Update: Brookville’s Ortz Wins State Title at 132 Pounds; Raiders Claim Team Title

3_12_16 bkvl tate ortz
HERSHEY, Pa. (D9Sports) – HERSHEY, Pa. —Brookville’s Tate Ortz beat Bishop McDevitt junior John Pipa, 7-2, at 132 pounds to win his first PIAA Class AA championship Saturday at the Giant Center in Hershey.

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Ortz was third the last two years, but Saturday he came out strong and built a 5-0 lead after one period and 7-0 after two.

“It’s really nice to win a state title and it’s that much better to be undefeated,” Ortz said. “After placing third the last two years, making the finals and winning was a big load off my shoulders. It’s something I’ve wanted to do since I was a little kid.

“After losing in the semis last year, I was heart-broken. It gave me the drive to not let it happen again and it didn’t.”

Watch full interview with Ortz here

Ortz finished 44-0 and his championship helped lead the Raiders to the team title with 72.5 points, two ahead of runner-up Huntingdon. The Raiders also had four other medalists, including Keelan Kunselman at 106, Gavin Park at 113, Cole Aaron at 138 and Caleb Hetrick at 152.

3_12_16 brookville AA team champs

Another District 9 wrestler came up just shy of his quest to win a state title, as Smethport’s Jimmy Duffy placed second Saturday at 145 pounds dropping a 3-1 decision to South Fayette senior Mike Carr in the finals.

Duffy entered the finals at 36-0 and his runner-up finish is the best ever at Smethport. Prior to Duffy’s silver medal finish, he and Kirk Gregory were third-place finishers. Duffy was third at 145 in 2015 while Gregory was third in 1991.

“I thought I wrestled fairly well. It was a tough match in the finals,” Duffy said. “It feels great and it hasn’t really hit me yet, but it feels good.”

Story by Scott Shindledecker


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