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First Posted: 2/25/2013

Athlete of the Week

Andy Schutz

School: Wyoming Area

Grade: Senior

Sport: Wrestling

Weight class: 126 pounds

All in the Family: Andy, 18, of Exeter, is the son of Andrea Mauriello and Mike Schutz. He looks up to his older brother Mike, a 2009 Wyoming Area grad, and his cousin, Carm Mauriello, wrestles at 120 pounds – right in front of Schutz in the Wyoming Area lineup.

Stats: On his way to becoming a four-time District 2 champion, Schutz pinned two opponents in 70 seconds or less, then registered a 17-1 technical fall in 5:37 during the title match Saturday to complete his 3-0 weekend and earn the Class 2A tournament’s outstanding wrestler award. That district gold medal victory also tied the Wyoming Area record for career victories.

Wrestling with success: Schutz began his assault on his high school sweep of individual Class 2A District 2 titles by dropping Josh Pitcher in 18 seconds, then decking Nanticoke Area’s Josh Benscoter just 1:10 into the 126-pound semifinal match. Schutz then wrapped up his fourth straight District 2 title with a tech fall over Kashif Alston of Meyers to equal the Warriors’ career win mark and advance to this coming weekend’s regional wrestling tournament.

Coach’s corner: “Andy’s a kid who comes through the ranks every 10 years, every 20 years,” Wyoming Area coach Steve Mytych said. “Andy is definitely a natural. He’s really put the time in and really worked for it (a fourth district gold medal). It’s an awesome accomplishment. (But) I told him that’s not our goal. Our goal is to get on top of that state podium, and then we’ll reflect back on districts.”

Did you know?: When he’s not ripping off victories on the wrestling mat, Schutz can be found cutting a few riffs. He’s been playing the guitar since the second grade – “I dabble,” he said modestly – and said playing music is his form of meditation.

From his angle: “I was definitely fired up to get my fourth title,” Schutz said. “It’s not like I looked at myself as one of those guys (four-time district champs). It’s an honor to be mentioned with them. It was just an honor. I’ve been training hard as long as I can remember to do that. I think the training was just paying off.”

Week in review: With a dramatic finish, top-seeded Matt Hammerstone of Crestwood shook off his albatross and defended his District 2 Class 3A title. In a nail-biting 145-pound district championship match, Hammerstone rallied to tie previously-unbeaten Kevin Laubach of Berwick – who previously defeated Hammerstone twice earlier in the season. Then Hammerstone claimed a 7-5 victory in overtime Saturday to complete what he called the match of his life with a second staight gold medal. … A few area athletes took dives Saturday, and surfaced with gold medals. Wyoming Valley West divers Colin Vest and Karina Zabresky continued thier senior seasons with District 2 Class 3A diving championships, earning a berth in the state tournament March 13-16. And in Class 2A, Lake-Lehman’s Matt Edkins defended his boys diving title while Holy Redeemer’s Kelsey Williams earned her first state berth by winning the district girls competition. … It was a big start to the postseason for GAR boys basketball big man Christian Skrepenak, who scored 12, then 23 points while leading the Grenadiers into this week’s District 2 Class 3A semifinals. … Holy Redeemer’s Alexis Lewis took charge of the girls basketball playoffs, starting the week with a 22-point effort and then scoring 20 – more than half her team’s points – in a 39-26 victory over Nanticoke Area in a district quarterfinal game. … And back on the wrestling mat, Wyoming Seminary crowned two national wrestling champs when Nicky Hall won at 170 pounds and Eric Morris took the 180-pound bracket in the National Prep Championships.