Northwestern Lehigh senior Luke Fugazzotto closed his high school career with another trip to the podium

Fugazzotto placed fifth in the Class 2A 189-pound bracket, defeating Chestnut Ridge’s Jayden Imler 7-2 in the fifth-place match Saturday afternoon.

He scored a takedown just 20 seconds into the bout, and led 3-1 after two periods before adding an escape and another takedown in the third.

“It was good to end on a good note,” Fugazzotto said. “A win’s a win. After the consi semis I just needed to get my head in a good place and go all out to get the win.”

The finish secured the third state medal of Fugazzotto’s career in his fourth trip to Hershey. He finished second as a sophomore and seventh last season.

Fugazzotto reached the semifinals with a 10-3 quarterfinal victory over Bishop McCort’s C.J. Pensiero before falling to undefeated Tyrone standout Kyle Scott, 7-2.

In the consolation semifinals, Fugazzotto dropped a tightly contested 4-1 sudden victory decision to Montoursville’s Hayden Harvey. The match was tied 1-1 after regulation before Harvey scored the winning takedown with 15 seconds remaining in overtime.

“He’s a great kid who always puts the team first,” said Northwestern head coach Joe Killar said. “It was good to see him go out with a win. That was probably the best match he wrestled in the tournament.”

Killar also praised Fugazzotto’s leadership for a Tigers program that brought several underclassmen to Hershey this season.

“Luke’s a good leader and a very hard worker,” Killar said. “He’s a great example for those guys.”

Fugazzotto finished his senior season 34-5, and closed his career at 161-26 with 122 pins. A four-time state qualifier and three-time district champion, he will continue his wrestling career at George Mason.

“It was a fun experience,” Fugazzotto said. “Now I’ll put that in the past and start the transition to college.”

Before falling in the semifinals, Fugazzotto clinched his spot on the podium with a 10-3 quarterfinal victory over Bishop McCort’s C.J. Pensiero.

Fugazzotto struck early, scoring a takedown in the opening 30 seconds before adding another near the end of the first period to build a 6-1 lead. He added a third takedown in the third period to seal the win.

“Getting the first takedown really helped my mindset,” Fugazzotto said. “I knew his game plan was probably going to be to score and sit tight on it.”

The victory guaranteed Fugazzotto a return trip to the medal stand.

“Honestly, it really took the pressure off,” he said. “No matter what, I get to make the podium again and I’ll be wrestling [Saturday].”

Fugazzotto then faced undefeated Tyrone standout Kyle Scott in the semifinals. Scott, who entered the bout with a 45-0 record, scored a takedown in the first period to take a 3-1 lead. He extended the advantage to 4-1 after two periods before adding another takedown late in the third to secure a 7-2 decision and advance to the finals.

Northwestern Lehigh’s Nolan Koehler saw his tournament end in the second round of consolations at 160 pounds.

His match against General McLane’s Peter Sadchikov was scoreless through two periods before Koehler chose neutral to start the third and took a 1-0 lead. Sadchikov scored a takedown with 30 seconds remaining and added three back points to secure a 6-1 decision.

At 172 pounds, Northwestern Lehigh’s Vinnie Fugazzotto was eliminated in the consolation bracket after falling to Penns Valley’s Brayden Lisowski, 11-0. Lisowski built a 7-0 lead in the first period with a takedown and four near-fall points before adding reversals in both the second and third periods.

At 172 pounds, Northwestern’s Vinnie Fugazzotto bounced back from a first-round loss with a dominant technical fall. Making his first appearance at the state tournament, Fugazzotto defeated Derek Dube of General McLane 17-0 in 1:31 after building a 9-0 lead and recording two four-point near-falls in the second period.

“It feels pretty good,” Vinnie Fugazzotto said. “I wanted to win my first match and make it to the second day, but unfortunately I didn’t win that first match.

“I still made it to the second day. I’m happy I came back and had a dominant win.”

Vinnie Fugazzotto said he felt more relaxed entering the consolation bout after the opening loss.

“I didn’t really feel any pressure,” he said. “I didn’t have anything to lose. I just wanted to win, and that’s what happened.”

Vinnie Fugazzotto was eliminated when he lost to Braydon Lisowski (Penns Valley), 11-0 in his second consolation bout.

At 160 pounds, the Tigers’ Nolan Koehler opened his tournament with an 18-0 technical fall against Mason VanAllman of Tyrone.

Koehler built a 10-0 lead in the first period with a takedown and seven back points before securing the technical fall early in the second period.

He dropped his first-round bout to eventual 160-pound champ Melvin Miller of Bishop McCort

Koehler dropped his first consolation bout, 6-1 to Peter Sadchikov (General McLane) and was eliminated from the tournament.

Northwestern’s Chase Sukanick, who was also making his first trip to the state championships, opened with a 6-2 loss to Dawson Shaffer of Berlin Brothersvalley, who scored a takedown in each of the first two periods.

Sukanick (152) battled back in his consolation bout against Jackson Butler of Bishop McCort, taking a 6-5 lead early in the third period with a takedown.

The two wrestlers traded reversals, with Sukanick briefly holding an 8-7 advantage before Butler regained the lead and secured the fall at 4:41.