MECHANICSBURG — With a 27-2 record entering the District 3 Section III girls wrestling tournament, Chambersburg’s Aulana Stanton had plenty of dominating wins this season.

Aulana Stanton

But at 170 pounds on Saturday at Mechanicsburg, Stanton had to work extremely hard to earn a first-place finish — she overcame a 13-0 deficit to win a semifinal match, then needed a win in sudden victory in the final.

She was joined by two teammates — Jessica Li at 106 and Reagan Evans at 136 — as sectional champions, and Shippensburg star Olivia Kearns also won a championship at 118 pounds.

“It was a good day for the team; we finished second in the team standings, and we qualified six girls to districts,” Chambersburg coach Josh Sherman said. “But Aulana had a pretty wild day.”

In the semifinals, Stanton faced Elizabeth Innerst of West Perry and Innerst built a 13-0 lead early in the second period on takedown, two 4-point nearfalls and a reversal. But by the time the second period ended, Stanton had collected a reversal and two 4-point nearfalls of her own to get back to 13-10.

In the third, Stanton scored a takedown and nearfall for a 17-13 lead before pinning Innerst with 0:01 left.

Sherman said, “I talked to the West Perry coaches — they were much better than when we beat them earlier. Aulana’s girl was stronger and caught her for all of those points. But Aulana worked her heart out and scored points and kept chipping away. That was a great match to watch.”

In the final, vs. Alisa Oberheim of Cumberland Valley, Stanton secured a reversal with 0:27 left to take a 4-3 lead. But Oberheim escaped at 0:14 to tie it. In sudden victory, with 5 seconds left, Stanton secured a takedown and 2 nearfall points for a 9-4 victory.

Li continued a recent surge by going 3-0 at 106 and the first-place medal. She had 2 pins before winning a 6-4 battle against Lilliam Seagraves of CV in the final. Both girls had takedowns in the first period, and it was 4-4 heading into the third. Li was able to hit a reversal for a 6-4 victory.

“Jess started the season off a little rough, and got a little frustrated,” Sherman said. “But she kept working and has slowly started wrestling like she did last year (when she qualified for states).

“She had lost to the CV girl like 11-2 last year at sectionals, but today she took care of business and controlled the match. It was a very satisfying win.”

Evans racked up three pins in a total time of 1:50 to claim her title at 136. In the final, she took a 7-0 lead over Iley Dinsmore of James Buchanan before pinning her in 0:53.

Sherman said, “Reagan just keeps doing her thing. She has 29 pins (and a record of 32-1).”

Also for the Trojans, Hadyn Fritz placed third at 148, Alba Rojas was fourth at 142 and Daryn Glasgow placed fourth at 155. All will compete in the District 3 Tournament at Manheim Township on Feb. 28.

Chambersburg was missing two starters and another, Piper Jones, was injured in her second bout.

Kearns, who placed fifth in the state tournament last year, began this year’s postseason with a 3-0 record, including 2 pins and a 15-3 major decision in the final over Ava Holjes of Red Land.

Also earning berths in the district tournament were Dinsmore of JB at 136 (2nd) and Reghan Keefer of Ship at 235 (2nd); Aniuta Pavlii of Greencastle-Antrim at 106 (3rd) and Annabelle Tracey of Waynesboro at 155 (3rd); and the Maidens’ Rylie Young (148) and Keeley Pryor (118) were fourth.

Cumberland Valley won the team title with 257 points and Chambersburg was next with 147. Waynesboro (78) was 8th and Shippensburg (55) was 12th.

District 3 Section III Toiurnament
Chambersburg Results
100 — Emily Shaffner (5th place) 2-2, 1 pin
106 — Jessica Li (1st place) 3-0, 2 pins
112 — Sidney Butler 0-2
118 — Kayden Gross 0-2
124 — Cortlyn Finkle 0-2
130 — Piper Jones 1-1, 1 pin (forfeited for injury
136 — Reagan Evans (1st place) 3-0, 3 pins
142 — Alba Rojas (4th place) 2-2, 1 pin
148 — Hadyn Fritz (3rd place) 3-1, 2 pins
155 — Daryn Glasgow (4th place) 2-2, 1 pin
170 — Aulana Stanton (1st place) 3-0, 2 pins
———-
Greencastle Results
106 — Aniuta Pavlii (3rd place) 3-1, 2 pins
112 — Jadelynn Corbin 0-2
118 — Jazmin Corbin 1-3
124 — Kathryn Bream 1-2, 1 pin
130 — Anna Booze 0-2
136 — Brandy Trail 0-2
142 — Rachael Graham 0-2
148 — Riley Martin 0-2
———-
James Buchanan Results
136 — Iley Dinsmore (2nd place) 2-1, 2 pins
_______
Shippensburg Results
112 — Arianna Trageser 2-2, 2 pins
118 — Olivia Kearns (1st place) 3-0, 2 pins
124 — Hadley Burns 0-2
130 — Kaylie Shope 2-2
235 — Reghan Keefer (2nd place) 1-1, 1 pin
———-
Waynesboro Results
118 — Keeley Pryor (4th place) 4-2, 2 pins
124 — Miley Smetzer 2-2, 2 pins
130 — Lexus Mower 2-2, 2 pins
136 — Lily Kahl 0-2
142 — Ally Shockey (6th place) 3-3, 3 pins
148 — Rylie Young (4th place) 2-2, 1 pin
155 — Annabelle Tracey (3rd place) 3-1, 3 pins