Zak Herman was pretty sure he was going to lose his opening bout at the Top Hat on Friday night, but not because he didn't believe in his abilities as a wrestler.
The Jersey Shore senior was wrestling his first match since the 2011 District 4 tournament. He knew he wasn't quite in wrestling shape. And on top of everything, his first-round opponent was Tri-Valley's Hunter Harner, a returning Class AA state qualifier.
So yeah, Herman had the deck stacked against him.
Article Photos
Montoursville's Jacob Stanford, left, wrestles Central Mountain's Cole Hanley during a 138-pound match at the Top Hat Tournament Friday night at Williamsport High School. View additional photos at cu.sungazette.com.
And he still won.
Herman was one of 15 local wrestlers to move on to this morning's semifinals after Friday night's season-opening first night of wrestling. Herman was also one of two wrestlers to knock off a returning state qualifier in the first round.
Herman is joined in the semifinals by teammates Noah Ulmer (106 pounds) and Colton Killion (126), as well as Muncy's Angelo Barberio (106), Troy Hembury (182) and Skylar Ebner (195), Williamsport's Roshaun Cooley (113), South Williamsport's Andrew Gipe (126) and Justin Knee (170), Hughesville's Kyle Barnes (152), and Central Mountain's Cole Hanley (138), Chad Reese (152), Gavin Caprio (160), Blaze Buckwalter (195) and Caleb Stover (285).
After the first three rounds of wrestling, Central Columbia led the team standings with 86.5 points. Central Mountain, the defending champion, is tied for third with Penfield (N.Y.) with 70 points. Jersey Shore is tied for fifth.
"I was nervous. I didn't think I was going to win," Herman said after beating Titusville's Easton Hogue with a fall in the quarterfinals. "When I did, I was relieved, but I couldn't breathe for like the last two minutes because I was so winded. But it was a good match."
Herman beat Harner in the first round, 15-10. It's the same Harner who went 1-2 at 126 pounds in the PIAA Class AA tournament as a freshman last year. Those two losses came to Warrior Run's Jared Watson and former PIAA champion Arty Walsh of Schuylkill Valley.
Herman said he was able to tire out Harner but riding tough on top with legs. It was his goal to try and tire out his opponents last night, because he's well aware that he's not in the same kind of wrestling shape he was when he was a District 4 third-place finisher in 2011.
"I got tired and couldn't go all out (on offense) even thought I tried," Herman said. "When I recovered, I went all out as much as I could. Making them tired before I get tired is what helps me out the most."
The 145-pounder missed Jersey Shore's run to the PIAA Duals tournament a year ago when he decided to sit out the season. He definitely would have been a key contributor to a team that made its first-ever appearance in Hershey for the team tournament. He was coming off a 12-10 season as a sophomore which included a sixth-place finish at the 2010 Top Hat tournament.
Herman said he didn't like the atmosphere around the team last year, and although it was frustrating to miss out on one of the most successful seasons in recent memory for the Bulldogs, he doesn't regret sitting out.
"It just didn't feel right. It wasn't a family. It wasn't a team," Herman said. "I didn't want to be a part of it, so I took the year off. Now that I cam back, everything is different and is awesome. It definitely made my passion come back for the sport."
While he's regained his passion, he's still off on his timing, he said. It clearly didn't show last night.
He came into the tournament thinking he could probably repeat his performance from 2010 and finish fifth or sixth. Last night's results made him rethink his goals. He'll face Schuylkill Valley's Zach Homan in the semifinals this morning. Homan is coming off a 12-13 season and did not wrestle at the Top Hat a year ago.
Should Herman win, he would either face Line Mountain state seventh-place finisher Seth Lansberry, who picked up his 100th career win last night, or Central Columbia's Aaron Johnson, a District 4 sixth-place finisher a year ago.
"I'm hoping for first or second now," Herman said. "It's amazing how fast things change. I'm loving it right now."
TOP HAT TOURNAMENT
Team standings and key: 1, Central Columbia, CC, 86.5; 2, Schuylkill Valley, SV, 74.5; t-3, Central Mountain, CM, 70; t-3, Penfield (N.Y.), P, 70; t-5, Jersey Shore, JS, 65.5; t-5, South Western, SW, 65.5; 7, Tri-Valley, TV, 64; 8, Bald Eagle Area, BEA, 57; 9, Mifflinburg, Mi, 51.5; 10, Clearfield, Cl, 48; 11, Hughesville, Hu, 41.5; 12, Muncy, Mu, 36.5; 13, Line Mountain, LM, 34.5; 14, Titusville, T, 30; 15, South Williamsport, So, 29; 16, Montoursville, Mo, 22; 17, Elizabethtown, E, 19; 18, Williamsport, W, 18; 19, Red Lion, RL, 0.
First round pigtails
126: Donald Smith, RL, pinned Jacob Noll, BEA, 1:44.
138: Josh Lorson, JS, pinned Kyle Dimovitz, SV, 1:10.
145: Colton Showers, Mi, dec. Michael Forney, Mo, 4-0.
152: Nick Shiffler, RL, maj. dec. Kile Banzhof, So, 10-2.
160: Jonah Horst, SV, maj. dec. Mike Beck, Cl, 10-2; Zach Osborne, SW, tech. Fall Junior Ramos, Mu, 15-0, 5:26.
First round
106: Noah Ulmer, JS, bye; Evan Campbell, CC, pinned Steve Machen, T, 1:54; Angelo Barberio, Mu, pinned Jake Snyder, Hu, 1:27; Kyle Stephen, TV, maj. dec. Morgan Schaszberger, RL, 12-2; Owen Wherley, So, bye; Lynn Kyle, W, maj. dec. Chris Confer, CM, 13-5; Logan Gilbert, Cl, dec. Cobey Bainey, BEA, 3-0; Parker Kropman, P, bye.
113: Taylor Johnson, CC, bye; Mason Shuman, SV, dec. Jacob Dgien, Mu, 7-3; Kaleb Chase, T, dec. Josiah McClarren, Cl, 7-2; Noah Kuba, Mi, dec. Jacob Strassner, Mo, 6-4, sv; Roshaun Cooley, W, pinned Allen Sarr, JS, 2:23; Keenan Bottorf, CM, pinned Mike Kachik, BEA, 1:29; Trevor Sones, Hu, pinned Shawn Karlin, RL, 2:39; Derek Wilson, So, dec. Cameron Newman, LM, 8-2.
120: Caleb Bordner, TV, bye; Zach Fry, Hu, pinned Cortland Stahl, Mo, :39; Matt Langsenkamp, P, dec. Draven King, CM, 7-4; Steve Shannon, CC, maj. dec. Abien Berry, Mu, 11-0; Josh Giorgio, SV, dec. Cole Sterrett, SW, 7-1; Noah Cline, Cl, pinned Chase Ackerman, T, 4:29; Cooper Wagner, Mi, dec. Jesse Stermer, RL, 4-0; Travis Giedroc, BEA, bye.
126: Andrew Gipe, So, dec. Donald Smith, RL, 9-2; Keith Batkowski, Mo, pinned Aaron Doll, SW, 1:22; Jonathan Sponsler, Cl, dec. Devin Stahlnecker, Hu, 6-5; Colton Killion, JS, pinned Alex Krah, Mu, 1:31; Tanner White, SV, dec. Graham Rich, E, 11-4; Colton Zimmerman, LM, pinned Aaron Confer, CM, :47; Derrick Bish, T, dec. Logan Stenger, Mi, 7-3; Frank Gissendanner, P, dec. Lewis Williams, CC, CC, 3-2, tb.
132: Cole Walter, Mi, bye; Jake Watt, CM, pinned Dominic Rodriguez, E, 1:36; Ryan Ramich, SV, dec. Clint McCaslin, BEA, 8-2; Nate Jones, So, dec. Dalton Reiman, Mo, 4-0; Dylan Graham, Cl, pinned Ethan Swartz, 3:44; Hayden Swartwood, JS, maj. dec. Blake Carl, LM, 8-0; Andy Aguilar, Mu, dec. Ryan Sprenkle, RL, 9-3; Eric Harley, P, pinned Branden Huff, SW, 2:22.
138: Christian Stone, Cl, pinned Josh Lorson, JS, :45; Nick Klecker, SW, pinned Cameron Daugherty, T, :29; Chase Schaeffer, TV, pinned Cam Good, Mu, 3:33; Clark Wagner, Mi, dec. Eric Hiller, Hu, 11-5; Cole Hanley, CM, pinned Jacob Stanford, Mo, 2:29; Titus Tice, BEA, pinned Shane Olson, E, 1:31; Mitch Moran, P, dec. Cody Stern, RL, 5-1; Jesse Shannon, CC, pinned Logan Mix, So, 3:20.
145: Seth Lansberry, LM, tech. Fall Colton Showers, Mi, 17-2, 2:06; Austin Holloway, RL, dec. Gage Thomas, SW, 7-3; Lucas Kline, E, pinned Dustin Heiser, W, 2:47; Aaron Johnson, CC, pinned Joe Powers, BEA, 1:42; Skyler Kropman, P, pinned Grant Clymie, Cl, 1:36; Zach Homan, SV, tech, fall Ryan Seagrave, So, 17-2, 4:24; Easton Hogue, T, dec. Zach Knepp, CM, 9-4; Zak Herman, JS, dec. Hunter Harner, TV, 15-10.
152: Kyle Barnes, Hu, pinned Nick Shiffler, RL, 1:20; Kurtis Welch, JS, pinned Colby Geisinger, SV, 2:43; Chad Reese, CM, pinned Dennis Shaw, BEA, :21; Garrett Hoffman, Mo, dec. Austin Miknich, CC, 7-0; Blake Bowman, TV, pinned Derek Schneider, T, 2:44; Bobby Wildasin, SW, dec. Ben Kleine, P, 5-3; Eric Dock, Mi, dec. Zach Berra, E, 11-4; Nolan Barger, Cl, pinned Yasser Benamirouche, W, :28.
160: Ty Schoffstall, TV, pinned Jonah Horst, SV, :42; Nick Fester, CC, pinned Ryan Gessner, Mi, 4:59; Dakota Nixon, Hu, pinned Rocco Bausinger, So, 1:50; George Pancio, P, maj. dec. Mitchell Taylor, BEA, 9-0; Gavin Caprio, CM, pinned Kyle Lynch, Mo, :43; Kaiden Brungard, JS, pinned Phillip Gish, E, 5:38; Britton Heim, LM, dec. Rodney Eid Jr., RL, 4-2, tb; Ehrin Lee, T, maj. dec. Zach Osborne, SW, 10-1.
170: Ty Walter, Mi, bye; Aaron Mowrey, T, pinned Ben Verbitskey, BEA, 4:22; Justin Knee, So, pinned Jared Gilgore, E, :43; Matt Herr, Hu, dec. Tristan Choate, Mo, 5-3; Keith Langdon, P, maj. dec. Utoa Agai-Napio, JS, 11-3; Anthony Snyder, TV, tech. fall Brendan Renn, LM, 24-7, 5:40; Brady Shultz, SW, dec. Jacob Coombe, CC, 3-1; Joey Waack, SV, pinned Stone Hill, RL, 1:52.
182: Jacob Taylor, BEA, pinned Joaquin Gonsalves, So, 2:35; Cyler Wedge, CC, pinned Jake Bailey, SC, 3:37; Robert White, Hu, pinned Montana Thompson, E, 5:52; Erik Smeltz, LM, pinned Jake Verchick, Cl, 2:36; Tyler Schell, RL, pinned Deon Hunter, P, 1:41; Xavier DeRose, T, maj. dec. Nick Miller, CM, 9-1; Dominic Loffredo, JS, pinned Johnathan Katzmaier, Mo, 1:28; Troy Hembury, Mu, pinned Gunner Holtz, SW, :25.
195: Aaron Varner, BEA, bye; Jared Schell, RL, dec. Nate Lose, JS, 7-2; Tyler Jenkins, So, pinned Matthew Hackenberg, CC, 1:46; Skylar Ebner, Mu, pinned Aaron Custer, SW, 1:00; Blaze Buckwalter, CM, bye; Lucas Shaheen, Mo, pinned Brad Hanna, T, 4:37; John Punako, Mi, dec. Rayce Boyer, LM, 9-4; Lyle Troutman, TV, bye.
220: Eric McCracken, CC, bye; Ben Cerney, Mo, pinned Luke Longenecker, E, 3:21; Cameron Porter, CM, pinned Ed Voica, P, :56; Dante Giorgio, SV, pinned Ty Lohr, T, 1:31; Aram Moffitt, SW, pinned Kenny Holloway, RL, 1:06; Billy Kennedy, W, maj. dec. Jake Huling, JS, 15-2; Mason White, TV, dec. Jacoby Foresman, Hu, 4-2, sv; Nate Sharkey, BEA, bye.
285: Nazar Mironenko, Mi, bye; David Gawryla, BEA, pinned Connor Bassett, Mo, 2:16; Mason Cross, P, pinned George Halchin, W, :35; Devo nAckerman, SW, pinned Curt Mignot, Cl, :47; Trevor Crupi, SV, pinned Bryce Grohol, E, 1:08; Caleb Stover, CM, pinned Bill Brittain, T, :41; Colton Winchester, JS, pinned Nick Roberts, Mu, 2:53; Alex Shiber, CC, pinned Anthony Moser, RL, :44.
Consolation pigtails
126: Lewis Williams, CC, pinned Jacob Noll, BEA, 5:37.
138: Kyle Dimovitz, SV, dec. Logan Mix, So, 4-1.
145: Hunter Harner, TV, pinned Michael Forney, Mo, 1:49.
152: Kile Banzhof, So, pinned Yasser Benamirouche, W, 2:17.
160: Zach Osborne, SW, pinned Mike Beck, Cl, 4:48; Jonah Horst, SV, pinned Junior Ramos, Mu, 2:57.
Quarterfinals
106: Noah Ulmer, JS, pinned Evan Campbell, CC, 1:52; Angelo Barberio, Mu, maj. dec. Kyle Stephen, TV, 10-1; Owen Wherley, SW, pinned Lynn Kyle, W, 1:51; Parker Kropman, P, maj. dec. Logan Gilbert, Cl, 10-2.
113: Taylor Johnson, CC, pinned Mason Shuman, SV, 5:11; Noah Kuba, Mi, dec. Kaleb Chase, T, 7-5; Roshaun Cooley, W, dec. Keenan Bottorf, CM, 6-3; Derek Wilson, SW, dec. Trevor Sones, Hu, 12-10.
120: Caleb Bordner, TV, dec. Zach Fry, Hu, RO; Steve Shannon, CC, dec. Matt Langsenkamp, P, 3-1; Josh Giorgio, SV, maj. dec. Noah Cline, Cl, 14-2; Travis Giedroc, BEA, pinned Cooper Wagner, Mi, 4:20.
126: Andrew Gipe, So, dec. Keith Batkowski, Mo, 5-3; Colton Killion, JS, dec. Jontathan Sponsler, Cl, 1-0; Tanner White, SV, dec. Colton Zimmerman, LM, 5-1; Frankie Gissendanner, P, 15-3.
132: Cole Walter, Mi, tech. fall Jake Watt, CM, 16-1, 3:48; Ryan Ramich, SC, dec. Nate Jones, So, 6-5; Dylan Graham, Cl, dec. Hayden Swartwood, JS, 6-4; Eric Harley, P, pinned Andy Aguilar, Mu, 5:29.
138: Christian Stone, Cl, pinned Nick Klecker, SW, 1:24; Chase Schaeffer, TV, dec. Clark Wagner, Mi, 6-4; Cole Hanley, CM, pinned Titus Tice, BEA, 1:31; Jesse Shannon, CC, inj. def. Mitch Moran, P, 4:43.
145: Seth Lansberry, LM, maj. dec. Austin Holloway, RL, 10-0; Aaron Johnson, CC, dec. Lucas Kline, E, 8-3; Zach Homan, SV, dec. Skyler Kropman, P, 7-4; Zak Herman, JS, pinned Easton Hogue, T, 4:22.
152: Kyle Barnes, Hu, tech. fall Kurtis Welch, JS, 16-0, 3:21; Chad Reese, CM, dec. Garrett Hoffman, Mo, 5-3; Blake Bowman, TV, dec. Bobby Wildasin, SW, 7-4; Nolan Barger, Cl, pinned Kevin Dock, Mi, 1:33.
160: Ty Schoffstall, TV, tech. fall Nick Fester, CC, 18-3, 2:13; George Pancio, P, default Dakota Nixon, Hu, 1:59; Gavin Caprio, CM, dec. Kaiden Brungard, JS, 5-4; Ehrin Lee, T, dec. Britton Heim, LM, 4-3.
170: Ty Walter, Mi, pinned Aaron Mowrey, T, :41; Justin Knee, So, dec. Matt Herr, Hu, 4-2; Keith Langdon, P, dec. Anthony Snyder, TV, 3-2; Joey Waack, SW, pinned Brady Schultz, SW, 2:42.
182: Jacob Taylor, BEA, pinned Cyler Wedge, CC, :52; Erik Smeltz, LM, dec. Robert White, Hu, 4-2; Tyler Schell, RL, dec. Xavier DeRose, T, 8-1; Troy Hembury, Mu, tech. fall Dominic Loffredo, JS, 16-0, 2:53.
195: Aaron Varner, BEA, pinned Jared Schell, RL, :54; Skylar Ebner, Mu, pinned Tyler Jenkins, So, 1:59; Blaze Buckwalter, CM, pinned Lucas Shaheen, Mo, 1:53; Lyle Troutman, TV, maj. dec. John Punako, Mi, 13-0.
220: Eric McCracken, CC, pinned Ben Cerney, Mo, 3:13; Dante Giorgio, SV, dec. Cameron Porter, CM, 9-5; Aram Moffitt, SW, pinned Billy Kennedy, W, 4:56; Nate Sharkey, BEA, pinned Mason White, TV, 1:59.
285: Nazar Mironenko, Mi, pinned David Gawryla, BEA, 1:41; Devon Ackerman, SW, pinned Mason Cross, P, :33; Caleb Stover, CM, pinned Trevor Crupi, SC, 1:02; Alex Shiber, CC, pinned Colton Winchester, JS, 2:06.
First-round consolations
106: Steve Machen, T, bye; Morgan Schaszberger, RL, maj. dec. Jake Snyder, Hu, 10-1; Chris Confer, CM, bye; Cobey Bainey, BEA, bye.
113: Jacob Dgien, Mu, bye; Jacob Strassner, Mo, dec. Josiah McClarren, Cl, 6-2; Allen Sarr, JS, tech. fall Mike Kachik, BEA, 15-0, 4:37; Cameron Newman, LM, pinned Shawn Karlin, RL, 2:06.
120: Cortland Stahl, Mo, bye; Draven King, CM, dec. Abien Berry, Mu, 6-3; Cole Sterrett, SW, dec. Chase Ackerman, T, 8-0; Jesse Sterner, RL, bye.
126: Lewis Williams, CC, dec. Logan Stenger, Mi, 5-0; Chris Confer, CM, dec. Graham Rich, E, 4-0; Devin Stahlnecker, Hu, pinned Alex Krah, Mu, 2:18; Donald Smith, RL, dec. Aaron Doll, SW, 4-1.
132: Dominic Rodriguez, E, bye; Clint McCaslin, BEA, dec. Dalton Reiman, Mo, 5-3; Ethan Swartz, Hu, pinned Blake Carl, LM, 1:57; Branden Huff, SW, dec. Ryan Sprenkle, RL, 4-3.
138: Cody Stern, RL, tech. fall Kyle Dimovitz, SV, 16-1, 2:14; Shane Olson, E, dec. Jacob Stanford, Mo, 5-0; Eric Hiller, Hu, dec. Chase Schaeffer, TV, 5-2; Josh Lorson, JS, pinned Cameron Daugherty, T, 1:20.
145: Hunter Harner, TV, pinned Zach Knepp, CM, 2:51; Ryan Seagrave, So, dec. Grant Clymie, Cl, 5-4; Joe Powers, BEA, pinned Dustin Heiser, W, :20; Gage Thomas, SW, maj. dec. Colton Showers, Mi, 19-6.
152: Zach Berra, E, pinned Kile Banzhof, So, 3:31; Ben Kleine, P, pinned Derek Schneider, T, 2:32; Austin Miknich, CC, pinned Dennis Shaw, BEA, :43; Colby Geisinger, SV, pinned Nick Shiffler, RL, 3:17.
160: Rodney Eid Jr., RL, dec. Zach Osborne, SW, 8-1; Phillip Gish, E, pinned Kyle Lynch, Mo, :33; Mitchell Taylor, BEA, pinned Rocco Bausinger, So, :55; Ryan Gessner, Mi, won by disqualification Jonah Horst, SV, 4:51.
170: Ben Verbitskey, BEA, bye; Tristan Choate, Mo, pinned Jared Gilgore, E, 1:18; Brendan Renn, LM, dec. Utoa Agai-Napio, JS, 8-3; Jacob Coombe, CC, pinned Stone Hill, RL, 2:05.
182: Jake Bailey, SV, pinned Joaquin Gonsalves, So, 3:41; Jake Verchick, Cl, pinned Montana Thompson, E, 3:40; Deon Hunter, P, dec. Nick Miller, CM, 9-7; Gunner Holtz, SW, pinned Johnathan Katzmaier, Mo, 3:38.
195: Nate Lose, JS, bye; Matthew Hackenberg, CC, dec. Aaron Custer, SW, 4-3; Brad Hanna, T, bye; Rayce Boyer, LM, bye.
220: Luke Longenecker, E, bye; Ty Lohr, T, pinned Ed Voica, P, 4:44; Jake Huling, JS, dec. Kenny Holloway, RL, 9-2; Jacoby Foresman, Hu, bye.
285: Connor Bassett, Mo, bye; George Halchin, W, pinned Curt Mignot, Cl, 1:38; Bryce Grohnol, E, won by forfeit Bill Brittain, T; Nick Roberts, Mu, pinned Anthony Moser, RL, 2:47.
