A run all the way to the state championship match for Hazleton Area sophomore Gabe Benyo came up just one win short of a gold medal.
Benyo was edged out by Northampton’s Brayden Wenrich in a 1-0 decision in the 114 title bout at the PIAA Class 3A Wrestling Championships in Hershey on Saturday.
A single stalling point awarded to Wenrich in the closing seconds of the third period made the difference, lifting Wenrich to the state title. It’s the sophomore’s first state title in his second appearance in the state finals, finishing second in the 107 division last year.
It was the same result, albeit with a much closer score, as last weekend’s Northeast Regional final, where Wenrich scored a 9-1 major decision over Benyo.
Benyo was one of three District 2 wrestlers to reach the state finals, all three settling for silver; Abington Heights’ Hayden Manning was pinned in the 155 Girls final and West Scranton’s Tommy Schechterly dropped a 9-3 decision in the Class 3A 160 final.
Despite the loss, Benyo’s silver medal is the best of the four total medals won by Wyoming Valley Conference wrestlers this weekend.
Three of those are coming home to Hazleton Area: Benyo’s brother Jake Benyo finished with a sixth-place medal at 121 pounds, and Evelyn Sheer capped off a terrific freshman season with a bronze medal in the 235 bracket.
Sheer ended her season on a high note, pinning Jenna Chapman from Albert Gallatin High School in the first period of the third-place bout.
Hanover Area’s CJ Caines rounded out the WVC medalists with a fifth-place finish in the Class 2A 127 division, his second straight year winning a state medal. Caines scored a 17-2 tech fall over Burrell’s Cameron Baker in the fifth-place match.
In the Lackawanna Conference, Manning and Schechterly’s silver medals led a group of seven medalists in total.
Honesdale’s Nathan Schuman and Abington Heights’ Mason Whitney each won bronze, Schuman in the Class 2A 107 division and Whitney in the Class 3A 133 division.
Delaware Valley’s Kate Prior took sixth place in the Girls 170 tournament, while Lackawanna Trail’s Cidney Schaffer and Honesdale’s Saige Olver each won eighth-place medals at 100 and 124 pounds, respectively.
Hazleton Area finished in 22nd in both the Class 3A and Girls team standings at the conclusion of the championships.
Faith Christian (Class 2A), Nazareth (Class 3A) and Quakertown (Girls) were the three team champions.
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