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Popple & Mirra tilt odds their own way in Class 3A
Coughlin’s Josh Popple controls Kyle Stauffer of Lower Dauphin during 189-pound action at the Class 3A PIAA Wrestling Championships on Thursday night at the Giant Center in Hershey.
ED BOARDMAN/FOR THE TIMES LEADER
Mike Mirra of Crestwood moves in on Nash Walters of Corry during their preliminary 189-pound Class 3A state bout at the Giant Center in Hershey on Thursday.
ED BOARDMAN/FOR THE TIMES LEADER
Hazleton Area’s Tim Samec, right, wrestles Mechanicsburg’s Rustin Barrick during 160-pound action during the opening state round at the Giant Center.
ED BOARDMAN/FOR THE TIMES LEADER
HERSHEY — By now, one would think that Josh Popple’s opponents would know the Coughlin standout wrestler loves tilting enemies and piling up back points.
But that wasn’t the case during the preliminary round of Thursday’s PIAA Class 3A Championships.
The 189-pounder, who was in a scoreless match after the first period, deferred his choice to the third period and his opponent, Kyle Stauffer, from Lower Dauphin, chose down position.
Big mistake.
Popple used that to his advantage and piled up 12 back points in the period before picking top in the third period and pinning Stauffer in the third stanza with 1:20 left on the clock.
Popple and fellow Wyoming Valley Conference 189-pounder Mike Mirra of Crestwood were the only two of seven from the conference to win their opening round bout in the Class 3A event.
“When you get up here not many people have seen me wrestle before,” Popple said. “And sometimes the coaches don’t do the research. It puts me in better position, but I’m not going to expect it the rest of the tournament. I’ve got a lot of guys scouting me.”
Popple and Mirra may be the only two alive for a gold medal, but four others won their first round consolation match and are still in contention for at least an eighth-place medal. With a win in today’s second round of consolations, which begin at 2:45 p.m., those four grapplers – Pittston Area’s Michael Domarasky (112 pounds) and Jason Laboranti (215) and Hazleton Area’s Tim Samec (152) and Chad Hoffman (171) – will be guaranteed at least an eighth-place finish.
“If you lose two matches, some people might think that you’re not worthy of being at the state tournament,” Domarasky said. “To win one more time and be guaranteed a medal would be great.”
Popple (42-0) moves on to face Harriton’s Haddon Corbett (42-2) in today’s quarterfinals, which are slated to begin at 1 p.m. Mirra (36-6) will see unbeaten Upper Moreland senior John Bolich (38-0) in the quarters.
Mirra advanced with a 2-1 win over Corry’s Nash Walters. The Crestwood standout got a reversal in the third period and held on for the victory after his opponent got a last-second escape.
“He wrestled solid today,” Crestwood coach J.J. Konigus said about his senior. “He’s got to score more points. He’s making matches too close and he can score way more points on top. He’s got to score more from his feet (today).”
Every WVC athlete that lost at least once on Thursday had tough opponents.
Domarasky lost a close 3-0 decision to New Oxford’s Jordan Conaway, who is ranked second in the state.
But the Pittston Area senior could have had a 2-0 lead if he was awarded a takedown in the first period, but he never got the call and then went down 3-0 in the second period. He rebounded to win his first round consolation bout, 13-6 over Clearfield’s Christian Stone.
“I understand that you’re not going to get every call in the world but…you can’t complain about it. You still have to wrestle hard because two points aren’t going to win a match at the state tournament,” Domarasky said. “You can’t lose your mindset after losing your first match.”
Laboranti netted Souderton standout Joe Stolfi, who’s also ranked second in the state. He lost by major decision to Stolfi (41-2), and came back to beat Red Lion’s David Quackenbos, 4-3 to stave off elimination.
“You’re not a bad wrestler if you’re 40 and two,” Domarasky added. “I give a lot of credit to Jason. That kid is good and Jason was going the whole first period until that kid pulled a headlock. Not many people are expecting that.”
Hoffman also pulled the second-ranked grappler in the state, according to the Pennsylvania Power Rankings, in undefeated Nick Bonaccorsi from Bethel Park. He also dropped a major decision, then came back to eliminate Derek Danver from Clearfield, 9-4.
Hoffman followed in his teammate’s footsteps.
Samec was on the same mat right before Hoffman’s match. In that bout, he dispatched Owen J. Roberts’ Jordan Moser, 5-4.
“I want that medal, at least top eight, but I want to get the highest place possible,” Hoffman said. “Timmy, I really believe he’s going to compete for third place. He’s definitely top three in his weight class. He’s just tough. I have trouble with him in practice and he’s 152 pounds and I’m like 175.”
The only WVC wrestler to lose both matches in 3A was Crestwood’s Matt Ritz. While other WVC standouts got a tough draw in the first round, the Comets senior pulled an excruciating opponent in the consolations in Council Rock South’s Matt Martoccio, who was picked by many to win the 140-pound bracket and was upset in the first round.
“That’s the No. 1 seed and we get him in the wrestlebacks, it doesn’t get any worse,” Konigus added. “But hey, if you’re going to end your season, a good place to end it is the state tournament.”