HERSHEY — Bald Eagle Area 285-pounder Josh Fye went into the PIAA Class AAA Championships last weekend at the Giant Center in Hershey as one of the favorites to win a gold medal.
That didn’t happen, as the senior ended up placing fifth after losing to Liberty’s eventual state champion, Andrew Gunning, in the quarterfinals. But, when he came down off of the medals stand March 12, Fye was in a good mood.
“When it really comes down to it, I had fun,” Fye said. “I had some ups and downs, but that’s the sport of wrestling. I just went out there, did my best and had fun.”
Three other Centre County wrestlers placed in the top seven in the two classifications. Fye’s sophomore teammate Seth Koleno took seventh at 132, and Bellefonte junior Brock Port finished seventh at 145. In Class AA, Penns Valley junior Darren Yearick placed sixth at 113.
Fye entered the tournament with a 28-0 record after winning the Northwest regional. He won his first bout, 5-0, over Avon Grove’s Vincent Walls, but he dropped a 4-2 decision to the unbeaten Gunning. Gunning won two more times, including a 2-1 decision over Boyertown’s Tommy Killoran in the title bout.
“Me and Gunning, the top two kids in the state, wrestled right off of the bat, and I lost,” Fye said. “I had to battle back. It takes a lot. You really want to win this tournament, and I hadn’t lost all year until that one. It was just heartbreaking.”
Fye then survived a 3-2 ultimate tiebreaker win over LaSalle’s Vincenzo Pelusi in his first consolation bout. He followed with a 3-1 win over Cathedral Prep’s Kawuan DeBoe in a rematch of the Northwest final before losing to Bethlehem Catholic’s eventual fourth-placer, Niko Camacho, 5-2, in the consolation semifinal. He ended the tournament with a 2-0 win over Kiski’s Isaac Reid.
“I think after the quarterfinal bout, he got things turned around and finished with a really good tournament,” BEA coach Steve Millward said. “Any time it’s a three-day tournament, and he comes out of here with four wins, that’s not too shabby.
“We just had to make sure we got far enough into the medal round to where he could get up on the podium. I think he did pretty well once he guaranteed himself a medal. Of course, we’d like to see him score more points than have those one or two-point wins, but we’ll take it at this level.”
Fye finished his senior season with a 32-2 record and his career with more than 90 wins. That will be hard to replace next season.
“He was our anchor at the end of our lineup,” Millward said. “He was pretty solid for us all year. I know it’s not what he wanted, but sometimes you don’t get everything you want.”
Fye will look for that elusive gold at the college level. He says he has committed to wrestle at Lock Haven University.
“I want to work toward an NCAA title,” Fye said with a smile. “I think I can do it.”
Koleno (31-8) lost his first bout, 3-2, Council Rock South’s Zack Trampe, who was 45-1 coming into Hershey before placing sixth.
He came back with an 8-6 decision, a forfeit win and a 5-4 win over Central Dauphin’s Andrew Wert that put him in the medal round. Koleno’s run was stopped by Exeter Township’s Brett Kulp, 4-2, but he won his seventh-place bout, 4-3, over North Penn’s Ryan Vulakh.
“He had a fantastic tournament for a 10th-grader,” Millward said. “Even though he took a couple of losses, they were great bouts, and I don’t think it fazed him too much.
“He has a real good attitude about wrestling, and the experience that he gained just being able to wrestle and place at this tournament, I don’t know if you can get that anywhere else. You can’t simulate that in the room. You just have to be here to experience that, and he did a great job this weekend.”
Port (37-3), the Northwest regional champ, won his first bout, 7-2, over Dieruff’s Ronald Nguyen for his 100th career victory, but he dropped a 2-1 heartbreaker to Council Rock South’s eventual fourth-placer, Lucas Martoccio, in the quarterfinals.
He reached the medal round with a 4-0 win over Franklin Regional’s Ryan Krause, but he lost to Central York’s eventual third-placer, Dylan Chatterton, 7-2. In the seventh-place bout, he defeated Susquehanna Township’s Edmond Ruth, 5-2. Ruth is the freshman brother of former Penn State star Ed Ruth.
Yearick opened the Class AA tournament by getting pinned by Williams Valley’s eventual third-placer, Willy Girard, in 1:51. But he rebounded with a 2-0 win and a 3-1 win, and his 1-0 victory over Lewisburg’s Brian Friery put him in the medal round.
Yearick (38-7) advanced to the consolation semifinals with a 4-3 win over Notre Dame’s Richie Markulics, but he was beaten by Girard again, 10-2. In the fifth-place bout, he dropped a 5-0 decision to Upper Dauphin’s Bronson Garber to finish 4-3 in the tournament.
Other area wrestlers went either 1-2 or 0-2 in Hershey. State College’s Adam Stover (113) and Philipsburg-Osceola’s Dakota Weitoish (145) went 1-2, while P-O’s Bryce Bennett (126), Bellefonte’s Chase Gardner (152) and PV’s Jared Hurd (145) went 0-2.
