Wilson’s McKaden Speece earned second place in the 127-pound division at the BCIAA Individual Wrestling Tournament a season ago.
Fast forward to this year, and the junior moved up three weight classes to claim first place with a dominant 19-4 tech fall victory over Hamburg’s Daniel Brady in the second round at the Geigle on Saturday.
“It was good. I did a lot of weight-lifting and just built my muscle for the weight class,” Speece said about the weight class change. “I felt good about the weight and grew into it and I have been feeling good throughout the season.”
Brady, who also placed second last year, quickly fell behind 2-9 in the first round. Speece was on track to secure the tech fall in the third round.
“Put the pace right on him and get to my offense right away and have fun,” Speece said on his game plan going in. “This is another stepping stone to what I want in March and that’s the 2025 state champion.”
At 114 pounds, Berks Catholic’s Tyden Shuman upset Wilson’s Abramm Schaffer with a first-round pin.
“Feels great,” Shuman, a freshman, said of the win. “It (the pin) was really just there when he was on my leg. I felt it there, once I got it locked I knew I had it.”
Berks Catholic’s Tyden Shuman defeated Wilson’s Abramm Schaffer by pin in the first round.Schaffer was the top seed in this weekend’s tournament and the reigning 107-pound champion from last year.
“Be smart and slow him down,” Shuman said of his game plan facing Schaffer. “I knew he was aggressive and had to slow him down to find a way to pin him.”
Additional boys winners included: Muhlenberg’s Javien Cruz at 107 pounds, Berks Catholic’s Neil Bitting at 121 pounds, Gov. Mifflin’s Patrick Steuer at 127 pounds, Berks Catholic’s Brayden at 133 pounds, Berks Catholic’s Gunnar Maciejewski at 139 pounds, Schuylkill Valley’s Ian Vitalo at 152 pounds, Berks Catholic’s Layden Acevedo at 160 pounds, Wilson’s Blaise Eidle at 172 pounds, Berks’s Catholic’s Carmine Lenzi at 189 pounds, Exeter’s Kevin Oswalt at 215 pounds and Tulpehocken’s Jack Heckman at 215 pounds.
Berks Catholic won the boys’ team championship with six individual winners on Saturday.
The BCIAA also held its second girls’ wrestling championship season, where Gov. Mifflin’s Emily Yerger and Reading High’s Esmeralda Tellez each claimed their second consecutive county titles.
Yerger, a junior, won last year’s 124-pound title but decided to move down two weight classes this season.
Gov. Mifflin’s Emily Yerger defeated Schuylkill Valley’s Mikayla Jones by pin within the first minute of the match.“I feel a lot better at 112 (pounds),” Yerger said. “I feel like I compete better at this weight.”
Yerger, who also won her 50th career match, defeated Schuylkill Valley’s Mikayla Jones by pin within the first minute of the match.
“I controlled her head then her feet but she got back up. Then I took her back down, did a half, and rolled her back over,” Yerger said. “It means a lot to me and it means a lot to represent Gov. Mifflin.”
At 190 pounds, Tellez pinned her teammate, Kayli Reyes, just 18 seconds into the match.
Reading High’s Esmeralda Tellez defeated her fellow teammate Kayli Reyes by pin in the first round.“It feels good, it was really enjoyable,” Tellez said of her second consecutive title.
“She’s a really good wrestler and it was fun going against her but I don’t want to again,” Tellez said of facing Reyes. “Being in the room with her so much, knowing her weaknesses a little bit, that’s how I got it done.”
Reading High won the girls’ team championship with three individual titles on Saturday. Tulpehocken’s Katalyna Borreli was named Most Outstanding Wrestler.
Borreli pinned Wilson’s Olivia Tillman in 1:22 to secure the win of the 148-pound division.
Additional girls winners included: Exeter’s Taylor Shadel at 100 pounds, Exeter’s Sidney Dodson at 106, Schuylkill Valley’s Alexis Foscone at 118 pounds, Schuylkill Valley’s Addison Becht at 124 pounds, Exeter’s Molly Lubenow at 130 pounds, Reading High’s Kaly Gonzalez at 136 pounds, Wilson’s Tammy Nguyen at 142 pounds, Hamburg’s Daisy Nemes at 155 pounds, Reading High’s Anna Rivera at 170 pounds, and Hamburg’s Hailey Strunk at 235 pounds.
Source: Berkshire mont
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