HERSHEY — Side-by-side, North Schuylkill’s Nate Gadinski and Alek Hummel went to work.
By the luck of the draw, the Spartans seniors stepped onto adjacent mats at nearly the same time during the first round Thursday at the PIAA Class AA Wrestling Championships at the Giant Center.
Within 5 minutes and 20 feet of each other, Gadinski (285) and Hummel (195) posted solid victories to move into the quarterfinals.
“Since it’s my senior year and I don’t know how much more wrestling I’ll be doing in the future,’’ Gadinski said, “I just wanted to make the best out of it because it’s the last time I’ll be wrestling in a North Schuylkill singlet.’’
Gadinski, whose future includes football at Bloomsburg University, took to Mat 6 first to face Northwest Regional champion Jack Karsten of Cameron County.
Gadinski earned that matchup by shutting out Mount Pleasant’s Josh Lind 3-0 in Thursday’s preliminary round.
Karsten outweighed Gadinski by at least 30 pounds and entered the bout with a 33-1 record.
Gadinski didn’t care and countered a poor Karsten shot near the end of the first period for a 2-0 lead.
“He shot underneath me and I spun behind,’’ Gadinski said. “He didn’t really finish through on his shot.’’
After holding Karsten on the mat for all 2 minutes of the second period, Gadinski reversed to start the third period. He allowed just an escape and stall point the rest of the way to win 4-2.
“Just leverage. Those big guys, you have to get the leverage and try to keep them down,’’ Gadinski said. “In a heavyweight match, it’s usually low-scoring and whoever scores the first and last point wins.’’
Next up for Gadinski (42-4) is Southmoreland junior Jacob Beistel (36-4), the Southwest Regional runner-up. Gadinski finished fourth at the Southeast Regional.
The quarterfinals are set for 9 this morning at the Giant Center, with the winners moving on to this evening’s semifinals.
“I’m coming here to hopefully get a medal, try to make my high school career end on a good note,’’ Gadinski said.
While Gadinski battled Karsten, Hummel stepped in against Ridgway’s Ryan Geyer and cruised to a 10-0 victory.
Hummel scored the first takedown with 41 seconds left in the first period and kept Geyer on the defensive the rest of the way.
With each passing minute, Hummel gained more control. He escaped to start the second period, then converted a low, double-leg shot to push his advantage to 5-0. In the final seconds, he tilted Geyer for two more points.
“The first time I turned him, it was pretty easy,’’ Hummel said. “It took a couple times to get it, but after that it worked pretty good.’’
Hummel added three more back points in the third period by driving a deep half nelson and wrapping around Geyer’s head and chest.
Next for Hummel (43-1) is Benton senior Logan Wolmelsdorf (22-1), a fifth-place medalist last season. Wolmelsdorf decisioned Hummel 5-2 in the first round at states last season.
“It feels a lot better than losing the first one,’’ Hummel said. “Now I have a rematch with the kid. I’m not losing this time.
“It’s a big rematch for me,’’ he added. “He beat me last year, and I’m not going to let it happen this year.’’
Hummel and Gadinski are each making their second trip to states, and both said last year’s experience helped settle the nerves prior to Thursday’s action. The roughly 10,000 seats, deafening crowd noise and bright lights take some getting used to.
“Being here once really helps,’’ Hummel said. “Being around all the people, it’s a different ballgame here.’’
Added Gadinski: “It’s not like a normal high school gym. You’ve got to overcome your fears sometimes and try to perform as best you can, especially in this kind of setting.’’