Spring Grove’s Brian Polashuk is well aware of the nature of wrestling, sporting a bloody lip and a cut near eye after his District 3 championship bout two weeks ago.
But Thursday, he took a couple of cheap shots in his 125-pound preliminary round match against Indian Valley’s Adam Will at Thursday's PIAA Wrestling Championships at Giant Center.
First, there was the after-whistle push into the hockey boards. After the ref stopped the action, Will jumped forward and knocked the Rocket senior back into the Kunzler hot dog ad. Then seconds later, the sophomore hit Polashuk in the forehead with an open hand. The blow was enough for the ref to stop the match and award Polashuk a penalty point.
The 39-1 wrestler kept his head and walked off with a 7-3 decision. Having already defeated Will at the New Oxford Duals earlier this year, Polashuk knew he had the advantage and wouldn’t get suckered into anything.
“Knowing I’d already beaten him gave me more confidence,� he said. “He kind of wound up and nearly hit me in the eye. He was taking jabs to the forehead.�
BIG NUMBER: The chase is on for the state record for career wins.
Donnie Ament of Mount Pleasant and Ashtin Primus of Connellsville each broke the record with their preliminary round victories Thursday, each getting win No.¤176. Both are defending champions, which means if they repeat, they will be tied with 179 victories.
The old record was just set last year by two-time state champion Matt Fisk from Wyalusing.
KING OF THE HEART-STOPPER: Northern York’s Jason DeLuca has become dangerous in the last five seconds of a bout.
Wrestling in the toughest weight class in the tournament, the Class AAA 119-pound class, the Polar Bear junior opened his state tournament against three-time PIAA medalist Russ Souders of Easton.
Pushing the pace, DeLuca tied the Red Rover senior at two on a stalling call with about 30 seconds left in the match. The 40-3 wrestler kept going at Souders and eventually slipped behind him with just two seconds remaining in the bout for a 4-2 win.
DeLuca had earned his state tournament berth with a takedown at the buzzer in the District 3 consolation final against Corey Houser of Governor Mifflin.
Souders might sound familiar to York County fans as he lost to Hanover’s Gary Mayfield in the Class AA 112-pound final in 2004. Souders was then a student at Wilson Area High School.
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