HERSHEY — Evan DeLong and Kyle Bova will have their shot at redemption.
A year after falling in the state finals in their respective weight classes, the duo from Kane and Coudersport once again advanced to their respective title bouts — in dominating fashion.
DeLong earned a 9-3 win over Corey Hazel of Penns Valley at 170, while Bova controlled Briton Shelton of Bermudian Springs, 16-5.
“He even gave up a soft takedown in the third, or it could have been even worse,” said Coudersport coach John Bishel of Bova’s semifinal performance. “He got the motor running. His confidence is sky high and his attitude is good. This has been his goal since last year. I want to see it for him.”
DeLong will battle Nico Pecora of Richland in his title bout, while Bova gets Jared Walker of Penns Valley.
“He was the third-ranked kid in the state and Evan pretty much schooled him,” said Kane coach Mike Swartwood of DeLong’s semifinal match. “He’s just fun to watch. I don’t take too much credit when it comes to his success; he’s done most of that on his own.”
Early Friday in the quarterfinal round, DeLong earned a 13-6 win over Zane Black of Bishop McDevit, while Bova had a much more competitive match.
He won a 3-1 decision in overtime over Jeric Kasunic, the No. 3 wrestler in the state at 160.
“The guy had a good game plan, tried to tie him up and slow him down,” Bishel said. “Kyle didn’t panic, went to OT and took him down with about 13 seconds left.”
Also at 160, Oswayo Valley’s Sam Colebert earned a 1-0 win over Max Reed of Lewisburg in the second round consolation, earning an escape just before time expired in the third period.
In his third-round consolation match, he dropped a tough 3-1 decision to Kasunic, but will medal nonetheless.
He will meet Jimmy Miller, a fellow District 9 wrestler from Brookville, in the 7th place match.
Cody Blankenship of Kane dropped his quarterfinal match, 5-3 to Grant Bond of Boiling Springs before rallying to win his second round consolation match by pin over Joseph Davis of Cambria Height. He then won his third round consolation match, 8-0 over Dante Albanese of Pius X.
“Other than Cody losing that one match, it doesn’t get much better,” Swartwood said. “He got down 5-0 in the first 15 seconds, which is tough to come back from and he almost did. He bounced right back and looked tough in the consy quarters. He’s a totally different wrestler than he was last year. Last year he doesn’t win these kinds of matches. He’s just matured so much.”
And as for DeLong?
“If he’s on his game tomorrow, I don’t see anything but a state title in his future.”
The championship matches get underway at 2 p.m., starting with the Parade of Champions, and can be seen live on the Pennsylvania Cable Network.
