moved in from Lancaster County after spending two years at Hempfield High School.
No, not the one in Greensburg, the one in Landisville.
So this is his first trip through the PIAA Class 2A Southwest Region and, well, so far, so good.
Williams opened some eyes Friday by chalking up two wins in two rounds Friday at Altoona High School.
Williams, a tall 114-pounder, opened the tournament with a bye, then stopped Alex Gladfelter of Huntingdon with a pin in 3:42. He stuck Austin Kosanovic of Avonworth in 1:06 in the quarterfinals.
Williams’ next opponent is top-seeded Landon Bainey of West Branch, who beat Parker Sentipal of Burgettstown, 3-0, in the quarterfinals. The two will meet today in the semifinals (12:30 p.m.).
The finals are expected to start at 5:15 p.m.
The top six wrestlers from each weight class advance to the PIAA Class 2A Championships, which start Thursday at the Giant Center in Hershey.
A win over Bainey would put Williams back in Hershey, where the memories are not so kind.
“I went 0-2 last year,” Williams said. “Honestly, I’m not finished yet. I wrestle (Bainey today) and I have to wrestle my best.”
Bainey is a three-time district champion, a one-time regional champion and a sixth-place finisher in the last two state tournaments.
Williams said Hempfield, the one in Lancaster County, is a good wrestling school. Hempfield went 11-6 overall and was unbeaten in all seven league bouts this season.
“It’s a pretty good wrestling school and the kids are really tough,” Williams said.
Chartiers-Houston head coach Patrick Jennings said Williams is on a mission.
“He was very dominant,” said Jennings. “He had a vision to go out and wrestle hard. He got the job done.”
In other selected matches, McGuffey freshman Lucas Barr chalked up two wins, a pin of Ezra Swisher of Bellefonte and 14-6 major decision over Brock Holderman of Chestnut Ridge, to reach the semifinals at 121 pounds. Waiting there for him is top-seeded Lucas Fye of Bald Eagle Area. Fye is coming of a fifth-place finish in last year’s state tournament.
Bentworth’s Chris Vargo looked strong, posting two pins to reach the semifinals at 127 pounds. Coen Bainey of Bald Eagle Area, Landon’s cousin, awaits in what is arguably Vargo’s toughest test to date this season.
Joey Sentipal of Burgettstown is having a good tournament in the 139-pound weight class so far, registering back-to-back major-decision victories to reach the semifinals. Taylor Smith of Juniata is next.
Sentipal’s teammate, Joe Baronick, is looking like the knee injury in the semifinals of the Southern Sectional never happened. He had a tight, 5-1, decision over Ethan Norris of Bellwood-Antis and a quick pin (1:26) of Noah Leslie of Highlands. Top-seeded heavyweight Gunner Singleton of Huntingdon is next.
“I got a lot of help from my coaches,” Baronick said. “They know all types of injuries, knee injuries, shoulder injuries. They treated me, told me what to do, and it feels better than ever.”
Vitali Daniels of Bentworth allowed just one bout point in his two wins. He gets Grant Mathias of Berlin-Brothersvalley in the 215 semifinals.