Advertisement

Quakertown's Gaj caps perfect season with PIAA wrestling gold medal

drew markol, bucks county courier times
·8 min read

HERSHEY — It's not supposed to be this easy, but Collin Gaj certainly made it look that way.

Gaj, facing a two-time PIAA champion in Saturday night's Class 3A finals at 145 pounds at the Giant Center, does what he always does, and that's methodically take his opponent apart.

This time it was Waynesburg Central's Mac Church, a champion here in 2022 and 2021 and a third-place finisher as a freshman in 2020, that Gaj, just a sophomore, convincingly defeated 7-1 to become Quakertown's first PIAA champ since Pat Flynn in 2006.

Quakertown's Collin Gaj celebrates after defeating Central Dauphin's Matt Repos in a 145-pound seminfinal bout at the PIAA Class 3A Wrestling Championships at the Giant Center on March 11, 2023, in Hershey. Gaj won by decision, 5-3.
Quakertown's Collin Gaj celebrates after defeating Central Dauphin's Matt Repos in a 145-pound seminfinal bout at the PIAA Class 3A Wrestling Championships at the Giant Center on March 11, 2023, in Hershey. Gaj won by decision, 5-3.
Quakertown's Collin Gaj celebrates after defeating Waynesburg's Mac Church in the 145-pound championship bout at the PIAA Class 3A Wrestling Championships at the Giant Center on March 11, 2023, in Hershey. Gaj won by decision, 7-1.
Quakertown's Collin Gaj celebrates after defeating Waynesburg's Mac Church in the 145-pound championship bout at the PIAA Class 3A Wrestling Championships at the Giant Center on March 11, 2023, in Hershey. Gaj won by decision, 7-1.

"This is the stuff that you train for," Gaj said. "It hasn't sunk in yet, but it was a pretty good feeling watching the clock to zero.

"I'm just very grateful that my family and friends were able to be here. That means a whole lot to me."

The victory over Church, a Virginia Tech commit, capped a perfect 49-0 season for Gaj, who broke his own school record for wins in a season that he set last year (45) while placing fourth.

He joins John Rittenhouse (1987), John Hangey (1988) and Flynn as Quakertown's PIAA champions. Those three all won in their senior seasons.

"Collin is in really good company," Quakertown head coach Kurt Handel said. "And he has a couple of more years to go.

"He believes in himself and what he can do and is just so mentally tough. He doesn't let anything bother him and that's a really good way to be."

An escape early in the third period put Gaj ahead 2-1 before Church was hit with a second penalty point for poking the Panther in the eye. A Gaj takedown, and another penalty point against Church, led to the final 7-1 verdict.

"He kept poking me in the eye," Gaj said. "But you have to be ready for anything."

What he wasn't ready for was the fourth-place finish a year ago. He wanted better.

"That was a real punch in the gut to me," Gaj said. "It made me wonder that maybe I wasn't as good as I thought I was.

"And that helped me work harder for this year so I could reach my goal."

Quakertown's Ziegler takes silver medal

Gaj's junior teammate, Mason Ziegler (121), also had a superb PIAA tournament as he reached the championship match before falling to three-time state medalist Cael Nasdeo, of Williamsport, 4-0.

"I just have to turn the dial and work harder so stuff like this doesn't happen again," said Ziegler, who finished the season with a 45-5 record. "This will help me get on a new path for next season."

The silver was the second PIAA medal for Ziegler as he placed seventh as a freshman. He also made it here a year ago, but did not earn a medal.

"Mason works so hard and he'll keep doing that," Handel said. "He had a great tournament and just ran into a really good kid in the final."

CR North's Sement, Pennridge's Martinelli place third

Pennridge sophomore Colby Martinelli (107 pounds) made his first trip to Hershey a good one by placing third, defeating Butler's Santino Sloboda in convincing fashion, 12-1.

Another sophomore, Council Rock North's Eren Sement (127), repeated his performance from a year ago here by earning a bronze medal, although he did it the hard way.

After losing his first-round match on Thursday, and falling into the consolation bracket, Sement had to rattle off five straight wins to get third place.

"I was upset and a little shocked because I lost to a freshman (West Scranton's Michael Turi)," Sement said. "But that was my fault for overlooking him. You can't do that here.

"But that loss freed me up and I figured I had nothing to lose. It's a battle in the consolations, every match, but I just gave everything I had. And now I have a lot of incentive to come back next year and do better."

CR South's Sadriddinov earns first PIAA medal

Council Rock South junior Bek Sadriddinov, after not placing here a year ago, brought home a fifth-place medal at 160.

"It wasn't my goal (to finish fifth) — I really wanted to make the finals," Sadriddinov said. "After I lost (to get knocked out of the winner's bracket), I was down a little bit and I can't do that.

"But this tournament showed me how much more work that I have to do to get ready for next season."

Central Bucks West freshman Chris Dennis became the school's first ninth-grader to win a PIAA medal as he placed sixth at 114 while Pennridge sophomore Talan Hogan (172) was also sixth.

Faith Christian's Botero, Waters claim gold medals

Not that they needed an exclamation point after the remarkable season Faith Christian put together, but freshman Adam Waters and sophomore Gauge Botero provided one on Saturday at the PIAA Class 2A championships at the Giant Center.

It's hard to overstate what Botero did, winning the school's first PIAA wrestling title with an impressive 5-1 victory over freshman phenom Brandt Harer of Montgomery in the 121-pound final, but Waters did.

How?

By pinning defending PIAA champion Holden Garcia, a senior, in one minute, 43 seconds in their title match at 172 pounds, sending the crowd into a frenzy and earning him Outstanding Wrestler honors.

Faith Christian's Gauge Botero (left) wrestles Montgomery's Brandt Harer in the 121-pound championship bout at the PIAA Class 2A Wrestling Championships at the Giant Center on March 11, 2023, in Hershey. Botero won by decision, 5-1, to become FCA's first state champion in program history.
Faith Christian's Gauge Botero (left) wrestles Montgomery's Brandt Harer in the 121-pound championship bout at the PIAA Class 2A Wrestling Championships at the Giant Center on March 11, 2023, in Hershey. Botero won by decision, 5-1, to become FCA's first state champion in program history.

"I knew I had the headlock on him and I wasn't going to let go of it," said Waters, who finished his season at 44-1. "This has been a goal for me all season and it was just a lot of hard work in the room."

Waters' pin capped a remarkable three-day run for the Lions, who brought 11 wrestlers to the tournament and nine of them came home with medals. Oh, and six of the nine medal winners are freshmen while the other three are sophomores.

"We'll just cherish what happened," Faith Christian head coach Ben Clymer said. "These kids, and their families, are just so impressive. I couldn't be happier for them.

"These guys, win or lose, the next day they're back working to get better and you'd never know how they did."

Botero, a bronze medalist as a freshman, also had a tall (literally) task in front of him in the final against Harer.

Giving up at least half a foot in height, Botero was undaunted as he used a third-period reversal and three back points to secure the win.

"Everybody's taller than me — I'm 5-2," Botero said with a laugh. "I just wanted to go out and show everybody I deserved to be a state champ and felt in control the entire match."

Botero halted an offensive machine in Harer, who made his way to the finals with a pair of technical falls and a major decision.

"I saw him wrestle earlier in the season and I knew what I had to try and do," Botero said. "This is just a great feeling and I don't think it will sink in until tonight or tomorrow when I'm at Chocolate World."

Faith Christian dominates all over

Faith Christian's Adam Waters reacts after winning the 172-pound championship bout by fall at the PIAA Class 2A Wrestling Championships at the Giant Center on March 11, 2023, in Hershey. With the win, Waters became the program's second state title winner.
Faith Christian's Adam Waters reacts after winning the 172-pound championship bout by fall at the PIAA Class 2A Wrestling Championships at the Giant Center on March 11, 2023, in Hershey. With the win, Waters became the program's second state title winner.

In addition to Botero and Waters, the Lions had bronze medalists in sophomore Chase Hontz and freshman Cael Weidemoyer and fifth-place showings from freshmen Kole Davidheiser and Mason Wagner and sophomore Luke Sugalski. Freshmen Arment Waltenbaugh and Jason Singer both placed seventh.

It all added up to a runaway team title for the Lions, who scored a Class 2A-record 151 points, easily outdistancing second-place Notre Dame-Green Pond by 50 points. The 151 points was just one off the PIAA record of 152 set by Franklin Regional (Class 3A) in 2015, which featured Spencer Lee.

"A lot of our freshmen seem like seasoned veterans," Botero said. "And everybody just wrestled great for us."

Check it out:Who wins gold at PIAA Wrestling Championships? See our predictions here

Conwell-Egan's Robson earns second medal

Conwell-Egan's Charlie Robson (bottom) wrestles Muncy's Scott Johnson in the 133-pound third-place bout at the PIAA Class 2A Wrestling Championships at the Giant Center on March 11, 2023, in Hershey. Johnson won by decision, 5-2.
Conwell-Egan's Charlie Robson (bottom) wrestles Muncy's Scott Johnson in the 133-pound third-place bout at the PIAA Class 2A Wrestling Championships at the Giant Center on March 11, 2023, in Hershey. Johnson won by decision, 5-2.

A year ago, when he placed sixth, Conwell-Egan junior Charlie Robson went to work to get better.

"My whole life is wrestling and I just want to improve," Robson said.

He did by placing fourth at 133 pounds in Class 2A, becoming the first Conwell-Egan wrestler to win two PIAA medals.

"It's just a credit to Charlie for all of the hard work he puts in," Conwell-Egan head coach Chuckie Connor said. "He wants to get better and always gives everything he has."

In addition to Robson, fellow-junior Dante Burns (215) earned an eighth-place medal. It was the first time two Eagles won PIAA medals in the same season.

"I was very pleased with how we did," Connor said. "We brought five wrestlers here, won two medals, and they're all coming back next year."

The experience last year, paid off this time for Robson.

"I had butterflies in my stomach the whole tournament last year," Robson said. "But I wasn't nervous at all this time around.

"Now, I'm going to get back to work for next season."

Take a look:Quakertown's Gaj aiming for top step of podium at PIAA Wrestling Championships

Drew Markol: dmarkol@theintell.com; @amarkol

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Quakertown's Gaj wins PIAA wrestling title and finishes season 49-0