There semifinals of the Southwest 2A Regional, which begin at noon at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, have state-ranked matchups all over the place. We narrowed it down to seven of the best ones to watch for – and if you can’t make it to IUP, you can see it live on CementJob.com.

120 pounds

#3 Ian Oswalt (Burrell) 43-2 vs. #8 Baylor Shunk (Penns Valley) 34-4

Oswalt placed fourth in the state as a freshman last season, while Shunk didn’t make the podium after taking seventh as a sophomore. The winner here likely will face #4 Amonn Ohl of St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy’s, who beat Shunk 7-2 in the District 6 finals last week, for the regional title.

 

132 pounds

#3 Kaden Cassidy (Bedford) 32-1 vs. #7 Zack Witmer (St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy) 28-7

Witmer burst onto the scene last year by beating Cassidy 13-6 in December. That turned out to be one of just seven matches that Cassidy – a third-place finisher during his freshman year – wrestled in an injury-shortened season. Witmer went on to claim a bronze medal of his own in Hershey. Cassidy and Witmer are joined by a pair of other third-place medalists in the field – Everett’s Garret Cornell (#4) and Quaker Valley’s Conner Redinger (#6) – but this weight is so deep that #11 Chase Chapman of Philipsburg-Osceola knocked off Redinger in the quarterfinals.

 

145 pounds

#6 John Rocco Kazalas (Quaker Valley) 35-2 vs. #7 Tristan Pugh (Berlin Brothersvalley) 36-1

These two split a pair of summer matches, with Pugh winning in freestyle and Kazalas taking their Greco matchup. They’ve each wrestled Freedom Area’s Jacob Pail this season, with Pugh winning 12-3 and Kazalas winning 2- and 4-point matches. Combined, they’ve only lost once to a 2A wrestler this season – Kazalas’ 7-4 setback to St. Joseph’s Caleb Dowling, the top seed here, at POWERade.

 

170 pounds

#3 Derek Brown (Penn Cambria) 32-3 vs. #2 Christian Clutter (McGuffey) 39-2

This weight doesn’t have the depth of 132, but it’s definitely got star power with the top three wrestlers in the state – #1 Jared McGill of Chestnut Ridge is the top seed. Clutter and Brown split a pair of matches last season, with Brown winning 2-1 in the regional. Clutter claimed a 6-1 victory on his way to a fourth-place finish in Hershey while Brown took sixth.

 

182 pounds

#2 Derek Yingling (West Branch) 31-1 vs. #7 Austin Walley (Ellwood City) 32-2

Yingling is a two-time state medalist while Walley is looking to take a big step forward in what will be his first trip to Hershey. Walley’s only two losses this season are to #1 Dayton Pitzer, the stud freshman from Mount Pleasant. Yingling’s only setback was a 3-0 loss to Bradford’s Dillon Keane last month.

 

195 pounds

#2 Kolby Franklin (St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy) 39-5 vs. #5 Hunter Tremain (North Star) 36-3

Franklin was #5 in the Top Incoming Freshman report, and he’s done nothing to damage that sterling reputation so far in an outstanding season. Tremain advanced to the regional finals at this weight last season but was injured in his semifinal victory and couldn’t continue in the tournament or wrestle in Hershey. He’s very physical, but Franklin could be the slickest wrestler he’ll face this season.

 

285 pounds

#1 Jake Ryan (Mount Union) 34-1 vs. #4 Jalen Stephens (Meyersdale) 34-3

If not for an upset in the District 5 finals, this could have been a 1 vs. 2 finals matchup. Stephens gave up a third-period headlock in a 6-1 loss to Dalton Seace of Chestnut Ridge, but has bounced back. Stephens missed out on the postseason a year ago, but was a Fargo All-American as a freshman. He’ll face a battle-tested junior in Ryan, a fourth-place finisher in Hershey a year ago. Both own 2-point victories over #7 Kole Winfield of Southern Huntingdon, who is in the bottom half of the bracket and could await the winnner.