HERSHEY — Dean Houser’s first trip to the state championships exceeded his expectations.
“I did better than I thought,” the Daniel Boone sophomore said after finishing sixth Saturday in Class 3A at 106 pounds in the PIAA Wrestling Championships. “I wrestled some kids who were ahead of me in the rankings. There was a lot of pressure, but I won matches.”
One of the bouts Houser had was against Aiden Beimel of St. Mary’s, the North West Regional champion, who he handled 3-1 in the opening match.
Houser, 3-1 through the tournament’s first two days, continued his strong run Saturday by pinning Council Rock South’s Luke Reitter in 2:42 during their fourth-round consolation. But in the fifth round, he was edged by Franklin Regional’s Tyler Kapusta 4-3.
The medal round pitted Dean (41-8) against Haverford High’s Cole McFarland, who bumped him into the consis with a 7-0 decision in the quarterfinals. He had a slight improvement in the rematch, which ended up 6-0 in McFarland’s favor.
Daniel Boone’s Tucker Hogan finished third at 172 with a 5-3 win over Canon-McMillan’s Matt Furman.
Exeter’s Johnny Miller finished fourth at 189 with a 3-0 loss to Mt. Lebanon’s Matt Stout.
Houser was the mainstay, alongside teammates like Hogan brothers J.T. and Tucker on a Boone squad that focused on individual performances while not having the manpower to fill a lineup that could impact the Berks League standings.
“The team’s numbers weren’t the best,” Houser said, “but the kids we had were good. We had tough kids, and a good group.”
Boyertown’s Chance Babb concluded his high school career with a sixth-place medal at 145. It was a dogfight with Hempfield Area’s Tyler Kapusta, who used a second-period escape from a bottom start to come away with a 1-0 victory.
Babb (41-8) sustained a 14-4 major decision against Franklin Regional’s Finn Solomon in their semi at 145. He was then part of a full-time overtime with Nazareth’s Nicholas Foster, ultimately coming up short 3-1.
Against Kapusta, Babb had a takedown move going in the last half-minute. But Kapusta held on and thwarted Babb’s completion of the move.
Tucker Hogan (43-3) got nipped in his semifinal with Interboro’s Dom Agostino, coming on the short end of a 5-4 verdict. But he rebounded in the fifth-round consolations, topping Belle Vernon’s Logan Hoffman, 6-4.
Miller (44-3) got dropped into the wrestlebacks after being shut out in the semifinals by Central Bucks East’s Quinn Collins 3-0. But he claimed a spot in the third-place match with a 13-3 major decision of Franklin Regional’s Juliano Marion.
Charles Sheppard capped his return to the sport, after being away from it last year due to COVID issues, by scoring a medal in his first state tournament.
The Hamburg junior placed eighth at 285 in Class 2A bracket, going 3-3 for a weekend where he pinned his way into medal contention.
“I wanted to do my best, after a year off, and see what I could do,” Sheppard said. “I hadn’t made states before, or gotten on the podium, so I exceeded my goals.”
Sheppard (33-14) started his weekend by pinning Burgettstown’s Joey Baronick in their preliminary in 5:31. Dropped into wrestlebacks by Corry’s Xavier Reyda — his eventual opponent in the medal round — he rebounded with successive falls of Huntingdon’s Gunner Singleton (4;59) and Tussey Mountain’s Matt Watkins (4:19) to get into Saturday’s sessions.
It was a definite step up from his freshman season, when Sheppard didn’t make it out of the Class 3A South Central Regional. He credited participation in football with helping his wrestling mindset.
“It gives me a ‘never give up’ mindset,” he said. “It has me setting goals I want to achieve.”
Source: Berkshire mont