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43 wrestlers from area advance to District 4 AA meet from Central Sectional

Muncy’s Noah Gush front, wrestles Montoursville’s Kyle Bennett in their 160-pound final in the Central Sectional at Hughesville. Bennett won a major decision, 12-4.

HUGHESVILLE — Jeremy Hanford was finally able to take a breath. He had dug himself out of the hole he was in during the 126-pound final and got back to even.

So he took a breath and got back to work. From that point on in the second period, the Warrior Run junior was just back to wrestling.

The returning state qualifier scored a pair of third-period takedowns Saturday night at Hughesville High School to come from behind and beat Benton returning state placewinner Joe Klock, 10-8. Hanford’s title at 126 pounds at the District 4 Central Sectional was his first section championship, and it went a long way in helping the Defenders capture the team title.

Hanford was Warrior Run’s only champion, but the four bonus points he earned for finishing first were enough to give Warrior Run a four-point win over Muncy (160-156) in the team race Montoursville was third with 139.5 points.

It was the first sectional team title for Warrior Run head coach Jeremy Betz in his first year as a head coach after replacing Wayne Smythe, who coached the Defenders for the previous 44 seasons. The Defenders had 10 wrestlers qualify for the district tournament, including five wrestlers who made the finals.

Hanford joined nine other local wrestlers who captured section titles last night. Muncy’s Jacob Blair (106 pounds), Coleman Good (145) and Mike Kustan­bauter (170) won titles, as did Montours­ville’s Wyatt Lutz (113), Kyle Bennett (160), and Gavin Hoffman (195), Hughes­ville’s Conner Kepner (182) and Josh Dauberman (285), and Jersey Shore’s Max Mason (220).

In all, 43 local wrestlers finished in the top four yesterday to advance to next week’s District 4 Class AA tournament at Williamsport. Of those 43, 21 finished either first or second.

But on a day filled with impressive performances, Hanford’s stood above the rest. The gym was never as loud Satur­day as it was when the junior spun behind Klock for the decisive takedown with only 10 seconds to go.

He wanted to get the bout into that final minute with the outcome still in doubt. Klock is just getting back into wrestling shape after missing about two months of the season, and Hanford has been strong in the third period all year thanks to a new push-the-pace mentality instilled in him by head coach Jeremy Betz and assistant Jason Guffey.

“I know if I get to the third period I can compete even with the toughest kids and push the pace with them,” Hanford said. “So my main thing was push the pace and get (Klock) to tire out if I could.”

So that’s why when Hanford tied the score at 6-6 in the second period after trailing 6-2 early, he reset. From there Hanford got back to his pace. Even trailing Klock, a state seventh-place finisher a year ago, 7-6, after three periods wasn’t enough to quash the confidence Hanford had built.

He caught Klock off-balance early in the third period and scored the takedown to give him an 8-7 lead. He was so confident with his pace and his conditioning that he cut Klock to tie the score before scoring the decisive takedown.

Hanford, a returning state qualifier, has had a tremendous season with just one loss and that came to Benton’s Cole Rhone, who won the 120-pound section title last night. Hanford is vastly improved over last year because of the pace Betz and Guffey have gotten him to push for the whole season.

“I know how I’ve been training. I’m confident in my training and I just kept at it,” Hanford said. “This year I’m a lot more confident on my feet. I’m trying to take shots on kids here where last year I would have been more cautious. But getting a win like this makes me feel awesome.”

Montoursville’s Wyatt Lutz also beat a returning state qualifier to win his section title last night. He was dominant in the 113-pound finals against Bloomsburg state qualifier Colby Bronzburg, scoring five points in the third period for a 7-2 win.

But Lutz was never really challenged. He picked up a takedown midway through the first period and spent the next 2 minutes, 42 seconds on top, holding Bronzburg down on the mat.

“I like a challenge, especially at sectionals,” said Lutz, who won his first sectional title after finishing second his freshman and sophomore years. “I could have scored more points. I rode him good, but didn’t have much for turns. I know I can score more.”

If Lutz wants to win his first district title next week, he knows the competition is going to be even stronger. He’ll likely be on the same side of the bracket as former New York state champion A.J. Burkhart of Athens, who Lutz beat by a point earlier this year. Also lurking on the other side of the bracket is returning state finalist Jaret Lane.

Lutz wants to pick up his offensive pace next week to deal with the high-octane offenses of Lane and Burkhart, but he knows it’s in him.

“I can always pick up my pace,” Lutz said. “I feel like I should do that in the upcoming weeks to increase my chances of winning.”

Benton’s Vayle-Rae Baker became the first girl to ever qualify for the District 4 AA tournament by finishing third at 106 pounds for the Tigers. The junior went 3-1 yesterday, falling in the semifinals to Hughesville’s Luke Gorg. But she rallied for two wins in the consolations by a combined 27-9 score to finish third.

She received her medal on the podium to a thunderous applause from all fans in attendance.

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