Determined Barr nears McGuffey’s wins record
By Joe Tuscano
Contributing writer
HEIDELBERG – The countdown has begun for Lucas Barr.
The 133-pound senior entered Friday’s first round of the WPIAL Class 2A Wrestling Championship with a dominant 17-2 technical fall over Damien McClay of Chartiers Valley and followed with a pin of Garen McDonald of Central Valley.
The wins were the 167th and 168th in his career, and leaves him four away from passing Jeremy Hunter’s mark of 171 to become the all-time winner for the Highlanders.
While that would be a wonderful accomplishment, Barr has his eyes on the gold medal in Hershey. Barr’s career record is 168-32.
“This year, I’m going into it with an open mind.” said Barr, the top seed in his weight class. “Whatever happens, happens. I’m not going to let myself fall short again. Every time I get in the blood round the last two years, it’s been rough. I think, I can’t wait to get back to the hotel. I’m going to do this. I’m not going to let myself go. I’m going to push my way through this time.”
Last night’s quarterfinals ended too late for complete results in this edition of the Observer-Reporter. Semifinals begin at 11:30 this morning and wrestling runs straight through to the 3 p.m. start of the finals. The top eight wrestlers in each weight class advance to the Southwest Regional at Altoona High School next weekend.
The postseason has been a see-saw for Barr, who finished fourth twice and fifth once in the Southwest Region Tournament. He failed to place in three state tournaments and wants to change that.
“There’s definitely one big thing to motivate him and that’s (medaling) at Hershey,” said McGuffey head coach Jared Roberts. “He’s been there three times and hasn’t brought any hardware yet. This year, he really wants to. He’s dropped weight, going from 139 to 133. He set his goal pretty high.”
The biggest upset of the first round came in the 121-pound weight class, where Kamden Stamm of Chartiers-Houston pinned Raydn Thomas of Valley in 5:58. Stamm was trailing 9-6 when he turned Thomas, the eighth seed in the weight class.
Cameron Eiler of Fort Cherry downed fourth seed Kayden Braun of Freedom, 19-11, at 121 pounds.
Unseeded Lane Ealy of McGuffey decisioned sixth-seeded Archer Brua of Laurel, 9-5, at 139 pounds. Jahvon Woods, unseeded at 160, pinned seventh-seeded Brayden Reynolds, in 3:53.