Wildcat Trio Will Win Medals at State Tournament

By Joe Walker

HERSHEY- Central Wildcat senior Griffin Walizer continues his climb up the podium at the PIAA Class AAA state championships, as he posted a 5-3 overtime win in the consolation quarterfinals and will move into Saturday morning’s consolation semifinals. So three Wildcats will medal in the tournament, it just remains as to what medal they will receive. 

Walizer used a reversal in the first 30 second rideout period to take a 5-3 lead and then rode northeast regional runner-up Keegan Demarest (Sr, 39-8) of Pocono Mountain East out in the second 30 second rideout period to earn the win. 

Demarest took a 3-2 lead after two periods, as he escaped and took Walizer down, but Walizer reversed him late in the period. In the final period the only scoring was a Walizer escape and thus the 3-3 score sent the bout into the overtime. 

In the consolation semifinals, Walizer (38-10) will go against District 6 rival Lucas Sipes (35-6) of Altoona. Sipes dropped a close 1-0 decision to defending state champion Kollin Rath (44-1) of Bethlehem Catholic in the championship semifinals. Sipes defeated Walizer 3-1 in the District finals and then 3-0 in the regional finals. 

Of course as we reported earlier Dalton Perry and Luke Simcox both won their championship semifinal bouts and will wrestle for state titles on Saturday. Perry was an 11-4 winner over Jack Campbell (35-6) of Nazareth in the semifinals and Simcox won a close 1-0 decision over Evan Petrovich (39-6) of Connellsville in the semifinals. 

In the championship finals Perry (34-3) will face off with southwest regional champion Maddox Shaw (42-3) of Thomas Jefferson. Shaw was a runner-up to Luke Simcox last year by a 1-0 score, while Perry had defeated Saw 3-1 in the state semifinals two years ago, when Perry went on to win his state title. Shaw came into the tournament ranked fourth in the country, while Perry was ranked 12th in the country. 

Simcox (30-3) will face District 6 rival Pierson Manville (26-1) of State College in the championship finals. Manville owns a 2-1 lead in previous bouts, although one of those wins was a forfeit by Simcox. Manville defeated Simcox las season 5-3 at the Powerade Tournament, while Simcox won his fourth regional title with a 3-2 ultimate tie breaker win. Simcox and Manville are ranked 1-2 in the state. 

The Consolation Semifinals will start at 9:30 am on Saturday, with the 3rd, 5th and 7th Place bouts to start at 11;30 am. The championship finals are scheduled for 4:00 pm start, with the Parade of Champions at 3:40 pm. 

CENTRAL MOUNTAIN FRIDAY RESULTS: 

Championship Quarterfinals: 

139 – Dalton Perry dec. Blake Reihner (Trinity), 9-3 

145 – Luke Simcox dec. Gavin Reynolds (Central Dauphin), 6-1 

152 – Collin Gaj (Quakertown) maj dec. Griffin Walizer, 13-4. 

215 – Aiden Hight (Chambersburg) dec. Rocco Serafini, 10-4 

Consolation Second Round: 

152 – Griffin Walizer dec. Parrish McFarland (Pottsville), 4-2 

215 – Julian Marion (Franklin Regional) dec. Rocco Serafini, 3-0. 

Championship Semifinals

139 – Dalton Perry dec. Jack Campbell (Nazareth), 11-4 145 – Luke Simcox dec. Even Petrovich (Connellsville), 1-0 

Consolation Quarterfinals: 

152 – Griffin Walizer dec. Keegan Demarest (Pocono Mtn East), 5-3 TB2