Matt Fisk won the 119-pound championship at the PIAA wrestling championships with his 4-3 victory over Littlestown’s Mike Anderson Saturday at Hershey’s Giant Center. Photo by Kevin Peterson.

A Golden Moment

 By Pete Hardenstine

Often in life, it’s not the destination but the journey that adds meaning to an accomplishment.

Matt Fisk’s post-season journey en route to a PIAA wrestling gold medal was certainly memorable.

Ten days after arthroscopic surgery to remove cartilage from his left knee, Fisk, a Wyalusing Valley junior, was standing on the top of the podium accepting the 119-pound championship medal from his proud father and coach, Walt.

Minutes earlier, he had walked off the mat at Hershey’s Giant Center a 4-3 winner over Littlestown’s Mike Anderson in the championship final amid cheers from the loudest fans in the arena.

The victory didn’t come easily against Anderson, who entered the bout with a 39-1 record that included two easy wins in the first two rounds and an impressive 2-1 victory over Bloomsburg’s Jeff Schell in the semifinals.

Fisk, who had wrestled Anderson previously in a freestyle tournament in Brockport, knew he had to set the early tone of the match against a strong, lanky opponent.

“I knew I had to get at least one takedown in the first period,” Fisk said. “I knew I had to be aggressive.”

Fisk scored with an immediate takedown in the first period and, after an Anderson escape, followed with another takedown that had the potential to lead to back points if they had stayed in bounds.

Anderson was able to escape again before the end of the period, closing the gap to 4-2.

Anderson won the toss and chose to take the top position to open the second period.

Neither wrestler scored in the period, but Anderson came close to turning Fisk for back points on one occasion.

“He was really tough on top,” Fisk admitted. “I couldn’t get out.”

Choosing to start the final period in neutral position, Fisk fended off repeated takedown efforts by Anderson.

Fisk was penalized for stalling with a minute left in the match that cut the score to 4-3.

Fisk was a little surprised by the call.

“He only took one shot. I was working,” he said.

When the final buzzer sounded and the state title that had been within his grasp the previous two seasons was his, he embraced his father in the corner.

“It’s one of the best feelings I’ve ever had as a dad and as a coach,” Walt Fisk said. “It’s great to coach state champs. They’ve both been very special moments, but coaching your son is just one notch higher.”

As a freshman, Fisk had finished second at Hershey in the 103-pound division and settled for a frustrating third place last year as a sophomore at 112 pounds.

He was extremely happy to have the monkey off his back.

“I didn’t want to take second again,” he said. “Coming in I was headed down with a second and then a third. Fourth would have been awful, but I stepped it up a notch.

“It feels great.”

He was especially appreciative of the support he received from the Wyalusing faithful.

“I have the best fans, maybe in the world,” he said. He singled out his grandparents and, especially, his older brother, Josh who warmed him up prior to the match.

Fisk’s path to the title through the three-day tournament began in impressive fashion with a 4:24 pin of Bermudian Springs’ Rickey Schmelyan in Thursday’s preliminary match.

In Friday’s quarterfinal bout, he decked Lakeview’s John Fleming in 2:45. Fleming had entered the match with an impressive 33-1 record as the Northwest Regional champion.

His semifinal opponent was a familiar foe—Forest Hills’ Shane Valko.

Fisk faced Valko last year in Hershey in the consolation final, winning an 8-3 decision. Earlier this season, he defeated Valko in the Top Hat championship bout.

In the semifinal, Fisk jumped out to a 5-2 lead through the first two periods and held off a third-period rally for a 5-4 win.

“Valko’s a real tough kid,” Fisk said. “He’s really quick on his feet. I knew I was going to have to beat him on my feet also.”

Fisk’s health was a question mark entering the tournament.

The surgery that was performed on Feb. 25, just two days prior to the regional tournament, forced him to forfeit the title match against Schell in that tournament. Fisk had gutted out a pair of victories to ensure a spot in Hershey and opted out of the final to rest the knee.

The knee was fine and, by Fisk’s own admission, the only real affect was in his conditioning, especially in the Anderson and Valko matches.

“I was a little bit out of shape,” he said. “I haven’t been working out as much as I would have been. I had to take a couple days off and wasn’t allowed to run.”

He credited his surgeon with finding the time to do the procedure quickly, making it possible to recover in time to wrestle the past two weekends.

Prior to Saturday’s championship finals, Walt Fisk was named the Man of the Year by Pennsylvania Wrestling/Wrestling USA for his 30 years of contributions to the sport.

That honor paled to a father’s pride for a son.

“That’s nothing compared to winning a state title,” said Walt, who just missed winning a PIAA title in 1976 for Sayre, of his award.

“He’s worked so hard, wrestled so many matches, lifted so much. “He’s a good kid in the classroom, a good kid as far as sportsmanship.

“He’s an excellent example for everybody who comes up through the Wyalusing wrestling program.”

Schantz, Armstrong Gain Valuable Experience

Wyalusing Valley juniors Mark Armstrong and Greg Schantz gained valuable experience, while Towanda’s Mike Chatburn and Northeast Bradford’s Stephen Laudermilch culminated their careers with third-place medals at the PIAA wrestling championships.

“They wrestled really well,” Wyalusing coach Walt Fisk said of Armstrong and Schantz, who failed to medal in their first appearances in the Class AA tournament.

Schantz lost his 275-pound preliminary match to Marion Center’s Jon Neese by fall in 5:27. Neese went on to win the championship.

In the consolation round, Schantz pinned Portage’s Rick McKrush in 15 seconds.

He was eliminated with a 9-5 loss to Tyrone’s Terry Tate in the second-round consolations.

“He ended up getting the number one- and two-ranked kids in his losses,” said Fisk of Schantz’s tournament, “and the bracketing was tough on him.”

Armstrong, competing in a very competitive 130-pound class, lost his opener, 8-6, to Jeannette’s Larry Hall. Hall finished second in the tournament, losing to defending state champion Garrett Scott, 3-2, in double overtime in the final.

In his consolation opener, he defeated York Suburban’s Brandon Snyder, 11-7.

Ryan McIntyre of Claysburg-Kimmel eliminated Armstrong with a 17-4 major decision.

“Mark wrestled the state finalist to a very close match,” Fisk said of Armstrong’s loss to Hall.

“He told me that he’s starting tomorrow and working toward a state title. He has the potential to do that with a lot of work. He’s very dedicated.”

McIntyre, who finished seventh, defeated Sullivan County’s Mark Stockdill, 9-6, in the preliminary round.

Stockdill lost to Oley Valley’s Caleb Walsh, 9-0, in the first-round consolations.

Chatburn was extremely impressive en route to his bronze medal at 275 pounds.

He opened the tournament with pins over Chartiers-Houston’s Elliott Bates in 20 seconds and Fairview’s Luke Beall in 38 seconds.

In the semifinal, Lehighton’s Joe Tartar pinned Chatburn in 1:10, dropping him to the consolation bracket.

A wild 13-12 decision over Mercer’s Branden Bice advanced Chatburn to the consolation final where he pinned Tate in 1:58.

He credited his coach, Bill Sexton, with convincing him that a medal was within his grasp this year.

“He said that I was the favorite all year and that people didn’t believe that. I would have to step it up and get it done.”

Laudermilch, who finished eighth last year at 160 pounds, finished third the hard way.

After losing his 171-pound opening-round match to Meyersdale’s Shane Bowker, 9-8, he marched through the consolation bracket like Sherman through Georgia.

After defeating Schuylkill Valley’s Patrick Walsh, 15-2, Laudermilch avenged a narrow championship final loss to Mount Carmel’s Eric Lapotsky with a 10-3 victory.

In the third round of consolations, he decisioned Biglerville’s Justin Trostel, 4-1.

In the consolation final, Laudermilch settled another old score with a 6-3 win over Hughesville’s Rory McCoy, who had soundly defeated him in the District Four final.

“I didn’t wrestle very well in the first match,” Laudermilch admitted after receiving his medal. “After that, I decided to go for the highest medal I could get.

“I’ve been pretty banged up the last couple of weeks,” said Laudermilch, a deeply religious person, who added “the Lord helped me get this.”

Three other Northern Tier League wrestlers medaled, including Athens’ Trevor Bennett, Sayre’s Donnie Barrett and Canton’s Jordan Stiner.

Bennett reached the 140-pound final with a 40-0 record before losing to Loyalsock’s Isaiah Britton, a defending state champion, 10-3.

Britton’s win helped Loyalsock edge Bloomsburg, 67.5-67, in the team championship. Reynolds was a close third with 66 points.

Barrett finished sixth in the 135-pound class, while Stiner was seventh at 152 pounds.