Escape The Rock Semifinals Set After Day One Thrills

For some wrestlers day one of the 2017 Escape The Rock Tournament was like being slapped in the face by adversity while others it was the feeling of achievement. Day two will be much of the same as Pennsylvania and the Nation’s top wrestlers put it on the line for an ETR Championship Belt.

The talk of the town after Saturday was hometown grappler Max Mendez (Council Rock South) who entered his second ETR ranked #5 in the State. One year ago Max went (1-2) at the ETR in his home gym, a season that saw the freshman go (26-21). 2017 is much different for the now sophomore as he is (22-2) on the season and advanced into the Championship semifinals with a stunning upset. In the quarterfinals Mendez scored an opening takedown on Anthony Clark (Delbarton, NJ) and never looked back. Clark, a freshman, is ranked #10 in the Nation by Intermat but Mendez was unphased holding on for an impressive (7-6) win. He now finds himself a match away from the finals as he meets third seed and Southern Regional, NJ sophomore Samuel Alvarez who pinned PA State ranked #1 Kaden Cassidy (Bishop McCort) in the quarters.

PIAA State Runner-up and #1 Jaret Lane is looking to advance into the ETR Finals for a second time in a row facing sophomore Dom Difrancesantonio of Hanover Park, NJ in the semifinals. Both 113 lbs. semifinalists on the bottom half had tall tasks in the quarterfinals with National Prep Runner-up Shane Hanson-Ashworth earning a hard fought (2-1) decision in tiebreaker over #6 Matt Wilde (Boyertown Area). #7 Jacob Dunlop defeated returning PIAA State Medalist #4 Chase Shields (Bishop McDevitt) in the quarters (5-3). Hanson-Ashworth and Dunlop met last season at the ETR in the Championship quarterfinals with Dunlop winning (3-2) in UTB. Delbarton, NJ stud Patrick Glory, ranked #2 in the Nation by both Flo and Intermat, has torn through the field and will face Council Rock North senior #6 Aidan Burke in the semifinals. Pennridge senior and 2016 PIAA State Runner-up Matty Parker will have his hands full with Legacy Christian, OH junior Tommy Hoskins. The Oklahoma commit is a stud ranked #7 in the Nation by Intermat as defeated a stout #7 Logan Macri (Canon-McMillan) by fall in the quarterfinals.

The scene is starting to set on a Beast of The East rematch at 126 lbs. as top seed #2 Julian Chlebove and second seed Nick Raimo (Hanover Park, NJ) are each in the semifinals. Chlebove, ranked #10 in the Nation by Intermat will meet Paulsboro, NJ wrestler Anthony Duca while Raimo, ranked #6 in the Nation, faces sixth seed Trevon Majette
(Oscar Smith, VA). In the Beast of The East finals last month Chlebove defeated Raimo (3-2) with a late third period takedown. 2016 PIAA State Champion #1 Brian Courtney (Athens Area) is competing down at 132 lbs. for the first time this season and he has been sharp. In the semifinals Courtney, ranked #3 in the Nation by Intermat, will take on Lou Raimo (Hanover Park, NJ) who is the sixth seed. It is an all PA semifinal on the bottom half of 132 lbs. as 2x PIAA State Medalists clash with #4 KJ Fenstermacher (Northampton Area) and #6 Jakob Campbell (Boyertown Area). Interestingly enough both wrestlers own the same medals from Hershey; each with a third and seventh place State Medal. The two wrestled last week at the CV Winter Duals with Fenstermacher winning (1-0) over Campbell.

Returning Escape The Rock Champion and OW #5 Dan Moran (Northampton Area) will be in search of his second ETR Championship and third finals appearance. Moran will face PJ Crane (Malvern Prep) in the semifinals who earned a (4-0) win over #9 Tim Hristko (Canon-McMillan). On the bottom half the seventh and eleventh seeds survived a cluster of talent with #17 Zach Stedford (North Allegheny) and Imran Heard (St. Paul’s, MD) advancing. Stedford outlasted unranked Nick Nunez (Easton Area) who himself knocked off #8 Aaron Rump (Chambersburg Area) in the round of 16. Three Keystone State wrestlers are in the 145 lbs. semifinals with top seed #2 John Pipa (Bishop McDevitt) leading the charge. Pipa, who was fifth at the ETR a season ago, took care of talented freshman Aurelius Dunbar (Mercersburg Academy) in the quarterfinals and will meet Georgetown Prep, MD senior Ethan Krause for a spot in the finals. On the bottom half two top seniors #4 Jake Hinkson (North Allegheny) and #4 Todd Lane (Southern Columbia Area) will face-off in a battle between the State’s two #4’s. The pair of 2x PIAA State Medalists defeated quality opponents in the quarterfinals with Hinkson pinning #13 Devon Britton (Northampton Area) and Lane earning a fall over #20 Dan Mancini (Owen J. Roberts).

The big news from 152 lbs. was top seed and senior Riley Palmer (Council Rock South) being upset in the quarterfinals by #9 Kaidon Winters (Athens Area). Palmer controlled the match early gathering two takedowns in the first period to open up with a (4-2) advantage. Winters then rode out Palmer for the entire second period and earned an escape in the third period to narrow the score to (4-3) late in the match. With less than ten seconds left Winters was on the attack and when Palmer relaxed near the edge the Athens Area senior gathered a takedown to win the match (5-4) at the buzzer. Winters will face Boyertown Area senior #21 Chris Berry who defeated a tough Chris Hisey (Malvern Prep) in the quarterfinals. On the lower half the second seed and one of PA’s Top Incoming Freshmen #5 Gerrit Nijenhuis (Canon-McMillan) faces a familiar opponent in #14 Brock Godzin (Belle Vernon Area). The WPIAL wrestlers met in the 2016 POWERade during the consolation round and Godzin opened up that match strong with a takedown and reversal to go up (4-0) heading into the third period. It was Nijenhuis who turned it on in the final period choosing neutral and for good reason. The rookie scored on four takedowns to go up (8-7) late on Godzin and added a set of back points to close out the match (10-7). Godzin will need to stick to his game plan which involves riding tough on top and stopping a relentless attack from Nijenhuis.

160 lbs. is the most top heavy weight of the ETR in terms of Pennsylvania talent with all four semifinal wrestlers being ranked in the top six of the State in Class AAA. The return of #1 Eric Hong (North Allegheny) came at a perfect time as the senior and National Prep Champion is hoping to improve on his runner-up finish at the ETR a season ago and reclaim the title he won in 2015. Hong, who on Wednesday was ruled eligible by the PIAA, is the top ranked wrestler in the State advancing into the semifinals to meet undefeated senior #6 Ryan Resnick (Owen J. Roberts). Resnick is a King of The Mountain Champion and has been lights out so far this season. The most anticipated semifinal match could be on the bottom half as juniors #2 Josh Stillings (Pennridge) and #3 Zach Hartman (Belle Vernon Area) meet. Stillings wrestled Hartman’s older brother Mitch three times last season including in the ETR quarterfinals. Zach is up from his opening season weight of 145 lbs. but has looked solid at 160 lbs. winning the WCCA and finishing as the runner-up at POWERade. 

PIAA State Champion Jacob Oliver (Huntingdon) was a ETR Runner-up last season and will look to make it two straight finals appearances going against fourth seed Michael Battista (Broad Run, VA). On the bottom half Northampton Area senior #6 Cade Moisey made his 100th career victory a special one as he downed #24 Ben Root (Solanco) in the quarterfinals (7-2). He will take on St. Paul’s, MD stud Dale Tiongson who last month was a POWERade finalist. The Nation’s top wrestler according to both Intermat and Flo at 182 lbs. is Northwestern recruit and Malvern Prep junior Michael Beard. The National Prep Champion is looking to defend his 2016 ETR Championship and advance into his third straight ETR finals. Beard will meet South Philadelphia senior #5 Miles Lee who was a 2016 PIAA State Qualifier and Fargo All-American. On the bottom half second seed #3 Drew Peck, ranked #16 in the Nation by Intermat, defeated #7 Frank Guida (Parkland) in the quarterfinals (7-4). He will meet third seed Dom Maniero (Queen of Peace, NY) in the semifinals.

A loaded 195 lbs. bracket is filled with Nationally ranked talent as the number two ranked wrestler in the Nation by Intermat John Borst (Sherando, VA) leads the field. He has pinned all three of his opponents thus far and in the semifinals will meet PIAA State Runner-up #3 Anthony Walters (Bishop McCort). On the bottom half a pair of 2016 PIAA State Champions will do battle for the first time this season. #1 Jake Woodley (North Allegheny) was a 2016 POWERade Champion while #2 Cole Nye (Bishop McDevitt) was fifth. Each won PIAA State Championships a season ago, Woodley at 182 lbs. in Class AAA and Nye at 220 lbs. in Class AA. Both are ranked in the Nation by Intermat with Woodley #4 and Nye #19. In the quarterfinals Woodley downed #9 Blake Barrick (Big Spring) score (3-0) while Nye dominated sixth seed Brian Bonino (Paramus, NJ) by major decision (17-4). At 220 lbs. PIAA State Runner-up #2 Josiah Jones (Bishop McCort) took down #18 Ian Edenfield (Laurel Highlands) in the quarterfinals to set-up a rematch with #8 Billy Korber (Belle Vernon Area). The pair met in the POWERade quarterfinals as Jones won (5-3) and eventual took second. In the quarterfinals Korber, for the second time this season, dispatched Parkland senior and PIAA State Qualifier #11 Nathan Feyrer (5-1). On the bottom half #3 Joey Doyle (Council Rock South), a PIAA State Medalist in 2016, is in the semifinals after finishing fourth at the ETR a season ago. He will meet Jonathan Birchmeier (Broad Run, VA) in the semifinals. The battle for heavyweight has come down to four grapplers with PA’s Seth Janney and #2 Brendan Furman (Canon-McMillan) holding court. Both wrestlers have pinned their way into the semifinals and remain on a collision course.

Listen in to the PA Power Podcast Preview of the ETR above and visit the FloArena for brackets!

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