Wagner heads to Hershey Hunting For Gold
By Joe Walker
HERSHEY-Lady Wildcat wrestler Kendall Wagner made history last week, as the Bucktail sophomore became the first ever Central Mountain girl wrestler to qualify for the first ever PIAA sanctioned state wrestling championships.
Wagner (18-4) made her way to the Hershey Giant Center by placing second in the Central Regional Tournament last weekend at 170 pounds. In her first round match up she will face west regional third place finisher Olivia Shultz (Fr, 19-13) of Connellsville. Wagner is the sixth seed in the tournament.
The winner of the Wagner/Shultz bout will face the winner of the first round bout between third seeded Veronica Guise (Jr, 21-4) of Cumberland Valley and Maya Krieger (Jr, 21-12) of Bensalem. Guise was the south region champion, while Krieger was the southeast region fourth place finisher. The losers of those two bouts will square off in the consolation first round.
The key is the first round wins, as they get you into the quarterfinals, as a win there puts you into the semifinals and a guaranteed medal. A loss in the quarterfinals drops you down into the consolations where just one win will also put you onto the podium and a medal.
Four other local wrestlers will be joining Wagner in the state tournament, as Bald Eagle Area has the trio of Eden Eveleth (Jr, 23-6) at 106, Angelina Grieb (Sr, 12-3) at 148 and Grace Crestani (Jr, 21-11) at 190 pounds. They are joined by Jersey Shore freshman Isabella Gotschall (16-4) also at 190 pounds.
In the first round Eveleth will face Reese Dewar (Fr, 7-3) of Garnet Valley, while Grieb will face Katie Brensinger (Sr, 5-1) of Northwestern Lehigh. In the first round at 190 pounds Crestani will face Daniella Maxwell (So, 19-13) of North Penn and Gotschall will meet Bryce Snyder (So, 16-5) of Palisades. Crestani and Gotschall are in the bottom half of the bracket and could meet up in semifinals if successful in the first two rounds.
Girls Schedule:
Thursday 2 pm – First Round
Friday 11:45 am – Quarterfinals & Consolation 1st Round Friday 1:15 pm – Consolation 2nd Round
Friday 7:00 pm – Championship Semifinals
Friday 9:00 pm – Consolation Quarterfinals
Saturday 9:30 am – Consolation Semifinals
Saturday 11:30 am – Class AA/AAA Boys & Girls 3rd, 5th & 7th Place Bouts Saturday 4:00 pm – Class AA/AAA Boys & Girls Finals
