Frazier’s Lawrence captures WPIAL title

By Jonathan Guth

MVI Sports

Frazier’s Rune Lawrence is probably getting tired of the comparisons to his brother and current Lehigh standout, Thayne, but they’re likely to continue as the freshman won his first WPIAL Class 2A championship Saturday.

Wrestling at Canon-McMillan High School, Lawrence (21-1) defeated McGuffey’s Ethan Barr (14-4, 124-38) for the fourth time this season in the 172-pound final with a pin in 1:36 to advance to the Southwest Regional Championships next weekend at IUP.

Lawrence scored a takedown with 1:50 remaining in the first period and turned Barr with an arm bar before picking up the fall. 

Lawrence won the Section 1-2A championship over Barr Friday by technical fall, 15-0, in 4:34. He won the sub-section gold Tuesday with a 3-0 decision over Barr, and defeated Barr, 7-0, in their first meeting.

 “All the comparisons to my brother and things like that don’t really mean much to me,” Lawrence said. “I just kind of take it as it goes and I’m not too worried about them. I will be in the room tomorrow, so we take it one day at a time. I am just taking the tournaments one by one.”

In a battle of undefeated freshmen, Bentworth’s Chris Vargo (11-0) won the championship at 113 pounds with a 4-1 decision over Elizabeth Forward’s Damon Michaels (24-1).

Vargo scored a takedown nine seconds into the match for a 2-0 lead after the first. Vargo hit a reversal on Michaels in the second for a 4-0 advantage. Michaels escaped with 1:56 left in the third, but wasn’t able to cut any further into the deficit.

“I have a lot of respect for that kid (Michaels),” Vargo said. “He works his butt off at practice and we go to the same club, so I knew it was going to be a tough match. I need to work on finishing my shots a little bit. 

“I was glad to get that reversal and I thought I put on a pretty tough ride on top. I lost a couple of matches in junior high because I couldn’t keep a tough ride on top, so that’s what I’ve been working on, and it paid off. It was a really cool experience here, and I am glad to advance to the regional tournament, but it doesn’t get any easier.”

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