Punxsy's Young finishes fourth at PJWs

March 30, 2011

Punxsy 102-pounder Kaleb Young (top) — shown competing in the Section III Qualifier earlier this month — finished fourth at the Pennsylvania Junior Wrestling State Championship Tournament last Saturday in Wilkes-Barre. (File photo by Dan Walk/The Punxsutawney Spirit)

WILKES-BARRE — Kaleb Young's search for a Pennsylvania Junior Wrestling state championship will have to wait another year.

Young, a 102-pounder competing in the 13- and 14-year-old age division, finished fourth this year at the PJW State Championship Tournament this past weekend at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre.

The wrestler finished as a state runner-up the past two years.

Young, a seventh-grader, was one of three Punxsutawney grapplers to compete in the state tournament.

Also wrestling were Josh Schuckers (107 pounds) and Troy Peace (212 pounds).

Young won both of his bouts Friday to advance to the championship semifinals, where he fell to Hempfield's Sam Krivus, 4-0.

Krivus, who didn't allow a point during the tournament, won the state title with a 3-0 decision over Fox Chapel's Ian Moritz.

Once Young dropped to the consolation bracket, he beat Nazareth's Tyrone Klump, 4-0, to reach the third-place match against Cumberland Valley's Fredy Stroker.

Stroker, whose only loss came to Krivus in the championship quarterfinals, beat Young in the third-place match, 5-0.

Young finished the tournament with a 3-2 record after winning the Section III and Area V titles.

Peace came within one victory of a medal. He was pinned by Curwensville's Ricky Magnuson in 2:42 during the consolation second round. Peace finished second and Magnuson was first coming out of Area V.

Peace recorded a 2-2 record in the tournament.

Magnuson finished with an eighth-place medal.

Schuckers went 0-2 Friday and was eliminated before he could advance to the second day Saturday.