Log In


Reset Password
LEHIGH VALLEY WEATHER

Dillard, Hawks golden

It was important for Charlie Scanlan to watch Shane McFillin wrestle in his consolation final at the Giant Center in Hershey.

It was the last time both seniors were going to experience high school wrestling and they ended their careers on winning notes.

Both wrestlers took third place to help close out a memorable consolation round for the Hawks, culminated by Keanu Dillard’s third straight state championship Saturday evening.

After not being able to come away with the team titles at districts and regionals, the Hawks took home the team crown in Hershey to cap off another memorable season on the mats.

While Scanlan and McFillin had hopes of joining Dillard on the finals stage, their bronze medal finishes were filled with gratitude.

“This third feels a lot better than I thought it would,” said Scanlan. “Losing in the semis and then having to wake up at 6:30 a.m. [Saturday], you don’t want to be here wrestling in the morning, but mentally I matured. It feels special that we all came out here and won in the medal rounds.”

Scanlan (160) knocked off Jon Smith of Oxford by a 7-4 decision to take third and McFillin (172) registered a 4-0 decision over Connor Wetzel of Shikellamy in his consolation final.

“Losing in the quarters and then battling back in this loaded bracket, I’m just so proud of my performance to come back and take third,” said McFillin. “This is such an awesome moment to celebrate with the rest of the guys. For Charlie and I to finish out with wins is just a great feeling.”

Dillard’s third straight state title was a given heading into the tournament, barring a major upset. He took care of Northampton’s Gabe Ballard for a third straight week in a finals matchup, knocking him off with an 8-2 decision in the 127-pound championship.

The state championship win also marked the 100th victory of Dillard’s career.

“It’s pretty cool to get my 100th win in a state final,” said Dillard. “I really just wanted to score as much points as I can and make guys feel they don’t belong on the mat with me. I just want to get better with every match.”

Dillard had little trouble marching to the final picking up a fall in 2:50 in his opener against Connor Killion of Cumberland Valley, followed by a 7-0 decision over Dalton Wenner of Cranberry in the quarters. He followed that up with a 16-0 tech fall over Quinn McBride of Pennridge in 2:56 during the semifinals before dispatching Ballard.

Dillard’s career record is 100-7 and still remains undefeated in the postseason through three years.

Marco Frinzi (145) and Nico Emili (107) also won their consolation round bouts to finish fifth and seventh respectively to round out Becahi’s medalists.

After losing in the quarters, Frinzi came back to finish off the tournament with a 5-4 decision over Kane Lengel of Kennett in the fifth place consolation.

Emili also lost in the quarters but battled back to hold off Emmaus’ Jackson Max 10-7 in his consolation bout.

Reef Dillard (121) also made it out to Hershey and was one bout shy of getting a medal after getting disqualified in the third round of consolations following an apparent head butt against Connellsville’s Nolan Rice. Dillard was winning 9-1 when the official called the DQ 2:09 into the bout.

Press photo by Don HerbKeanu Dillard brought home a state gold medal after action from this past weekend’s tournament.