Andrew Gunning's older brother was an accomplished wrestler at Liberty High School who placed third in the state as a senior last season. <\/p>\n
Jake Gunning is now a redshirt freshman on the University of Buffalo wrestling team. <\/p>\n
He was in attendance at the Bethlehem Holiday Wrestling Classic on Monday evening to watch his younger sibling do something he was unable to do: capture a BHWC tournament title. <\/p>\n
Andrew Gunning, a junior, finished first at 220 pounds in the 26-team, two-day event at Liberty's Memorial Gym. Gunning was one of two wrestlers from the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference to win individual titles. Nazareth sophomore Travis Stefanik claimed the 145-pound championship. <\/p>\n
Wyoming Seminary Prep crowned four champs and easily won the team title with 272.5 points. <\/p>\n
Phillipsburg finished second with 198. Brandon Paetzell (113) and Max Elling (160) won titles for the Stateliners, who have one of the top teams in New Jersey. <\/p>\n
Gunning was locked in a spirited duel in the 220-pound final with Wyoming Seminary's Harrison Nye when he hit the winning takedown in the final 10 seconds. Gunning, who placed seventh as a sophomore, turned a 3-2 deficit into a 4-3 win. <\/p>\n
\"I wasn't really aware of the time until I looked up and there were only 14.5 seconds left,\" he said. \"I thought there were at least 30 seconds left. I was like, 'Oh shoot, I need to get going.' I didn't want to shoot too early so I waited for the right time.\" <\/p>\n
Liberty coach Jody Karam said that, like his older brother, Andrew Gunning has a knack of coming through in the clutch. <\/p>\n
\"I was on him pretty hard to get going. He wrestles similar to his brother in that he's very smart strategically and is very timely,\" Karam said. \"This is a major step for Andrew. It'll be beneficial for his confidence.\" <\/p>\n
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Liberty's Gunning, Nazareth's Stefanik win titles at Bethlehem Holiday Wrestling Classic<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Andrew Gunning's older brother was an accomplished wrestler at Liberty High School who placed third in the state as a senior last season. Continue reading