Jimmy Gulibon’s (No. 1 @ 119) lower lip was cut and his nose was bruised. The sullen look on his face was unexpected for someone who just won a state title — a third in his case.
But the Derry junior is a perfectionist, and appropriately enough he’s 3-for-3 now in his career in a championship bout at the PIAA wrestling tournament even though he didn’t feel he was at his best Saturday.
The three-day marathon of scholastic grappling ended with a new crop of champions crowned at the Giant Center — and a few familiar names like Gulibon picking up new prizes to add to their collections.
In Class AA, Gulibon pulled out a dramatic 6-5 decision at 119 pounds over Bethlehem Catholic’s Randy Cruz (H.M. @ 119) in Saturday afternoon finals session. Franklin Regional senior Nico Megaludis (No. 1 @ 125), this season’s other candidate to win a third career gold, was scheduled to wrestle in the Class AAA session on Saturday night.
Burrell’s Travis McKillop (No. 5 @ 160) was much less subdued after a 7-3 decision in overtime over Charleroi’s Cody Wiercioch (No. 4 @ 160) to win at 160. Wiercioch won last season at 152.
After finishing fifth the last two years, McKillop finally came out on top. He needed a takedown in the third to tie at 3 before using a move called a “Peterson” in OT to help pull out victory.
