WEST LAWN - Hunter Harner's quest toward his 100th victory nearly took a painful detour Friday night in the Southeast Regional Class AA Wrestling Tournament at Wilson High School.
Competing against New Hope-Solebury's Igor Lupisella, a District 1 champion, in the quarterfinals at 145 pounds, the Tri-Valley junior gained a workmanlike 7-0 lead entering the third period. With Lupisella on top, Harner dropped to the mat halfway through the period, reaching behind with his right arm to grab his lower back.
Harner used nearly all of his two minutes of injury time, including several seconds of pulling his legs up toward his chest, before he got to his feet for the final 59.8 seconds. Despite a stalling warning, Harner gutted out the 7-0 win for career victory No. 98 and a berth in this morning's semifinals.
"Pretty close," Harner, a District 11 runner-up, said about a decision to default. Sitting on the gymnasium floor and leaning back against an ice pack on his right hip, he said, "I pulled it in districts in the finals. It's just been bothering me since then."
However, Harner took a 5-0 lead with a takedown and near fall in the first period and was able to work a reversal for the 7-0 edge in the second.
Harner, who topped Hamburg's Andrew Kochel 8-1 in the opening round, appeared ready to cruise to victory.
But halfway through the period, Lupisella produced a move that aggravated Harner's injury.
"He just rolled my leg out and stuck his head right in it. I heard it pop," Harner said about the right hip.
From there, Harner could do little to counter Lupisella other than become dead weight on the mat. But time was on Harner's side and he was able to run out the clock.
"It was pretty tough," Harner said. "Wrestling just made it 10 times worse."
Harner was hoping he could get the injury treated to the point he will be effective today and add to Tri-Valley's success.
Including Harner, the Bulldogs placed four in today's semifinals. The others were Sammy Hepler at 106, Caleb
Bordner at 120 and Anthony Snyder at 152. While Bordner pinned two rivals in 4:16 to set up a semifinal duel with Boiling Springs' Korbin Myers, Hepler and Snyder followed first-round byes with victories.
In the semifinals, Snyder will face perhaps the surprise of the opening day in Pius X's Vinny Vonelli, who placed fourth in District 11 but won by fall and decision Friday.
North Schuylkill was the only other area team to advance more than one grappler. The Spartans will send three - Auston Hummel (170), Alek Hummel (195) and Nate Gadinski (285) - into today's semifinals.
"We're definitely not surprised, but we're pretty happy about the results," North Schuylkill head coach Chris Edwards said. "We thought all five had a chance to get into the semis, but we wrestled tough and we'll take three."
Auston Hummel followed a first-round bye with a 7-0 decision to draw District 3 runner-up Zane Black of Bishop McDevitt today. Alek Hummel pinned his first opponent and then took a 13-7 decision to draw undefeated Tristan Sponseller of Bermudian Springs in today's semifinals. Gadinski used a fall and 1-0 decision to reach the semifinals against Pen Argyl's Brady Mutton in a District 11 matchup.
Four other schools each placed one who remains in contention for a regional championship.
At 103, Jim Thorpe's Kevin Gentile gained two pins Friday and will face Hepler in a semifinal bout.
District 3 champion Coy Campbell of Upper Dauphin posted an 11-2 major decision in his lone match Friday and will face Palisades' Jacob Wasser in the semifinals at 113.
At 126, Tamaqua's Colin Mashack surprised Schuylkill Valley's Josh Giorgio, a District 3 champion, in the quarterfinals with a 5-0 shutout. Mashack, who took a 15-4 major decision in his first bout, will face District 11 runner-up Dante Albanese of Pius X in the semifinals.
Pine Grove gained its lone semifinalist at 220, where District 11 runner-up Ryan Martin followed an 11-5 decision with a pin of District 1 champion John McClinton of Springfield Township. Martin will oppose Bermudian Springs' Sam McCollum in the semifinals.
Hamburg, which competed in the PIAA Class AA Team Tournament, endured a difficult day with four losses in the quarterfinals.
In addition, one of the Hawks' leading grapplers, Sean Stanish, sprained the medial collateral ligament in his right knee to lose by default in the quarterfinals at 120 after scoring his 40th win of the season in the first round.
But Stanish came back with a fall to join Pine Grove's Daniel Diaz-Walton in today's consolation quarterfinals at 120 as both try to secure berths next week's PIAA Championships at the Giant Center.
Others who will begin today in the consolation bracket are Williams Valley's William Girard (106), Panther Valley's Len Ogozalek (113), Richard Nase (195) and Rian Shubeck (220), Hamburg's Cody Miller (182), Austin Bashore (195) and Blake Roberts (285), Tamaqua's Dylan Rynkiewicz (132) and Tri-Valley's Chase Schaeffer (138).