Top Sophomores To Watch At PIAAs
Top Sophomores To Watch At PIAAs
Here are some of the top sophomores we expect to see in Hershey for PIAAs in two weeks.
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The PIAA Individual State Championships aren’t for another two weeks, and most regional tournaments still have to go down, but we’re too excited to wait until next week to start talking about it. Here are some of the top sophomores to keep an eye on in Hershey.
2020 PIAA Individual State Wrestling Championship
Ryan Crookham, 126 (Notre Dame GP)
2019 State champion
2019 Ironman runner-up
Crookham is going to be a heavy favorite to make it two state titles in two attempts. He’s 43-1 this season with the lone loss coming to #1 in the country, Nic Bouzakis. With Crookham, Jackson Arrington, and Kole Biscoe, AA 120 has some of the best sophomores in the state.
Gavin Garcia, 160 (Southern Columbia)
2019 State 4th place
Gavin Garcia is a pinner. Thirteen of his 19 wins this season have come by pin. AA 160 is a tough weight class, but expect Garcia to pick up some bonus points when he arrives in Hershey.
Mac Stout, 170 (Mt. Lebanon)
2019 Fargo runner-up
After not qualifying for state as a freshman, Mac Stout had a great offseason taking second at Fargo. He’s kept that momentum rolling into the folkstyle season. His two losses have come to #3 in the country Tyler Stoltzfus (1-0) and #14 in the country Lenny Pinto (in OT). With both of those guys in AAA 170, that weight will be one to watch.
Brandan Chletsos, 120 (Notre Dame)
2019 State 6th place
2019 Escape the Rock champion
Since losing to Cooper Flynn 3-1 in December, Chletsos has won 28 straight matches including a 3-1 win over Karl Shindledecker.
Erik Gibson, 145 (Forest Hills)
2019 State 3rd place
2019 Powerade runner-up
Until a 5-4 loss to state-finalist Gage McClenahan this past weekend, Erik Gibson was undefeated. Fortunately, there’s a good chance we get to see this match again in Hershey.
Jared Keslar, 145 (Connellsville)
2019 State qualifier
2019 Powerade 7th place
After only qualifying last year, Keslar has a good shot at getting on to the podium this year. He’s got a couple of nice wins this season over state placers Antonio Petrucelli and Kaeden Berger.
Finn Solomon, 126 (Franklin Regional)
2019 State runner-up
Finn Solomon took second last year, but he might be the favorite at AAA 126 after beating Kurtis Phipps 2-0 at Sectionals this past weekend.
Jacob Van Dee, 106 (Erie Cathedral)
2019 State runner-up
2019 Powerade 3rd place
Jacob Van Dee is having a stellar sophomore campaign. He’s 34-3 with a loss to Tyler Kasak and two close losses to Mac Church.