When you are put in the preliminary round, or pig-tail round or the wrestle-in round, the chances of ending up on the podium at the end of three days isn't likely. And when you win that first match to get into the sweet 16 you're still not expected to get there. And when you lose that match, most wrestlers expect to watch others get that medal put around their neck. For Landon Caldwell of Saegertown that didn't seem to be a consideration. In fact, Caldwell's fifth-place finish might be one of the best stories of the entire Pennsylvania State Championship AA weekend in Hershey. He was the highest finisher of the seven local wrestlers we followed into day three of the tournament. (Editor's interjection here--we initially misread the brackets and missed Landon staying alive, our apologies.) Caldwell had to wrestle seven matches. He won five. He only lost to one wrestler. Patrick Cutchember of Quaker Valley defeated him 13-3 and again 4-3. Caldwell then finished off the weekend with a pin in 1:43 against Brockway's Seth Stewart, who had made it to the semi-final round. The Saegertown senior ended the year with a 45-7 record. Caldwell led a strong Saegertown effort. The team tied for 10th best in the state with 44 points. | |
Cranberry freshman Elijah Brosius was Venango County's only medal winner. He earned an eighth-place finish at 106-pounds. Brosius was 2-3 on the weekend and 34-8 for the year.
Hunter Gould, a sophomore from CASH, took sixth place in the 120-weight class. He was 3-3 on the weekend and 38-4 for the season.
Cochranton senior Jack Martinec went out with a win, defeating Kyle McCollum of Beth Center to take seventh place in the 132-weight bracket. Martinec was 3-2 in the tournament and 34-4 in his final season as a Cardinal.