HERSHEY -- It's not often that a freshman wins a PIAA wrestling title.

Prior to this year, it had happened only 22 times in 72 years of competition.

Thanks to Charleroi's Cody Wiercioch and Canon-McMillan's Connor Schram, the list has grown by almost 10 percent this year. They added their names to this impressive list on Saturday at Hershey's Giant Center.

Wiercioch became the first freshman middleweight to earn a PIAA gold medal since Terry Williams of Bald Eagle-Nittany won at 155 pounds in the 1977 Class AA tournament.

"I don't think I'll touch the ground for a week," said Charleroi coach Greg Doerfler, after watching Wiercioch claim the 152-pound title with a surprisingly easy 8-3 decision against Bethlehem Catholic's Kyle Dehaut. "It's been a ride with him. He's Charleroi's first state champ and obviously the highest place-winner."

Wiercioch posted an almost perfect 39-1 record during his freshman campaign, with his only loss coming in the WPIAL title match against Burrell's Travis McKillop.

"No one likes to lose, but [the loss to McKillop] did relieve some pressure going into the regional tournament," Wiercioch said. "I didn't really mind it too much. It helped me refocus."

The biggest difference, according to Wiercioch, was his conditioning.

"I worked all through the summer, running and lifting, and training at Quest [a wrestling training center]," Wiercioch said. "It clearly made the difference."

Wiercioch didn't panic when Dehaut took a 2-0 lead with a second-period reversal. He escaped seven seconds later, then caught Dehaut in a cross-face cradle for a five-point move that put him up 6-2 with 24 seconds remaining in the second period.

"He shot in and I was in a front headlock flurry for a while," Wiercioch said. "Eventually, he came around and I laced a leg and sunk in a cradle. I thought I had him pinned for a little while, but I did get the five points to take the lead. I was pretty confident after that."

Schram (42-4) became Canon-McMillan's first PIAA champion since 2006 with a 2-1 overtime victory against Austin Miller of Landisville Hempfield in the Class AAA 103-pound final.

"It's awesome, the best feeling ever," said Schram, after collecting his gold medal. "I was a little nervous, but my coaches kept me occupied. I even did math problems before a match. It was like a game."

Canon-McMillan coach Chris Mary wanted to keep Schram from thinking too much about his upcoming matches.

"We wanted to keep Connor busy all the time," Mary said. "We wanted to keep him relaxed, smiling and happy. Because we knew that when the whistle blew, we would unleash him."

Schram's title match went to overtime, as both wrestlers traded escapes during regulation. Neither wrestler scored during the next three overtime periods, which forced the ultimate tiebreaker period. Miller had the choice for the final period and waivered until deciding to take the top position.

"I think he got a little nervous when I rode him out [in the third overtime]," Schram said. "I didn't think he knew what to do."

Miller's choice proved to be the wrong one, as Schram escaped five seconds into the period to capture the gold medal.

"We were comfortable either way," said Mary. "Connor is tough on top and he proved he could get out on the bottom in the third period."

Mary was not surprised by Schram's impressive performance as a freshman.

"I remember sitting in the stands last year and telling people that Connor could have been in the [PIAA] finals as an eighth-grader," Mary said. "He's that good. And our main focus was to make sure he did not feel the pressure."

Schram's teammate, Nick Catalano, won a bronze medal after finishing third in the 135-pound weight class. Catalano (33-4) dropped a 1-0 decision in the semifinals to the eventual champion, Josh Dziewa of Council Rock South, then rallied to finish third with an 8-6 win against Derry's Travis Shaffer in the consolation for third place.

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