All of the hard drills and late nights in the wrestling room. All of the bruises and blood. All of the drives to tournaments hours away from home.
It’s all for this moment: States.
Youth and junior high wrestlers from all across the Local.News area didn’t shy away from the bright spotlight. As a matter of fact, they shined. Competing at two state tournaments — the Keystone State Championships and the PJW Youth State Championships — wrestlers from the area landed a combined 12 spots on the awards stand.
Waynesboro, Greencastle, and Chambersburg were all represented with state placewinners, with the Trojans leading the way with six medalists.
Chambersburg’s Kendyl Kearns posted a runner-up finish at Keystones at 68 pounds in the girls 9-10 division. In the 11-12 division, Reagan Evans won the 125-pound, third-place match over teammate Piper Jones. Not to be outdone, Jones traveled to the PJWs one week later and nailed down a third-place finish at 125 pounds. Also making the medal stand for the Trojans at Keystones were Deakon Snavely (12U, 200) and Ashton Romberger (16U, 136).
Greencastle placed four on the awards stand at Keystones, with Kolston Piper leading the way with a runner-up finish at 85 pounds in the 10U division. Ethan Allen took fourth at 90 at 10U, while Jackson Polifka (12U, 95) and Zane Crouse (junior high, 105) took seventh and eighth, respectively. Allen then doubled up his state medal count at the PJWs, taking sixth at 90 pounds in the 9-10 division.
Finally, Waynesboro had a Keystones placewinner in Anthony Ausherman, who took sixth place at 185 pounds in the junior high division. While wrestling season is technically already “over” for many of the Indians wrestlers, that didn’t stop them from getting work in at various tournaments, most notably the Ruckus on the Rails Tournament in Brunswick, Md. The Ruckus tourney saw Waynesboro score 111 points to finish in sixth out of 87 teams, with Noah Swope winning the 46-pound title in the Bantam division.
Below is a team-by-team, tournament-by-tournament, wrestler-by-wrestler look at how grapplers in Local.News area have fared over the last two weeks:
WAYNESBORO
Keystone State Championships
6U
41: Elijah Pradhan (0-2)
Round of 32: L, by fall in 1:44 to Garrett Lamb (West Allegheny)
Cons. 2nd Round: L, by fall in 0:18 to Colton Chapman (Jim Thorpe)
56: Keyzlin Hollimon (1-2)
Round of 32: W, 7-2 over Waylon Hafer (Claysburg-Kimmel)
Round of 16: L, by fall in 0:27 to Jackson Gates (Bethlehem)
Cons. 2nd Round: L, 11-1 to Parker Schultz (Crawford Central)
8U
55: Ace Beltz (1-2)
Round of 32: W, by fall in 0:58 over Lance Falsey (Towanda)
Round of 16: L, 8-0 to Bryce Gates (River Valley)
Cons. 2nd Round: L, 2-0 (SV1) to Johnny Goffredo (Bangor)
Junior High
160: Camm Knox (0-2)
Round of 32: L, by fall in 1:00 to Aiden Struchen (Fort LeBeouf)
Cons. 1st Round: L, 12-0 to Owen Hoffman (Selinsgrove)
185: Anthony Ausherman (3-3, 6th place)
Round of 32: W, by fall in 2:58 over Beckam Freund (Canon-McMilan)
Round of 16: W, 11-2 over Colton Tupper (Reynolds)
Quarterfinals: W, 5-0 over Jayden Hamm (South Williamsport)
Semifinals: L, by fall in 4:00 to Kyle Scott (Tyrone)
Cons. Semifinals: L, by fall in 1:15 to Elijah Morcheid (River Valley)
5th Place: L, 4-2 to Marquez Gordon (Bishop McCort)
Warrior Run Challenge
9-10
Freedom Young (3-1, 2nd place)
Round-Robin 1: W, 13-0 over Tyler Konyar (Milton)
Round-Robin 2: W, 17-1 (3:00) over Landren Wodrig (Hughesville)
Round-Robin 3: W, 13-0 over Gradyn Forbes (Milton)
Round-Robin 4: L, 4-2 (SV1) to Cayden Comfort (Williamsport)
Junior High
Samuel Young (2-1, 2nd place)
Round-Robin 1: W, by fall in 1:52 over Timothy Miller II (Exeter Township)
Round-Robin 2: W, 4-0 over James Byrum (Lewisburg)
Round-Robin 3: L, 17-2 (3:00) to Marek Polcha (Newport)
Ruckus on the Rails
Bantam Division
40: Elijah Pradhan (4-1, 3rd place)
Round of 16: L, by forfeit to Maverick Wallace (Pal)
Cons. 2nd Round: W, by fall in 0:11 over Cade Ballard (84 Athletes)
Cons. Quarterfinals: W, 7-5 (SV) over Kaiem Bromwell (Panthers)
Cons. Semifinals: W, by fall in 0:09 over Connor Jeremiah (84 Athletes)
3rd Place: W, 8-2 over Ethan Ace Panyavuthilert (Urbana)
46: Noah Swope (3-0, 1st place)
Quarterfinals: W, by fall in 0:49 over Mason Brault (Rampage)
Semifinals: W, by fall in 0:22 over Raegan Strube (FCMC)
Final: W, by fall in 1:35 over Eli Armwood (Unattached)
53: Ace Beltz (6-1, 3rd place)
Round of 16: L, 4-0 to Nasir White (SMWC)
Cons. 2nd Round: W, by fall in 0:19 over Zachary Spadoni (Germantown)
Cons. 3rd Round: W, by fall in 0:17 over Clayton Lewis (Iron Eagle WV)
Cons. 4th Round: W, by fall in 0:20 over Emil Cole (St. Francis)
Cons. Quarterfinals: W, by fall in 2:39 over Knox Guyer (Northeast)
Cons. Semifinals: W, by fall in 0:40 over Bohdi Tsikerdanos (Warhawks)
3rd Place: W, 4-0 over Tanner Shawver (Littlestown)
53: Keyzlin Hollimon (1-2)
Round of 16: L, 6-0 to Lincoln Joyce (Urbana)
Cons. 3rd Round: W, by fall in 0:33 over Weston Ross (BAAA)
Cons. 4th Round: L, 5-2 to Tanner Shawver (Littlestown)
53: John McKendrick (0-2)
Round of 16: L, by fall in 1:00 to Tanner Shawver (Littlestown)
Cons. 3rd Round: L, by fall in 1:17 to Knox Guyer (Northeast)
Midget Division
57: Freedom Young (3-2)
Round of 16: W, 6-2 over Aaron Oden (CYA)
Quarterfinals: L, 10-2 to Caleb Andress (Warhawks)
Cons. 2nd Round: W, 5-1 over Liam Jenkins (Pal)
Cons. Quarterfinals: W, by fall in 0:39 over Harper Duffey (Greencastle)
Cons. Semifinals: L, 2-0 to Jacob Wenrich (Bald Eagle Area)
62: Caiden Fann (3-2)
Round of 16: L, 12-2 to Ryder Hernandez (Keystone Stars)
Cons. 1st Round: W, by forfeit over Luke Anthony Andrakakos (Germantown)
Cons. 2nd Round: W, 3-0 over Tyson Brown (Front Royal)
Cons. Quarterfinals: W, 11-0 over Cullen Darr (84 Athletes)
Cons. Semifinals: L, 4-0 to Gracen Baer (CYA)
62: Charlie McKendrick (1-2)
Round of 16: W, 4-1 over Brayden Snedegar (SYA)
Quarterfinals: L, 14-4 to Kaiden Christie (Germantown)
Cons. 2nd Round: L, by fall in 1:52 to Cullen Darr (84 Athletes)
73: Raylan Shaw (2-2)
Round of 16: L, 2-0 to Austin Hughes (Pal)
Cons. 1st Round: W, 6-1 over Aryeh Albrecht (Middletown)
Cons. 2nd Round: W, 11-4 over Grady Johnson (Warriors)
Cons. Quarterfinals: L, 15-0 (2:47) to Bert Dhiman (Triumph Blue)
Intermediate Division
103: Samuel Young (0-4)
Round-Robin 1: L, 7-4 to Chance Zimmerman (TYW)
Round-Robin 2: L, by fall in 1:11 to Austin Appel (Warhawks)
Round-Robin 3: L, by fall in 0:56 to Brogan Kendall (Central Bucks)
Round-Robin 4: L, by fall in 1:18 to Braden Wivell (Primus)
130: Colton Biser (2-2)
Quarterfinals: L, by fall in 3:10 to Beau Andrew (CYA)
Cons. Quarterfinals: W, 9-0 over Michael Mansfield (Bowie)
Cons. Semifinals: W, by fall in 0:56 over Savannah Elling (MD Predators)
3rd Place: L, by fall in 0:57 to Beau Andrew (CYA)
Junior Division
57: Eli Hind (0-0, 1st place)
No opponents
62: Eli Hind (1-3, 4th place)
Round-Robin 1: L, by fall in 2:04 to Jaisen Sharma (Warhawks)
Round-Robin 2: L, 4-0 to Dylan Overton (Jaguars)
Round-Robin 3: W, by fall in 0:26 over Landon Drummond (84 Athletes)
Round-Robin 4: L, by fall in 4:24 to Briar Cline (BAAA)
96: Jaxon Roberts (1-2)
Quarterfinals: L, by fall in 1:25 to Grayson Richburg (St. Francis)
Cons. Quarterfinals: W, 4-3 over Youssef Rahim (Urbana)
Cons. Semifinals: L, by fall in 1:33 to Brody Fleet (84 Athletes)
GREENCASTLE
Keystone State Championships
10U
85: Kolston Piper (4-1, 2nd place)
Round of 32: W, 4-0 over Samson Grove (Mt. Lebanon)
Round of 16: W, 5-3 over Grant Lazor (Chestnut Ridge)
Quarterfinals: W, 8-6 over Ethan Thompson (Southmoreland)
Semifinals: W, 5-4 over Collin Beattie (McGuffey)
Final: L, 12-2 to Arian Jackson (Shaler)
90: Ethan Allen (5-2, 4th place)
Round of 32: W, by fall in 3:56 over Liam Wilson (Mars)
Round of 16: W, by fall in 2:31 over Kruz Tobin (Tri-Valley)
Quarterfinals: L, 5-3 to Titan Powell (Connellsville)
Cons. 4th Round: W, by fall in 0:25 over Edward Squires (Oxford)
Cons. Quarterfinals: W, 3-2 (UTB) over Mason Glass (Fort LeBeouf)
Cons. Semifinals: W, 4-0 over Blake Knoebel (Southern Columbia)
3rd Place: L, 2-0 to Titan Powell (Connellsville)
12U
95: Jackson Polifka (4-2, 7th place)
Round of 32: W, by fall in 3:56 over Jayden Cyphers (Mars)
Round of 16: W, 4-2 over Ethan Bosco (Central Valley)
Quarterfinals: L, 6-4 (SV1) to James Evans (Neshaminy)
Cons. 4th Round: W, 12-0 over Brady Mihalko (Moshannon Valley)
Cons. Quarterfinals: L, 4-2 (SV1) to Chris Gerheart (Pocono Mountain East)
7th Place: W, 3-2 over Jamison Forrest (Bishop McCort)
Junior High
105: Zane Crouse (3-3, 8th place)
Round of 32: W, 5-0 over Owen Steger (Ridgway)
Round of 16: W, 4-2 over DJ Noel (Westinghouse)
Quarterfinals: L, 12-0 to Mason Whitney (Abington Heights)
Cons. 4th Round: W, 2-0 over Carson Braswell (Corry)
Cons. Quarterfinals: L, 3-2 to Dakota Santamaria (Tussey Mountain)
7th Place: L, 3-1 to Tanner Hamilton (Grove City)
Girls 9-10
84: Natalie Himmelberger (0-2)
Round of 16: L, by fall in 1:56 to Josie Ratcliffe (Upper Dauphin)
Cons. 4th Round: L, by fall in 1:26 to Amelia Cobbs (North Allegheny)
Junior High Girls
135: Madison Geesaman (2-2)
Round of 32: W, by fall in 1:23 over Alyssa Posey (Benton)
Round of 16: W, by fall in 4:20 over Kasey Kophazy (United)
Quarterfinals: L, 16-5 to Sophia Folks (North Allegheny)
Cons. 4th Round: L, 11-5 to Elora Dillinger (Saegertown)
PJW Youth State Championships
9-10
90: Ethan Allen (4-3, 6th place)
Round of 32: W, by fall in 0:46 over Jordan DeLeon (Governor Mifflin)
Round of 16: W, 16-0 (3:49) over Luke Stanley (Derry)
Quarterfinals: L, 7-1 to Marco Hutcherson (Kiski Area)
Cons. 5th Round: W, 2-0 over Seamus Connole (Diocese of Erie)
Cons. Quarterfinals: W, 4-2 over Joey Pearson (Downingtown West)
Cons. Semifinals: L, 8-1 to Michael Wengrzynek (Northwest)
5th Place: L, by fall in 1:34 to James Duncan (Ringgold)
95: Liam Dietrich (1-2)
Round of 32: L, 3-0 to Nolan Aughenbaugh (Curwensville)
Cons. 2nd Round: W, 1-0 (UTB) over Carter Nesbitt (Cochranton)
Cons. 3rd Round: L, 2-1 to Teagan Hinkel (Nazareth)
11-12
100: Silas Robertson (3-2)
Round of 64: W, 6-0 over Tanner Huemme (Latrobe)
Round of 32: W, by fall in 1:10 over Joe Thomas (Lackawanna Trail)
Round of 16: W, by fall in 0:46 over Taylor Naugle (South Williamsport)
Quarterfinals: L, by fall in 0:32 to AC Swartz (Neshaminy)
Cons. 5th Round: L, 6-0 to Murphy Sheridan (Hempfield)
135: Damien Johns (2-2)
Round of 32: W, by fall in 1:00 over Ty Crouse (West Greene)
Round of 16: L, 3-1 to Gavin Purdy (Grove City)
Cons. 3rd Round: W, 1-0 over Liam Hovanic (Montour)
Cons. 4th Round: L, 1-0 to Bryce Collins (Canon-McMillan)
Ruckus on the Rails
Midget Division
57: Harper Duffey (1-2)
Quarterfinals: L, 6-4 to Blake Gouff (SYA)
Cons. 2nd Round: W, 10-6 over Max Miller (Manchester)
Cons. Quarterfinals: L, by fall in 0:39 to Freedom Young (Waynesboro)
CHAMBERSBURG
Keystone State Championships
6U
46: Myles Spidell (1-2)
Round of 32: W, 8-6 (SV1) over Ephram Kazar (Danville)
Round of 16: L, 4-3 to Sullivan Heleniak (Moon)
Cons. 2nd Round: L, 7-6 to Trenton Leuschen (Wattsburg)
8U
60: Frankie Bryan (0-2)
Round of 32: L, 2-1 to Zane Piercy (Oil City)
Cons. 1st Round: L, 2-0 to Ryder Limpar (Northampton)
10U
105: Sebastian Zubia (1-2)
Round of 32: L, 4-2 to Griffin Murcko (Pine-Richland)
Cons. 1st Round: W, by fall in 2:18 over Anthony Petak (Forest Hills)
Cons. 2nd Round: L, by fall in 0:47 to Cole Pettit (Peters Twp)
150: James Kearns (1-2)
Round of 16: L, by fall in 1:43 to Cooper Bliss (Port Allegany)
Cons. 2nd Round: W, by fall in 0:29 over Ripken Reese (Meyersdale)
Cons. 3rd Round: L, 4-1 to Brody Andrikanich (Oxford)
12U
200: Deakon Snavely (5-2, 5th place)
Round of 32: W, by fall in 1:37 over Landon Hupp (Selinsgrove)
Round of 16: W, by fall in 2:39 over Jayce Stanton (West Allegheny)
Quarterfinals: L, by fall in 1:43 to Aiden Resek (Reynolds)
Cons. 4th Round: W, 4-1 over Dominick Lentini (Mount Carmel)
Cons. Quarterfinals: W, by fall in 2:30 over Evan Hugar (Montgomery)
Cons. Semifinals: L, by fall in 1:04 to Bradley DiMiglio (Quakertown)
5th Place: W, 2-0 over Jayce Stanton (West Allegheny)
16U
136: Ashton Romberger (2-3, 8th place)
Round of 16: L, 7-1 to Konnor Kimmy (North East)
Cons. 3rd Round: W, 8-2 over Luke Poland (Trinity)
Cons. 4th Round: W, 6-0 over Elias Sallit (Parkland)
Cons. Quarterfinals: L, 3-2 to Blake Glass (Fort LeBeouf)
7th Place: L, 4-2 (SV1) to Konnor Kimmy (North East)
Girls 9-10
68: Kendyl Kearns (3-1, 2nd place)
Round of 16: W, by fall in 0:34 over Blake Brothers (Redbank Valley)
Quarterfinals: W, by fall in 1:26 over Hadley Barrick (Big Spring)
Semifinals: W, 4-1 over Piper Little (Dover)
Final: L, by fall in 0:32 to Abby Guzzo (Council Rock)
Girls 11-12
125: Reagan Evans (3-1, 3rd place)
Quarterfinals: W, by fall in 0:41 over Ahveanna McElroy (Union City)
Semifinals: L, 7-0 to Jenny Gautreau (Owen J. Roberts)
Cons. Semifinals: W, by fall in 2:46 over Sarah Groger (Penncrest)
3rd Place: W, by fall in 2:25 over Piper Jones (Chambersburg)
125: Piper Jones (4-2, 4th place)
Round of 16: L, 6-2 to Lucia Montoya (Williamsport)
Cons. 3rd Round: W, by fall in 0:11 over Chloe Newsome (Central Dauphin East)
Cons. 4th Round: W, by fall in 2:14 over Lynnsey Ashby (Trinity)
Cons. Quarterfinals: W, by fall in 0:16 over Allison Neeper (Curwensville)
Cons. Semifinals: W, 2-1 over Lucia Montoya (Williamsport)
3rd Place: L, by fall in 2:25 to Reagan Evans (Chambersburg)
PJW Youth State Championships
9-10
150: James Kearns (1-2)
Round of 32: W, by fall in 0:26 over Scott Feather (Bedford)
Round of 16: L, by fall in 3:21 to Owen Smith (Canon-McMillan)
Cons. 3rd Round: L, 1-0 (UTB) to Brayden Feltenberger (Meadville)
11-12
75: Aiden Yarnell (4-2)
Round of 64: W, 7-0 over Jacob Dugan (Philipsburg-Osceola)
Round of 32: L, 7-2 to Maddox Mehalic (Derry)
Cons. 1st Round: W, by fall in 1:55 over Anthony Pieto (South Side)
Cons. 2nd Round: W, 3-2 over Walker Hall (West Greene)
Cons. 3rd Round: W, 4-0 over Bentley Thorne (Reynolds)
Cons. 4th Round: L, 7-0 to Brayden Broadwater (Frazier)
75: Hunter Jonson (2-2)
Round of 64: W, by fall in 0:50 to Lucas Hobbs (Meyersdale)
Round of 32: L, 10-0 to Maximus Jovenitti (St. Marys)
Cons. 2nd Round: W, 2-0 over Logan Bomgardner (Warwick)
Cons. 3rd Round: L, 16-2 to Zack Ierley (York Suburban)
115: Nathan Chambers (1-2)
Round of 32: L, 7-1 to Skyler Mosier (Brockway)
Cons. 2nd Round: W, 11-0 over Vincenzo Fick (Oley Valley)
Cons. 3rd Round: L, 7-2 to Lashawn Haley (West Mifflin)
200: Deakon Snavely (2-2)
Round of 32: W, by fall in 1:15 over Porter Herchenroeder (Wallenpaupack)
Round of 16: W, 6-0 over Evan Hugar (Montgomery)
Quarterfinals: L, 2-0 to Bradley DiMiglio (Quakertown)
Cons. 5th Round: L, by fall in 0:48 to Maxwell Dilick-DiMond (Armstrong)
Girls 9-10
70: Kendyl Kearns (2-2)
Round of 16: L, by fall in 1:32 to Abby Guzzo (Council Rock North)
Cons. 3rd Round: W, by fall in 0:21 over Rosalena Sanders (Connellsville)
Cons. 4th Round: W, by fall in 2:16 over Kylee Prior (Mt. Pleasant)
Cons. 5th Round: L, 3-2 (UTB) Emalyn Clelan (Big Spring)
Girls 11-12
125: Piper Jones (4-1, 3rd place)
Round of 16: W, by fall in 1:19 over Emileigh Harper (Conneaut)
Quarterfinals: W, 1-0 over Maizy Mikeska (Derry)
Semifinals: L, 8-2 to Lucia Montoya (Williamsport)
Cons. Semifinals: W, 6-1 over Charley Gantz (Corry)
3rd Place: W, 1-0 over Maizy Mikeska (Derry)
NHSCA High School Nationals
Middle School
119: Gabe Nolan (2-2)
Round of 128: W, by fall in 4:07 over Tyler Vargas (Rhode Island)
Round of 64: W, by fall in 0:51 over Bridget Costner (North Carolina)
Round of 32: L, 8-2 to Nicolas Rodriguez (New York)
Cons. 3rd Round: L, by fall in 1:00 to Hayden Eardley (Wyoming)
Freshman
106: Ben Hoover (0-2)
Round of 128: L, 5-0 to Tommy Miller (Oklahoma)
Cons. 3rd Round: L, by fall in 1:40 to Liam Davis (Florida)
182: Jacob Stoner (0-2)
Round of 32: L, by fall in 4:19 to Nevin Mattessich (New Jersey)
Cons. 1st Round: L, 4-0 to Ronin Gault (Florida)
285: Frank Barrientos (2-2)
Round of 16: L, by fall in 1:32 to Trayvn Boger (Utah)
Cons. 1st Round: W, by fall in 3:48 over Justin Barnett (Virginia)
Cons. 2nd Round: W, by fall in 0:16 over Declan Wall (Virginia)
Cons. 3rd Round: L, 3-2 to David Smith (Pennsylvania)
Sophomore
113: Zach Sherman (2-2)
Round of 128: W, by fall in 0:52 over Tayce Lake (Wyoming)
Round of 64: W, 2-0 over Kenna Gioffre (Connecticut)
Round of 32: L, by fall in 3:47 to Colin Martin (Virginia)
Cons. 4th Round: L, 12-1 to Zach Morse (Montana)
132: Ashton Romberger (1-2)
Round of 128: L, 4-0 to Quentin Harding (Washington)
Cons. 1st Round: W, 16-0 (3:21) over Adam Bell (New York)
Cons. 2nd Round: L, 4-3 to Javin Jackson Bey (Texas)
Ruckus on the Rails
Junior Division
103: Sebastian Zubia (0-4)
Round-Robin 1: L, 11-2 to James Hedrick (84 Athletes)
Round-Robin 2: L, by fall in 1:25 to Brayden Brill (84 Athletes)
Round-Robin 3: L, by fall in 1:10 to Gannon Beach (Dallastown)
Round-Robin 4: L, by fall in 2:58 to Johnny Snyder (Warhawks)
