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Meyers’ Vito Pasone (top), shown wrestling Valley West’s Kyle Kresavage, will be one of nine Wyoming Valley Conference wrestlers going for state medals, starting today.
AIMEE DILGER FILE PHOTO/THE TIMES LEADER
Here’s a look at the nine Wyoming Valley Conference wrestlers competing in the PIAA Championships at the Giant Center in Hershey today through Saturday with their profile of accomplishments and a size-up of their respective brackets:
CLASS 2A
Vito Pasone
Meyers (112)
Grade: Junior
Record: 42-3
First Bout: Ligonier Valley’s Joshua Patrick, who sports a record of 26-5 and is the No. 3 seed from the Southwest Region.
Notes: Pasone is a three-time District 2 Class 2A champion and finished second in the Northeast Regional last weekend. He is a two-time state qualifier with his last appearance coming his freshman year. Earlier this year, he picked up his 100th career win and enters the event with 106 career wins.
Around the bracket: Zain Retherford, the reigning state champion from Line Mountain, is opposite Pasone in the bracket. On Pasone’s side sits North Star junior Nick Roberts (27-2), who is ranked second in the state. The Meyers standout could possibly see Roberts in the semifinals. If Pasone wins his first match, he would face either Tyler Roberts (37-5) from Jamestown or Baff Atakora-Bediako from Church Farm School. Both of those grapplers were not ranked in the latest edition of the Off the Mat rankings. Pasone is ranked sixth.
Austin Harry
Lake-Lehman (119)
Grade: Freshman
Record: 35-6
First Bout: Harry will see Shady Side Academy’s Phillip Elias (21-2) in the first round. Elias is the No. 3 seed from the Southwest Region.
Notes: Harry became the third freshman in as many years from the Wyoming Valley Conference to qualify for the PIAA Championships. He claimed the district championship and was runner-up in the regional tournament last weekend.
Around the bracket: Derry Area’s Jimmy Gulibon (32-1) won a state championship last year in Class 3A at 112. He sits atop the bracket, on the opposite side of Harry. Also on the other side sits Benton’s Colt Cotton, who pinned Harry in the regional final. On Harry’s side of the bracket is Bethlehem Catholic’s Randy Cruz (39-5), who is ranked third in the Off the Mat rankings. Harry could see him in the semifinals. If Harry beats Elias, he would meet either Jamestown’s Aaron Roberts (40-3) or Oley Valley’s Robert Ritschard (32-9). Roberts is ranked 16th and Ritschard is ranked 11th.
CLASS 3A
Michael Domarasky
Pittston Area (112)
Grade: Senior
Record: 35-6
First Bout: New Oxford senior Jordan Conoway, who enters as the top seed from the South Central Region and has a record of 34-3.
Notes: Domarasky won two district championships and two district runner-up medals in his four years with the Patriots. He qualified for the state tournament for the first time by winning his third-place match at regionals last weekend. He earned win No. 100 earlier this season and currently has 124.
Around the bracket: Canon-McMillan sophomore Connor Schram (44-2), who won a state championship last year at 103, is on the opposite side of Domarasky. Conoway is currently ranked second in the state by the PA Power Rankings. Also on the same side of the bracket as Domarasky is West Chester Rustin junior Corey McQuiston (39-2), who is ranked third in the state. A win in the preliminaries by Domarasky would likely set up a bout with McQuiston in the quarters.
Matt Ritz
Crestwood (140)
Grade: Senior
Record: 39-5
First Bout: Lewistown’s Jake Schultz (33-3). The senior is the runner-up from the Southwest Region.
Notes: Ritz claimed his first district championship two weeks ago and is now in the state tournament for the first time. Last week at the Northeast Regional Tournament, he finished runner-up to Easton junior Mitchell Minotti.
Around the bracket: Ritz appears to have received a lucky draw. The top-three ranked wrestlers in the state are all on the opposite side of the bracket. Those grapplers in order are State College’s Scott Bosak (33-5), La Salle’s Matt Cimato (48-3) and Easton’s Mitchell Minotti (40-2). The highest ranked individual in Ritz’s half is Pittsburgh Central Catholic junior Tyler Manion (34-9), who is fourth. Ritz is ranked 15th.
Tim Samec
Hazleton Area (152)
Grade: Senior
Record: 35-4
First Bout: The No. 3 seed from the South Central Region, Mechanicsburg’s Rustin Barrick, who enters with a record of 36-4.
Notes: Samec, who picked up his 100th win in his semifinal match at the Northeast Regional Tournament, will be participating in the state event for the first time. He fell just shy last year, taking fourth in the region. He is a two-time district champion and was runner-up in the region last weekend.
Around the bracket: Lorenzo Thomas (36-3), from Pittsburgh Central Catholic, is ranked second in the state and if Samec wins his opening-round match, he could see Thomas in the quarters. Freshman Chance Marsteller (38-0) from Kennard-Dale is also in that half and could see Samec if they both advance to the semifinals. Abington Heights’ James Fruehan, who Samec beat for the district championship, also sits in Samec’s half of the bracket.
Chad Hoffman
Hazleton Area (171)
Grade: Junior
Record: 32-10
First Bout: Nick Bonaccorsi (39-0), the No. 1 ranked wrestler in the state and the Southwest Regional champion.
Notes: Known around the area as quarterback for the Cougars’ football team, Hoffman was the third-place finisher in the district and the region. He lost to Wyoming Valley West’s George Simms in the district semifinals, but avenged the defeat with a win in the state-qualifying bout. He has more than 60 wins in his career and should have a good chance of reaching the 100-win milestone in his senior year.
Around the bracket: Hoffman may have earned a tough draw, going against Bonaccorsi, the No. 1 ranked grappler in the state. And if he gets past him, a likely match with JM Staudenmayer (38-0) from Plymouth Whitemarsh awaits. Staudenmayer is currently ranked first in the state and finished third in the state last year. The top wrestler on the other side of the bracket according to the PA Power Rankings is Blue Mountain’s Travis Moyer (43-5), who is ranked third in the state.
Josh Popple
Coughlin (189)
Grade: Senior
Record: 41-0
First Bout: Lower Dauphin senior Kyle Stauffer, who sports a record of 25-14 and is the No. 3 seed from the South Central region.
Notes: Popple is a two-time district champion and picked up his first regional title last weekend after two previous appearances in the event. He enters this weekend with 128 career wins and is coming off a third-place finish in the state at 171 last year.
Around the bracket: Dallastown senior Phil Sprenkle (32-5) is currently ranked third in the state and placed fourth in last year’s tournament at 189. Popple and Sprenkle could meet up in the semifinals. If Popple defeats Stauffer in the prelims, he will see either Harriton senior Haddon Corbett (41-2) or Central Tech sophomore Andrew Welton (34-5). According to PPR, Stauffer is 12th, while Corbett and Welton are 11th and 15th, respectively. Popple is fourth.
Mike Mirra
Crestwood (189)
Grade: Senior
Record: 35-6
First Bout: Corry’s Nash Walters (31-3), who is the second seed from the Northwest Region.
Notes: He is a two-time district champ and won a regional title in 2010. This year he was runner-up at both tournaments to Popple. He has 120 career wins and won his first match in the state tournament last year.
Around the bracket: Defending state champion at 171 Kenny Courts (43-2) from Central Dauphin sits atop the bracket and is ranked first in the state with a 43-2 record. Mirra could see him or Pittsburgh Central Catholic junior Perry Hills (45-6) in the semifinals. Hills is ranked fifth in the state. A likely match with Upper Moreland’s John Bolich (37-0) awaits Mirra in the quarters if both win in the preliminaries. Bolich is ranked second in the state, while Mirra is seventh.
A side note here is that one of Courts’ losses came to Hills at the Beast of the East Tournament. Hills has six losses and five of them are to wrestlers outside of Pennsylvania. His only loss to a wrestler in PA is to Matt McCutcheon (38-2) from Kiski Area. McCutcheon is in the other half of the bracket.
Jason Laboranti
Pittston Area (215)
Grade: Senior
Record: 19-4
First Bout: Joe Solfi (40-2), the No. 2 seed from the Southeast Region and the No. 2 ranked wrestler in the state. Stolfi finished fourth in the state last year.
Notes: Laboranti is a three-time regional qualifier after winning his first district championship two weeks ago. He continued his run with a runner-up finish in the region last weekend. He enters his first state tournament with 79 career wins.
Around the bracket: The top-ranked wrestler in the state is Garnet Valley’s Matt Idelson with a record of 39-1. He is on the opposite side of Laboranti. In addition to Stolfi, Zachary Nye (35-0) from East Pennsboro is in Laboranti’s half. Nye is ranked third in the state and could see the Patriot in the quarterfinals. Another possible opponent for “Labo” in the quarters is General McLane senior Travis Bryant (33-9).