Previewing the PIAA placement round matches

Here's a look at the medal-round matches for local wrestlers:

Finals

120

SW-2 Ryan Easter, Jr., Bedford, 36-2 vs. SE-1 Darian Cruz, Sr., Bethlehem Catholic, Jr., 44-1

• Cruz won the 106-pound title last year, beating Boiling Springs' 13-4 in the championship bout. Cruz, who picked up his 150th career win this weekend, placed third at 103 pounds as a sophomore. He has committed to wrestle at Lehigh.
• Easter is a two-time placewinner, having finished fifth at 103 pounds as a freshman and sixth at 113 as a sophomore. He is looking to become Bedford's first champion since Ron Hamilton in 1964. 
• Cruz is ranked third nationally by Intermat. His only loss this season came to Blair Academy's Matthew Kolodzik, who is ranked second.
• They didn't have any common opponents during the regular, but Cruz beat Ligonier Valley's Josh Patrick 10-5 in the state semifinals. Patrick beat Easter 4-3 in tiebreaker in the regional finals last week.

160

SW-1 Cody Law, Sr., Forest Hills 33-0 vs. NW-1 Evan Delong, Jr., Kane, 29-1

• Delong finished seventh at 145 last season.
• Law placed second last year, losing to Bentworth's Francis Mizia - who he beat at regionals a week earlier - in the 160-pound final.
• Delong beat Redbank Valley's Cole Shirey 13-5 on Dec. 28. Law, who complained that wrestlers aren't opening up against him this weekend, beat Shirey 9-3 in the quarterfinals on Friday. 
• Delong's lone loss came at 170 pounds to Union City's Tim Vargo, the same wrestler who beat Chestnut Ridge's Tyler Dibert 4-2 in the quarterfinals on Friday. Delong beat Tri-Valley's Ty Schoffstall, who is familiar to Thomas tournament fans, 7-6 in the semifinals on Friday night.
• Law is ranked 17th nationally by Intermat and has committed to wrestle at Penn State.

Third-Place Match

113

SW-3 Justin Patrick, Jr., Ligonier Valley 37-5 vs. SE-1 Korbin Myers, So., Boiling Springs, 45-2

• Myers beat Patrick 3-1 in the quarterfinals on Friday morning thanks to a takedown with 16 seconds remaining.
• Myers placed second at 106 last season.
• Patrick finished fourth at 106 a year ago.

Fifth-Place Matches

106

SW-2 Triston Law, So., Forest Hills, 32-6 vs. SW-3, Austin Griffiths, So., Southmoreland, 35-6

• Griffiths beat Law on Jan. 18. Interestingly, Law's NWCA page says it was 12-0. Griffiths says 7-0.
• Law beat Griffiths 7-5 at the Southwest Regional tournament last week.
• Griffiths finished third at 106 last year, coming all the way back from a first-round loss.
• Law is making his PIAA debut.

120

SW-1 Josh Patrick, Sr., Ligonier Valley 29-2 vs. Matt Williams, Sr., Pen Argyl, 34-10

• Patrick has lost two consecutive matches after winning his first 29. Williams dropped his opener  on Thursday but won three in a row until the consolation semifinals on Friday night.
• Patrick, a Rutgers recruit, finished fourth at 112 in 2011 and fifth at 113 last year.
• Williams was in Patrick's weight last year but went 1-2. He finished sixth at 103 in 2010.

285

SW-4 Austin Buttry, Jr., Chestnut Ridge, 39-8 vs. SE-4 Andrew Dunn, So., Bethlehem Catholic, 36-13

• Two fourth-place regional finishers are wrestling for fifth in the state.
• Both are making their PIAA debuts.

Seventh-Place Matches

170

SW-3 Tyler Dibert, Sr., Chestnut Ridge, 40-7 vs. SE-4 Josh Asper, Sr., Biglerville 36-12

• A four-time District 5 champion, Dibert had never won a match at the state individual tournament until Thursday.
• Asper has never placed before and did not wrestle in the PIAA tournament last year.
• Asper was beaten 10-2 in the opening round by Union City's Tim Vargo, who beat Dibert 4-2 in the quarterfinals.
• Dibert has committed to wrestle for Clarion, according Ryan Spring of the Bedford Gazette.

195

SW-5 Jacob Nickelson, Sr., Somerset, 31-6 vs. NE-2 Skylar Ebner, Sr., Muncy, 36-11

• Neither wrestler has placed at the state tournament before and neither qualified last season.
• Both wrestlers were beaten by Trinity's Adam Geiger here. Geiger pinned Nickelson in 1:52 and beat Ebner 15-7.