York Suburban's Adams, Littlestown's Mingee lead 5 local PIAA boys' wrestling medalists

HERSHEY — The fuel and desire ran long and deep for York Suburban senior standout Tyler Adams after missing out on a state medal as a junior.

All the training and hard work that Adams put himself through ever since last year’s PIAA Class 3A tournament was done with one goal in mind — competing for a state title.

On Saturday afternoon at the Giant Center in Hershey, the U.S. Naval Academy recruit realized his dream when he took the mat in the 133-pound final against Tahir Parkins of Nazareth.

After falling behind with a takedown just 15 seconds after the initial whistle, however, Adams was never able to fully get find a way to get his offense going against Parkins. Despite a spirited effort, the Suburban senior was unable to pull out comeback as he dropped a 9-2 decision to the state's No. 1-ranked wrestler in the class.

“He’s really quick and strong,” Adams said of Parkins. “He just wrestled really well. He was tough on bottom and he got out really quick, so nice job to him.”

Trailing early in a match had become a trend for Adams (ranked fifth in his class) this postseason. He trailed in the District 3 finals before procuring his second straight district title. He also overcame early deficits in the state quarterfinals against Connellsville's Kai Vielma and semifinals against Baldwin's Ramil Islamov before rallying back.

“I still thought I had a fighting chance until the time was up,” Adams said. “I wrestled until the end.”

While the ending wasn’t what Adams envisioned, the journey over the past two years was something he’ll look back on fondly for the rest of his life. His close relationship with Central York’s Elias Long — who also won back-to-back District 3 titles and finished sixth at states on Saturday — was well-documented, and the two friends will now both have state medals to remind themselves of their efforts.

“This was a fun weekend for sure,” said Adams, who finished 36-3 this season and 123-17 in his career. “I have a really cool fan base, a lot of people that believed in me and believed that I could be where I was and believed that I could have had that gold medal. It’s really awesome to have people close to me that believe in me.”

Adams was eliminated from the 2023 state meet on the second of three days, so Saturday was his first time competing in the weekend's biggest session. With championships for Class 3A, Class 2A and the first-ever PIAA girls' tournament all happening at once, the Giant Center was filled nearly to capacity on Saturday afternoon.

“This was definitely a cool atmosphere,” Adams said. “One that I’ve never been in before where I kind of had the spotlight on me a little bit, but it wasn’t nothing too new.”

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A total of four York-Adams League wrestlers left Hershey with Class 3A medals. Spring Grove senior Michael Hershey rebounded from a loss in his first match of the tournament at 285 to place fourth, while Long finished sixth after reaching the semifinals at 145. Carter Davis, Long's four-year Central York teammate, won his seventh-place match at 160.

Also in 3A, Northern York senior Cole Bartram got his fourth shot against future Lock Haven wrestling teammate Tucker Hogan of Daniel Boone in the finals at 189. After trailing 2-0, Bartram scored a reversal to even the match in the second period. But Hogan scored his own reversal 32 seconds later and went on to earn a 5-2 decision and claim his second consecutive state title, both coming over Bartram.

In Class 2A, Littlestown senior Cameron Mingee’s magical ride to the state finals was ended by Bishop McCort’s Bo Bassett. The top-ranked Bassett, who finished the season undefeated, was a point machine, as he racked up eight takedowns and five near-fall points en route to an impressive 21-6 technical fall at the 2:55 mark. Mingee closed an unforgettable senior season with a 35-3 record.

“I knew he was tough,” Mingee said of the nationally-ranked Bassett. “I usually have a pretty good gas tank, but to keep up that pace … I was feeling it.”

Friday:Pair of York-Adams League wrestlers reach state finals; 10 secure medals

Thursday:10 York-Adams League wrestlers reach PIAA quarterfinals

PIAA boys’ wrestling championships

York-area medalists

Class 2A

139 - Cam Mingee (Littlestown - 2nd)

Class 3A

133 - Tyler Adams (York Suburban- 2nd)

189 - Cole Bartram (Northern York - 2nd)

285 - Michael Hershey (Spring Grove - 4th)

145 - Elias Long (Central York - 6th)

160 - Carter Davis (Central York - 7th)