Luke Nichter, left, of Chambersburg could see a third match against Edmond Ruth of Susquehanna Twp. at states, but it’s not an easy road to the final.
The grind begins Thursday afternoon.
The PIAA Class 3A Wrestling Championships get under way at 4 p.m. at Giant Center and seven Franklin County qualifiers will be right in the thick of the battle.
One of the seven — Chambersburg junior Luke Nichter at 170 pounds — was a runner-up last year, and his sophomore brother Tate Nichter at 145 went 1-2 at states. The other five are making their first appearance in the big event.
The Trojans are also sending seniors Cole Grove (126) and Seth Runshaw (152) and freshman Karl Shindledecker (113). while Shippensburg junior Jeffrey Russell (120) and Waynesboro senior Matt McCann (138) round out the group.
The preliminary round begins at 4, followed by the first round, then consolations. Shindledecker, Russell and Runshaw compete in the prelims, while the other four have a bye in the 20-man brackets.
“Our kids have wrestled in big events all year, and I’m pleased with their attitudes,” Chambersburg coach Matt Mentzer said. “We just have to show it this weeknd.
“A lot of these kids up here have pretty sizeable reputations and national rankings. A lot of them will be filling up Division I wrestling rooms in the near future.”
Despite getting a silver medal last year, Luke Nichter is not the favorite at 170. In fact, there are three at that weight ranked nationally and he is the lowest.
Purdue signee Gerrit Nijenhuis of Canon-McMillan (40-3) is ranked No. 4, Penn recruit Edmond Ruth of Susquehanna Twp. (30-0) is No. 10 and Nichter is No. 11 as ranked by FloWrestling. He could meet Nijenhuis in the semifinals.
In his first match, Nichter (36-3) will meet Angel Garcia of Mariana Bracetti (31-5). In the final at the Escape The Rock tourney, Nichter trailed 4-1 after two periods against Garcia, but caught him in a throw late for a 7-4 win.
Mentzer said, “Luke’s had some land mines thrown at him. There’s no way around it — you just have to have the attitude that you’ll win, and the order of kids you beat doesn’t matter. Luke just needs to go out and get into his positions. I think he’s ready to go.”
Tate Nichter (31-4) is coming off a District 3 championship. Should he win twice to reach the semifinals, his likely opponent would be defending champion Ryan Anderson of Bethlehem Catholic (35-1), who is ranked No. 1 in the country.
“Tate has rolled with Anderson before; he just has to go out and do what he does,” Mentzer said. “But he’s not thinking about Anderson yet. You have to take each match as it comes.”
Nichter’s first bout will be against the winner of Garrett Walsh of West Scranton (33-10) vs. Dalton Woodrow of DuBois (32-4).
Grove (25-11) will face Braden Ricchini of Council Rock South (36-15), a regional champion, in his opener.
After he finished third at districts, Grove said, “Getting to states feels really good, but now I’ll have to set a new goal of placing there.”
Mentzer said, “Cole isn’t going in just to visit Hershey, he’s going to compete. If he goes hard like he did at districts he could beat anybody.”
Runshaw and Shindledecker, because they start in the preliminary round, must find a way to win three bouts in order to place. Wrestlers who begin with a bye must win two to place.
In his first bout, Runshaw (27-11) meets Coltin Jezioro of Peters Twp. (33-5), while Shindledecker (19-10) faces Keito Shaw of Upper Darby (38-9).
Waynesboro’s McCann (30-10) will take on Devon Britton of Northampton (22-5) in his first match, while Russell (32-9) meets Cole Homet of Waynesburg (41-7).
PIAA Class 3A Wrestling Championships
Thursday’s Pairings
PRELIMINARY ROUND
113 — SC-3 Karl Shindledecker, Chambersburg (19-10) vs. SE-5 Keito Shaw, Upper Darby (38-9)
120 — SC-4 Jeffrey Russell, Shippensburg (32-9) vs. SW-3 Cole Homet, Waynesburg (41-7)
126 — SC-3 Cole Grove, Chambersburg (25-11), bye
138 — SC-2 Matt McCann, Waynesboro (30-10), bye
145 — SC-1 Tate Nichter, Chambersburg (31-4), bye
152 — SC-4 Seth Runshaw, Chambersburg (27-11) vs. SW-3 Coltin Jezioro, Peters Township (33-5)
170 — SC-2 Luke Nichter, Chambersburg (36-3), bye
FIRST ROUND
113 — Shindledecker-Shaw winner vs. SE-1 Maximino Mendez, Council Rock South (37-6)
120 — Russell-Homet winner vs. NE-1 Sean Pierson, Nazareth (36-3)
126 — Grove vs. SE-1 Braden Ricchini, Council Rock South (36-15)
138 — McCann vs. NE-2 Devon Britton, Northampton (22-5)
145 — T.Nichter vs. winner of NE-4 Garrett Walsh, West Scranton (33-10) vs. NW-3 Dalton Woodrow, DuBois (32-4)
152 — Runshaw-Jezioro winner vs. NE-1 Cole Handlovic, Bethlehem Catholic (40-5)
170 — L.Nichter vs. NE-3 Angel Garcia, Mariana Barcetti (31-5)