PIAA team wrestling: Cathedral Prep drops Class 3A opener
HERSHEY — The good news? The Cathedral Prep wrestling team can still make a PIAA run.
The bad news? It will have to happen in the consolation bracket.
Prep opened the PIAA Class 3A team championships Thursday against District 1 runner-up Pennridge, which handed the Ramblers a 48-13 loss. That eliminated Prep from championship contention and put it in a familiar spot for Friday when it will try to best last year’s 0-2 PIAA finish.
Reaching Hershey: Cathedral Prep wrestlers dominated these two opponents to win another District 10 team crown
Tough sledding
Prep and Pennridge split Thursday’s first six matches before the Rams won seven consecutive. Andrew Gammon (133 pounds), Gabe Dorman (145) and Bo Martucci (160) each won early for Prep after starting at 127, giving the Ramblers a 13-12 lead.
Talan Hogan started Pennridge’s run with a fall at 172, however, and before evening’s end, the Rams had three more pins.
“We wrestled alright really. We just got beaten by a good team that we’re not going to beat very often,” Prep coach Mike Hahsey said. “I thought most of our kids wrestled well. A couple could have won that didn’t and a couple who did win could have done so by more. I always look at it as, if these three kids win instead of losing, that’s a 20-point swing.”
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The path forward
Things won’t get any easier for Prep on Friday morning when it battles District 7 Connellsville in a 10:30 a.m. consolation dual. The Falcons fell to Wilson of District 3, 30-29, in the opening round.
Last year saw Prep drop its consolation opener to Chambersburg, 39-20, after a 30-25 loss to Spring Ford.
“We just need to wrestle smart,” Hahsey said. “The matches we can win, we need to win, and the matches we’re not supposed to win, we need to pull out or not get pinned.”
Pennridge 48, Cathedral Prep 13
127 pounds: Quinn McBride (P) dec. 6-5 Keagan Oler (CP); 133: Andrew Gammon (CP) pinned Danny Metzler (P); 139: Anthony Granite (P) pinned Trevor Bruno (CP); 145: Gabe Dorman (CP) MD 9-1 Brady McMahon (P); 152: Sam Kuhns (P) dec. 6-4 Brandon Byrd (CP); 160: Bo Martucci (CP) dec. 3-2 Ryan Gallagher (P); 172: Talan Hogan (P) pinned Jaden Crockett (CP); 189: Ryan Rowe (P) MD 16-5 Corey Kowalski (CP); 215: Riley Cullen (P) pinned Max Spaulding (CP); 285: Chase Washington (P) pinned Alex Hagerty (CP); 107: Kevin McFadden (P) dec. 6-2 Aiden Carter (CP); 114: Colby Martinelli (P) pinned Will English (CP); 121: Cole Coffin tech. fall 16-0 Amir Johnson (CP).
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Contact Jeff Uveino at juveino@timesnews.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @realjuveino.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Cathedral Prep wrestling drops PIAA team opener
