SPRING GROVE — Four area wrestlers just added two weeks to their season.

Those four, who qualified for the PIAA Championships at Saturday’s District 3 Class 3A Championships at Spring Grove, include Chambersburg’s Zach Sherman, Frank Barrientos and Ashton Romberger, and Waynesboro’s Anthony Ausherman.

Zach Sherman

The highest finisher was Ausherman, a sophomore, who was the runner-up at 215 pounds after falling to Brodie Daugherty of Manheim Central in the championship match.

The PIAA Championships are March 6-8 at Giant Center in Hershey, so that’s an extra week and a half of practice.

Chambersburg, which had a very good first day on Friday, had five wrestlers combine to go 4-9 in Saturday’s bouts. The Trojans finished with two fourth places (Sherman at 127, Barrientos at 285), a fifth place (Romberger at 139) and a sixth place (Logan Mickey at 152, that did not qualify for states).

“We knew today would be tough — looking at the matchups, we weren’t going to be favored in many, so that makes it tougher,” Chambersburg coach Matt Mentzer said. “As the day went on, we were able to win some of the matches we had to win. The thing is, at this level, if you make just one mistake, it will probably cost you the match.”

Sherman, Romberger and Mickey were in the morning semifinals and had a rough time. Sherman fell 5-0, Romberger 12-5 and Mickey 13-1.

Sherman scored a 10-2 major decision in the consolation semifinals at 127, but fell 7-3 in the match for third place to Luke Magnani of Boiling Springs. A tilt for 2 points early in the third period gave Magnani a cushion.

Frank Barrientos

At 139, Romberger dropped an 8-5 consy decision to drop him into the fifth-place bout. There he blanked Justin McGarrigle of Conrad Weiser, 7-0, to earn his place in states.

Barrientos notched a 37-second pin in his first consolation match, then upset Tal Stoltzfus of Conestoga Valley with a pin in 4:24. He went ahead 7-0 with a headlock in the first period, then threw Stoltzfus to his back at the edge and completed the fall. In the match for third place, Joseph Gassert of Middletown prevailed 1-0 by denying Barrientos his offensive options.

Mickey was pinned in his first consy match. In the bout for fifth place, he had just tied it up 3-3 vs. Aaron Andrew of Palmyra, when Andrew tossed him down for a 7-point move on his way to an 11-7 win.

Mentzer said, “We had a lot of kids who really improved as the season went on. If Romberger and Mickey aren’t two of the most improved wrestlers in the district, I’d be really surprised. That’s a credit to them working hard and the other coaches working with them.”

In the 215 semifinals, Waynesboro’s Ausherman came up with a 7-3 win against Kevin Oswalt of Exeter Twp., but he had to deal with three stalling calls against him. He scored a takedown near the end of the second period to take a 3-2 lead. It 4-3 late when Oswalt tried a desperate throw and Ausherman came out on top.

In the final, Ausherman — who is the first Indian wrestler to reach the District 3 finals since Mike McCann in 2019 — was handled by Brodie Daugherty of Manheim Central to the tune of a 19-3 technical fall in 5:26.

District 3 Class 3A Championships
Saturday’s Results
SEMIFINALS
127 — Aiden Herndon (Cedar Cliff) d Zack Sherman (Chbg), 5-0
139 — Myles Grossman (Gettysburg) md Ashton Romberger (Chbg), 12-3
152 — Nate Replogle (Central York) md Logan Mickey (Chbg), 13-1
215 — Anthony Ausherman (Way) d Kevin Oswalt (Exeter), 7-3
FINALS
215 — Brodie Daugherty (Manheim Central) tf Ausherman (Way), 19-3, 5:26
CONSOLATIONS
Third Round
145 — Brody Musser (Ephrata) d Jayden Rooney (Way), 7-3
189 — Sergio Garcia (Donegal) d Jaccob Stoner (Chbg), 6-5
285 — Frank Barrientos (Chbg) p Jason Usow (Dallastown), 0:37
Semifinals
127 — Sherman (Chbg) md Lincoln Yackanech (Penn Manor), 10-2
139 — C.J. Ferree (Central Dauphin) d Romberger (Chbg), 8-5
152 — Noah Tlumach (Ephrata) p Mickey (Chbg), 1:36
285 — Barrientos (Chbg) p Tal Stoltzfus (Conestoga Valley), 4:24
For Third Place
127 — Luke Magnani (Boiling Springs) d Sherman (Chbg), 7-3
285 — Joseph Gassert (Middletown) d Barrientos (Chbg), 1-0
For Fifth Place
139 — Romberger (Chbg) d Justin McGarrigle (Conrad Weiser), 7-0
152 — Aaron Andrew (Palmyra) d Mickey (Chbg), 11-7