Leaping Lawrence: Frazier senior puts exclamation point on 4th state title
HERSHEY 鈥� Rune Lawrence鈥檚 wrestling talent is unmatched in the state of Pennsylvania, which he demonstrated Saturday night at the Giant Center in Hershey with a 6-3 victory in the Class AA state finals at 215 pounds to win his fourth PIAA Individual Wrestling Championship.
But who knew Lawrence鈥檚 abilities as a gymnast rivaled Simone Biles?
With all due respect to Lawrence, that could be a stretch, but the Frazier senior and West Virginia University commit provided a near-perfect backflip after defeating Muncy鈥檚 Austin Johnson to become just the 14th wrestler in the 86 years the state championships have been held.
鈥淗onestly, in my head, I had just planned to shake his hand and walk off the mat,鈥� Lawrence said. 鈥淪ome words were exchanged after the match so I decided to do a little celebration. I am pretty athletic, so I have been able to do backflips for some time now.鈥�
The score in the finals match may appear that Lawrence had a battle on his hands, but he was never in danger, as Johnson鈥檚 points came from two escapes where Lawrence didn鈥檛 show any resistance in holding him down and an unsportsmanlike penalty was called on Lawrence after the two didn鈥檛 exactly hug it out as the match ended.
鈥淚 wanted to wrestle a lot more dominate, but at the end of the day, he only scored like one point and he had a stalling call, so it wasn鈥檛 really the battle everyone may have expected,鈥� Lawrence said. 鈥淚鈥檒l take the win and title anyday. It feels great to be a four-time state champion.鈥�
Jackson Angelo gave Frazier two medals as he placed fifth at 189.
Angelo won decisions over Towanda鈥檚 Mason Higley, 13-6, and Derry鈥檚 Brady Brown, 3-0, before falling to Huntingdon鈥檚 Andrew McMonagle by fall in 3:19.
Angelo dropped an 11-2 major decision to Bishop McDevitt鈥檚 Lucas Lawler before winning a 5-2 decision over Clearfield鈥檚 Carter Chamberlain in the fifth-place match.
Lawrence took control against Johnson following a scoreless first period.
Lawrence escaped, and with the two on their feet, Johnson was warned for stalling before Lawrence extended his lead to 3-0 with a takedown that held as the match headed to the third period.
Lawrence let Johnson escape 10 seconds into the final frame, but Lawrence put the match away with his second takedown for a 5-1 advantage. Johnson was hit for stalling to extend Lawrence鈥檚 cushion to 6-1 with 10 seconds left.
Johnson鈥檚 final escape was a gift from Lawrence and the penalty point made the match look much closer.
Lawrence completes his high school career with a record of 145-8, including a 33-1 mark as a senior. Three of his 鈥渓osses鈥� were due to having to default out of a match because of injury. Lawrence had 102 pins in high school and the five losses where he actually toed the line were by decision.
Lawrence鈥檚 high school career is officially over, but he will compete in the Pittsburgh Wrestling Classic on March 30 at AHN Arena on the campus of Peters Township High School for Team Pennsylvania.
Lawrence is scheduled to wrestler Sawyer Bartlett of South Dade High School in Florida. FloWrestling has Bartlett as the top-ranked wrestler in the country at 215 pounds. Lawrence checks in at No. 3 nationally.
鈥淲e are just going to go out there and compete,鈥� Lawrence said.
Following the Pittsburgh Wrestling Classic, Lawrence will head south to Morgantown, where he will step on the mat for West Virginia University, and he knows the competition and dedication will be a step up.
鈥淐ollege wrestling is definitely a different animal,鈥� Lawrence said. 鈥淵ou really find out what kind of wrestler you want to be. There is no one there telling you to get up and go to practice. You have to do that all on your own, but I am confident I can get it done, and I hope to give West Virginia some trophies.鈥�