Multiple Penn State wrestling commits roll into PIAA Championship semifinals
HERSHEY — Penn State wrestling will be represented by numerous future members of the program in Friday night’s PIAA Wrestling Championships semifinals. The quarterfinals and blood round went into the books earlier in the day, and it was a successful couple of sessions for Lions commits. The latest updates are below.
Class 2A recap through the quarterfinals
Bishop McCort star Mason Gibson scored a 9-5 decision win over Hunter Gould of Conneaut Area in the 133-pound quarters. It sets up a semifinal date with Brandt Harer of Montgomery, who has already beat Gibson this season. It gives the Penn State Class of 2024 commit a chance for revenge in his final state tournament. Flo Wrestling ranks Harer, a sophomore, as the top 133-pound grappler in Pennsylvania. It has Gibson at No. 3.
Update: Gibson lost his semifinal match and is in the consolation bracket.
At 152 pounds, Class of 2024 Penn State commit Ty Watson fell out of the championship bracket after dropping his opening bout back on Thursday by decision. But, he will medal after winning by fall over Tyler Barletta of Western Wayne in his first consolation bracket match before beating Rudy Brown of Burgettstown by decision. He then beat Caullin Summers of Sharpsville 7-3 to secure a podium placing. He can finish as high as third. His next match is a consolation bracket quarterfinal meeting with Brady Collins of Clearfield.
In other Class 2A news, Penn State football signee Caleb Brewer of Wyomissing was pinned in his first consolation bracket match of the day and is now eliminated from the tournament.
Penn State commits shine in Class 3A quarterfinals
Penn State wrestling had three commits in the PIAA Class 3A quarterfinals. Two have advanced to Friday night’s semifinals.
At 139 pounds, Brock Weiss of Jersey Shore was stunned by Patrick Kelly of Central Bucks Wes in a massive upset on the top half of the bracket. He was leading 11-4 in the second period when he was caught in a defensive pin, meaning Kelly was on top of Weiss and forced his shoulders to the mat despite Weiss being in control of the situation. The Nittany Lion now moves onto the consolation bracket, where he can wrestle back for third.
On the bottom half of the 139 pound bracket, future teammate Dalton Perry of Central Mountain took care of business to advance. He beat Trinity’s Blake Reihner 9-3. Weiss beat Perry last week at the Class 3A PIAA Northwestern regional tournament, and many hoped to see a repeat of that match in the finals. That will not happen. Perry gets Jack Campbell of Nazareth in the semi-finals. He is No. 8 in the state, per Flo. Perry is No. 6.
At 160 pounds, State College Area Asher Cunningham took a step toward the title bout by beating Gunnar Myers of Wallenpaupack by fall at the 5:20 mark of the match. He was leading 3-1 at the time of the pin. He will face Bode Marlow of Thomas Jefferson in the semifinals.
Update: Perry and Cunningham won and are in today’s finals at 4 pm ET
When are the PIAA state wrestling championships and how can I watch and follow the Penn State commits?
Let’s get this out of the way first. Flo Wrestling is the exclusive broadcast arm of the state tournament. Learn more about signing up for a subscription to stream the action at this link. They also have live bracket updates to follow the Penn State connections throughout the tournament. You can find those here.
Class 2A
7 p.m. – Semifinals
9 p.m. – Fourth round consolations
Saturday, March 9
9:30 a.m. – Fifth round consolations
11:30 a.m. – Third, fifth, and seventh place matches
4 p.m. – Finals
Class 3A
Friday, March 8
7 p.m. – Semifinals
9 p.m. – Fourth round consolations
Saturday, March 9
9:30 a.m. – Fifth round consolations
11:30 a.m. – Third, fifth, and seventh place matches
4 p.m. – Finals
