PIAA NORTHEAST REGION WRESTLING: NP-LIBERTY'S LEHMAN THROUGH TO SEMIS (March 4, 2022)By Lance LarcomNorthern Tier West Sports ReportWILLIAMSPORT — North Penn-Liberty’s Kohen Lehman had a strong night at the PIAA Northeast Regionals Friday, picking up a pair of major decisions to earn a spot in the 172-pound semifinals.
After finishing fourth at last week’s District IV tournament, Lehman had a preliminary match to open his Regional run, topping Towanda’s Mason Higley 10-0. Higley was a late fill-in, as he finished seventh last week and did not qualify for Regionals. Montoursville’s Josiah Schans was to be Lehman’s first-round match-up, but withdrew from the tournament.
After topping Higley, Lehman met District 2 champion and No. 2-seeded Benjamin Frederick, a senior from Scranton Prep, in the quarterfinals. Lehman dominated and topped Frederick 10-1.
Lehman will face Benton’s Nolan Lear in the semifinals on Saturday. The two met last week in the District semis, with Lear earning a second-period fall over Lehman.
On the other side of the bracket, No. 1 seed Garrett Garcia from Southern Columbia and Canton’s Riley Parker will meet in the semifinal, just like last week, where Garcia pinned Parker in 1:50.
The elimination round begins at 9 a.m. Saturday, followed by the championship semifinals, the consolation quarterfinals and the consolation semifinals.
The 5th-6th place matches will start at 4:15, followed by the 3rd-4th place matches and the finals at 6:30 p.m.
PHOTOS: Lance Larcom