3 area wrestlers earn PJW junior high titles

Mar. 4—Three from the area earned Pennsylvania Junior Wrestling Junior High State Championships titles Sunday afternoon at 1st Summit Arena @ Cambria County War Memorial in downtown Johnstown.

Fifteen local wrestlers medaled in total.

Chestnut Ridge crowned a pair of state champions in Juliet Alt (150 pounds) and Kooper Deputy (82). Bishop McCort Catholic's Austin Carfley earned a title at 117.

Carfley was the lone Crimson Crusher to win a state title Sunday. Three of his teammates finished as runners-up.

Facing West Allegheny's Thomas Bencho, Carfley notched a takedown in the first period for the only points. Bencho was on the bottom in the second period, but could not escape. After Bencho waited out for injury time, Carfley prevailed 2-0.

"It feels great," Carfley said of winning his first PJW crown. "I wrestled him earlier this year. He's a very tough opponent on top and on his feet. My goal was just to get that first takedown. I didn't want to go under him at all."

Carfley finished 5-0 with a technical fall, two major decisions and two decisions.

After earning a silver medal in 2023, Carfley wanted to avenge his loss in the final.

"Last year, I got second and that kind of drove me to win this year," Carfley said. "I definitely put a lot of emphasis on this."

After seeing teammates Keegan Bassett (96) and Eli Herring (110) lose in their title bouts, Carfley wanted to win for his squad.

"That's kind of what it feels like because we all go out at a pretty similar time back to back," Carfley said. "It definitely feels somewhat like a dual meet."

Deputy escaped in the second period for a 1-0 lead in the 82 final. Deputy picked up two sets of three nearfall points in the third to prevail 7-0 over West Allegheny's Jack Stonebraker for his second PJW title.

"It's my second one," Deputy said of adding another gold medal to the one he earned in 2022. "It feels great."

After getting ahead 1-0, Deputy put his father's lessons into action to gain separation.

"Once I got out and I was up one, I knew I could turn him on top," Deputy said. "My dad (Chestnut Ridge varsity coach Josh Deputy) preaches to always be able to turn on top, so I did."

Deputy went 6-0 with three pins, two technical falls and a decision.

"I was very confident," Deputy said. "I got to my attacks."

In the 150 final, Alt recorded a takedown against Reading's Kimberly Munoz and picked up three nearfall points before the first-period buzzer sounded for a 5-0 lead. She pinned Munoz in 2:21 for her first Pennsylvania state title.

"It feels great," Alt said. "I put in a lot of work at practice."

Alt is no stranger to the podium. She collected two girls state titles in West Virginia and one in a boys tournament.

"Definitely my conditioning," Alt said. "I had to stay strong, have a good mindset after hand fighting for about 45 seconds roughly. I had to keep a good mindset, keep calm and not panic."

Alt kept up the pressure in the second period when she stayed in bounds and pinned Munoz near the edge of the circle.

"I knew I was close to out of bounds," Alt said. "I knew I had two points of contact, so I was, like, 'If I don't get this pin, then we got to keep wrestling.' I got to keep my knees in, and I got the pin."

Alt finished 4-0 with three falls.

Bassett escaped in the second period for a 1-0 lead against fellow District 6 wrestler Max Dinges from Penns Valley in the 96 final. Dinges notched a takedown later in the second to go ahead 2-1. Dinges escaped in the third, and held off Bassett's attack to prevail 3-1. Bassett was attempting to earn his fifth PJW title.

Herring faced Northampton's Brayden Wenrich in the 110 final. The match was scoreless through two periods. Wenrich notched two nearfall points in the third when Herring chose bottom. Herring escaped with 26 seconds left, but Wenrich won 2-1.

In the 157 final, Bishop McCort's Jayden O'Farrill faced Mid Valley's Samuel Almedina.

Almedina led 2-1 after the first period. Almedina clung to a 4-3 edge entering the third before he added two more takedowns and an escape for a 9-4 victory.

Rockwood's Dawson Shaffer beat Bishop McCort's Emory Gunby 7-0 in the semifinals to earn his spot in the 132 final.

General McLane's Jason Dube took down Shaffer in the first period. Dube collected two nearfall points in the second before Shaffer escaped. Dube added a takedown in the third for a 6-1 triumph.

Gunby finished in fifth place at 132. Berlin Brothersvalley's Carter Durst (157), Central Cambria's Hadyn Strittmatter (103), North Star's Brady Meyers (252) and Penn Cambria's Nate Mack (140) each ended up in sixth. Bishop McCort's Bentley Bainey was seventh at 157.

On the girls side, Bedford's Noelle Murray (202) and Central Cambria's Makenna Smith (112) each took fifth place.

Jake Oswalt is a copy editor for The Tribune-Democrat. Follow him on Twitter @TheWizOfOz11.