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HERSHEY — Instead of the competitive snarl, Garnet Valley’s Reese Dewar delivered a long-lasting victory smile.
There is nothing like winning your last match at the PIAA wrestling tournament, and when Dewar had done so Saturday morning, the Garnet Valley freshman allowed herself to feel the emotion.
For a kid who grew up wrestling for Team Chaos in Chichester, a fifth-place medal was a great start to a varsity career trending upward.
“It feels really good being able to come back,” Dewar said Saturday. “It was a really tough day yesterday with my losses putting me down. I was nervous today. I haven’t been really this nervous for a while. So, being at this tournament and being this nervous, I think it gave me an extra boost.”
Dewar built a 12-3 lead before pinning Kaylee Ebersole of Northern Bedford in the fifth-place match at the Giant Center in the inaugural PIAA girls tournament. There was no doubt about it. Then she did some interviews and wished teammate Jessica Ayala the best.
Ayala disposed of Sayona Harris of Greater Johnstown, 6-1, to capture a third-place medal at 142 pounds.
“You know what was cool about her wrestling? She got down in a couple matches, tight ones and she found ways to win over the last three days,” Jaguars coach Chris Tate said. “Her first match she was down 8-4 and she came all the way back. Found a way to win. She just found ways to battle.”
Ayala will take that with her as she plans to continue wrestling in college.
“I’ve been wrestling since sixth grade at Garnet Valley Middle School,” Ayala said. “I was like 12. I’ve looked at a couple of colleges — Ursinus, Alvernia.”
At 148 pounds, Sun Valley freshman Jameson Strickland closed out her tournament in fourth, losing a major decision, 9-1, to Marissa Rumsey of Williamsport. For the Vanguards as a whole, the results didn’t quite match expectations, Strickland the only one of the school’s four wrestlers to medal.
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Garnet Valley’s Reese Dewar, left, has the advantage on Kaylee Ebersole of Norwin in a fifth-place bout at the PIAA Wrestling Championships Saturday in Hershey. (Bill Rudick/For MediaNews Group)
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