PIAA wrestling championships: Frazier’s Lawrence, EF’s Michaels finish as state runners-up in 2A

By Dan Palm

MVI Sports

Frazier’s Thayne Lawrence was vying for his third consecutive PIAA Class 2A wrestling championship over the weekend in Hershey. 

He once again made it to the championship match Saturday, but instead of claiming that third title, he suffered a controversial loss in the 160-pound final. 

In a highly-anticipated match against another returning state champion in Notre Dame-Green Pond senior Andrew Cerniglia, Lawrence had a number of the official’s calls go against him in an 11-8 loss.

The referee awarded Cerniglia (47-1) a penalty point for an illegal hold and waived off a Lawrence takedown at the end of the second period. What raised the ire of the Giant Center crowd, however, was a third period stalemate call when Lawrence had Cerniglia in a tight cradle and was working to get him to his back.

“I feel that there were a couple of things that should have been let go longer and some bad calls made, but if anything, I blame myself for leaving things in someone else’s hands.” Lawrence said. “The ref made calls that he thought were right.”

To read the rest of this story, please see a copy of Monday’s Mon Valley Independent, call 724-314-0035 to subscribe or subscribe to our online edition at https://e.monvalleyindependent.com.