HERSHEY — Dominic Frontino guaranteed himself a second state medal by wrestling into the semifinals of the PIAA Wrestling Championships on Friday afternoon.
The Shippensburg senior piled up a 12-1 victory in a 160-pound quarterfinal bout against Gavin Pascoe of Perkiomen Valley.
A takedown and 3-point nearfall gave the Greyhound ace a 5-0 lead after one period and he made it 10-1 after two with an escape and two takedowns.
Frontino (34-1) will face Dylan Evans of Chartiers Valley (36-4) in a semifinal Saturday morning at Giant Center.
Four other area wrestlers competed Friday in the consolation rounds, hoping to earn a medal, but all four were eliminated.
A pair of Chambersburg wrestlers produced wins in the second round of consolations.
Aiden Hight (189) defeated Rocco Serafini of Central Mountain, 6-3. Trailing 2-1 in the second period, Hight escaped and hit a takedown for a 4-3 lead, then iced it with a takedown with 1:45 remaining in the third.
At 285, Avery Kuhns met up with Jack Crider of Kiski Area and scored a takedown and nearfall to lead 4-1 after one. He bumped the lead to 8-2 with another takedown to Crider’s back before ending the match with a pin in 2:34.
Chambersburg’s Zach Evans (215) was ousted by a pin in 4:47 by Corey Boerio of Greater Latrobe. Evans led 3-2 after two periods, but Boerio was able to reverse Evans to his back and secure the fall.
Shippensburg’s Diesel Koser (215) lost a heartbreaker, 4-3 to Mason Rebuck of Shikellamy. Koser held a 3-1 lead after two periods, then Rebuck escaped in the third. With 12 seconds left, Rebuck was awarded a takedown to win the bout.
In the third round, winners would guarantee a spot in the top eight and earn a medal, and Hight and Kuhns each fell just short. Hight fell 5-2 to Brody Evans of Waynesburg Central and Kuhns was defeated 6-2 by Bailey Shindle of Kennett.
Evans escaped from Hight in the second period and hit a crucial takedown with just 4 seconds left to lead 3-0. Hight got it back to 3-2 on an escape and then a stalling point at 0:48, but Evans earned a takedown 26 seconds later to insure the win.
Kuhns registered the opening takedown against Shindle, early in the second period, for a 2-0 lead. But Shindle escaped and took a 3-2 lead with a takedown of his own. In the third, Kuhns let Shindle up and couldn’t get the tying points.