AARON KARNS, TYLER PERRY & NICK VENDITTI ALL WIN STATE MEDALS!!
Aaron Karns Takes Runner-Up Honors!! - First Berwick State Finalist Since 1985!!
Tyler Perry Takes 4th Place Medal!! - Nick Venditti Takes 8th Place Medal!!
Berwick Tied For 11th In Team Standings Out Of 113 Teams!!
Posted March 10, 2007

Once Again - Wow!

3 Dawgs qualified for and advanced to the 2007 PIAA AA State Championship Tournament held at the Giant Center in Hershey, PA, from March 8 - 10.  All 3 received their tickets to the state championship tournament after all 3 were crowned Regional Champions at the 2007 PIAA NE AA Regional Championship Tournament last weekend on March 3 & 4.

Now, make that 3 State Medalists For Berwick Wrestling.

1.2.3. - Tyler Perry - Nick Venditti - Aaron Karns.

With just superb wrestling at the state championship tournament, junior Aaron Karns went on to take prestigious runner-up honors, senior Tyler Perry grabbed impressive 4th place honors, and junior Nick Venditti notching excellent 8th place honors.

The success of these 3 Dawgs at the state championship tournament also allowed Berwick to be tied for 11th place in the team standings out of 113 high schools represented.

And open the record books of Berwick Wrestling yet once again in this record-setting season.

Looking back at the history of Berwick Wrestling, the last time Berwick Wrestling had 3 State Place-Winners in one season was four years ago, in 2003, when Jeremy Griffith (5th), Nick Yalch (5th), and Mike Viti (7th) brought home state medals from Chocolatetown.  Before that such a feat was only done once, in 1985, when Berwick had dual State Runner-Ups with Scott Beaver (2nd), Tim Holter (2nd), and Gary Huntington (6th) being the first  to record 3 place-winners in one season.  So the trio of Karns, Perry, & Venditti join a very elite group of Dawgs.

Also looking back at the history of Berwick Wrestling, the last time a Berwick Wrestler was in the state finals was when both Tim Holter and Scott Beaver took runner-up honors in 1985.  That's 22 years!!  The other state finalist for Berwick was Mike McCabe in 1972.  Aaron Karns is on a very short list, now 4 names long, with his magnificent runner-up honors this year.  Karns is also just the second junior in the history of Berwick Wrestling to notch runner-up honors, with the other being Mike McCabe in 1972.  Now, that's even a shorter list for Karns! 

For one Dawg, senior team captain Tyler Perry, a career dream has been realized.  There was no better place to end Tyler's simply magnificent varsity career than on the podium at the State Championship Tournament with a state medal around his neck.  As one of the best wrestlers in the history of Berwick Wrestling, Tyler will be missed for his leadership, technical prowess, and for simply being the great young man that he is.  The Dawg Faithful is not only filled with joy that Tyler's mission was fulfilled this year, but all of us only wish Tyler the best in all that he does in the bright future ahead of him.

For two Dawgs, juniors Aaron Karns and Nick Venditti, a season long dream come true now points to even more dreams and record-breaking performances next year.  The key word in that last sentence is the word "junior."  Both Aaron and Nick have accomplished what few have done - taste the sweetness of Hershey and come home with state medals around their neck with yet another year left in their high school careers.  For these two juniors to notch their highly impressive accomplishments in only their junior year makes one impatient for the sun to set only to rise tomorrow.  Next season is less than 9 months away and will be upon us in a blink of an eye.

Simply amazing!

Congratulations Tyler, Nick, & Aaron!!

Individual Postseason Wrap-Ups

Aaron Karns, Junior, 189lbs
District Champion
Regional Champion
State Qualifier
State Place-Winner - Runner Up
           
District Wrap
Junior Aaron Karns, the Prince of Punishment who wrestles like a brutal maniac, once again made mince-meat out of all his weekend opponents to win his district champion title and second consecutive district medal.  After destroying his opponents in the opening rounds, Aaron let loose an unrelenting barrage of physical artillery that saw him record a 10-0 major decision in the semifinal.  In the championship final, Aaron went to work like a blue-collar mechanic and once again detonated painful blow after blow that torpedoed his opponent for a captivating 7-0 decision and a gold medal around his neck.
NE Regional Wrap
Junior standout Aaron Karns, who has been wrestling like a demolishing wrecking ball all season long, went into destruction-mode yet once again at the regional championship tournament.  Aaron flattened his quarterfinal opponent with a brutalizing fall in 3:01.  In the semifinal bout Aaron used his overwhelming physical strength and technique to record a 4-1 decision and automatic right of passage to compete at the state championship tournament.  The championship final pitted Aaron against a fellow top gun and District 4 champion counterpart who placed 6th last year at states.  While Aaron's opponent may have had more name recognition, Aaron was determined to leave an indelible asterisk after his own name.  In a total nuclear war this contest was forced to double overtime by the two enraged contestants.  Aaron would not relent in the match and prevailed with a brilliant 2-1 2OT victory to stand on the top step of the regional championship podium.
State Championship Wrap
Forget about first time jitters at states, junior Aaron Karns arrived to Hershey with the same "line-em-up, beat-em-up, & show-em-the-lights" physical style he famously introduced to his opponents all year long.  Aaron opened up in the preliminary bout by obliterating his first opponent and recording an outstanding fall in 4:30 over Octorara's Mike Kinney.  In the quarterfinal match against Ethan Virgili of Jefferson-Morgan, Aaron was in an obvious hurry to advance in his bracket as he impatiently and brutally stapled a pair of shoulders to the mat in a mere lightning quick 44 seconds to advance to the semifinals.  In the all-important semifinal, Aaron squared up against Kevin Bolinsky of North Schuylkill, an opponent who was a 3-time state qualifier that carried a 36-1 record into the state championship tournament.  At no better time, and in no better place, Aaron gave Bolinsky his second loss of the year by exciting the audience with his utterly dazzling strength and technique that provided him with a tight but commanding 3-1 decision.  With Aaron catapulting to the championship finals, Karns became the first state finalist from Berwick since both Tim Holter and Scott Beaver took runner-up honors in 1985.  That's 22 years!!  The other past Berwick state finalist included Mike McCabe in 1972.  In the championship final, Aaron faced-off with Zac Bennett of Westmont-Hilltop. Bennett was a state runner-up in 2006.  Bennett jumped out to a 5-0 & 8-0 lead, but then Aaron kicked into gear.  Aaron fought back strong and hard, and in a contest frequently delayed by blood time for Bennett, was able to narrow the gap but ended up on the short side of an 11-7 decision.
Aaron ended his amazing junior season by becoming a State Runner-Up Medalist, NE Regional Champion, District 2 Champion, and notching 40 wins (my count) on the season.  And Aaron is just a junior with one more year to go!!  Anticipation will be in the air for Aaron next year when he can resume his state-wide "line-em-up, beat-em-up, & show-em-the-lights" physical style in which we can all expect to be an unbelievable senior dream season. 
Congratulations Aaron!!

Tyler Perry, Senior, 135lbs
District Champion
Regional Champion
Breaks Berwick's All-Time Career Win Record - Posts 127 Wins
State Qualifier
State Place-Winner - 4th Place
              
District Wrap
Senior team captain Tyler Perry notched his second district championship title and 4th consecutive district medal by just obliterating all of his opponents en-route to securing the gold medal.  In the final, Tyler showed his desire to quickly move on to the regional championship tournament as he struck with lightening precision in showing his opponent the ceiling in just a mind-numbing 1:03.  Tyler is on a mission quest.  The mission is Hershey for the state championship wrestling tournament.  Tyler is also in great position to break the all-time career win record in the history of Berwick Wrestling.
NE Regional Wrap
Mission quest accomplished.  Senior stellar Dawg Captain Tyler Perry was not to be denied at the regional championship tournament.  After winning his quarterfinal bout by a commanding 5-0 decision, Tyler entered the all important semifinal match.  In the semifinal, Tyler exacted complete control in notching an impressive 4-3 decision that advanced him to the championship final and secured a berth at the state championship tournament.  But there was one more match to wrestle, one that determines the regional championship, one that was a matter of pride.  The match was against Tyler's District 4 counterpart district champion.  Tyler went all-out to gun down his final opponent and recorded an outstanding 4-2 decision to earn the title "Regional Champion" and place himself on the top step of the podium.  Perry now moves to the second phase of his mission quest to do battle at states with goal of pocketing a state medal to wrap-up his outstanding high school career.  Also, with the Regional Championship victory, Win #123, Tyler eclipsed Berwick Wrestling's all-time career win record of 122 which was previously held by Jeremy Griffith in 2003.
State Championship Wrap
Senior team captain Tyler Perry arrived to Hershey with the eye of the tiger just biting to get on the mat.  In his preliminary match, Tyler released the ferocious tiger out of the cage and immediately pounded and chewed-up his opponent like a starving beast in recording a completely dominating 12-2 major decision over Oley Valley's Phil Talarico.  In the quarterfinal match, Tyler ended up on the low side of an extremely hard-fought 6-0 decision versus Colby Pisani of Ridgway who was a state 7th place medalist last year and the eventual runner-up this year.   In Tyler's first consolation match, the tournament's second round of consolations, a match where victory secures the highly sought after state medal, Tyler's mission quest would not be denied.  Tyler secured both the podium and state medal by completely overwhelming his first consolation opponent, Blake Sweigart of Donegal, with a commanding 6-0 decision.  In the third round of consolations, Tyler turned it up yet another notch with just an absolutely impressive 3-2 win by decision over tough Shane Welsh of Burrell who was a 3rd place medalist in 2006 and carried a 43-2 record into this year's state tournament.  In the fourth round of consolations, Tyler met up yet once again with NE regional foe Andrew Lewis of Wyalusing.  In a complete dogfight of a match in which the score was all tied-up at the end of the regulation 6 minutes, Tyler demonstrated his downright mental toughness in exploding in overtime to notch the fantastic 4-2 overtime victory.  Tyler's victory of Lewis placed him in the consolation final where he squared up against Scott Clymer of Northern Lehigh.  A slugfest ensued in the consolation final but Tyler came up just short in a 4-0 loss by decision to garner a prestigious 4th place state medal.
In the end, Tyler's dream came true - the dream he sought to fulfill through hard work, sweat, and unwavering determination - to end his varsity career standing tall on the podium at Hershey with a state medal around his neck.
Tyler tips his hat for one last time to the Dawg Faithful as a State Medalist, NE Regional Champion, 2-time District Champion, 4-time District Medalist, 39 wins (my count) for his senior year, and capturing the all-time career win record in the history of Berwick Wrestling by notching 127 career wins.
Congratulations Tyler!!  What A Great Varsity Career!!