SHARON — Aiden Zimmerman’s first trip to the PIAA North West Class AA Regional, in 2020, ended with a silver medal.
Two years later, in his next visit to Sharon, the Johnsonburg junior wrestled his way to the top step of the podium.
Zimmerman (24-9), making his return to regionals after missing his sophomore season due to injury, capped off his tournament with a 7-2 win over returning state qualifier Collin Hearn in Saturday evening’s 160-pound championship match to headline a group of four local Class AA qualifiers for next weekend’s state tournament in Hershey.
“It feels really good. I’m proud of all the work I put in, that it paid off,” the newly-minted regional champ told Rich Rhoades of the Courier Express following the medal ceremony.
Asked about his strategy going into the final, he told Rhoades, “I’ve been wrestling my best matches these past couple of weeks. Just go in and be physical, have good defense, and score when he makes mistakes.”
Zimmerman worked that plan to near-perfection against Hearn (29-3), turning a first-period double-leg shot into a lift-and-return takedown that almost netted back points before the Conneaut junior managed to right himself. A Hearn escape made it 2-1 after two minutes.
Starting from the top in the second period, Zimmerman worked a tilt for a 4-1 lead, then repeated the escape/takedown sequence to increase his margin to 6-2 going into the final frame. Hearn almost managed a tilt of his own in the third, but Zimmerman worked his way free, then successfully fended off Hearn’s takedown attempts the rest of the way to secure the win.
The outcome ensured the 160-pound title would stay in Johnsonburg for a second consecutive year. 2021 Rams senior Cole Casilio, now wrestling at Gannon, went on to add a PIAA seventh-place medal — Johnsonburg’s first state wrestling hardware since Francis Iorfido’s silver in 2002 — to his Northwest gold.
There won’t be another two-decade gap if Zimmerman and fellow Rams junior Kaden Dennis, the 172-pound Northwest runner-up, have anything to say about it.
“There’s a couple of kids out on injury this year, so it really opened up,” Zimmerman said. “So I’m going in there, going to keep wrestling the same way and hopefully come out with a medal.”
Dennis (23-9) just missed out on making it 2-for-2 for the Rams in the finals, dropping a 1-0 decision to Titusville junior Brock Covell (34-5) in a rugged defensive battle. With neither wrestler able to complete a takedown, Covell’s second-period escape stood up as the margin of victory.
Kane sophomore Reece Bechakas, the 145-pound bronze medalist, and Port Allegany senior Chase Weimer, the fourth-place finisher at 126, will join the Johnsonburg duo at the Giant Center for the PIAA Class AA tournament, slated to begin with preliminary and first-round matches on Thursday morning.
Bechakas (28-8) rebounded from a semifinal pin by Girard sophomore Story Buchanan (30-9) with wins in both of his consolation matches, starting with a 5-2 blood-round decision over Clarion freshman Mason Gourley (24-9) in a repeat of the D-9 final, then majoring Reynolds senior Camren Klenke (26-16), 10-1, in the medal round.
Weimer (28-12) battled returning state medalist JoJo Przybycien (37-4) to a 3-3 draw through four minutes of their semifinal before a third-period tilt gave the Fort LeBoeuf sophomore the 5-3 decision. Needing one more win to earn a ticket to Hershey, Weimer hit a third-period takedown to edge Titusville sophomore Trenton Rodgers (27-15), 6-4, before falling 11-5 to Cambridge Springs junior Gunnar Gage (24-6) in his Sharon finale.
Two other local wrestlers, Kane junior Luke Ely (26-10) and Port Allegany sophomore Miska Young (32-10), placed fifth. They’ll serve as alternates for the state tourney in case one of the top four Northwest placewinners at their weight is forced to drop out due to injury/illness.
Led by regional champs Cole Householder and Owen Reinsel and sending six wrestlers to states, Brookville breezed to the team championship, breaking runner-up Reynolds’ nine-year stranglehold on the crown and bringing the Northwest title back to District 9 for the first time since the Raiders’ 1997 victory. Brockway took third with four state qualifiers, giving D-9 two of the top three spots. Johnsonburg placed 11th to pace the local squads, with Kane 18th and Port tied for 22nd.
Championship Finals
