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PIAA wrestling: WVC falls short of medal stand in Class 2A

<p>HERSHEY &#8211; In wrestling tournaments, the blood round is given its name for being the most excruciating round because it&#8217;s where medals are won or lost.</p><p>The name was fitting for the four Wyoming Valley Conference wrestlers in the PIAA Class 3A Championships on Friday at Giant Center &#8212; because it was heartbreaking.</p><p>That&#8217;s because &#8212; for the first time since 2001 &#8212; all four had devastating losses, as conference teams in Class 3A left Hershey with no medals.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s disappointing,&#8221; said Hazleton Area coach Keith Maurer, who coached a state finalist the previous two years in Jimmy Hoffman. &#8220;I don&#8217;t know what to say. There&#8217;s some things we can do to get better. &#8230; Sometimes, I think it might just be the luck of the draw, too. I think it&#8217;s something we need to work on, and keep moving forward.&#8221;</p><p>The first to fall in the round from the WVC on Friday afternoon was Tunkhannock&#8217;s David Evans, who started the day as the only one from the conference still in contention for gold. He lost a close match in the quarters, then a 4-0 decision in the consolation round.</p><p>About 30 minutes later, Wyoming Valley West&#8217;s David Krokowski got hit with a 4-0 decision to see his state tournament conclude.</p><p>Then in the blink of an eye, Dallas&#8217; Steven Newell and Hazleton Area&#8217;s Shane Noonan each lost close matches to see their seasons end, meaning the conference was going to be held without a state medalist.</p><p>Despite the daunting stat, there are plenty of positives for the conference. All four to lose on Friday are underclassmen and will have another chance to get to the medal stand.</p><p>All four were first-time state qualifiers and also visibly upset after the losses, meaning they were not satisfied with their performance and will be even hungrier next season.</p><p>Evans, a sophomore got off to a rough start, falling by one point in the quarterfinal before dropping a 4-0 decision in the third round of consolations, and was eliminated.</p><p>In the quarterfinal bout versus Council Rock South&#8217;s Kyle Waterman, Evans gave up a takedown with 30 seconds left for the final tally.</p><p>But it&#8217;s what wasn&#8217;t called that stirred controversy. Waterman was hit with a stalling call in the first period. He wasn&#8217;t hit with another one the rest of the bout even though he was not pushing the pace. Every other stall call after the first awards a point to the opposing wrestler.</p><p>&#8220;The stalling has just been so inconsistent this year. Some kids they call within 30 seconds and then some kids don&#8217;t get called for five or six minutes in a match,&#8221; Tigers coach Bob Hegedty said. &#8220;But that&#8217;s just the way it is. We still gotta be able to score on bottom.&#8221;</p><p>Still, Evans ends his season as a district champion and regional runner-up, and won his first-career match at the state tournament. He has a lot of positives going forward for the Tigers, who will be dropping to Class 2A next year. Evans ended with 37 wins this season and 70 to-date for his career.</p><p>&#8220;He had a great season. Obviously, he came up short for what he wanted to do, but he had a really good season and just came up a match short down here,&#8221; Hegedty added. &#8220;But he&#8217;ll get better and will work hard in the offseason.&#8221;</p><p>Krokowski ended his junior season with 35 wins and 103 in his career. He added his third district title to his resume last month.</p><p>Newell, also a junior, picked up his second district title two weekends ago. He&#8217;s on pace to smash Dallas&#8217; school record for wins, currently sitting with 114 after a 41-5 season.</p><p>&#8220;Steven takes a loss harder than anyone I know,&#8221; Richards said. &#8220;But he&#8217;s also the kind of kid that doesn&#8217;t let that stuff get to him. He&#8217;ll be over it in a couple days and be right back wrestling again and getting better for next year. That&#8217;s just what he does.</p><p>&#8220;Our expectations will be the same &#8212; to get back here next year and do better.&#8221;</p><p>Noonan, another junior, also grabbed his second district title and racked up more than 40 wins for the second straight seasons and has 108 for his career.</p><p>&#8220;He had a great run. He&#8217;s done some great things to prepare for this tournament,&#8221; Maurer said. &#8220;But I also think there&#8217;s some things we really need to focus on for next year. I like the tournament he had. He showed some real signs of brilliance, but then I think he lost focus. So it&#8217;s something we need to work on.&#8221;</p><p>The entire district in Class 3A had a bad day on Friday. The only two medalists from the district in Class 3A will be Scranton&#8217;s William Evanitsky and Jacob Burgette. Evanitsky will wrestle in Saturday&#8217;s semifinals, while Burgette is in the consolation round after losing his quarterfinal bout on Friday.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Shane Noonan of Hazleton won a 11-9 decision over Shamil Zaynullaev of Chartiers Valley during their 195-pound Class 3A consolation bout during the PIAA Wrestling Championships on Friday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_noonan_day2.jpg</photo0><caption0>Shane Noonan of Hazleton won a 11-9 decision over Shamil Zaynullaev of Chartiers Valley during their 195-pound Class 3A consolation bout during the PIAA Wrestling Championships on Friday. </caption0><photoCredit0>Ed Boardman | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_noonan2_day2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Shane Noonan of Hazleton used a 11-9 decision over Shamil Zaynullaev of Chartiers Valley during their 195-pound Class 3A consolation bout during the PIAA Wrestling Championships to advance Friday.</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_noonan2_day2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Shane Noonan of Hazleton used a 11-9 decision over Shamil Zaynullaev of Chartiers Valley during their 195-pound Class 3A consolation bout during the PIAA Wrestling Championships to advance Friday.</caption1><photoCredit1>Ed Boardman | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_Richards_Day2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Dallas wrestling coach Mike Richards gives directions to Steven Newell during his 170-pound match at the PIAA Wrestling Championships Friday.</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_Richards_Day2.jpg</photo2><caption2>Dallas wrestling coach Mike Richards gives directions to Steven Newell during his 170-pound match at the PIAA Wrestling Championships Friday.</caption2><photoCredit2>Ed Boardman | For Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_Krokowski5.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">David Krokowski of Wyoming Valley works against Tyler McKinney of Cathederal Prep for a 9-4 decision in their 126-pound Class 3A consolation bout at the PIAA Wresltling Championships on Friday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_Krokowski5.jpg</photo3><caption3>David Krokowski of Wyoming Valley works against Tyler McKinney of Cathederal Prep for a 9-4 decision in their 126-pound Class 3A consolation bout at the PIAA Wresltling Championships on Friday. </caption3><photoCredit3>Ed Boardman | For Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_newell_Day2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Steven Newell of Dallas was an 8-0 winner over Andrew DiBernardo of W.C. East during their 170-pound consolation bout at the PIAA Class 3A Wrestling Championships in Hershey on Friday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_newell_Day2.jpg</photo4><caption4>Steven Newell of Dallas was an 8-0 winner over Andrew DiBernardo of W.C. East during their 170-pound consolation bout at the PIAA Class 3A Wrestling Championships in Hershey on Friday. </caption4><photoCredit4>Ed Boardman | For Times Leader </photoCredit4></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_Newell2_Day2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Photo/ED BOARDMAN
Steven Newell of Dallas, left, was an 8-0 winner over Andrew DiBernardo of W.C. East during their 170-pound consolation bout at the PIAA Class 3A Wrestling Championships in Hershey Friday afternoon. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo5>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_Newell2_Day2.jpg</photo5><caption5>Photo/ED BOARDMAN
Steven Newell of Dallas, left, was an 8-0 winner over Andrew DiBernardo of W.C. East during their 170-pound consolation bout at the PIAA Class 3A Wrestling Championships in Hershey Friday afternoon. </caption5><photoCredit5>Ed Boardman | For Times Leader </photoCredit5></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_Evans.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">David Evans of Tunkhannock</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo6>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_Evans.jpg</photo6><caption6>David Evans of Tunkhannock</caption6><photoCredit6>Ed Boardman | For Times Leader </photoCredit6></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_Evans3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">David Evans of Tunkhannock, bottom, wrestles Kyle Waterman of Council Rock South during their 106-pound quarterfinal at the PIAA Class 3A Wrestling Championships on Friday in Hershey. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo7>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_Evans3.jpg</photo7><caption7>David Evans of Tunkhannock, bottom, wrestles Kyle Waterman of Council Rock South during their 106-pound quarterfinal at the PIAA Class 3A Wrestling Championships on Friday in Hershey. </caption7><photoCredit7>Ed Boardman | For Times Leader </photoCredit7></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_Krokowski.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wyoming Valley wrestling coach Ryan Vassello reacts to David Krokowski's consolation bout at the PIAA Wrestling Championships Friday in Hershey.</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo8>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_Krokowski.jpg</photo8><caption8>Wyoming Valley wrestling coach Ryan Vassello reacts to David Krokowski's consolation bout at the PIAA Wrestling Championships Friday in Hershey.</caption8><photoCredit8>Ed Boardman | For Times Leader </photoCredit8></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_Krokowski4.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">David Krokowski of Wyoming Valley works against Tyler McKinney of Cathederal Prep for a 9-4 decision in their 126-pound Class 3A consolation bout of the PIAA Wresltling Championships Friday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo9>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_Krokowski4.jpg</photo9><caption9>David Krokowski of Wyoming Valley works against Tyler McKinney of Cathederal Prep for a 9-4 decision in their 126-pound Class 3A consolation bout of the PIAA Wresltling Championships Friday. </caption9><photoCredit9>Ed Boardman | For Times Leader </photoCredit9></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Four conference qualifiers each lose tight matches at PIAA tournament in Hershey</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Dave Rosengrant</p><p>For Times Leader</p></bylineMeta></div>

Four WVC qualifiers each lose tight 3A matches at state wrestling meet