Burrell’s Cam Baker, Cooper Hornack advance to PIAA Class 2A quarterfinals

By: Paul Schofield
Thursday, March 7, 2024 | 5:25 PM

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HERSHEY — This is the first year the PIAA has decided to sponsor a girls wrestling tournament.

But not every girl entered that tournament.

Northwestern junior Sierra Chiesa decided to give the boys tournament another try after going 2-2 last year. On Thursday, she lost to Burrell sophomore Cam Baker at 107 pounds to begin the 2024 tournament.

Baker used two takedowns to defeat Chiesa, 4-2.

“She is really good, and there was no way I was taking her lightly,” Baker said. “She’s really good at scrambling and is fundamentally strong. I just kept my weight on her.

“She’s good on the bottom, and she does funky stuff. I wanted to stay clear of that.”

Baker (44-4) reached the semifinals a year ago. In Friday’s quarterfinals, he’ll face Tussey Mountain sophomore Dakota Santamaria, whom he defeated 11-3 at Bedford on Jan. 27. Santamaria pinned No. 2 seed Manny Stoltzfus of Montgomery on Thursday.

“He’s really tough,” Baker said of Santamaria. “I can’t look past him. You can’t look past anybody.”

The Class 2A semifinals begin at 8 a.m.

Reigning state champ Cooper Hornack was in a tight battle against Camp Hill junior Noah Doi at 139. Hornack actually fought off numerous takedown attempts by Doi before catching him and pinning him in the second period.

Hornack will face Midd-West junior Matthew Smith in the quarterfinals.

“It was a tough first match, a returning state placewinner,” Hornack said. “I knew he was good, quick on his feet. I had to scramble out of some situations and takedowns. I hit a whizzer and hipped him over and got the pin. I practice that a lot.”

Hornack said he is comfortable in scramble situations.

“I know most positions real well and where to be to not get scored on and I can score on them,” Hornack said. “For me, this is always the toughest match. You don’t have any warm-up, and you don’t have any matches. You have to stay confident. I’m excited.”

Valley senior Charles Perkins got a pin in his preliminary match against Susquenita senior Josh Kauffman, but No. 1 seed Adam Waters of Faith Christian was just too strong in the first round, winning 17-1.

Perkins drops into the consolation round, where he’ll attempt to become a placewinner.

Roscosky satisfied with win

Kiski Area sophomore Cooper Roscosky put together a solid performance in his first match at Giant Center.

Roscosky (39-2) posted a 5-0 victory against Easton junior Shane Linegar to advance to the quarterfinals at 2:15 p.m. Friday. He’ll face Strath Haven sophomore Michael Spielman.

“I wrestled pretty good and how I should have,” Roscosky said. “I think I could have wrestled a bit better, but it was the first match and now I’m ready.

“I wasn’t nervous because I have no expectations. I’m going to let it fly and hopefully I get on the podium. If not, I’m fine with whatever. I want to get a few wins and get ready for next year.”

Roscosky said the ultimate goal is to get a medal.

Plum seniors Antonino Walker (152) and Jack Tongel (172) dropped preliminary-round matches.

Walker stayed alive in the consolation round with a 3-1 victory against Mifflin County’s Parker Kearns. Tongel, however, fell to Mifflin County’s Avery Aurand, 4-1.

Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.

Tags: Burrell