Manheim Central’s Will Betancourt Beats a Familiar Foe for Third District 3 Title

HERSHEY, Pa.: Manheim Central’s Will Betancourt felt pretty comfortable in his District 3 Championship final.

That seems a bit odd. After all, he was facing Northeastern hammer Cole Wilson, who entered the match with a 35-1 record and a lofty No. 5 ranking in the state, according to PA Power Wrestling.

But Betancourt had an advantage. He beat Wilson twice before and knew he had the right pace to offset Wilson and get his hand raised.

There was no reason to worry. That was evident in the second period of the 120-pound bout, as Betancourt scored all of his points and shut down Wilson 3-0 for his third straight District 3 title.

“My approach was to get out there and wrestle my match and push the pace,” Betancourt said. “Whenever I push the pace, I come out on top most of the time. So, that’s what I did.

“It means a lot to me [to win my third district title]. But at the end of the day, this isn’t my ultimate goal. I feel very confident. I trust in my ability to wrestle my best and see what happens at states.”

Saturday’s win in a tough rematch against Wilson, who couldn’t wait to avenge previous setbacks to Betancourt, was a good jumpstart.

Betancourt had all the answers in this one. After a scoreless first period, the Barons junior escaped 25 seconds into the period and earned a takedown to take a 3-0 advantage into the final stanza.

“I felt comfortable the whole match, because I knew if I pushed the pace and wrestled my match, it would show how good I can be,” said Betancourt, who entered the bout ranked No. 7 in the state.

“The takedown was huge. I kept wrestling through positions, he stopped wrestling, and I hit a front head into a spin.”

Betancourt was impressive in the third period, delivering an emphatic message of toughness to Wilson and the rest of the state.

Wilson did everything he could to get off bottom. Betancourt responded by dominating on top and riding his opponent the entire two minutes to close out the victory.

“I’m pretty pleased about that,” Betancourt said of his closing two minutes. “I don’t really know what to say about it.

“Last season, I wrestled defensively and didn’t score points. This year, it’s different. I want to win a state title, and pushing the pace is going to get me there.”