MECHANICSBURG — Four area wrestlers reached the championship round of the District 3 Sectional wrestling tournaments on Saturday and three of them were able to secure first-place finishes.
Frank Barrientos
At Mechanicsburg in Section III:
— Chambersburg senior Frank Barrientos won at 285 pounds with a 5-2 decision over top seed Hunter Stoak of Lower Dauphin.
— Shippensburg freshman Braden Boardman picked up a 5-2 decision over Braydon Lowe of West Perry at 114 pounds.
— Silas Robertson, a freshman at Greencastle-Antrim with a 15-7 record, made his way to the final at 133, but lost by technical fall (17-0) to Drew Scherer of Boiling Springs.
At Southern Western H.S. in Section IV:
— Waynesboro senior Steven Howard rolled through the 133 weight class, including a 16-1 technical fall over Dallastown’s Lucas Jansen in the final.
Barrientos (23-5) reached the final with two pins (1:10 and 3:32), but had a close bout against Stoak. Barrientos picked up a point for stalling in the first period, then went ahead 2-1 in the third. A takedown with 28 seconds left clinched the victory.
“Frank wrestled well — he had lost to that kid earlier in the year,” Trojan coach Craig Hight said. “This time he put the pressure on and wore him down. On the takedown, Frank had the lead and the other kid forced a shot and he snapped the head and did a go-behind.”
The Trojans had three other wrestlers qualify for the District 3 Championships at Spring Grove on Feb. 20-21. Jaccob Stoner (189) and Deakon Snavely (215) placed third, while Isaac Brambley (127) took fourth place.
Stoner (20-9) won by default over P.J. Dent of Harrisburg while leading 4-0 in the third-place bout; a takedown with 0:57 left by Snavely (23-10) put him ahead in a 4-1 win over Enashay Gephart of CD East; and Brambley (19-11) lost by pin to Braden Wivell of Northern.
In the semifinals, Stoner took a lead, but couldn’t hold on against Cassius Comp of East Pennsboro and fell 7-5.
Hight said, “Jake wrestled well except for the semifinal, but he responded well to take third place. I’m proud of Brambley to come back and win his consolation semifinal match.”
Brambley trailed 8-0 to Mechanicsburg’s James Spargo, but scored the next 10 points, including a clutch takedown with 0:32 left to win 10-8.
Ship’s Boardman (29-3) posted two pins early, then took on Lowe in the final. After a scoreless first period, Lowe escaped, then Boardman secured the crucial takedown to go ahead. He increased his lead in the third with a reversal and kept Lowe at bay the rest of the way.
Howard (28-5) had little trouble taking home the gold at 113 in Section IV. He scored two pins, then crushed Jensen in the final, blowing out to an 11-0 lead after one period on a takedown and a pair of 4-point nearfalls, and ending it at 2:59.
The only other area wrestler to qualify for districts (there were 8 total) was Abe Luffy of Shippensburg. The Greyhound placed third at 152, edging Landen Geidel of Northern 6-5. Luffy (23-9) trailed 5-3, but connected on a bout-winning takedown with just 11 seconds remaining.
In one surprise in Section IV, Anthony Ausherman of Waynesboro (29-7), who was a district runner-up and state qualifier last year, placed fifth and did not qualify for districts.
District 3 Section III Wrestling
Chambersburg Results
107 — Hunter Johnson 2-2, 2 pins
127 — Isaac Brambley (4th place) 3-2, 2 pins
139 — Nathan Chambers 2-2, 2 pins
172 — Jayden Conner 0-2
189 — Jaccob Stoner (3rd place) 4-1, 1 pin
215 — Deakon Snavely (3rd place) 4-1, 1 pin
285 — Frank Barrientos (1st place) 3-0, 2 pins
———-
Greencastle-Antrim Results
114 — Kahl Cordell 2-2, 1 pin
121 — Kevin Hoffpauer 2-2
133 — Silas Robertson (2nd place) 2-1
139 — Chance Zimmerman (5th place) 3-2, 1 pin
160 — Landon Hinkle 2-2, 2 pins
172 — Damien Johns 1-2, 1 pin
215 — Ben Jansen (5th place) 4-2, 3 pins
———-
James Buchanan Results
114 — Owen Calimer 0-2
121 — Diego Atherton 0-2
127 — Dakota Stone 0-2
133 — Gage Hutchison (6th place) 1-2, lost by forfeit
145 — Michael Johnson 2-2, 1 pin
152 — Finn Lorson (5th place) 3-2, 2 pins
160 — Alex Brake 1-1, 1 pin, lost by default and forfeit
172 — Christian Pine 1-1, 1 pin, lost by forfeit
285 — Lucas Stoner 0-2
———-
Shippensburg Results
107 — Braedyn Weller 0-2
114 — Braden Boardman (1st place) 3-0, 2 pins
127 — Easton Barrick 0-2
133 — Bryson Statler 2-2, 1 pin
139 — Richard Elliott 2-2, 2 pins
145 — Trajan Anderson 1-2, 1 pin
152 — Abe Luffy (3rd place) 3-1, 1 pin
215 — Dale Cummings 2-2
285 — Wyatt Holderbaum 0-1, lost by forfeit
———-
District 3 Section IV Wrestling
Waynesboro Results
127 — Sam Young 1-2, 1 pin
133 — Steven Howard (1st place) 3-0, 2 pins
145 — Colton Biser 1-2
152 — Chase Mumma (6th place) 3-1, 1 pin
160 — Ayden Strawsbaugh 1-2, 1 pin
172 — Brady Myers (5th place) 3-2, 1 pin
189 — Tyler Rooney 0-2
215 — Anthony Ausherman (5th place) 3-2, 1 pin
285 — Lucas Mummert 0-2