×

Higley wins gold; looking ahead to Northeast Regional

MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Sullivan County’s Nate Higley rolls Midd-West's Avery Bassett in the 145-pound championship bout of the District 4 Class AA championships at Williamsport on Saturday.

For the first time in 40 years a District 4 wrestling gold medal was draped around the neck of a Sullivan County wrestler on Saturday. How Nate Higley earned that medal was really inconsequential in the moment. Who he beat to get that gold medal didn’t matter much anyway.

Heck, to Higley, winning the District 4 Class AA 145-pound title was nice and all, but it’s just another step in the process of getting to where he wants to be.

“It’s a great accomplishment,” Higley said. “But I’m just going through wrestling match by match and keep the step forward going.”

Higley was one of eight area wrestlers to bring home a District 4 AA championship Saturday at the Magic Dome. Meadowbrook Christian’s Cade Wirnsberger (106 pounds), Muncy’s Scott Johnson (113) and Jacob Blair (126), Milton’s Kyler Crawford (132), and Montoursville’s Cael Crebs (170), Dylan Bennett (182) and Cameron Wood (220) all won titles.

Muncy’s Bryce Vollman (132) and Canton’s Garrett Storch (220) were runners-up. In all, 29 local wrestlers qualified for next week’s Class AA Northeast Regional tournament by placing in the Top 5 yesterday.

But few championships yesterday had the historical impact Higley’s did. He became just the third District 4 champion in school history, and he became the Griffins’ first to win district gold since Mike Cammer won the 138-pound title in 1980. But much of Higley’s career has been about doing things few, if any, at Sullivan County have ever done.

Two years ago Higley became the school’s first state placewinner when he finished sixth at 132 pounds as a freshman. Last week he became only the fifth wrestler in school history to reach 100 career wins. And then Saturday all he did was beat eighth-ranked Mario Barberio of Muncy in the semifinals before beating state No. 1 Avery Bassett of Midd-West in the finals, 8-4.

“I guess (it’s a big deal),” Higley said. “I don’t care who it is, honestly. I have to go out and compete no matter who it is. You always have to go out and act like every match is one of the last you’ll ever wrestle no matter who it is. Names and rankings don’t matter. Just wrestle to your full potential.”

Higley’s full potential was on display in full force. He had wrestled just one returning state or regional qualifier throughout the regular season, and that was Barberio in a dual meet on Jan. 9. Despite that, Higley entered the tournament ranked fifth in the state at 145. It’s safe to say knocking off the state’s top-ranked wrestler in the manner he did yesterday will make waves statewide.

Higley built a lead in the first period when he scrambled through an awkward position to come out on top of Bassett for the initial takedown. He battled through an incredible defensive effort by Bassett in the second period to finish on a low single and take a 5-1 lead. And just for good measure, he added a late takedown in the third to post an 8-4 win.

The district gold for Higley was just the third in school history, joining Cammer in 1980 and Wilbur McCarty, who won the 88-pound championship in 1967. And the scramble situations in which Higley looked so comfortable were spot he wasn’t sure he wanted to be in. Bassett’s length and strength combination made coming out of those scrambles on top very difficult. But Higley found success each time the two tumbled around the mat like the Tasmanian Devil.

“As the match went on, I felt more comfortable there,” Higley said. “I was a little quicker. But that comes from drilling like that and play wrestling and going through those situations. It’s all about keep everything elevated. There’s times your head is going to end up down because of all the force, but you have to get height with everything. Once you get height, you tend to win.”

In the first year of Meadowbrook Christian’s program, Wirnsberger has made sure to knock some firsts out of the way for the Lions. He became the school’s first sectional champion a week ago when he navigated a gauntlet of 106-pounders which included then top-ranked Branden Wentzel of Montoursville.

He conquered that gauntlet again yesterday, defeating Wentzel in the semifinals in tie-break, 4-3, before going on to beat No. 5 Ethan Kolb of Benton in the final, 8-0. Wirnsberger has clearly established himself as the wrestler to beat in a weight class which is only going to get more loaded next week when second-ranked Jaden Pepe of Wyoming Area joins the fray along with 17th-ranked Owen Woods of Tunkhannock.

“I’m very confident in my wrestling right now,” Wirnsberger said. “I beat some really good kids over the last two weeks and I’m very happy with where I’m at right now.”

He battled back against Wentzel after surrendering the first takedown and scored the win by earning an escape in the second 30-second tiebreak. And against Kolb, he hit a five-point move early which set a tone Kolb was never able to recover from.

“You can’t panic because if you panic, then you can’t wrestle,” Wirnsberger said. “So I had to stay calm and focus on scoring the next point.”

DISTRICT 4 CLASS AA RESULTS

Team standings: 1, Southern Columbia, 205.5; 2, Line Mountain, 155; 3, Muncy, 131.5; 4, Montoursville, 125; 5, Benton, 101.5; 6, Canton, 89; 7, Mifflinburg, 80; 8, Midd-West, 68; 9, Athens, 55; 10, Wyalusing, 47; 11, Milton, 45.5; 12, Warrior Run, 41; 13, Jersey Shore, 40; t-14, Meadowbrook Christian, 34; t-14, Mount Carmel, 34; 16, Central Columbia, 28; 17, Hughesville, 27.5; 18, Troy, 26.5; 19, Towanda, 24; 20, Sullivan County, 23.5; 21, South Williamsport, 22; 22, Danville, 19; 23, Northeast Bradford, 18; 24, Montgomery, 17.5; 25, Bloomsburg, 16; 26, Lewisburg, 13.5; 27, Shamokin, 10; 28, Columbia-Montour Vo-Tech, 6; t-29, North Penn-Liberty, 2; t-29, Williamson, 2; 31, Sayre, 1; 32. Sugar Valley, 0.

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

Consolation

first round

106: Isaac Landis, Ca, dec. Jacob Courtney, At, 10-4; Bobby Gardner, SW, maj. dec. Seth Seymour, Tr, 12-3; Kyle Ferster, MW, pinned Ayden Sprague, Wi, 2:39; Blake Sassaman, Da, maj. dec. Brady Moyer, VT, 11-2.

113: Dylan Granahan, Be, dec. Tyler Hawley, To, 12-5; Bailey Ferguson, Ca, pinned Braydon Garverick, NP, 4:48; Kaden Majcher, WR, pinned Jake Leonardo, Bl, 2:20; Brady Feese, SC, dec. Dylan Linn, Mf, 8-5.

120: Colton Eckroth, VT, dec. Blake Snyder, Mg, 9-2; Blake Wirt, LM, bye; Liam Goodrich, JS, pinned Mykee Nowell, To, :32; Chase Crawley, Mu, dec. Kaden Setzer, At, 3-2.

126: Caden Temple, Be, pinned Aidan Garcia, At, 1:26; Broc Lutz, Mo, pinned Nick Woodruff, Wy, 4:23; Mason Leshock, LM, pinned Collin Bozza, Sh, 1:32; Aidan Steininger, MW, maj. dec. Patriot June, NP, 8-0.

132: Austin Aucker, MW, won by forfeit James Batkowski, Mo; Noah Hunt, WR, pinned Gabe Harvey, SW, :47; Skyler Manahan, Wy, pinned Jacob Burgess, Sa, 2:31; Tyler Winhofer, MC, dec. Wyatt Delamater, To, 10-8, sv.

138: Ian Coller, LM, pinned Dalton Watt, Bl, :59; Colbrin Nolan, Wy, maj. dec. Logan Bartlett, Le, 10-0; Isaac Kester, CC, dec. Xan Oberheim, Mo, 4-0; Skyler Allen, To, pinned Jayden Renzo, Tr, 2:13.

145: Wolfgang Pearson, Sh, dec. Colby Puderbach, Mg, 7-6; Bryce Carl, LM, dec. Evan Johnson, To, 13-6; Landon Lorson, SW, dec. Karter Rude, At, 4-2; Gabe Packer, JS, pinned Nick Wharton, Bl, :46.

152: Matty Coller, LM, pinned Colton Ammerman, Su, 2:34; Max Madden, Sh, dec. Cody Rokavec, Mf, 10-5; Jacob Bennett, Sa, maj. dec. Jake Dinges, Mo, 16-2; Christian Good, Mu, pinned Zach Stafursky, At, 1:50.

160: Stephen Roeder, Bl, pinned Caden Hagerman, Da, 1:53; Bryant Green, To, maj. dec. Kaide Drick, Mg, 12-2; Jacob Turner, Tr, dec. Brian Long, Sh, 10-4; Hadyn Packer, JS, pinned Jack Shumway, NEB, 1:41.

170: Robert Wickham, VT, pinned Mason Woodward, Tr, 3:18; Shane Weidner, MC, pinned Aven Ayala, Mi, 3:46; Sam Crawford, WR, maj. dec. Will Bowen, To, 15-2; Lane Lusk, SW, bye.

182: Brady Cromley, Le, dec. Sam Hostrander, SW, 5-0; Mike Cook, Da, pinned Corey King, SV, 1:30; Tristen Ditzler, Mu, dec. Ben Marino, Mg, 5-2; Edward Cole, Tr, maj. dec. Zach Shaffer, Wy, 8-0.

195: Damon Backes, MC, dec. Ben Pernaselli, At, 7-2; Nathan Rauch, Mi, dec. Dylan Devlin, CC, 6-2; Bailey Hadzinikolov, Mu, dec. Mikey Sipps, Wi, 7-4; Caleb Moser, Mo, pinned Jake Casella, SW, 4:49.

220: Kade Sottolano, Wi, dec. Logan McWilliams, CC, 5-1; Trevor Williams, Ca, pinned Hayden Robbins, Hu, 2:09; Quentin Doane, Mf, pinned Brent Mitch, Mi, 2:05; Carter Sauer, MW, maj. dec. Alex Perez, To, 12-3.

285: Dawson Brown, NEB, pinned Aaron Herlt, To, 1:47; Caleb Burkhart, Hu, pinned Hunter Minnig, MC, :52; Logyn Choplosky, NP, dec. Alexx Eveland, CC, 7-6; Gunner Treibley, MC, dec. Cael Hembury, Mu, 7-2.

Championship

Semifinals

106: Cade Wirnsberger, MC, dec. Branden Wentzel, Mo, 4-3, tb; Ethan Kolb, Be, dec. Aidan Kritzer, LM, 7-0.

113: Gavin Bradley, At, dec. Conner Heckman, MW, 14-9; Scott Johnson, Mu, dec. Kaiden Wagner, Le, 3-2.

120: Kole Biscoe, SC, pinned Caiden Puderbach, Hu, :51; Gable Strickland, Be, dec. Sheldon Seymour, Tr, 8-5.

126: Jacob Blair, Mu, pinned Gabe Andrus, JS, 2:48; Gabe Gramly, Mf, maj. dec. Colton Chipeleski, CC, 17-3.

132: Bryce Vollman, Mu, dec. Troy Bingaman, Mf, 2-0; Kyler Crawford, Mi, pinned Hayden Ward, Ca, 3:58.

138: Clayton Reed, Mf, tech. fall Riley Parker, Ca, 15-0, 5:09; Patrick Edmondson, SC, dec. Luke Gorg, Hu 6-0.

145: Avery Bassett, MW, maj. dec. Brandon Gedman, SC, 8-0; Nate Higley, Su, dec. Mario Barberio, Mu, 9-7.

152: Wes Barnes, SC, dec. Devon Deem, Mg, 10-5; Logan Newton, Wy, dec. Troy Johnson, CC, 12-6.

160: Nolan Lear, Be, pinned Riley Heim, LM, 3:28; Gavin Garcia, SC, dec. Isaac Cory, Mo, 6-2.

170: Cade Linn, SC, dec. Ethan Gush, Mu, 3-0; Cael Crebs, Mo, maj. dec. Timmy Ward, Ca, 10-2.

182: Jacob Feese, LM, pinned Derek Atherton-Ely, Ca, 4:52; Dylan Bennett, Mo, pinned Alex West, At, 1:05.

195: Gaige Garcia, SC, pinned Clay Watkins, To, :27; Garrett Storch, Ca, dec. Dominick Bridi, LM, 14-13.

220: Cameron Wood, Mo, tech. fall Jackson Chilson, Wy, 15-0, 5:07; Max Tillet, SC, dec. Zach Poust, Be, 9-6.

285: Lear Quinton, SC, dec. Keagan Braun, At, 8-2; Emmanuel Ulrich, Mf, maj. dec. Nevin Rauch, Mi, 11-3.

Consolation

quarterfinals

106: Bobby Gardner, SW, dec. Isaac Landis, Ca, 8-4; Kyle Ferster, MW, pinned Blake Sassaman, Da, 1:16.

113: Dylan Granahan, Be, dec. Bailey Ferguson, Ca, 3-2; Kaden Majcher, WR, dec. Brady Feese, SC, 6-4.

120: Blake Wirt, LM, pinned Colton Eckroth, VT, :39; Liam Goodrich, JS, maj. dec. Chase Crawley, Mu, 9-1.

126: Caden Temple, Be, pinned Broc Lutz, Mo, 2:29; Mason Leshock, LM, maj. dec. Aidan Steininger, MW, 15-2.

132: Noah Hunt, WR, pinned Austin Aucker, MW, :53; Skyler Manahan, Wy, pinned Tyler Winhofer, MC, 4:36.

138: Ian Coller, LM, pinned Colbrin Nolan, Wy, 1:45; Isaac Kester, CC, maj. dec. Skyler Allen, To, 12-2.

145: Bryce Carl, LM, dec. Wolfgang Pearson, Sh, 5-4; Landon Lorson, SW, dec. Gabe Packer, JS, 5-1.

152: Matty Coller, LM, won by forfeit Max Madden, Sh; Christian Good, Mu, maj. dec. Jacob Bennett, Sa, 10-2.

160: Stephen Roeder, Bl, dec. Bryant Green, To, 6-0; Hadyn Packer, JS, pinned Jacob Turner, Tr, 2:43.

170: Shane Weidner, MC, pinned Robert Wickham, VT, :57; Sam Crawford, WR, dec. Lane Lusk, SW, 3-2.

182: Mike Cook, Da, dec. Brady Cromley, Le, 8-6, sv; Tristen Ditzler, Mu, dec. Edward Cole, Tr, 11-7.

195: Damon Backes, MC, pinned Nathan Rauch, Mi, :48; Bailey Hadzinikolov, Muncy, pinned Caleb Moser, Mo, 1:54.

220: Trevor Williams, Ca, maj. dec. Kade Sottolano, Wi, 8-0; Carter Sauer, MW, dec. Quentin Doane, Mf, 9-6.

285: Dawson Brown, NEB, pinned Caleb Burkhart, Hu, 2:31; Gunner Treibley, MC, pinned Logyn Choplosky, NP, 1:37.

Consolation

semifinals

106: Branden Wentzel, Mo, dec. Bobby Gardner, SW, 7-3; Aidan Kritzer, LM, pinned Kyle Ferster, MW, 2:21.

113: Conner Heckman, MW, dec. Dylan Granahan, Be, 4-3; Kaden Majcher, WR, dec. Kaiden Wagner, Le, 8-3.

120: Blake Wirt, LM, maj. dec. Caiden Puderbach, Hu, 10-0; Sheldon Seymour, Tr, pinned Liam Goodrich, JS, 2:52.

126: Gabe Andrus, JS, dec. Caden Temple, Be, 3-1; Mason Leshock, LM, pinned Colton Chipeleski, CC, 1:47.

132: Noah Hunt, WR, dec. Troy Bingaman, Mf, 6-2; Hayden Ward, Ca, maj. dec. Skyler Manahan, Wy, 10-2.

138: Ian Coller, LM, pinned Riley Parker, Ca, 2:01; Luke Gorg, Hu, tech. fall Isaac Kester, CC, 15-0, 4:20.

145: Bryce Carl, LM, pinned Brandon Gedman, SC, 2:46; Mario Barberio, Mu, dec. Landon Lorson, SW, 6-0.

152: Devon Deem, Mg, dec. Matty Coller, LM, 3-1; Christian Good, Mu, inj. def. Troy Johnson, CC.

160: Stephen Roeder, Bl, dec. Riley Heim, LM, 10-4; Isaac Cory, Mo, dec. Hadyn Packer, JS, 4-1.

170: Ethan Gush, Mu, dec. Shane Weidner, MC, 5-3; Timmy Ward, Ca, dec. Sam Crawford, WR, 7-0.

182: Derek Atherton-Ely, Ca, pinned Mike Cook, Da, :38; Alex West, At, pinned Tristen Ditzler, Mu, 3:49.

195: Damon Backes, MC, dec. Clay Watkins, To, 8-6; Dominick Bridi, LM, pinned Bailey Hadzinikolov, Mu, 1:41.

220: Jackson Chilson, Wy, pinned Trevor Williams, Ca, :31; Zach Poust, Be, dec. Carter Sauer, MW, 3-1.

285: Dawson Brown, NEB, pinned Keagan Braund, At, 3:32; Nevin Rauch, Mi, pinned Gunner Treibley, MC, 3:35.

Fifth-placE

consolations

106: Bobby Gardner, SW, maj. dec. Kyle Ferster, MW, 14-2. 113: Kaiden Wagner, Le, dec. Dylan Granahan, Be, 3-2. 120: Caiden Puderbach, Hu, dec. Liam Goodrich, JS, 5-2. 126: Caden Temple, Be, pinned Colton Chipeleski, CC, 4:55. 132: Troy Bingaman, Mf, pinned Skyler Manahan, Wy, 2:24. 138: Riley Parker, Ca, dec. Isaac Kester, CC, 5-1. 145: Brandon Gedman, SC, dec. Landon Lorson, SW, 5-0. 152: Matty Coller, LM, maj. dec. Troy Johnson, CC, 11-2. 160: Hadyn Packer, JS, maj. dec. Riley Heim, LM, 9-0. 170: Shane Weidner, MC, pinned Sam Crawford, WR, 2:44. 182: Mike Cook, Da, pinned Tristen Ditzler, Mu, :55. 195: Clay Watkins, To, pinned Bailey Hadzinikolov, Mu, :57. 220: Carter Sauer, MW, pinned Trevor Williams, Ca, 3:52. 285: Keagan Braund, At, pinned Gunner Treibley, MC, 2:14.

Third-placE

consolations

106: Branden Wentzel, Mo, tech. fall Aidan Kritzer, LM, 20-4, 3:52. 113: Conner Heckman, MW, dec. Kaden Majcher, WR, 6-4, sv. 120: Sheldon Seymour, Tr, tech. fall Blake Wirt, LM, 24-8, 4:48. 126: Mason Leshock, LM, dec. Gabe Andrus, JS, 13-10. 132: Hayden Ward, Ca, won by forfeit Noah Hunt, WR. 138: Luke Gorg, Hu, dec. Ian Coller, LM, 4- 2. 145: Mario Barberio, Mu, dec. Bryce Carl, LM, 4-2. 152: Devon Deem, Mg, dec. Christian Good, Mu, 4-2. 160: Isaac Cory, Mo, dec. Stephen Roeder, Bl, 7-1. 170: Timmy Ward, Ca, dec. Ethan Gush, Mu, 3-0. 182: Alex West, At, dec. Derek Atherton-Ely, Ca, 6-2. 195: Dominick Bridi, LM, inj. def. Damon Backes, MC, 2:52. 220: Zach Poust, Be, dec. Jackson Chilson, Wy, 5-3. 285: Dawson Brown, NEB, dec. Nevin Rauch, Mi, 6-4.

Championship finals

106: Cade Wirnsberger, MC, maj. dec. Ethan Kolb, Be, 8-0. 113: Scott Johnson, Mu, dec. Gavin Bradley, At, 5-4. 120: Kole Biscoe, SC, dec. Gable Strickland, Be, 1-0. 126: Jacob Blair, Mu, dec. Gabe Gramly, Mf, 4-1. 132: Kyler Crawford, Mi, inj. def. Bryce Vollman, Mu, 2:45. 138: Patrick Edmondson, SC, dec. Clayton Reed, Mf, 3-1. 145: Nate Higley, Su, dec. Avery Bassett, MW, 8-4. 152: Wes Barnes, SC, pinned Logan Newton, Wy, 1:35. 160: Gavin Garcia, SC, dec. Nolan Lear, Be, 3-2. 170: Cael Crebs, Mo, dec. Cade Linn, SC, 5-0. 182: Dylan Bennett, Mo, dec. Jacob Feese, LM, 5-3.195: Gaige Garcia, SC, pinned Garrett Storch, Ca, :55. 220: Cameron Wood, Mo, dec. Max Tillet, SC, 6-4. 285: Lear Quinton, SC, dec. Emmanuel Ulrich, Mf, 10-6.

District 4 Official of the Year: Rocky Miller

District 4 Assistant Coach of the Year: Kent Lane, Southern Columbia

District 4 Coach of the Year: Jerry Marks, Southern Columbia

Max Shnyder Scholarship: Luke Gorg, Hughesville

District 4 Coaches Association Scholarships: Cameron Wood, Montoursville; Sheldon Seymour, Troy; Mario Barberio, Muncy.

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

COMMENTS

[vivafbcomment]

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today