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HERSHEY — In the history of District 2, no school has ever had as many state qualifiers in wrestling than Lake-Lehman’s 60.
The Black Knights surpassed Meyers’ 59 last weekend when Bob Long and Bob Lipski advanced to the PIAA Championships for the first time, joining teammate and past state qualifier R.J. Driscoll.
Though Long will not be participating this weekend — he was scratched for the tournament on Wednesday night for an unknown reason — the Knights’ accomplishment at regionals was no less impressive.
Lehman coach J.J. Konigus called his trio’s performance in the blood round of the Class 2A Northeast Regional Tournament as “one of the best rounds in school history at regionals.”
One right after another, the three wrestlers punched their tickets to Hershey’s Giant Center for the state tournament, which begins on Thursday. The three wins in the state-qualifying round also moved the team in the standings from 16th to seventh.
“Last year was a bit of bummer, we didn’t take anybody (to states) so I kinda felt like, ‘What am I doing wrong that we didn’t qualify anybody?’ ” Konigus said.
Lehman had just four regional qualifiers last weekend, but three of them advanced to Hershey. It helped make up for the team’s performance during the season, when the Black Knights missed out on the WVC Division 2 title and didn’t win a match at district duals.
“We wrestled well with the kids we had and kept it close, but … it’s kinda bittersweet at the end now we’re the team taking the most kids down,” Konigus said. “That makes up for it, I guess.”
The three Black Knights were part of nine state qualifiers from the Wyoming Valley Conference. Meyers’ Colin Pasone (Class 2A, 120 pounds) and Hanover Area’s DJ Erickson (Class 2A, 138) join those athletes in the 2A tournament.
In Class 3A, Hazleton Area’s Jimmy Hoffman (132) and Carson Kinney (195), Tunkhannock’s Tommy Traver (132) and Dallas’ Xavier Barber (170) are representing the WVC.
Driscoll, a 132-pounder, endured a tumultuous 12 months. After reaching the state tournament as a sophomore, he missed the postseason last year with an injury. He then had problems getting momentum during the regular season. Wrestling tough athletes in the first month of the season, he won 11 of his first 15 bouts. Then he dropped both of his matches in the WVC Tournament and walked out of his home gym without a medal.
He refocused and took momentum into the District 2 Tournament final against Hanover Area’s Jeff Bennett, but then lost by major decision. After losing his first match at regionals, he bounced back to win his next three to reach the state tournament.
“He got beat by Bennett in the district finals, but that’s the way the flip of the coin goes and we’re going to Hershey,” Konigus said. “In wrestling you have to have a short-term memory, it’s a fact. You can’t dwell on that loss or it’s gonna effect you in your next match. The next week is a new tournament.”
Lipski, a senior at 145 pounds, won his second straight D2 title last month. But a trip to states has evaded him in his first three years. And at regionals, he took the same path Driscoll did when he dropped his first bout then won his next three.
Starting at Wyoming Valley West in Class 3A as a freshman and sophomore, Lipski was on the squad that became the first Class 3A WVC team in history to ever win a dual at the PIAA Team Championships in 2014. The Black Knights participated in the state duals event last year making Lipski the most experienced wrestler on the team. He’s also wrestled with state qualifiers Driscoll at Lehman, and Nate Cheek and Travis Roper from Wyoming Valley West.
“It’s just a different feeling than a normal tournament because it’s just bigger,” Lipski said about what he’s learned about being at the state tournament. “Bigger spotlight, bigger crowd, bigger everything.”
The first time
Five of the WVC’s still-active state qualifiers will be participating in the PIAA Championships for the first time. In addition to Lipski, Erickson, Traver, Barber and Kinney will all be wrestling under the spotlight of the individual state tournament as a rookie. But all have some sort of experience on a big stage.
Lipski was on Lehman’s team last year that won the D2 duals Tournament and reached Hershey. Traver participated in Hershey last year as well with Tunkhannock’s D2 Class 3A duals championships squad. Kinney was at Giant Center just four weeks ago with his teammates after they claimed this season’s district duals title.
Erickson took part in the Pennsylvania Junior Wrestling Championships during his junior high career winning a match in 2015.
Barber has wrestled the likes of former teammates Cole Dixon, Ryan Monk and Connor Martinez, who have combined for three state medals and four appearances at states. Last weekend, he wrestled two state qualifiers beating Northampton’s Cade Moisey before falling to reigning state champ Mikey Labriola from Bethlehem Catholic in the regional final.