West Greene’s Whyte moves into semifinals
HERSHEY – If Colin Whyte can take the next two steps, West Greene will have its first state wrestling champion.
Whyte, a 260-pound heavyweight, won’t have far to go to receive tips on how to handle it from a former West Greene wrestler who finished second in the tournament held at the Hershey Park Arena in 1993.
That would be his father Gary.
Colin Whyte went into these semifinals against Caleb Tyle of Fairfield with a 46-3 record. The match was not done by deadline. If victorious against Tyler, Whyte probably wrestles Mark Effendian of Faith Christian. Whyte wrestled Effendian last season and lost 13-2 in last year’s state semifinals.
“He was tall,” said Whyte of Tyler. “I started out slow, got into good position. He had good defense. It feels pretty good. I go out there and try to get into my offense.”
Whyte, a senior who is a Kent State recruit, defeated Upper Dauphin’s Eoghan Savage 8-0 to advance to the semifinals. A spot in the final four guaranteed Whyte of no less than sixth place on the podium as one of the top eight in the state.
“Growing up, I always dreamed about being a state placewinner,” Whyte said. “It feels good to know that my dreams have become a reality. I am very happy about this, but I want to keep it going.”
Whyte and Savage didn’t attempt much offensively in the first minute of their consolation quarterfinal bout, but after the referee encouraged both wrestlers to pick up the pace, Whyte scored his first of two takedowns with 48 seconds remaining and rode out Savage the rest of the period for a 3-0 lead.
Whyte escaped in the second period for a 4-0 advantage before earning his second takedown with a blast double-leg six seconds into the final frame for a 7-0 lead. The decision turned to a major when Savage was penalized one point for stalling.
“I just wanted to start out slow, get a feel for the match and stay in good position,” Whyte said. “I was working for my turns, but he was really tall and had good defense. It felt good to get the major decision. I got out every match to dominate, get to my offense and score.”
Whyte says he likes the schedule.
“I like the morning schedule, said Colin Whyte. “You get a match in the morning and I like that.”
The semifinals were at 7 p.m. Friday and the finals are 4 p.m. Saturday.
Landmark win
A 24-7 technical fall over Colton Ryan of Clearfield was the 175th win in the career of Bentworth’s Owen Ivcic, a 160-pound senior.
He is at 175-43 for his career and passed Francis Mizia, who had 152, this season. Mizia won the state title at 160 pounds in 2012.
Here and there
The quarterfinals and accompanying consolation rounds in boys Class 2A didn’t treat local wrestlers very well. Lucas Barr of McGuffey dropped a 7-3 decision to Brady Slicker of Hickory at 133 pounds. Barr’s teammate Victor Bonus was disqualified after being called for a slam in a 152-pound bout. When Daws Lomison of Bald Eagle Area couldn’t continue, Bonus was disqualified. Lomison was removed from the Giant Center on a stretcher.
Malachi Peak of Beth-Center was sent out of the tournament with a 14-0 loss to Jayden Imfar of Chestnut Ridge. Peak’s teammate, Nathan Layhue, was knocked into the consolation rounds after a pin by Aiden Bliss of Port Allegheny in the 215-pound winners bracket.
Jonathan Guth contributed to this story.