Waters’ historic finish leads five Faith Christian champions in PIAA 2A wrestling tournament

HERSHEY — Adam Waters’ fourth PIAA Class 2A title was part of Faith Christian’s 5-for-5 run in Saturday’s finals at the Giant Center and the Lions ran away with the team title for a fourth year in a row with all 10 qualifiers leaving with a medal.

Waters became the 15th in either class to win four state titles and the only one to win four gold medals as an individual and as a team at the team tournament.

“[Waters] has gotten a lot better,” Faith Christian coach Ben Clymer said. “None of us know what it’s like to step on a stage with that amount of pressure, so close to being an elite part of history. For [Tyrone’s Kyle Scott] to keep it that close and for Adam to stay composed and be diligent with his stalking and come up with a takedown late was great.”

Freddy and Joe Bachmann, Cael Weidemoyer and Mark Effendian were other Lions joining him on top of the podium.

It was the first championships for Weidemoyer and Effendian, who are three-time medalists who experienced state finals heartbreak in previous years.

Joe Bachmann, a junior, won his third title with a 1-0 decision over Grove City’s Hudson Hohman at 152. Freddy Bachmann, a sophomore, captured his second title with a 6-2 decision over Saucon Valley’s Carter Chunko.

Chunko pushed Bachmann to the ultimate tie-breaker in last Saturday’s Southeast Regional final. That’s when Bachmann suffered a right knee injury. He was able to rehab it while limiting his mat time in preparation for the state tournament.

“He did a really good job managing his weight and diet knowing he couldn’t practice a whole lot,” Clymer said. “He then came here with a regimen of stomping [the knee] into the ground for six, seven minutes and then get off it.

“Freddy being able to problem solve with a torn meniscus was the difference. Kudos to him in all of his matches. He came out in all his matches firing in the first, then tempered things down. It was pretty awesome to see.”

Weidemoyer was a third-place finisher as a freshman, a runner-up losing in the final seconds of the final as a sophomore then missed his junior postseason because of a knee injury.

The Lehigh commit bulked up from 160 to 215 while rehabbing the knee, then dominated most of the season, including a 13-1 major of Huntingdon’s Landon Erdman in the final.

Erdman got to a single-leg shot early, but couldn’t finish. Weidemoyer finished his first two shot attempts and left little drama.

The senior’s drama came in the 12-7 win over Port Allegany’s Aiden Bliss in the semis. He trailed Bliss 7-6 late in the third before hitting a six-point move.

Effendian, a state runner-up last year after giving up a reversal in the final seconds, had no worries this time around.

The senior had three pins, including one in the final over Fairfield’s Caleb Tyler, and a 10-0 major decision on his way to the 285-pound championship. He was 46-0 this season with 34 pins and leaves as the program’s career wins leader with 169.

“Anything can happen in a final,” Clymer said. “[Waters] was in a 4-1 match. They all proved to be good matches, but we felt we were favored in all five. But it was awesome to see all five of those guys get it done.”

Placement matches

Faith Christian’s Riley Crandall finished fourth after losing 23-5 in 4:18 to Honesdale’s Nathan Schuman at 107. Crandall won five bouts in a row after losing his first one.

Teammate Cruz Little posted a 15-0 technical fall in 2:15 to finish third at 114. Little won four in a row after a quarterfinal loss.

Flynn Arnestad, the third consecutive Lions freshman to earn a medal, finished fourth at 121 after losing 12-2 to top seed Sam Wolford of Northern Lebanon.

Saucon Valley’s Mack Santoro was sixth at 145 after a 3-1 loss to Greenville’s Rudy Gentile. A first-period takedown was the difference. It was Santoro’s second state medal as a sophomore.

Faith Christian’s Shane Wagner captured his first medal, a fifth-place finish after a 6-3 win over Bishop McDevitt’s Nicky Negron in their third meeting in the last month.

Faith Christian’s returning state champ Nick Singer took third at 172 with a 12-4 major decision over Warrior Run’s Max Wirnsberger.

Northwestern Lehigh’s Luke Fugazzotto ended his career with a 7-2 decision over Chestnut Ridge’s Jayden Imler to take fifth place at 189. It was his third state medal. He finishes with a 161-26 record, including 122 pins — fourth most in PIAA history.

Senior writer Tom Housenick can be reached at thousenick@mcall.com