HERSHEY – Coming off a loss in the Northwest Region 3A finals, Dorian Crosby was drawn into the top half of the 220-pound bracket with returning state champion Hunter Catka of Sun Valley.

The Cathedral Prep wrestler was undaunted.

“People say I had a tough draw,” said Crosby, who is ranked fourth. “I didn’t think I had a tough draw. I knew I could wrestle my match going against him, so I knew I could win that one.”

That’s just what he did.

 

‘He Wasn’t Going to Take Me Down’

Crosby escaped twice and picked up a late penalty point for a 3-1 victory over Catka.

The Sun Valley wrestler, who has missed most of the season with leg injuries, took an injury timeout in the second period and another in the third, giving Crosby his choice. Crosby chose bottom and earned the critical second escape. From there, it was simply a matter of not getting taken down.

“I knew it was going to be hard for him to take me down,” Crosby said. “Both of our arms were sweaty, couldn’t really get a shot off. When he got that shot, I knew I could fight it off. I didn’t have to stall or have to get out of bounds or anything because he wasn’t going to take me down.”

Catka jumped the whistle on a restart with three seconds remaining, and his third caution gave Crosby a 3-1 lead. When the final buzzer sounded, Crosby’s teammates, family and friends came to congratulate him on the huge victory.

“I just felt like, throughout the season, all of the hard work I put in, I persevered in that match,” said Crosby, who is 45-5. “You’ve got to keep pushing through it. Obviously, I didn’t want to stall. I just kept circling. I knew I’d win. I wrestled my match.”

 

Loss Leads To Win

Surprisingly, Crosby said that his loss to Nate Schon of Selinsgrove in the regional finals gave him more confidence. The Cathedral Prep wrestler spent much of the season at 195 pounds – 14 of his matches were there – before moving up to 220 for good in January.

“After that loss, it was a big confidence booster,” Crosby said of the 8-4 setback to Schon. “Because from bumping up from 195 to 220, Nate was the only good 220-pounder that I wrestled, that actually gave me competition. I knew from that experience I could wrestle good in this match.”

Crosby will face Easton’s Andrew Balukas in the semifinals on Saturday while Schon takes on Hazleton’s Shane Noonan.

How would Crosby feel about facing Schon – his friendly rival – with the state title on the line Saturday night?

“That would be a good match,” he said. “Win, lose or draw, we’d still be buds. It’s fine, but my goal is to get the state championship.”