ALTOONA — One of Derry’s six WPIAL champs wore gold for the second consecutive week Saturday, and he needed only one point to make it happen.
Freshman Patrick Bulger won the 114-pound championship at the PIAA Class 2A Southwest Regional tournament in Altoona, making a second-period escape stand up for a 1-0 victory over Carter Ickes of Chestnut Ridge.
“I knew that I had a really tough opponent in the finals. Carter Ickes is very good,’’ said Bulger, who won a WPIAL championship last week. “I was looking to get takedowns, but when I got the escape, I knew that I would have to rely on my ability to ride him out.’’
Bulger is looking for another first-place medal and a state championship next week in Hershey.
“My goal is to win everything,’’ Bulger said. “I plan to wrestle to the best of my ability and wrestle great.’’
Bulger is one of 39 WPIAL Class 2A wrestlers who advanced to the state tournament by placing in seventh or better in their respective weight class at the Southwest Regional and one of four WPIAL wrestlers who won regional championships.
The other champs were Bentworth junior Drake McClure (139), Frazier’s Jonah Erdely (152) and West Greene’s Colin Whyte (285).
Four other Derry wrestlers lost in the finals — Mason Keesecker (107), Ewan Olson (160), Mason Horwat (172) and Brady Brown (189) — as did Burrell’s Cameron Baker (127) and Elizabeth-Forward’s Lucas Boyer (152).
Keesecker was pinned by Chestnut Ridge’s Konnor Deputy in 1:15 in a battle of outstanding freshmen at 107 pounds.
Olson lost by tech fall to two-time PIAA champion Melvin Miller of Bishop McCort at 160 pounds, and Brown dropped a 7-0 decision at 189 to Pitt commit Kyle Scott of Tyrone.
Horwat, a two-time PIAA medalist, lost a tough 3-1 overtime decision to McCort’s Emory Gunby, who scored a decisive takedown to snap a 1-1 tie.
At 127, Burrell’s Baker dropped a 4-2 decision to Ridge’s Dominic Deputy, who was a state champ at 121 pounds last season.
The state tournament is set for Thursday through Saturday at Hershey’s Giant Center.
Whyte, meanwhile, won his first regional title with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Bishop McCort Catholic’s Caleb Rodriguez in the 285-pound title match.
Whyte, who has one state medal, 160 career wins and an NCAA Division I scholarship to Kent State, hopes to cap off his extraordinary prep tenure with a gold medal.
He used a third-period escape with 31 seconds left to accomplish the only scoring in his hard-fought match with Rodriguez, an outstanding athlete who is being recruited by Pitt for football.
Whyte started the third period in the bottom position and worked his way out of a Rodriguez hold to get the winning escape.
“I just kept getting to my feet, and I was able to catch his hand and keep him from dropping to get a single (leg takedown), and that helped me to get out,’’ Whyte said.
Whyte finished fourth at 285 in the state tournament last season and second at the weight class at regionals.
“My goal is to win,’’ Whyte said of next weekend’s state tournament. “I want to attack in every match, and just go out there and wrestle one match at a time.’’
Bentworth’s McClure finished second at 139 in last weekend’s WPIAL tournament but stormed his way to the regional title by logging four straight wins, including a championship-round fall in 1:41 over Penns Valley’s Tripp Watson.
“I didn’t expect the pin, but I have a couple long arms, and I Iocked the cradle up on him,’’ McClure said.
McClure (45-8) said that his narrow 1-0 upset victory over Bishop McCort’s Owen McMullen in the semifinals gave him confidence. McClure will be making his third straight trip to the state tournament after finishing eighth there at 133 pounds last year.
“Obviously, the goal is always to win, but I want to place as high as I possibly can,’’ McClure said.
At 152, Erdely scored a hard-fought 2-1 championship win over one of his top rivals, Elizabeth Forward’s Boyer.
“We’ve done some training together. He’s definitely a great opponent, and I love battling with him,’’ Erdely said. “I definitely would have liked to have scored takedowns, but if I have to rely on my top-bottom combo, I’m OK with that, too.’’
It was the first regional title for Erdely, who has qualified for the state tournament twice in his career but did not place there. His goal for next weekend is to accomplish winning a medal.
“Winning here feels great, but my plan for next week is to be on that (medals) podium,’’ Erdely said.
State qualifiers
Here is the list of WPIAL wrestlers who qualified for the PIAA Class 2A state tournament by finishing in third through seventh place at the Southwest 2A Regional:
Third place: Angelo Boni, Central Valley, 107; Javeon Chambers, Highlands, 114; Austin Kosanovic, Avonworth, 127; Lucas Barr, McGuffey, 133; Owen Ivcic, Bentworth, 160; Noah Layhue, Beth-Center, 215; Casey Wilson, Laurel, 285.
Fourth place: Mason Wright, Beth-Center, 139; Julian Bertucci, Burrell, 145; Alex Palko, Jefferson-Morgan, 160; Karlton Carlson, Laurel, 215.
Fifth place: Warren Woleslagle, Elizabeth-Forward, 107; Camden Olsen, Derry, 133; Carter Katus, Burgettstown, 139; William McNeal, Derry, 145; Liam Jones, Burrell, 152; Matthew Danna, Quaker Valley, 160; Malachi Peak, Beth-Center, 189; Kaden Shannon, Southmoreland, 285.
Sixth place: Carl Thomas, Burrell, 107; Bruce Anderchak, Quaker Valley, 121; Victor Bonus, McGuffey, 152; Trey Dunlap, Quaker Valley, 189.
Seventh place: Bradyen Henning, Jefferson-Morgan, 107; Preston Bubash, Elizabeth Forward, 121; Michael McNeal, Derry, 139; Caleb Patton, Washington, 145; Ben Catullo, Burrell, 172; David Peters, Greensburg Salem, 285.