CHAMBERSBURG — It really wasn’t supposed to end the way it did.

But the Chambersburg wrestling team is just fine with it.

Justin Deneen

The Trojans, hosting the No. 8-ranked Class 3A team in the state, State College, pulled a little bit of a sleight of hand in the next-to-last bout, and used the advantage they gained to upend the Little Lions 34-31 on Saturday evening at CASHS Field House.

State College (1-2, 0-2 MPC) wanted to have its defending state champion, Asher Cunningham, take on Chambersburg’s Jaccob Stoner at 189 or 215, so it bumped Cunningham up a weight in weigh-ins. And the switch might have paid off.

Isaiah Tasker had just gutted out a 5-4 decision over SC’s Xavier Zeruth at 172 to give the Trojans a 30-25 lead with two bouts left. The Little Lions did not have to send out their wrestler for 189 first — it was Chambersburg’s turn. But Trojan coach Matt Mentzer held his two choices for the next two bouts back for a few seconds, seemingly trying to decide which to send out.

In the meantime, the Little Lions’ Alijah Al-Sulaimani reported to the table, and when Mentzer saw that, he sent out Stoner, who clinched the victory with a 14-0 major decision over Al-Sulaimani.

“We got lucky,” Mentzer said. “I messed up the choice (for the coin flip), and we were supposed to send our guy out at 189. But we just held for a few seconds and they sent somebody to the table. It turned out that Tasker and Stoner won two of the last three, and they needed to win two of the last three.”

Chambersburg (2-1, 1-1 MPC) fell behind 21-11 after six bouts, but pulled it out by winning five of the final seven bouts.

One of those wins came at 145 for Justin Deneen and it was his first varsity win. He fell behind Sam Davidson 6-1 in the first period, but he escaped and scored a takedown of his own to trail only 6-5 after one period.

“I knew we needed a win for the team; every bout is important, not just the last one,” Deneen said. “I’d been working on some things this week, but he caught me with two doubles. I got free with a granby, and then took him down. And once I got that takedown, it gave me confidence.”

Deneen scored a takedown and nearfall in the second for a 12-6 lead and ended up winning 16-6 — scoring the last 16 points of the bout.

Mentzer said, “He got a win in a big spot there. They had bumped a kid up away from Ashton (Romberger at 139), and Justin had a rough start. His takedown at the end of the first period got him going.”

Frank Barrientos (285) opened the match with a pin, Zach Sherman scored a 17-1 technical fall at 127, and Romberger notched a pin at 139. Deneen’s win tied the match 21-21, and Logan Mickey gave the Trojans a 27-21 lead with a pin.

“We wrestled well,” Mentzer said. “Even Chris Wilkerson (who eventually faced Cunningham), went after him, and was not afraid. This is a good win, but really, any win in this division is a good one.”

Chambersburg 34, State College 31
285 — Frank Barrientos (Ch) p Michael Troupe, 1:50
107 — Nico Diaz (SC) d Isaac Brambley, 5-0
114 — Kael Davis (SC) p Cody Seabolt, 1:44
121 — Jon Whitbred (SC) p Brayan Gonzales, 0:33
127 — Zach Sherman (Ch) tf Johnathon Coates, 17-1
133 — Nic Bererra (SC) p Gabe Nolan, 4:35
139 — Ashton Romberger (Ch) p Mason Sanderson, 2:32
145 — Justin Deneen (Ch) md Sam Davidson, 16-6
152 — Logan Mickey p Brady Bucher, 2:47
160 — James Whitbred (SC) md Zethan Sleighter, 16-3
172 — Isaiah Tasker (Ch) d Xavier Zeruth, 5-4
189 — Jaccob Stoner (Ch) md Alijah Al-Sulaimani, 14-0
215 — Asher Cunningham (SC) p Chris Wilkerson, 1:35