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HERSHEY — Emotions always run at all-time highs during the PIAA Championships.

And sometimes, a wrestler’s feelings get the best of him.

Meyers’ Colin Pasone’s emotions ran a little too high on Friday night resulting in a disqualification from the Class 2A state tournament late Friday night.

Two acts of frustration also cost the senior the state medal that he earned by advancing to the state semifinals Friday morning.

“It’s just a bad situation and I hope overall, it’s not something where people look back and think that it’s something that tarnishes his career because he’s accomplished so much and done so many good things that you just want to look at the positives and not the negatives,” Meyers coach Anthony Mercadante said.

After his 10-9 semifinal loss to Brookville’s Gavin Park in the 120-pound weight class where Park could have been hit with a two-point stall call late in the match that would have resulted in a Pasone win, tempers flared and the referee hit Pasone with his first disorderly conduct penalty of the event.

In the fourth-round consolation match, another one-point loss, this time to Bronson Garber from Upper Dauphin, Pasone took a late shot and wasn’t awarded two points for a takedown on the edge of the mat as time ran out and he lost 2-1 resulting in another little outburst.

“I know I have preached and I know (former Meyers coach) Ronnie (Swingle) has preached that when you lose, go sit down in a corner somewhere,” Mercadante said. “But it’s easier said that done. Especially the magnitude of states, it’s hard to control emotions.”

According to officials, there were no vulgarities blurted or equipment thrown, but nonetheless the penalties were made.

State rules interpreter John (Doc) Hossage said that according to the rule book, when a participant is removed from a wrestling event, he or she cannot weigh-in the next day. Since he was not allowed to weigh-in and isn’t allowed on premises, he then had to forfeit the medal. And in the record book, the sixth-place in the Class 2A 120-pound weight will be left blank. However, had the situations occurred during the same day a tournament’s medals were distributed, he would have been awarded the sixth-place medal.

“It’s a sickening situation. I feel bad for the kid,” said Hossage, whose home chapter is in Luzerne County, he officiates some duals and tournaments in the area during the regular season. “And it’s our home. It’s our people. And the kid’s not gonna get a medal, that’s (horrible). You hope that there’s a life lesson out of this, that you learn to control yourself a little bit, you hope. But that’s a hell of a hard lesson.”

Pasone still ends his career with many positives. He was a four-time district champion, a two-time regional runner-up, a three-time state qualifier, and second on the school’s all-time wins list with 135 trailing only his brother, Vito in that category.

“It stinks because he doesn’t have a medal to show for it but he had a great tournament this year and maybe he’s going to go down as one of the top six wrestlers in the state, but in my mind, in his mind, in the coaching staff’s mind, his parents’ minds, he’s one of the top six wrestlers in the state in his weight class,” Mercadante said. “People are going to remember him as one of the great wrestlers that came out of Meyers High School whether he placed at states or not.”

Balavage takes seventh

On Saturday afternoon, Avoca resident Ivan Balavage placed seventh in the 195-pound Class 2A event.

The Scranton Prep junior faced Greenville’s Jacob McMaster and won 8-4 scoring four takedowns and only allowing four escapes.

“I was feeling good with my shots in neutral. I just wanted to keep utilizing that because he couldn’t stop it,” Balavage said. “So I thought I should keep doing what I’m strong at.”

While he settled for a seventh-place medal, he became the first state medalist in school history and won four matches in his PIAA Championships debut. With another season to go, he will head into the offseason and his senior year with momentum finishing on a winning note.

“My goal at the start of the season was district gold and come down here and get a medal odd or even. To get the odd right now feels pretty good,” Balavage said. “It’s important to finish with a win because it helps me focus on what I need to do to get back here.”

Valley View’s Brett Uhrin also grabbed a medal for District 2 in Class 2A finishing in eighth place in the 138-pound bracket being pinned by Logan McClain from Ridgway in his lone bout on Saturday.

Meyers’ Colin Pasone received two disorderly conduct penalties on Friday night and was not allowed to compete for a medal on Saturday at the Class 2A PIAA Wrestling Tournament.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_pasoneCMYK.jpg.optimal.jpgMeyers’ Colin Pasone received two disorderly conduct penalties on Friday night and was not allowed to compete for a medal on Saturday at the Class 2A PIAA Wrestling Tournament. Ed Boardman | For Times Leader

By Dave Rosengrant

For Times Leader

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