HERSHEY — Friday was day two of the PIAA Class 3A boys wrestling championships. For eight Lancaster-Lebanon League wrestlers, it was day one of the redemption tour.

Putting Thursday in the rear-view mirror, those eight set out to win the two matches necessary to unlock access to the podium and shot at a bronze medal. Five got to the threshold, the blood round. Three won their way onto the podium at the Giant Center.

Of the three, Hempfield’s Seamus Mack had perhaps the most sublime path. After utilizing all his funky skills to score a pair of takedowns and defeat Blake Boyer of Kennett 5-2, Mack earned his spot in the consolation semifinals at 139 with a walkover, as Brock Weiss of Jersey Shore forfeited.

2024 PIAA wrestling championships - Day 2 [photos]

Wrestling a bare-bones match, Kaedyn Williams used a third-period escape to defeat Reef Dillard of Bethlehem Catholic 1-0 in his first match of the day at 114.

Against Cedar Cliff’s Kavin Muyleart, the Manheim Township senior scored his first, first takedown of the tournament with 10 seconds showing in the first period to break on top. He scored another out of a second-period scramble, then added an escape in the third period for a 5-0 decision.

Also at 114, Penn Manor’s Travis Clawson had a powerful day, majoring Casey Sigel of Downingtown West 11-0, with a six-point second period and five-point third.

He continued his high-scoring ways against Radnor’s Jayden Lee, taking a 7-1 lead on three takedowns, then turning Lee twice in the third period to cap a 12-2 major.

But Connor Lenahan of Council Rock South shut off Clawson’s offense in the consolation quarterfinals, scoring a third-period reversal for a 2-0 victory. Clawson will wrestle for seventh today.

Mack and Williams took their place in this morning’s consolation semis with victories. Those begin at 9:30 a.m.

Williams scored a pair of takedowns to stop Leo Joseph of Greater Latrobe 5-0. Mack scored a late reversal and even later back points to break open a 7-1 victory over Michael Turi of West Scranton.

Conestoga Valley’s Abdoul Akala (172) and Manheim Central’s Brodie Daugherty (189) came up one win short of the medal stand.

Akala bested Avery Aurand of Mifflin County 3-2 in Tiebreak 2 in his first match, but was taken down into a fall in 3:30 by Connor Wetzel of Shikelammy in his blood-round match.

Of note, he met both back in December in the Neil Turner Holiday Classic, defeating Aurand 7-2 and losing to Wetzel 11-2.

Daugherty slapped a cradle on Carter Euker of Perkiomen Valley, pinning him in 1:38 to advance to the blood round. There he lost on a disqualification when it was judged he slammed Michael Speilman of Strath Haven.

Donegal’s Ruben Mumper, Hempfield’s Kyle Deisley and Hempfield’s JJ Plaza fell in the second round of consolations and were eliminated.

Mumper lost 12-4 to Austin Smith of Abington Heights at 152. Also at 152, Deisley got caught in a five-point headlock in the first period and never recovered in an 8-2 loss to Parrish McFarland of Pottsville.

At 189, Plaza and Shae Linegar of Easton went into a tiebreak tied at 1-1. Plaza surrendered a stall point in the first 30-second period and an escape point, then escaped in the second 30 seconds, but could not score further and fell 3-2.

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