Geertgens claims district crown

Good things come to those who wait.

Montrose’s Dylan Geertgens captured his first District II title, teammate Larissa Taylor made some history, and six area wrestlers advance to the Northeast Regional Championships.

Friday’s weather postponed the District II Class 2A championships to Sunday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre Township.

Geertgens capped his day with a 3-2 win over Lackawanna Trail’s Ethan Lee and captured the District II 126-pound title.

Geertgens opened his title quest with a quick pin of Berwick’s Greysen Kupsky and followed with a 11-3 Major decision over Honesdale’s Braden McLaughlin.

Two Blue Ridge wrestlers advanced to championship matches in their respective weight classes and each stood on the cusp of championships. Freshman Jackson Maby continued his stellar varsity debut holding a 2-0 advantage over Lackawanna Trail’s Max Bluhm in the championship match.

Unfortunately, Bluhm managed a late reverse and put Maby on his back in the final 30 seconds for a 4-2 win.

Maby made his way to the championship with a quick pin of Scranton Prep’s Joe Talerico 39 seconds into the match. He then earned a 3-0 decision over Drew Howell of Honesdale.

At 172 pounds the Raiders’ Jordan Williams found himself battling for a district championship for the second year in a row.  

Williams executed a reverse to take a 2-0 lead on Trail’s Kody Creswell, but Creswell escaped to tie the match and with 16 seconds left took Williams down for the 4-2 decision.

Prior to that Williams made quick work of his opponents opening with a first-period pin of Hanover’s Christian Torres and pinning Prep’s Benjamin Frederick in 57 seconds of the semifinal match.

Three other wrestlers qualified for next weekend’s Regional Championships with third place finishes.

Competing in the district’s most competitive weight class Mountain View’s Nathan Ofalt rebounded from an opening round loss to eventual class champion Cooper Price of Wyoming Area to win three straight matches.

Ofalt decisioned Honesdale’s Max Mikel 2-0 and followed that with a 5-3 win over Trail’s Dalten Klinges. In the consolation final, Ofalt defeated Prep’s Ayden Berndt 4-3 to earn a trip to Williamsport.

Blue Ridge’s Zach Consla opened with a pin of Lake Lehman’s Joe Vargas at 189 pounds. In the semifinals Consla lost a narrow 3-2 decision to Trail’s Mason Zajac.

Consla rebounded with back-to-back decisions to earn a bronze medal, taking Berwick’s Liam Carroll, 9-5, and Western Wayne’s Luke Janiszewski, 8-3, in the third-place match.

Montrose’s Derek DeMann made it two straight regional qualifications when he took third place at 215 pounds.

DeMann opened with a 4-0 decision over Matt Raczakowski of Lake Lehman. He then suffered a tough 1-0 loss to Trail’s Jonah Houser.

The sophomore then used two second period pins to secure another trip to Regionals. DeMann pinned Berwick’s Mike Fell in the consolation semifinals before decking Honesdale’s Zack Wilken for third place.

Four area wrestlers placed fourth – just missed out on advancing. Blue Ridge’s Memphis Collins and Cameron Sheffer finished fourth at 106 and 113 pounds, respectively. Montrose’s Nick Harder, at 120 pounds, also earned a fourth-place finish, as did Elk Lake’s Joe Merschen at 138 pounds.

Montrose Area’s Taylor became the school’s first female wrestler to medal at Districts when she defeated Wyoming Area’s Jon Chiampi in a 9-0 major decision. Taylor placed fifth at 106 pounds.

Also earning District medals were Mountain View’s Hunter Beech-Jones, who finished fifth at 172 pounds, and Elk Lake’s John Tyler who also placed fifth at 189.

Montrose had sixth place finishes from Brandon Soules (132) and James Bixby (138).

The six qualifiers will compete Saturday at the Northeast Regional held at Williamsport High School.