Unseeded Mason Spears takes 138-pound KoM title, team title to Council Rock South
MILL HALL, Pa.: Mason Spears had plenty of time to think about his first two years of high school wrestling after a disappointing sophomore season.
But Spears didn’t worry about the broken thumb that hindered his freshman season. He didn’t wallow in self-pity or blame anyone but himself for a lackluster second year in which he didn’t perform well.
Instead, the Franklin Regional junior went to work over the summer months. He improved his technique and his approach to wrestling, both of which were on display this weekend at Central Mountain High School.
Spears came into this year’s King of the Mountain Tournament unseeded. He left as the 138-pound champion, running through four seeded wrestlers, including No. 4 seed Drew Vlasnik in the finals, on his way to the title.
“I think my attitude changed immensely,” Spears said. “This past summer, I spent countless time training, working harder, and trying to improve my technique. I’m also becoming more confident with my abilities.
“I was a little disappointed not being seeded, but it gave me an opportunity to come in here and show people who I really am.”
After beating the No. 3 and No. 6 seed, Spears got past No. 2 seed Cade Reichart, of Cumberland Valley, in the semifinal round. That put him in the finals against Vlasnik with a championship on the line.
Spears, who entered the tournament ranked No. 15 in the state according to PA Power Wrestling, wasted little time asserting himself. He took a quick 2-0 lead on a takedown along the edge before giving a point back on a Vlasnik escape.
In the second, Spears escaped off bottom to make it 3-1. He widened the gap moments later, when Vlasnik shot, and Spears countered to take a 5-1 lead.
“Even before the match, I knew I had the potential to win it,” Spears said. “I just took that confidence and drove it home.
“We’ve been working on dominating all positions in the room. I just tried to put that into my matches.”
Vlasnik escaped again, but Spears added another takedown to make it 7-2 heading to the third. There, the Seneca Valley ace made one last charge with an escape and takedown, but it wasn’t enough to unseat Spears, who earned the 8-5 decision.
“It’s a big win, but it also shows me what I can do this season,” Spears said. “It also shows what I need to work on. I need to keep the pace up, and I definitely want to work on my offense to do well in tournaments the rest of the season.”
Spears wasn’t the only champion for this school. Carter Dibert kicked off the championship finals with a decisive 9-0 major over Chestnut Ridge’s Kai Burkett. Dibert didn’t give up a point during the tournament.
Colton Camacho earned title No. 2 for the Panthers, who finished with three champions and placed fifth in the team standings. Camacho turned in a workmanlike 8-2 decision over Phillipsburg (NJ) standout Travis Jones to earn the 132-pound title.
Council Rock South’s Eric Woloshyn (152) and Matt Colajezzi (170) earned titles to lead the Hawks to the team title with 198.5 points. Seneca Valley also had a pair of champions and finished second with 189 markers.