HERSHEY — Penn-Trafford sophomore Luke DeSantis and junior Dylan Barrett earned their way to the biggest stage in high school wrestling this season — the PIAA Class 3A tournament in Hershey.
It was a split decision for the Penn-Trafford pair on Day 1 of the tournament March 6 at the Giant Center.
Barrett (36-5) used three takedowns and rolled to an 11-5 victory against Radnor senior Jayden Lee in the first round at 114 pounds. He faced Central Dauphin junior Thunder Beard in the quarterfinals.
DeSantis (33-14) won his preliminary round match against Coatesville senior Andrij Szczesniuk, 7-2, but he lost to Bethlehem Catholic sophomore Reel Dillard, 10-0, in the first round.
“The day went OK,” Penn-Trafford coach Travus McKillop said. “Luke got a win early, and then he met a pretty good kid.
“Dylan looked great. The tournament progressively gets tougher, but I’m excited to see what they do.”
DeSantis had a great postseason. McKillop said he continues to get better.
DeSantis went into the PIAA Class 3A West Region tournament Feb. 28 unseeded. He made a name for himself by advancing to the semifinals with a pair of wins.
Any wrestler to reach the semifinals needs only one victory to qualify for the PIAA tournament. The top five in each weight class move on to states.
This is only the second time that wrestlers had to qualify in a region tournament. They are competing against wrestlers from Districts 6, 8, 9 and 10.
DeSantis was one of 10 Westmoreland County wrestlers to reach the West Region semifinals.
He defeated Meadville’s Ben Fuller, the District 10 champion, 7-4 in the opening round and followed that with a 7-0 victory against Fox Chapel senior Michael Worsen in the quarterfinals. Worsen was added to the tournament because the 121-pound champion from District 8 pulled out.
DeSantis faced Latrobe senior Leo Joseph in the semifinals and lost 8-1.
Barrett has been in the headlines more than DeSantis all season.
At regionals, Barrett pinned Brashear’s Bruce Flores in 46 seconds, and then handled Section 8 rival Coleton Klipa of Norwin, 10-2. He lost 4-0 to DuBois’ Mateo Gallegosin in the semifinals.
DeSantis has not won any tournaments, but he did place second at the Westmoreland County Coaches’ Association tournament, fourth in sections and fifth at WPIALs.
“I am just focused on one match at a time,” DeSantis said. “I knew I could win. I just had to wrestle my match. I know what I must do. I just want to go out and have fun.”
It was the second consecutive week that he defeated Worsen.
“I was not focused on seeds,” DeSantis said. “I was confident after I got past the first round.
“Working out with Dylan in the room has really helped me. He pushes me to my limits and that prepares me for the tough matches.”