Advancing for the junior high Eagles were: Ayden Dean, who took third place at 11 & 12, 95 pounds; Mason Fleming, who took third place at 11 & 12, 125 pounds; and Carsyn Branstrom, who took third place at junior high, 124 pounds.

Advancing for the Little Eagles were: Maci Hodak, who took second place at 9 & 10, 63 pounds; Ronnie Shellhouse, who took third place at 9 & 10, 60 pounds; Parker Cressley, who took third place at 9 & 10, 120 pounds; Johnathan Sullivan, who took second place at 9 & 10, 150 pounds; and McKenzie Hodak, who took first place at 11 & 12, 72 pounds.

Dean began the tournament as the No. 5 seed and knocked off No. 4 Riley Brenot of Ragin’ Raisins by fall after leading the match 16-3. Dean then upended the top-seeded Kaiden Beaumont of Ragin’ Raisins 5-4 in the semifinals on the strength of an escape with just 21 seconds remaining in the bout. In the finals, Dean matched up with Colton Hoover of Cambridge Springs. Hoover came into the tournament with multiple state tournaments under his belt whereas Dean qualified for the first time by virtue of making the finals. Hoover used a quick takedown and parlayed that into a pinfall for the victory. Due to Area 8 rules, Dean had to face off with the third-place finisher Kolton Komisarski of Wattsburg in a true second match because he had not beaten Komisarski in the tournament. Dean, though depleted, fought hard, but ultimately dropped a 10-2 major decision to Komisarski to place third.

Fleming, in his first Area 8 tournament, defied his experience level and fought well as the No. 3 seed. Fleming kicked off his tournament by picking up a pinfall victory over Tristan Burbules of Fort LeBoeuf in 1:22. In the semifinals, Fleming met up with John McGuigan of North East. Fleming succumbed to the Picker by fall after throwing everything but the kitchen sink at him. Fleming then had the unenviable task of wrestling friend and teammate Tucker Sanford in the consolation semifinals. Up for grabs was a spot in the consolation finals opposite Travis Childress of Sheffield. Sanford and Fleming battled hard, but Fleming ultimately emerged the victor by 6-1 decision. In the consolation finals, Fleming looked to avenge an earlier dual meet loss to Childress. Fleming came out firing, scoring an early takedown on the Wolverine. Childress scored an escape shortly after to make the score 2-1 heading into the second period. Fleming chose down and scored an escape with 36 seconds. He finished off the period with a takedown to head into the third period with a 5-1 lead. Childress picked up an escape and stalling point in the third to close the gap to 5-3, but Fleming iced the match with a late takedown to seal the 7-3 victory.

Submitted Photo The Youngsville junior high Little Eagles wrestlers had three third-place finishes at the Area 8 PJW State Qualifier Tournament. Mason Fleming took third at 11 and 12, 125 pounds.

Branstrom opened the tournament as the No. 7 seed. Branstrom showed he was ready to out wrestle his seed by picking up a quick 21-second fall over Tucker Gula of Girard. Branstrom then faced off with Billy Cole of Union City, whom he had dropped a tight 5-3 decision to earlier in the season. Branstrom and Cole traded blows before Cole picked up a late pinfall victory. Branstrom kept his focus despite the loss and picked up another pinfall in the consolation quarterfinals this time over No. 6 Lincoln Slupski of Harbor Creek. Branstrom had raced out to a 13-2 lead when he picked up the fall. Branstrom then faced another Huskie, No. 4 Mason Beebe, in the consolation semifinals. This time a spot in the state tournament was on the line. Branstrom gave up an early takedown, but scored a reversal with 15 seconds left in the first period to knot the score at 2-2. Branstrom earned a quick escape and followed it with a takedown to end the period leading 5-2. Branstrom picked up another quick escape, then gave up a takedown to make the score 6-4. Branstrom scored a reversal and turned it into a fall to march on to the consolation final against No. 3 Kane Gregor of Cathedral Prep, who had made a late comeback to top Michael Knapp of Sheffield 6-4 in the other consolation semifinal. With a loss, Branstrom would have to face Knapp for the fourth and final spot at states on the line. A win over Gregor would nullify Knapp’s opportunity because Gregor had beaten Knapp in tournament competition. Branstrom squashed Knapp’s hopes by taking an early and commanding 5-0 lead before picking up the pinfall in 2:23 to place third and secure his first trip to states.

Hodak entered her first area tournament as the top seed of her bracket. Unfortunately for Hodak, she had to wait until the parade of champions to wrestle due to a low turnout in her weight class. Hodak matched up with Everly Lawrie of Fort LeBoeuf in the finals. Hodak and Lawrie turned in one of the more entertaining finals bouts which seemed to catch the eye of the crowd. Knotted up at 6-6, neither athlete could score the winning points in the waning seconds of regulation. In overtime, Lawrie was able to convert on a shot opportunity, driving through Hodak’s defense to score the deciding points.

Shellhouse and Cressley were in small brackets. Shellhouse and Cressley each fought valiantly in their round-robin matchups. Unfortunately for both, they weren’t able to climb higher than the third-place spot on the podium. Cressley and Shellhouse will be able to fight for a spot on the state podium in the coming weeks, however.

In a late turn of events, McKenzie Hodak earned an entry to the state tournament. Hodak had finished in third place at 11 & 12, 78 pounds after turning in a 1-1 performance in her round-robin bouts, losing her first bout 6-4 to Alivia Glotz of Eisenhower and winning 4-2 over eventual champion Averie Merritt of Northwestern. Hodak left the tournament thinking she’d have to wait another year to try to qualify. In a surprising twist, area Chairman Frank Artise called her coaches offering for Hodak to enter at the 11 & 12, 72-pound weight class. After discussing it with her family, the offer was accepted. As such, Hodak will make her first state tournament appearance alongside her teammates.

Also wrestling for Youngsville, but not qualifying were: Levi Eger, 7 & 8, 45 pounds; Evan Sullivan, 7 & 8, 55 pounds; Kinsley Dean, 7 & 8, 57 pounds; Luke Baxter, 9 & 10, 70 pounds; Kaison Sutton, 9 & 10, 85 pounds; Brian Riel, 9 & 10, 105 pounds; Jacob Battko, 11 & 12, 90 pounds; Caleb Johnson, 11 & 12, 125 pounds; Tucker Sanford, 11 & 12, 145 pounds; Ryker Chase, 11 & 12, 160 pounds; Aaden Patch, junior high, 124 pounds; and James Soltis, junior high, 157 pounds.

Submitted Photo The Youngsville junior high Little Eagles wrestlers had three third-place finishes at the Area 8 PJW State Qualifier Tournament. Submitted Photos The Youngsville junior high Little Eagles wrestlers had three third-place finishes at the Area 8 PJW State Qualifier Tournament. Carsyn Branstrom took third at 124 pounds.

Submitted Photo The Youngsville junior high Little Eagles wrestlers had three third-place finishes at the Area 8 PJW State Qualifier Tournament. Submitted Photos The Youngsville junior high Little Eagles wrestlers had three third-place finishes at the Area 8 PJW State Qualifier Tournament. Ayden Dean took third at 11 and 12, 95 pounds.