ATHENS' BRADLEY WINS FIRST BOUT AT SUPER REGIONAL BY FALL; ONE WIN AWAY FROM STATES
By: Tim Birney | AthensWildcats.com | March 6, 2021 | Photo courtesy Tim Birney
LEWISBURG — One down, one to go.
After a second-period fall in
his quarter-final match here Saturday morning at the PIAA Eastern Super
Regionals, Athens junior Gavin Bradley is just one win away from his
third trip to Hershey, and better yet, his third PIAA medal.
“(Gavin) doesn’t even know it right now, but he only needs one win and he places at States,” said Athens coach Shawn Bradley.
“If he goes out and wrestles like that, there’s no one in the State that can beat him, but that’s up to him,” added Bradley.
Gavin
Bradley scored a single-leg takedown just seven seconds into his
113-pound bout with Boiling Springs junior Raif Barber to take a 2-0
lead.
After riding top for more than a minute, Bradley cut Barber
loose with 44 seconds remaining, then scored a takedown four seconds
later to take a 4-1 lead.
Bradley mercilessly worked on top, and
turned Barber with a turk for three near-fall points with 7 seconds
remaining to take a 7-1 lead into the second period.
Bradley
chose neutral and scored a go-behind takedown just 7 seconds into the
second period, then quickly cut Barber loose to make it 9-2.
Bradley scored another takedown with 1:23 remaining, and 21 seconds later finished off another turk for a fall at 2:58.
Coach Bradley said they had watched some tape on Barber this week.
“Honestly, you see everything on the Internet now.
“I
watched (Barber) wrestle, and he has techniques that worried me a
little bit,” said Bradley. “Gavin (Bradley) did what he had to do to
stay away from those.
“And, he just kept the pace super-high,” Bradley added.
Coach Bradley said the win takes the edge off for the younger Bradley.
“It’s
a new atmosphere, so it kind of relaxes him a little bit,” said Coach
Bradley. “He was a little nervous earlier, but this (win) helps.
Gavin
Bradley, now 37-0, won’t need to watch tape on his next opponent, South
Williamsport’s sixth-seeded Robert Gardner, who improved to 35-2 on the
season with an 8-5 win over third-seeded Adam Schweitzer of Notre Dame
Green Pond in the quarterfinals. Bradley beat Gardner, 7-1, in the
District 4 finals.
“Gavin just needs to keep the same approach
he’s had all year, so nothing changes,” said Shawn Bradley. “If we can
keep it so he doesn’t feel tension, and he can just wrestle, he can beat
anybody.
“If we let something get to him, then it puts him in a spot where he has to overcome that, too,” he added.
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