E.L. Meyers' Colin Pasone Hears Voices, Gets Revenge on Bronson Garber in Opening Round

HERSHEY: Colin Pasone found himself on the short end of a cradle in the third period of his opening match during Thursday’s PIAA Class 2A Wrestling Championships.

The E.L. Meyers senior didn’t give up points just yet. But his opponent, Upper Dauphin’s Bronson Garber had Pasone in a bad spot.

And then came the flashbacks.

A year ago, Pasone led Garber by four heading to the third period in the state quarterfinals. The Trojans ace, then a freshman, hit a cradle and scored the pin.

That didn’t happen this year. A voice in Pasone’s head said “Get out, now.” He did and scored a late takedown to seal a 7-3 decision that propelled him into Friday’s quarterfinal round at Hershey’s Giant Center.

“It feels good to get past that one,” Pasone said. “I chose bottom in the third period and got cradled, but I was able to get the stoppage [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][for potentially dangerous].

“I was able to get my focus. I didn’t want to have a mistake like that again … it was a great win.”

Pasone came out quick in the state rematch, taking shots off the whistle and putting Garber on his heels. He had his first attempt waived off and couldn’t get deep enough the rest of the period.

With the match scoreless, Garber chose down to start the second. He escaped 10 seconds in, but Pasone kept pressing and scored on a takedown and added two near-fall points. Garber, who was ranked No. 1 in the state for most of the season, rolled and reversed in the sequence to close the gap to 4-3.

“I wanted to get up early,” Pasone said. “He was doing a real good job of tying my hands up, and I couldn’t get a lot of my shots. Once I was able to break through that, I got to his legs quite easy and could finish.”

Despite pleas from his coaches to stay off bottom, Pasone went down to start the third. Garber worked a cradle a few seconds off the whistle but couldn’t score points before potentially dangerous was called by the referee.

Garber never recovered. Pasone heard that voice in his head and shook free off a restart. He added a takedown in the last minute and secured the decision.

“When I had his legs split at the end, I knew that was the match,” Pasone said. “He knew he couldn’t come back, and I just kind of relaxed there, locked up and took some time off the clock.”

It was a huge win. Not only from the standpoint of putting a title contender in the rearview mirror, but for Pasone reaching his goal.

A year ago, he dropped down to consolations and failed to place. He enters his last state tournament this season with one thing in mind: Standing high on the podium.

“Heading into this, I knew I could do very well,” Pasone said. “Last year, I came up short of my goal. This year, I want to overshoot my goal.

“Last year, my goal was to place. This year, I want to make it to the top four.”

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