CHAMBERSBURG — The Chambersburg wrestling team is blazing new trails.

The Trojans knocked off Quakertown 36-31 Monday night at CASHS Field House in a first-round match of the PIAA Team Championships, rallying from a 28-20 deficit with five bouts to go.

Ben Hoover

It is the first-ever win in team states for Chambersburg, which had been 0-2.

The Trojans (19-3) will now travel to Giant Center in Hershey for the second round, and will take on District 7 champion Canon-McMillan (14-2) at 8 p.m.

“It was a cool moment for the kids, for the program and for the school,” Chambersburg coach Matt Mentzer said. “This is a special group of kids and it was nice to see the support from the community, the teachers and the administrators.”

The Trojans still trailed 31-26 with two bouts remaining, but Avery Kuhns and Ben Hoover came through with victories to pull their team through.

Kuhns took Keondie Lopez down, then turned him for a pin in 56 seconds at 285 pounds to give Chambersburg at 32-31 lead.

Then at 107, Hoover took care of business, claiming an 11-0 major decision over Waylon Strzelski to clinch the win.

Mentzer said, “We thought when Avery got his pin, that it might be enough because Ben was favored, and they both got us bonus points. Hoover’s kid was about 6-feet tall, and he took top in the third period. We were worried he might try for a cradle, but Ben got to his feet, escaped and took him down.

“And then he put bars in and turned him and had him on his back for about the last 35 seconds. The noise in the gym just kept escalating and it was so loud that I never even heard the final buzzer. It almost blew the roof off — it was crazy.”

Logan Mickey

Chambersburg got off to a good start when Zach Sherman (114) scored a major decision over Isaac Williams, 10-0.

Mentzer said, “Sherm got a major in a match we thought was a toss-up, so that was really nice.”

Luke Mentzer notched a major decision at 127, followed by huge pins by Ashton Romberger at 133 and Logan Mickey at 139. That gave the Trojans a 20-6 advantage.

“They have a nice group of kids from 139-160, and they bumped them all up a weight,” Mentzer said. “So instead of Jaccob Stoner (172) having a really key match, it switched to Mickey and he took advantage.”

Mickey was tied 4-4 with Cody Stank after two periods and Stank escaped for a 5-4 lead. But Mickey took him down and then stuck him for a big six points.

The Panthers (15-8) then won the next four bouts, going from a 20-6 deficit to a 28-20 lead.

Aiden Hight stopped the bleeding with a pin in 57 seconds for Chambersburg at 189. At 215, Quakertown’s Calvin Lachman edged Zach Evans, 7-6, getting two takedowns to just one for Evans.

Mentzer said, “Lachman is ranked fourth or fifth in the state, and Zach was trying to beat him. But he also couldn’t really try all of his stuff because he couldn’t take a chance and get caught (for a pin). I thought he did a super job and wrestled a very smart match.”

That set the stage for the final two bouts and the Trojans’ final surge.

“This was a lot of fun,” Mentzer said. “This is a moment these kids will remember for a long time.”

Chambersburg 36, Quakertown 31
114 — Zach Sherman (C) md Isaac Williams, 10-0 (4-0)
121 — Mason Zeigler (Q) p Ethan Paszkowski, 0:48 (4-6)
127 — Luke Mentzer (C) md Logan Pfister, 14-6 (8-6)
133 — Ashton Romberger (C) p Evan Hilton, 1:46 (14-6)
139 — Logan Mickey (C) p Cody Stank, 5:05 (20-6)
145 — Gavin Carroll (Q) md Tyler Frye, 12-2 (20-10)
152 — Max Hibson (Q) p Judge Rieck, 3:46 (20-16)
160 — Collin Guy (Q) p Ivan Mixell, 1:27 (20-22)
171 — Zach Borzio (Q) p Jaccob Stoner, 3:52 (20-28)
189 — Aiden Hight (C) p Dylan Fenstermacher, 0:57 (26-28)
215 — Calvin Lachman (Q) d Zach Evans, 7-6 (26-31)
285 — Avery Kuhns (C) p Keondie Lopez, 0:56 (32-31)
107 — Ben Hoover (C) md Waylon Strzelski, 11-0 (36-31)