Image/Graphics by Photo courtesy of Jennifer Adams

2019 PA State Wrestling Championships, Giant Center, Hershey, PA

It was a great weekend for the West Branch Warrior Wrestling program as they brought home two State Place winners! Tyler Denochick captured his first state medal at 126 pounds and Derek Yingling received his third state medal, this year at 182 pounds. This was the first year in Coach Jason Bainey’s coaching career at West Branch where he had two wrestlers place at the state tournament. Tyler finished off the weekend with three wins and two losses while Derek had five wins and two losses. Out of over 3,000 wrestlers in the state of Pennsylvania, it is amazing to be in the top eight of a weight class. Both wrestlers fought hard all weekend and it was a great way to finish their senior seasons. This is an enormous achievement for both Tyler and Derek in their wrestling careers.

ROUND OF 32:

Derek vs Michael Kustanbauter – Muncy
In the Round of 32, Derek came up strong with a pin in the 3rd Period. The match started out with a takedown from Derek 31 seconds into the match. Right before the end of the 1st Period, Kustanbauter escaped to get a point going into the 2nd. Derek won the toss but deferred so Kustanbauter chose bottom. Derek got caught by the referee for an interlocking call which gave Kustanbauter a penalty point. This then equalized the score to 2-2. Luckily, Derek managed to hold Kustanbauter down the rest of the period. Going into the 3rd Period, Derek chose bottom. He was able to reverse Kustanbauter and take his back to the mat. Derek came up with the pin at 4:53.

ROUND OF 16:

Tyler vs Ian Yoder – Southern Columbia
Tyler started his day off with a pin and a quick one at that! In the Round of 16, Tyler faced Ian Yoder of Southern Columbia. The match started off with a takedown from Tyler in the first 17 seconds. He managed to keep Yoder down and maneuver him until finally forcing Yoder to his back. Once on his back, Tyler made quick work of Yoder and pinned him in 1:23!

Derek vs Nicholas James – Hamburg
Derek picked up his 2nd win of the day in the Round of 16 by defeating Nicholas James of Hamburg. Derek started out the match right, with a quick takedown at 19 seconds. He managed to hold down James until the end of the 1st period. Derek then started out the 2nd period by choosing the bottom. He quickly reversed James and lengthened his lead 4-0 but not long after, James managed to escape and get a point. Luckily, Derek came back and took down James once more before the end of the 2nd Period. To start the 3rd Period, James chose down and escaped not far into the period but Derek dove in once more to get the takedown. He managed to keep him down which awarded him the win of 8-2 over James.

Quarterfinals:

Tyler vs. Chase Shields – Bishop McDevitt
Tyler faced his first lost of the weekend in the Quarterfinals to Chase Shields from Bishop McDevitt. Both wrestlers started out fast before Shields got 3 takedowns in the first period and Tyler managed to get 3 escapes before the period ended. In the 2nd Period, Tyler was taken down 2 more times but escaped both times again. In the final period, Tyler chose top but was unable to hold down Shields. The match ended with a score of 11-5.

Derek vs. Bryson Miller
Derek also picked up his first loss in the Quarterfinals to Bryson Miller. Not much happened in the 1st Period as neither wrestler scored. Starting off the 2nd Period, Derek took bottom. Later in the period he was put on his back and had 3 near-fall points against him. To start the 3rd Period, Miller chose bottom but Yingling left him up to try and make a comeback. Sadly, he was unable to do so and the match ended 0-4.

CONSOLATION OF 8 #2:

Tyler vs Chase Proudfit
Tyler fought hard and came up with a win against Penn Cambria’s Chase Proudfit. This win guaranteed him a medaled finish in the PIAA State Championship Tournament! Not much happened in the first period with a score of 0-0. In the 2nd Period, Proudfit chose bottom and Tyler managed to hold him down the entire period, keeping him for scoring. To start the 3rd Period, Tyler chose bottom and he quickly escaped to gain a point. The match finished out and Tyler took the win, 1-0!

Derek vs Cameron Andrews – N. Penn – Liberty
Derek earned his spot on the podium by defeating Cameron Andrews of North Penn – Liberty. There was no point-gaining action until the 2nd Period where Derek took the bottom position and escaped not far into the period. After escaping, he took down Andrews for 2 points and then got 2 near-fall points but was unable to hold Andrews down. At the start of the 3rd Period, Andrews chose bottom but Derek managed to hold him down the entire period. The match ended with a score of 5-1.

CONSOLATION OF 4:

Tyler vs Anthony Glasl – Brockway
The match started out slow as no points were scored until the 2nd Period when Tyler escaped from the bottom position. The rest of the period finished off with the wrestlers in neutral positions. Starting the 3rd Period, Brockway’s Anthony Glasl chose the bottom position where he escaped and then managed to take down Tyler. The match finished with a score of 1-3 and Tyler heading to the 7th Place match on Saturday.

Derek vs Hunter O’Connor – Jersey Shore
Once again, not much happened in the first period of this round which then led to the first point being scored by Jersey Shore’s Hunter O’Connor. He chose the bottom position and escaped from Derek in the 2nd Period. To start the 3rd Period, Derek chose bottom and escaped from O’Connor, making the score equal at 1-1. As regulation time ended, the wrestlers went into Sudden Victory and no points were scored. It was now time for the Ultimate Ride-out. O’Connor chose the bottom position where he escaped but then Derek managed to wrestle him to his back earning a takedown and 2 near-fall points. Leading 5-3, Derek went to the bottom position for another 30 second period. He quickly escaped and then took down O’Connor once more. The match ended with a score of 8-2.

CONSOLATION OF 4:

Derek vs Gavin Henry – Union City
In the next round of Consolation, Derek faced Gavin Henry from Union City. Henry managed to take down Derek in the first period and hold him down for the remainder of the period. Derek chose bottom to start the 2nd Period where he reversed Henry but was then unable to hold down. Starting the 3rd Period, the score was 2-3, Henry chose bottom where he escaped from Derek and then took Derek down to lengthen his lead 2-6. He then held Derek on his back and pinned him at the time of 4:44. This was only the 2nd time in Derek’s Varsity Wrestling career where he was pinned. With this loss, Derek was headed to the match for 5th Place on Saturday.

PLACING ROUND:

Tyler vs Dalton Gimbor – Hamburg
Tyler picks up 7th Place and his first state medal by defeating Dalton Gimbor of Hamburg! There was no point gaining action in the 1st Period which led to the 2nd Period where Gimbor chose the bottom position. Tyler was able to hold down Gimbor for the period which kept the score at 0-0 going into the 3rd Period. Tyler chose bottom to start the 3rd Period where he quickly escaped making the score 1-0. With not much time left, Tyler took down Gimor to lengthen his lead 3-0 and concrete his win over Gimbor!

Derek vs Garrett McClintick – Brockway
Derek clenched his 5th Place spot on the podium by defeating Brockway’s Garrett McClintick 6-1 in Sudden Victory. The 1st Period lacked any action from the two wrestlers so starting the 2nd Period, the score remained 0-0. Derek chose the bottom position to start the 2nd where he escaped making the score 1-0. To start the 3rd Period, McClintick chose bottom and then also managed to escape, making the score 1-1. As the match ended, the two headed into a one minute period of Sudden Victory. Derek went after McClintick, got the takedown and then held McClintick on his back to get 3 Nearfall points. The match ended with a score of 6-1 and Derek earned his 5th Place position on the podium!