120 Pounds

#2 Beau Bayless (Reynolds) vs. #5 Nathan Smith (Bishop McDevitt)

Bayless didn’t look great on Thursday against Baylor Shunk and will need to be on his top game to get past junior Nate Smith. The two wrestled last season with Bayless winning in 3-1 and both have been defeated by rookie #1 Ryan Crookham (NDGP) this season. Bayless was 4th, 1st, and 3rd in his last three trip to Hershey while Smith has been 5th and 7th in two trips.

 

126 Pounds

#1 Brock McMillen (Glendale) vs. #4 Brandan Chletsos (NDGP)

Two young guns will clash with sophomore McMillen vs. freshman Chletsos. McMillen was a PIAA State runner-up in 2018 at 113 pounds and has since grown into a strong 126 pound sophomore. Chletsos is defeated a tough junior Anthony Glasl in the Rd. of 16 to get here. If McMillen wants to get back to the finals and grab some gold – he will need to prove it against Chletsos who wears opponents out and competes at a high level.

 

132 Pounds

#7 Zack Witmer (SJCA) vs. #11 Garret Cornell (Everett)

Don’t let Cornell’s ranking fool you – this is going to be a brawl. Witmer is a sophomore took fifth last season as a rookie while Cornell is a senior his fourth straight trip to Hershey. It showed on Thursday when Cornell bounced back from a disappointing Southwest Region two weeks ago to rattle off two solid wins into the quarterfinals. In the Round of 16 Cornell, having already won in the preliminary round, knocked off #4 Nathan Higley (Sullivan County) in a tight 7-5 match. Higley is a returning State Medalist and sophomore. Both of these District 6 grapplers have lost to Kaden Cassidy this season, although Cornell does own a win over Cassidy. Witmer and Cornell have not gone head-to-head until Friday morning. 

 

138 Pounds

#2 Marckis Branford (Wilson Area) vs. #4 Erik Gibson (Forest Hills)

Senior Marckis Brandford is looking for his first career State medal and will need to get past a stud freshman in Erik Gibson. Branford didn’t look his best in a Round of 16 win over Noah Blankenship (10-7). He can’t show up with anything but the best on Friday morning when he meets Gibson – a Southwest Regional finalist and Champion at The Surge.

 

145 Pounds

#1 Caleb Dowling (SJCA) vs. #4 Nathan Haubert (Palisades)

A State Champion and a State Finalist will go at in the PIAA State Quarterfinals. Returning State Champion Nathan Haubert is looking to earn his second straight  PIAA Title but will get a massive test in the process as he takes on #1 Caleb Dowling  who last season was a State runner-up to Cole Matthews (Reynolds).

 

145 Pounds

#3 Andrew Cerniglia (NDGP) vs. #5 Gavin Garcia (Southern Columbia)

 

160 Pounds

#2 Tyler Stoltzfus (SJCA) vs. #3 Matt Arciuolo (Saucon Valley)

 

170 Pounds

#3 Derek Brown (Penn Cambria) vs. #4 Carl Harris (Littlestown)

 

182 Pounds

#6 Bryson Miller (Freedom Area) vs. #8 Derek Yingling (West Branch)

 

195 Pounds

#2 Kolby Franklin (SJCA) vs. #6 Gable Crebs (Montoursville)

 

[embeddoc url=”https://www.papowerwrestling.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/AA-first-session.pdf”]