Brandon Breidegan Hitting on All Cylinders in March to the District 3-AA Semifinals
HERSHEY, Pa.: Northern Lebanon’s Brandon Breidegan doesn’t look at rankings, whether it’s his own or the position of his opponent.
To Breidegan, it doesn’t matter. And it’s probably better he doesn’t look, because then it won’t get in his head.
That philosophy paid dividends in Friday’s opening rounds of the District 3-AA Championships at Hersheypark Arena. Breidegan blew through a pair of opponents, including a top-10 wrestler in the state, to land a spot in Saturday’s 120-pound semifinal round.
“I try not to [look at rankings],” Breidegan said. “Sometimes, I go on and look at it, but I really shouldn’t. That just gets in my head that I’m not better than that kid. If you don’t worry about that stuff, you can go out and show who you are on the mat.”
Breidegan, certainly, did that.
In his opening match, Breidegan, who is ranked 18th in the state according to PA Power Wrestling, dismantled Halifax’s Amado Alveraez via an 18-2 tech fall in a short 2:51. That result was expected … the next wasn’t.
Sure, the Vikings junior might have been slightly favored over No. 8-ranked Korey Smith, of Bermudian Springs. But not by much.
Breidegan made it look easy. He got off to a quick start with a takedown and carried a 2-0 lead into the second period.
In the second two-minute stanza, it was all Breidegan. He escaped off bottom 12 seconds in and was on top for another takedown less than 10 seconds later to increase his advantage to 5-0.
“We had a game plan,” Breidegan said. “I heard he likes to do a lot of upper body stuff, and my coaches told me to just stay low, stay on the attack, and it would work out for me.
“Basically, just keep pushing him and slowing him down. They said I was a little quicker, but he was stronger. If I just kept up my quickness and technique, I would come out on top.”
Continued Breidegan, “I took him down twice with a dump, so I figured that would be my go-to if we got to neutral. That dump really helped me out.”
Breidegan knew he had control and capped the second period with three near-fall points with 15 seconds left. In the third, he delivered the knockout punch with an escape and takedown for a 12-0 major decision.
Now comes the tough part, a semifinal bout against Bishop McDevitt’s Nate Smith, the No. 6 ranked wrestler in the state and two-time state placer.
“It gives me a lot of confidence,” Breidegan said of the win. “Just to know I can win by that much over an opponent who is that good, it gives me confidence that I can do my stuff, do my kind of wrestling, and come out on top.”