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Bellefonte sends three to Hershey while State’s Urbas moves on

Photo by Tim Weight


By BRIAN CARSON

 

ALTOONA – Bellefonte advanced three to Hershey and State College one at the rugged Class 3A West Super Regional on Saturday at the Altoona Fieldhouse.

 

Making a return trip to states and guaranteed a medal for the Red Raiders were Jude Swisher (132), Ethan Richner (160), and Ethan Rossman (189). This is the second PIAA medal for Swisher and Richner and the first for Rossman.

 

The Little Lions pushed through Lance Urbas (172) for his first PIAA hardware.

 

The PIAA Class 3A championships kick off at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday.

 

Rossman claimed the 189-pound championship with Richner getting second and Swisher third.

 

Urbas took home fourth to earn another trip to the Giant Center. Teammates Owen Woolcott (126) and Carson Manville (189) came in sixth and failed to advance.

 

Rossman brought home the gold with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Dallastown’s Brooks Gable in the finals. The Red Raider senior beat Colt Barley (Penn Manor) 8-1, and Hampton’s Justin Hart to reach the finals. Rossman rode out Gable in the second and escaped in the third to seal the deal.

 

“It feels great to win. I had jitters in my first match. Once I got that out of the way and won my second match, I felt great. Everything went away, and I felt great for the finals,” Rossman said. “I’m super excited to be going back to Hershey and doing it with my teammates. It’s awesome to share this with them.”

 

Swisher dropped his opening match 8-6 to Colton Stoneking of Waynesburg, but came back to beat him by an 8-5 decision in the match for third. The Red Raider junior scored two takedowns, a reversal and two escapes in the third for the victory.

 

“Collectively, we got off to a slow start. To Jude’s credit, he learned from that first match. He’s a student of the sport and he’s always trying to get better,” Bellefonte coach Mike Maney said. “All the weight classes here are deep and a credit to him working in the things he needs to work. Keep working to get better and earn a state medal.”

 

Pine Richland’s Cole Spencer capitalized on a seven-point second period to hand Richner the 10-3 defeat in the 160-pound finals.

 

“I have to work on some things, make adjustments, get better, and be ready for states,” Richner said. “My goal is to be a state champ and I’m going to do everything I can to make that happen.”

 

Senior Lane Aikey came up short in his injury riddled 2021 season. He went 0-2 on the day and saw his season and high school career end.

 

Urbas battled back after a tough loss to Waynesburg’s Luca Augustine with a 3-0 win over Brian Finnerty of Thomas Jefferson to earn his first PIAA medal. He dropped a 12-3 major to Sammy Starr of Kiski Area for third.

 

“I knew it would be a tough bracket with good kids. I knew I had to do what it takes to fight hard and get through,” Urbas said. “I felt good in neutral. I kept the pace up. I got to my stuff. My mat wrestling needs to improve, and that’s what I’m going to work on this week. My mentality has really come together. It’s a big relief to know I’ve got a medal. Obviously, I want to go out and wrestle hard, but it is nice to know you alreadyplaced.”

 

Owen Woolcott (126) and Carson Manville (189) finished sixth, and Ty Price (215) failed to place and saw their seasons end.

 

The officials disqualified Manville from the tournament after repeatedly using his hands and forearms to punch Gable in the face, drawing blood in their semifinal match

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