HIGH SCHOOL WRESTLING Trojans already wrap up league crown
By Tony Matter CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Sentinel-area wrestling teams went 3-2 in dual meets last week. Upper Dauphin Area was 2-0 and claimed the Tri-Valley League title with a tight victory over Newport Jan. 15. One night later, Trojan standout senior and three-time state place winner Bronson Garber claimed his 150th victory during a senior night blowout win over Schuylkill Haven.
Halifax bested Tri-Valley for the area’s other win last week, while Line Mountain and Williams Valley both went 0-1 during the week. Upper Dauphin, Halifax and Williams Valley also competed at the annual Schuylkill League Tournament over the weekend, while Line Mountain wrestled in the New Oxford Invitational.
UDA 34 • Newport 30
The Trojans outlasted the Buffaloes to claim their second consecutive league title in a battle of Tri-Valley League heavyweights Jan. 15 in Elizabethville.
The match started at 152, a weight that UDA Head Coach Todd Rupp felt good about prior to the start of the contest.
“I couldn’t ask for a much better starting point. We shouldn’t trail the entire match,” said Rupp before the Trojans took the mat. Newport sophomore Will Davis sent Rupp’s pre-match analysis into a tailspin when he outlasted senior Tyler Wright for an 8-7 decision that put the Buffaloes ahead 3-0 after one bout.
The Trojans bounced back with two consecutive victories – a 15-3 major decision for Darien Wiest (160) and 5-1 decision for Steven Heck (170) – to take a 7-3 lead after three bouts.
Mason Wiest sent the Trojan fans into a frenzy when he stuck Newport’s Brenden Leach for a second-period fall in a toss-up 182-pound bout.
Wiest trailed 2-0 but reversed Leach and came out on top of a scramble to stick the Buffalo wrestler with 19 seconds left in the second period.
SEE WRESTLING • PAGE B9
(Sentinel photo by Todd Gearhart) Upper Dauphin Area’s Donny Gelnett pinned Newport’s Andrew Wright at the 1:18 mark of the 220-pound bout Jan. 15.