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LEHIGH VALLEY WEATHER

Two advance to regionals

Jaryn Hartranft never has been on the big stage due to fate.

He figured it was about time to finally take the next step.

“In junior high, I always made it to the semifinals and lost,” said the freshman. “I finally broke the semis curse and made it to something bigger than that.”

Her certainly did.

Hartranft and Austin Brett both advanced to the finals of the PIAA District 11 Class 2A tournament at Freedom High School last weekend.

Unfortunately, both of them came up short of their final goal. However, they both advanced to the PIAA Class 2A Southeast Regional at Wilson West Lawn this weekend.

Hartranft, who was seeded second in the 106-pound bracket, lost to fourth-seeded Evan Maag of Notre Dame, 6-0, in the finals.

Brett, who was seeded third in the 120-pound bracket, was pinned by top-seeded Ryan Crookham of Notre Dame in 57 seconds.

Before he reached the finals, Hartranft received an opening-round bye. He then disposed of Salisbury’s Carver Moyer and Wilson’s Caidan Poff, pinning them both in identical times of 1:03.

Hartranft, posting a 24-7 record with six falls, was confident throughout the year that he could break the snide.

“I had a pretty good year and all of my losses were pretty tough,” he said. “All year long, I had a great team to support me and I finally knew that I could break this curse.”

Winning at district duals was the final touch.

“In district duals, I knew I could get here and place pretty high,” he added. “Right now, I am a regional qualifier and that’s all that matters.”

Brett also had an impressive run to the final. He received an opening - round bye and then recorded a fall over Saucon Valley’s Kevin Dyer in 4:19 and also a 7-6 decision over second-seeded Gavin Locke of North Schuylkill.

The sophomore, who was hampered by injuries last year, had been ready to redeem himself. Heading to regionals, Brett has a 21-7 record with 10 pins.

“This has been a good year,” he said. “Last year, I was out for a little bit. I came back this year wanting to make up for what I missed last year.

“I have a good team behind me and they support me. That helps a lot.

“This was a great experience. There was a lot of competition and it helped.”

Like Hartranft, Brett was enlightened at the district duals.

“After my last loss at district duals, something clicked,” added Brett. “I said I have to go and I might not get it back.”

Roughies who finished the tournament in the consolation round were junior LaVonte Bouie who finished sixth at 285, along with senior Bradshaw Henning (126) and junior Adam Reinhart (182), who both were eliminated in the third round of consolations.

Press photos by Don HerbJaryn Hartranft advanced to regionals after this past week's tourney.