PIAA Class 3A Wrestling Championships: Chambersburg wrestler Karl Shindledecker is a state finalist at 120 pounds
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Chambersburg junior Karl Shindledecker briefly appeared to smile as he looked at the clock on a late restart in a semifinal win over Bethlehem Catholic’s Dante Frinzi at the PIAA Wrestling Championships. Shindledecker led 7-2 with just a handful of seconds remaining, and he simply needed to run out the clock to advance to the 120-pound state finals.
Trojans coach Matt Mentzer isn’t so sure that’s what his wrestler was doing. Shindledecker was calm and poised in each of his two Saturday wins, but with a sort of strategic obliviousness that has been unique to him. Confidence was no issue, but Shindledecker might not have truly grasped the situation until the final buzzer sounded.
“I don’t know if I’d give him that much credit, that he realized it that early, but he knew he was going to win the match,” Mentzer said. “When they handed him the white paper, then he probably realized it. He doesn’t get too high. He doesn’t get too low, he just goes out and does his thing. He’s an easy kid to root for.”
Chambersburg fans will have one more match to cheer for Shindledecker, and it’s his biggest of the season. He will wrestle Waynesburg Central standout Mac Church in tonight’s 120-pound championship final. It’s a rematch of last week’s West Super Regional final, when Church overcame a 3-0 deficit to beat Shindledecker by a 4-3 decision.
That loss was Shindledecker’s first of the season, but it also served as further proof that his name very much belongs in the conversation for the state’s best 120-pounder. Shindledecker hasn’t been consumed by the atmosphere or pressure at Giant Center thus far, and could stand to benefit from his ability to wrestle and be comfortable in his own skin.
“He looked very comfortable,” Mentzer said. “I thought when we went out, the last thing I said to him was, ‘If I was a betting man, I’d want to bet on the better kid, and I think you’re the better kid.’ He went out and proved me right.”
Shindledecker will get a chance to do it again Saturday night. The 106-138-pound finals session is set to begin at Giant Center at 5 p.m.
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