Faith Christian foils Fort LeBoeuf's bid for second PIAA Class 2A team wrestling title
There were no what-ifs for Fort LeBoeuf's wrestling team after Saturday's PIAA Class 2A tournament final.
The Bison were good enough to reach that championship dual, but Faith Christian proved why they were the state's best.
The District 1 Lions, despite a roster that only lists one senior, demonstrated why they've been consistently ranked as the state's best small-school program this season. The Quakertown program beat LeBoeuf 54-12 at Hershey's Giant Center.
So dominant was Faith Christian (13-1) that the Bison never recorded an on-mat victory. Lions coach Ben Clymer forfeited the 114- and 215-pound matches to LeBoeuf (18-6), which sought its second PIAA 2A team title in its first championship appearance since 2011.
Faith Christian recorded six pins, each in less than two periods. Kole Davisheiser also recorded a 15-0 technical fall with 56 seconds left in the dual's 107-pound match.
There was little to ponder for LeBoeuf coach Shane McChesney after Saturday's outcome.
“It just didn't happen,” he said. “(Faith Christian) has guys ranked in the state throughout its lineup, and several of them in the top five (of their weight classes). They're a very solid and well-coached team.”
Bison earned way into final
LeBoeuf dropped to 1-4 in PIAA 2A title duals. Its lone tournament victory happened in 2010, when the Bison beat District 10 rival Reynolds 32-29.
The Bison, District 10's second seed, opened the tournament with a 45-24 victory over Frazier in last Monday's preliminary round dual at Waterford. The rest of their tournament appearances were at Hershey, where they advanced with competitive victories against Warrior Run (33-24), Chestnut Ridge (34-28) and Burgettstown (31-23).
Friday's semifinal win over Burgettstown was a mini-upset by LeBoeuf. The Devils, the WPIAL champs, were 17-0 going into that dual.
Such victories were fun to watch, according to McChesney.
“If you're going to (win) a state championship, you have to have kids step up who are not your normal point-getters,” he said. “That's what we did. We had those types of kids step up.”
More:Here are some Top Performers in Erie County high school athletics from Feb. 6-11
Church surpasses century mark
Danny Church was the benefactor of Faith Christian's forfeit for Saturday's 215-pound match.
Faith Christian led 42-0 going into 215, however, the forfeit still counted as the 101st victory of Church's career. The senior reached varsity wrestling's cherished 100-win plateau with Friday's 6-4 decision over Burgettstown's Joseph Baronick for that dual's 285 meeting.
That left Church, LeBoeuf's regular starter at 215, with a 33-4 record that includes a 4-0 mark as a heavyweight. He's 101-37 overall going into next week's start to the PIAA's individual postseason.
More:Fort LeBoeuf, Reynolds, Cathedral Prep head to Hershey, represent D-10 in PIAA tournament
LeBoeuf still seeks second state title
Had Faith Christian not twice forfeited to LeBoeuf, there was a strong possibility it could have won with a shutout.
The only such result in a PIAA team wrestling tournament occurred during its inaugural meet. Bald Eagle Area became the state's first Class 3A champ with a 53-0 rout of Upper Perkiomen in 1999.
That dual was held at the historic Hersheypark Arena, which hosted the first four PIAA team wrestling tournaments.
The first of LeBoeuf's five appearances in state finals took place there. Wyalusing Valley beat the Bison 40-16 in 2000.
Bloomsburg also beat them 38-26 for first place in the 2004 tournament, the second held at the Giant Center.
Bethlehem Catholic also thwarted LeBoeuf's bid to repeat as the state's best 2A team with a 38-21 victory in the teams' 2011 final.
McChesney back in final with new team
While Saturday's final was the first time LeBoeuf's wrestlers appeared in such a dual, it was McChesney's second as a coach.
McChesney, a 1996 Corry graduate and former PIAA individual silver medalist, was in charge of the McDowell wrestling team that lost 35-20 to Canon-McMillan in the state's 2012 Class 3A final.
Those Trojans remain the district's only team that's participated in a large-school state final.
“Being in this situation before probably helped me stay calm and relay that calmness to the kids,” McChesney. “It doesn't matter if (we're wrestling) in the Giant Center or Fort LeBoeuf. Wherever we go, we have to wrestle the exact same way.”
Plenty left for postseason wrestling
LeBoeuf's wrestlers, despite Saturday's loss, didn't return their singlets to the school once they returned to Waterford.
They, like majority of the district's wrestlers, will return to action next weekend. The individual postseason will begin with matches at Meadville and Sharon.
The wrestling at Meadville will be unique, as the Section 1-AA and District 10 3A tournaments will simultaneously take place there Friday and Saturday.
Tournament director Steve Hoover chose to schedule them that way because the district only has five 3A programs (Cathedral Prep, McDowell, Erie High, Hickory and Meadville) for the PIAA's current two-year academic cycle.
The Section 2-AA tournament runs those same days at Sharon, which also will host the district's small-school tournament Feb. 24-25.
PIAA team tournament results
Medal round results for the PIAA team tournament at Hershey's Giant Center:
Class 2A
Championship
Faith Christian 54, Fort LeBoeuf 12
127 pounds: Arment Waltenbaugh (FC) pinned Noah Cuic 1:23; 133: Mason Wagner (FC) d JoJo Przybycien 7-1; 139: Chase Hontz (FC) pinned Blake Glass 3:51; 145: Max Stein (FC) pinned Jackson Bowers :48; 152: Cael Weidemoyer (FC) pinned Brody Beers 1:45; 160: Luke Sugalski (FC) pinned Dominic Stearns 1:19; 172: Adam Waters (FC) pinned Conner McChesney 3:54; 189: Jason Singer (FC) d Ryan Welka 5-1; 215: Danny Church (FL) by forfeit; 285: Mark Effendian (FC) d John Duran 5-1; 107: Kole Davisheiser (FC) tf Brady Bowers 15-0 5:04; 114: Nikolay Bardwell (FL) by forfeit; 121: Gauge Botero (FC) md Jake Bennett 8-0
Faith Christian 13-1, Fort LeBoeuf 18-6
Third place
Notre Dame-Green Pond 40, Berks Catholic 16
Class 3A
Championship
Bethlehem Catholic 35, Nazareth 23
Third place
Central Dauphin 36, Canon-McMillan 31
Contact Mike Copper at mcopper@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNcopper.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Faith Christian foils Fort LeBoeuf's bid for PIAA team wrestling title
