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Deem 1 of 23 locals in today’s district semis

Devon Deem didn’t waste time firing off a good, crisp shot in his only bout at the District 4 Class AA Wrestling Championships on Friday night. The Montgomery freshman understands the important of that first takedown. And through his work during the regular season, he understands how important it is to take only clean shots.

That opening takedown helped Deem post his 30th victory of the season, and it put him in the 132-pound semifinals this morning at Williamsport’s Magic Dome. Deem is one of 23 local wrestlers to advance to this morning’s semifinals, which are scheduled for 10 a.m.

Deem is joined in the semifinals by Lewisburg’s Kaiden Wagner (106 pounds) and Dakotah Snyder (220), Warrior Run’s Noah Hunt (120), Montoursville’s Broc Lutz (120), Cael Crebs (152), Dylan Bennett (170), Gable Crebs (195) and Cameron Wood (220), Milton’s Kyler Crawford (120) and Nevin Rauch (285), Muncy’s Bryce Vollman (126), Mario Barberio (138), Coleman Good (152), Ty Nixon (160), Mike Kustanbauter (182) and Cael Hembury (285), Williamson’s Matt Carpenter (126), Hughesville’s Ben Heinrich (126) and Luke Gorg (138), Sullivan County’s Nate Higley (132), Jersey Shore’s Hunter O’Connor (182) and North Penn-Liberty’s Cameron Andrews (182).

Southern Columbia put a team-high eight wrestlers in the semifinals and leads the team race after Day 1 with 83 points. Muncy’s six semifinalists are second-best and has the Indians in second place with 58.5 points. Montoursville is the only other local team in the top 10 in fourth place with 43 points.

Deem learned some important lessons in the first 11 days of the tournament when he wrestled a trio of state qualifiers. All three of those matches against fourth-ranked Anthony Glasl, fifth-ranked Higley and 21st-ranked Gorg ended with Deem being pinned.

But those losses also ended with Deem understanding the importance of taking good shots on his feet and exactly what it would take to win on the varsity level.

“It helped me exponentially because getting my butt kicked in the first couple weeks of the season pushed me more in the practice room,” Deem said. “Everybody here is a lot faster and a lot stronger.”

In the past, Deem could get away with taking bad shots because he was either quick enough or strong enough to scramble out of danger or score the takedown at the junior high level. He’s tried his best to erase those bad shots from his game. And over the course of the season he’s built confidence in an offense he believes can help him win on this level.

He was the Central Sectional runner-up a week ago to Central Columbia sophomore Isaac Kester. But he still earned the fourth seed and a first-round bye last night.

Deem was sharp in his only bout. He scored the first four points on his way to the 6-4 win over returning regional qualifier Logan Newton of Wyalusing. Now he’s got a semifinal matchup against another returning state placewinner in Southern Columbia’s Patrick Edmondson, who took sixth in Hershey last year.

“I am confident in what I’m doing. This is a lot different than junior high, and I’m very nervous being here for my first year, but it’s also a lot of fun,” Deem said. “That first takedown is all about confidence. That first takedown kind of predicts the whole match.”

Deem’s next loss will be his 10th of the season, but he doesn’t regret any of them. He could have cut to 132 pounds earlier in the season and probably missed the matchups for some of the losses he took. But he knew those losses were going to be a gateway to figuring out how to be successful at this time of season.

And in a year where he wasn’t sure he could be competitive at this level, he’s slowly proven to himself he is. So long as he continues to take only good shots and score when the opportunity presents itself.

He said his focus right now is still primarily on advancing to next week’s Northeast Regional tournament. With just one win today, he can accomplish that.

“I really do have the confidence that I belong here,” Deem said. “I could have wrestled easier kids. But in the long run, I feel like it has really helped me.”

When Lutz saw Wyalusing’s Jacob Bruyn take the bottom position to start the third period, he looked to his coaches in the corner and Matt Yonkin gave him a nod of approval. It was exactly the position Lutz wants to be in when the third period start: on top utilizing his strengths as a wrestler. Lutz took advantage of the opportunity, eventually sinking a deep half nelson to score a fall in 5:25 to move to this morning’s semifinals.

There’s no secret the sophomore 120-pounder prefers to do his mat wrestling on top. It’s where he’s his most dangerous when competing. Opponents throughout the season have recognized that and have avoided taking bottom on him. But with the opportunity in front of him to make some noise in a tight bout last night, Lutz capitalized on Bruyn’s choice.

“I’ve always felt comfortable on top,” Lutz said. “So I know as soon as I get on there, I’m going to pound on him. I’m starting to get better on my feet and defending and working from there.”

District 4’s recognition of Lutz’s strength on top has forced the brother of Montoursville two-time state placewinner Wyatt Lutz to improve on his feet. He knows he has to have multiple ways to score points beyond just continually wrenching on that power-half which has become his go-to on top.

“I know I can’t always be on top and I have to make something work,” Lutz said. “But on top is where I want to be in the third period.”

Lutz qualified for districts a year ago, but didn’t get out of a tough 106-pound field which featured two eventual state placewinners and one previous state placewinner. So he focused in the offseason on improving on his feet so as not to become a one-trick pony.

Now he’s a diverse wrestler who still has his bread-and-butter spot on top. His long arms and legs make him a sneaky strong wrestler who can turn opponents like he’s using a crowbar for leverage. It’s led to a now 29-win season, and last night it led to two wins over freshmen who have combined for 48 wins this season.

“I’m just going to keep wrestling the best I can,” Lutz said. “I’m still looking to be on top (of the podium). I just want to keep winning.”

Team standings: 1, Southern Columbia, 83; 2, Muncy, 58.5; 3, Midd-West, 49; 4, Montoursville, 43; 5, Mifflinburg, 32.5; 6, Central Columbia, 32; 7, Benton, 30; 8, Line Mountain, 28.5; 9, Towanda, 25; 10, Troy, 24; 11, Milton, 22; 12, Hughesville, 21; 13, Lewisburg, 20; 14, Athens, 17.5; 15, Warrior Run, 16; t-16, North Penn-Liberty, 13; t-16, Sullivan County, 13; 18, Jersey Shore, 11; t-19, Canton, 10; t-19, Danville, 10; t-19, Mount Carmel, 10; 22, Montgomery, 9; 23, Williamson, 7; t-24, Bloomsburg, 6; t-24, South Williamsport, 6; t-24, Wyalusing, 6; t-27, Loyalsock, 0; t-27, Northeast Bradford, 0; t-27, Sayre, 0; t-27, Shamokin, 0; t-27, Sugar Valley, 0.

Team key: Athens, At; Benton, Be; Bloomsburg, Bl; Canton, Ca; Central Columbia, CC; Danville, Da; Hughesville, Hu; Jersey Shore, JS; Lewisburg, Le; Line Mountain, LM; Loyalsock, Lo; Midd-West, MW; Mifflinburg, Mf; Milton, Mi; Montgomery, Mg; Montoursville, Mt; Mount Carmel, MC; Muncy, Mu; North Penn-Liberty, NP; Northeast Bradford, NEB; Sayre, Sa; Shamokin, Sh; South Williamsport, SW; Southern Columbia, SC; Sullivan County, Su; Sugar Valley, SV; Towanda, To; Troy, Tr; Warrior Run, WR; Williamson, Wi; Wyalusing, Wy.

Preliminary round

106: Sheldon Seymour, Tr, bye; Andrew Johnson, Da, maj. dec. Kayden Frame, Mt, 10-2; Kaiden Wagner, Le, pinned Coy Wagner, NP, 1:33; Zach Kremer, Be, bye; Bobby Gardner, SW, bye; Gavin Bradley, At, tech. fall Brady Feese, SC, 18-1, 6:00; Kaden Majcher, WR, maj. dec. Isaac Landis, Ca, 8-0; Blake Wirt, LM, bye.

113: Gable Strickland, Be, bye; Mason Leshock, LM, dec. Tyler Hawley, To, 9-4; Kole Biscoe, SC, pinned Xan Oberheim, Mt, 1:21; Seth Seymour, Tr, bye; Liam Goodrich, JS, bye; Landon Hopper, Da, dec. Chase Crawley, Mu, 8-7; Landan Kurtz, WR, pinned Kaden Setzer, At, 3:25; Gabe Gramly, Mf, bye.

120: Noah Hunt, WR, bye; Aidan Steininger, MW, pinned Cobey Saxon, Su, 1:50; Garrett Krebs, SC, pinned Hunter Leet, Mg, :48; Patriot June, NP, bye; Jacob Bruyn, Wy, bye; Broc Lutz, Mt, dec. Troy Bingaman, Mf, 6-0; Grady Oden, Mu, maj. dec. Gavin Cohick, Tr, 12-4; Kyler Crawford, Mi, bye.

126: Bryce Vollman, Mu, bye; T.J. Walter, Mi, pinned Karter Rude, At, 1:56; Ethan Zevan, MW, dec. Kai Felix, Mg, 4-2; Nick Woodruff, Wy, bye; Matthew Carpenter, Wi, bye; Caden Temple, Be, maj. dec. Trevor McDonald, MC, 10-2; Ben Heinrich, Hu, maj. dec. Bryant Green, To, 10-0; Ian Yoder, SC, bye.

132: Patrick Edmondson, SC, bye; Landon Lorson, SW, dec. Trevor Williams, Tr, 11-5; Logan Newton, Wy, pinned Justin Gessner, Le, 3:43; Devon Deem, Mg, bye; Isaac Kester, CC, bye; Ian Coller, LM, pinned Destin Moore, NEB, 1:13; Dalton Watt, Bl, dec. Zach Reed, MC, 9-4; Nate Higley, Su, bye.

138: Avery Bassett, MW, bye; Gabe Waltman, CC, pinned Zach Shaffer, Wy, 1:00; Luke Gorg, Hu, dec. Logan Bartlett, Le, 2-0; Skyler Allen, To, bye; Gabe Packer, To, bye; Clayton Reed, Mf, tech. fall Nathan Michael, WR, 15-0, 4:22; Mike Miner, SC, pinned Josh Hultz, Wi, :39; Mario Barberio, Mu, bye.

145: Preston Rogers, To, bye; Eric Gessner, Mf, dec. Caleb Dixon, Hu, 5-3; Christian Good, Mu, pinned Jacob Bennett, Sa, 3:49; Kameron Kline, MW, bye; Gavin Garcia, SC, bye; Bailey Cohick, Tr, injury default Colby Puderbach, Mg, :23; Colton Ammerman, Su, pinned Noah Berkoski, MC, 2:41; Nate Snyder, CC, bye.

152: Maximus Madden, Sh, bye; Nolan Lear, Be, pinned Evan Johnson, To, 1:22; Cody Rokavec, Mf, dec. Trent Nickeson, Wy, 13-6; Coleman Good, Mu, bye; Cael Crebs, Mt, bye; Shane Miller, SC, maj. dec. John Smith, JS, 8-0; Troy Johnson, CC, pinned Jason Valladares, Mi, 3:17; Isaac Cory, Tr, bye.

160: Cooper Mosier, To, bye; Bruce Carl, MC, dec. Sam Crawford, WR, 13-8; Josh Rodriguez, MW, pinned Jacob Turner, Tr, 1:38; Jacob Busch, CC, bye; Ty Nixon, Mu, bye; Dominic Sampsell, Mf, dec. Alex West, At, 7-5, sv; Christian Ward, Ca, pinned Caleb Moser, Mt, 5:59; Cade Linn, SC, bye.

170: Dylan Bennett, Mt, bye; Kyle Tomb, JS, dec. Brandon Gedman, SC, 4-1; Garrett Storch, Ca, pinned Isaac Gensemer, CC, 5:41; Jacob Feese, LM, bye; Jansen Houdeshell, Mf, bye; Jake Mattive, Bl, pinned Kenric Ricci, NEB, 0:17; Ethan Gush, Mu, dec. Damon Backes, Sh, 8-2; David Galasso, At, bye.

182: Hunter O’Connor, JS, bye; Joe Rodriguez, MW, dec. Dylan Devlin, CC, 10-4; Carter Route, Ca, dec. Gavin Livermore, Mt, 7-2; Shane Weidner, MC, bye; Tyler Waltman, SC, bye; Cameron Andrews, NP, pinned Nick Maris, Hu, 0:49; Tyler Williams, Tr, maj. dec. Matt Dunkle, Da, 16-7; Mike Kustanbauter, Mu, bye.

195: Gaige Garcia, SC, bye; Rion Withers, SW, pinned Derek Atherton-Ely, Ca, 1:29; Jack Schechterly, CC, dec. Bashier Tressler, SV, 5-0; Noah Forbes, NEB, bye; Clay Green, To, bye; Dan Beckley, Mg, dec. Roman Aksenov, Le, 8-5; Trey Lauver, MW, pinned Ben Pernaselli, At, 0:22; Gable Crebs, Mt, bye.

220: Cameron Wood, Mt, bye; Carter Sauer, MW, pinned Trevor Williams, Ca, 1:25; Preston Zachman, SC, pinned Logan McWilliams, CC, 0:16; Jared Houck, Su, bye; Jackson Chilson, Wy, bye; Zach Poust, Be, dec. Austin Reed, MC, 7-6; Caleb Burkhart, Hu, pinned Alex Perez, To, 2:28; Dakotah Snyder, Le, bye.

285: Lear Quinton, SC, bye; John Minnich, NP, pinned Hunter Robbins, Hu, 1:37; Randy Wildrick, Wy, dec. Grant Adams, Le, 1-0; Cael Hembury, Mu, bye; Alex Eveland, CC, bye; Owen Zechman, MW, dec. Keegan Braund, At, 9-2; Nevin Rauch, Mi, pinned Casey Stewart, Lo, 0:30; Dawson Brown, NEB, bye.

Quarterfinals

106: Sheldon Seymour, Tr, pinned Andrew Johnson, Da, 3:12; Kaiden Wagner, Le, pinned Zach Kremer, Be, 1:39; Gavin Bradley, At, pinned Bobby Gardner, SW, 1:53; Blake Wirt, LM, pinned Kaden Majcher, WR, 1:04.

113: Gable Strickland, Be, pinned Mason Leshock, LM, 5:54; Kole Biscoe, SC, pinned Seth Seymour, Tr, 1:14; Landon Hopper, Da, dec. Liam Goodrich, JS, 12-9; Gabe Gramly, Mf, pinned Landan Kurtz, WR, 0:30.

120: Noah Hunt, WR, pinned Aidan Steininger, MW, 5:25; Garrett Krebs, SC, dec. Patriot June, NP, 5-3; Broc Lutz, Mt, pinned Jacob Bruyn, Wy, 5:25; Kyler Crawford, Mi, pinned Grady Oden, Mu, 5:59.

126: Bryce Vollman, Mu, maj. dec. T.J. Walter, Mi, 11-0; Ethan Zevan, MW, maj. dec. Nick Woodruff, Wy, 10-2; Matt Carpenter, Wi, dec. Caden Temple, Be 8-2; Ben Heinich, Hu, dec. Ian Yoder, SC, 9-7, sv.

132: Patrick Edmondson, SC, pinned Landon Lorson, SW, 1:53; Devon Deem, Mg, dec. Logan Newton, Wy, 6-4; Ian Coller, LM, tech. fall Isaac Kester, CC, 18-3, 5:27; Nate Higley, Su, pinned Dalton Watt, Bl, 1:02.

138: Avery Bassett, MW, dec. Gabe Waltman, CC, 6-0; Luke Gorg, Hu, pinned Skyler Allen, To, 2:28; Clayton Reed, Mf, dec. Gabe Packer, JS, 7-0; Mario Barberio, Mu, dec. Mike Miner, SC, 10-3.

145: Preston Rogers, To, dec. Eric Gessner, Mf, 3-1, sv; Kameron Kline, MW, pinned Christian Good, Mu, 4:34; Gavin Garcia, SC, pinned Bailey Cohick, Tr, 1:08; Nate Snyder, CC, maj. dec. Colton Ammerman, Su, 10-2.

152: Nolan Lear, Be, dec. Maximus Madden, Sh, 6-0; Coleman Good, Mu, maj. ec. Cody Rokavec, Mf, 14-5; Cael Crebs, Mt, dec. Shane Miller, SC, 6-4; Isaac Cory, Tr, maj. dec. Troy ohnson, CC, 14-4.

160: Cooper Mosier, To, pinned Bruce Carl, MC, 1:50; Jacob Busch, CC, pined Josh Rodriguez, MW, :38; Ty Nixon, Mu, tech. fall Dominic Sampsell, Mf, 21-5, 5:43; Cade Linn, SC, pinned Christian Ward, Ca, :31.

170: Dylan Bennett, Mt, pinned Kyle Tomb, JS, 2:44; Jacob Feese, LM, dec. Garrett Storch, Ca, 6-0; Jansen Houdeshell, Mf, inj. def. Jake Mattive, Bl, 1:48; David Galasso, At, dec. Ethan Gush, Mu, 11-6.

182: Hunter O’Connor, JS, inj. def. Joe Rodriguez, MW, 1:49; Shane Weidner, MC, maj. dec. Carter Route, Ca, 11-2; Cameron Andrews, NP, dec. Tyler Waltman, SC, 5-0; Mike Kustanbauter, Mu, pinned Tyler Williams, Tr, 2:32.

195: Gaige Garcia, SC, pinned Rion Withers, SW, :38; Jack Schechterly, CC, dec. Noah Forbes, NEB, 2-1, tb; Clay Green, To, pinned Dan Beckley, Mg, 1:59; Gable Crebs, Mt, pinned Trey Lauver, MW, 1:11.

220: Cameron Wood, Mt, pinned Carter Sauer, MW, 2:39; Preston Zachman, SC, pinned Logan McWilliams, CC, 1:17; Zach Poust, Be, pinned Jackson Chilson, Wy, 3:29; Dakotah Snyder, Le, pinned Caleb Burkhart, Hu, 0:24.

285: Lear Quinton, SC, pinned John Minnich, NP, 1:22; Cael Hembury, Mu, pinned Randy Wildrick, Wy, 2:49; Owen Zechman, MW, dec. Alex Eveland, CC, 3-2; Nevin Rauch, Mi, dec. Dawson Brown, NEB, 9-7.

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