A Painful Day For Pennsylvania In Greensboro as Day 1 of The Super 32 Concludes

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Saturday proved to be a painful day for Pennsylvania wrestlers – in more ways than one – at the Super 32 Challenge.

Of the 185 Keystone State wrestlers who came south to battle for the belt, only 14 will have that opportunity on Sunday – and one of the biggest names in Pennsylvania suffered a significant injury.

Northampton’s Julian Chlebove, who won state titles during his freshman and sophomore seasons before missing all of last year because off-the-mat issues, injured his elbow in his second match of the day and ended his tournament run.

Injuries kept some of Pennsylvania’s other top wrestlers from making the trip to Greensboro, such as Cathedral Prep’s Carter Starocci and Shaler’s Ryan Sullivan.

Ryan Crookham, who had a chance to become the first five-time high school champion in Super 32 history after winning a belt as an eighth-grader last year, was a no-show, along with the rest of his Notre Dame Green Pond teammates, including Andrew Cerniglia and Richie Markulics.

And things went south quickly once the wrestling started in Greensboro. A pair of PIAA champions lost early, with Reynolds’ Beau Bayless and Palisades’ Nathan Haubert going down. They each went 2-2 and will not place.

Even some of those who got off to strong starts saw their hopes for a podium finish dashed. Franklin Regional senior Colton Camacho won four consecutive bouts before two straight losses ended his final chance to place at The Super 32. Biglerville freshman Levi Haines dominated some big-name foes early on before dropping back-to-back matches, including the final one to Council Rock North’s Kyle Hauserman.

Pennsylvania struggled mightily in the lightweights, as Reynolds 106-pounder Gary Steen – a 2018 PIAA champion – is the only Keystone State wrestler to advance to the quarterfinals in the first four weight classes.

There are three weight classes with two Pennsylvania quarterfinalists in them – 152, 220 and 285 – but even that deserves an asterisk, as Bethlehem Catholic’s Ryan Anderson, a returning champion who bumped up to 152 pounds, actually lives in New Jersey.

The news wasn’t all bad, of course. According to FloArena, Pennsylvania’s total of 13 quarterfinalists is tied with New Jersey – because Anderson counts toward the Garden State’s number – for the most in the tournament, and the 18 Keystone State wrestlers in the consolation rounds is far more than any other state.