High School Wrestling: 3 Eagles place at Hurricane

Bradley Renninger, Blue Mountain

BETHLEHEM — Blue Mountain senior Bradley Renninger (189) battled back to a fifth-place finish Sunday as the Hurricane Wrestling Classic drew to a close at Bethlehem Liberty High School.

Renninger was one of three Eagles to earn medals at the two-day event that annually attracts some of the toughest teams in the state.

Owen Woll (152) took sixth, and Hunter Blankenhorn (172) finished eighth for Blue Mountain.

After losing in the quarterfinals, Renninger kept his tournament alive by posting a 7-4 decision in sudden victory over Boyertown’s Josh Larrimore in the fourth round of consolations. Renninger followed that with a fall in 4:38 over Honesdale’s Duke Martin.

Freedom’s Noah MacIlroy topped Renninger 11-2 in the next round, setting up a rematch against Hazleton Area’s Mason Marolo.

In the quarterfinals, Marolo defeated Renninger 8-4. The rematch, in the fifth-place bout, went to Renninger 1-0.

Going 5-2 at the tournament, Renninger improved his season record to 20-4.

Meanwhile, Woll (18-3) reached the semifinals but then dropped three straight bouts to settle for sixth.

Blankenhorn (15-5) posted a 3-3 mark for his eighth-place medal.

In a 33-team field, Blue Mountain finished 22nd.

Easton captured the team title with 178 points, followed closely by Northampton with 172.5. Nazareth (172), Saucon Valley (142) and Emmaus (131) rounded out the top five.