PIAA Class AAA individual wrestling championships: Unbeaten Marsteller puts on a show in winning 3rd title

HERSHEY – Kennard-Dale junior Chance Marsteller isn’t afraid of competition.

The defending PIAA Class AAA champion repeated at 160 pounds Saturday night with a dominating 17-5 major decision over defending 152-pound titlist Garrett Peppelman from Central Dauphin.

“I like to give people a show and give them what they came to see,” said Marsteller, the No. 1-ranked wrestler at his weight in the country. “I don’t want to disappoint anyone.”

Peppelman, ranked No. 5, had lost to Marsteller in the regional final and was no match in this highly anticipated matchup.

Marsteller, named the Outstanding Wrestler, jumped to a 4-0 lead late in the first period and never looked back.

“It was just a matter of opening up the match there at the end of the first period,” he said. “I got up 4-0 and then I just kept adding to the score.”

Marsteller improved his season record to 40-0 and his career ledger to 125-0. He also won a PIAA title at 152 as a freshman in 2011.

Next year, he will be looking to become just the 11th four-time PIAA champion in history.

“It’s not too early to think about it,” he said, smiling. “It’s kind of always been in the back of my mind.”

Marsteller, a junior, has been spotted this weekend wearing a Penn State sweatshirt this weekend at the Giant Center, but he said not to read anything into it.

“I won’t make up my mind until next year when I am going to sign,” he said. “Nothing’s been decided yet. It’s still too early for that.”

Peppelman, also a junior, finished the season at 46-2 and has a 138-14 career record.

Canon-McMillan, with three PIAA champions, won the team title with 99 points. Central Dauphin was second with 75 points.

The following is a look at the other Class AAA championship matches:

106 pounds – Freshman Luke Pletcher, Latrobe, dec. junior Conner Sheehan, Solanco, 8-2.

Pletcher (41-2) scored three takedowns and added two escapes en route to winning his first PIAA title and the school’s second.

Sheehan (36-5) was making his first appearance in the state tournament.

113 – Junior Ethan Lizak, Parkland, dec. senior Zack Fuentes, Norristown, 3-1.

Lizak (44-2) repeated as a PIAA champion at 106 after finishing as a runner-up in 2011. He has a career mark of 120-13.

Lizak used a second-period takedown and a third-period escape to hold off Fuentes (46-5), who previously finished fifth in 2012 and fourth in 2011.

It was the ninth state title captured by a Parkland wrestler.

120 – Sophomore Sam Krivus, Hempfield, dec. junior Dalton Macri, Canon-McMillan, 3-1.

Krivus (40-3) beat Macri (44-7) with a first-period takedown and a second-period escape in the all-WPIAL final.

Macri, one of four Canon-McMillan wrestlers in the finals, was fourth in 2012.

Krivus, third a year ago, is coached by Vince DeAugustine. He was a 1994 Class AAA runner-up at 145 pounds before winning back-to-titles at 160 in 1996 and 1997.

126 – Senior Connor Schram, Canon-McMillan, dec. sophomore Michael Kemmerer, Franklin Regional, 5-3.

In another all-WPIAL final, Schram (44-3) captured his second state title against Kemmerer (38-6), who is a two-time runner-up.

Schram won his other title as a freshman in 2010, but was a runner-up the past two years.

132 – Junior Tyler Smith, Franklin Regional, dec. sophomore Patrick Duggan, Cumberland Valley, 5-3.

Smith (45-4) secured his first championship with a takedown with 50 seconds remaining, snapping a 3-3 deadlock.

He was fifth in 2012.

Duggan (38-3) was fourth a year ago.

138 – Junior Joe Galasso, Father Judge, dec. senior Tyson Dippery, Central Dauphin, 3-1 OT.

Galasso (45-1) was the first wrestler from his school to make the Class AAA finals.

And he didn’t disappoint.

A year after finishing fifth in the tournament, he beat Dippery (47-3) to seal the gold medal.

Dippery also was a PIAA runner-up last year and finished third in 2011 third in state at 138 and 130.

145 – Junior Solomon Chisko, Canon-McMillan, major dec. senior Chris Vassar, Cedar Cliff, 8-0.

Chisko wrestled just 11 postseason matches this year because of an elbow injury, but the three-time WPIAL champ won them all, including an easy victory against Vassar in the final.

Chisko was third in state at 138 and 130 pounds the past two years.

Vassar (42-4) was a PIAA runner-up a year ago and a fourth-place finisher in 2010.

152 – Senior Garrett Hammond, Chambersburg, dec. junior TC Warner, Cumberland Valley, 8-5.

Hammond, a Penn State recruit, won his second PIAA title, but first since 2010. He was a runner-up in 2011.

Hammond ran his record to 47-6, including a 125-14 mark.

Warner, a runner-up last year, dropped to 39-2 and 104-15.

160 – Junior Chance Marsteller, Kennard-Dale, major dec. junior Garrett Peppleman, Central Dauphin, 17-5.

See story above.

170 – Senior Cody Wiercioch, Canon-McMillan, dec. senior Joe Gartland, Penncrest, 7-2.

Wiercioch (44-1) captured his third title in four years and was Canon-McMillan’s third winner of the night. He was a runner-up in 2011.

Gartland (32-7) was a first-time qualifier.

182 – Senior Jake Taylor, Bald Eagle Area, dec. senior Brett Harner, Norristown, 2-1 OT.

Taylor (38-0) won his first title and comes from a strong wrestling family.

His father, Doug, won the 126-pound PIAA championship as a senior for BEA in 1988.

Jake Taylor placed third a year ago and eight in 2011.

Harner (42-4) was a four-time placewinner, finishing third in 2012, fourth in 2011 and eighth in 2010.

190 – Senior Jake Hart, Hampton, dec. senior Matt McCutcheon, Kiski Area, 6-1.

Hart (44-1) beat McCutcheon (37-2) in the finals of a postseason tournament for the second week in a row.

Hart outscored McCutcheon, a Penn State recruit, 5-0 in the decisive third period.

Hart finished his career with a 143-20 record.

220 – Junior Thomas Haines, Solanco, dec. freshman Jordan Wood, Boyertown, 7-2.

Haines (38-1) earned his third title in convincing fashion while running his career record to 132-5.

He, like Marsteller, will be gunning for his fourth crown next March in Chocolatetown.

Wood capped off an impressive freshman year at 46-2.

285 – Senior Aaron Bradley, Nazareth, pinned senior Andrew Welton, Erie Central Tech, 5:04.

Bradley (34-1) earned his first title with a fall in the third period.

He was a PIAA qualifier the past two seasons and has a career mark of 113-19.

Welton (34-2) was a PIAA runner-up a year ago and finished with a career record of 112-20.