HERSHEY -- Mt. Pleasant Area's Donnie Ament didn't know if he would be able to compete in the PIAA Class AA Wrestling Championships this weekend.
Ament, a 145-pound junior, came down with either the flu or food poisoning after last weekend's PIAA Southwest Regional in Johnstown.
"I missed practiced and was dehydrated," Ament said as he sat in a hallway at the Giant Center on Friday night after his 4-3 victory over Slippery Rock's Jeff Becker.
"I can't believe it," Ament said. "I didn't know if I could pull it off. He scored on me first, and I knew I had to step it up."
Ament tied the score with two escapes. He then he took advantage of a Becker mistake and dumped near the edge of the mat for a takedown in the second period for a 4-2 lead.
In the third period, Ament gave up an escape but was able to fight off Becker's attack.
"At this level, when someone makes a mistake, you have to capitalize on it," Ament said. "You have to set your goals high. Mine were to reach the finals."
Ament (48-3) will meet Schuylkill Valley's Addison Nuding (42-8) in the finals, which begin at 2:30 p.m. Nuding needed overtime to defeat Lake Lehman's Andy Josuweit, 6-4.
Ament is one of five wrestlers from Westmoreland County to reach the finals. The others were Derry Troy Dolan (112 pounds), Belle Vernon's Jason Weslager (119), Jeannette's A.J. Graves (171) and Valley's Logan Downes (171).
Derry's Dolan (40-1) could easily be overconfident in his final today. He faces a wrestler in West Greene's Justin Blumer, an Oklahoma state champion, which he has defeated twice this season. Dolan defeated Blumer, 4-1, in last week's Southwest Regional.
Dolan rolled into the finals with a 17-1 technical fall win over Fort LeBoeuf's Steve Waite in the semifinals. Dolan, however, received a scare in the quarterfinals yesterday morning. He rallied to defeat Lewisburg freshman Derek Reber 7-5 in overtime.
"I got my wake-up call in the morning match," Dolan said. "I was a little tired for some reason. So, I went back to the hotel, took a shower and then a nap. I got refreshed and came back strong."
Blumer advanced to the finals with a 1-0 win over Mt. Pleasant's Zach Holt.
Blumer said the wrestler who wants to win the most will win the crown.
Belle Vernon's Weslager will try to become the first wrestler at his school to win a state title. Weslager whipped Lake Lehman's John Fleming, 10-2, in the semifinals.
He'll meet Claysburg-Kimmel's Adam Whetstone, who edged Weslager last week, 4-3.
"I'm not surprised that Jason has made the finals," Belle Vernon coach Mel Gray said. "It's not an accident that he's in the finals. He's a good wrestler, and he's done everything we've asked."
Weslager said he had wrestled Fleming before. He said that he was able to take advantage of a couple mistakes.
Graves rolled into the finals for the second consecutive season with a 5-2 victory over Schuylkill Valley's Patrick Walsh. He'll meet Valley's Logan Downes, who defeated Central Columbia's Simon Fowler, 4-2, in the semifinals, for the fourth time this season.
Graves has won the previous three meetings. Graves didn't seem pleased with his performance. He allowed his first points of the tournament but controlled the match.
"I felt terrible out there," Graves said. "I was a little nervous before the match.
"Getting into the finals is a good thing, but my main objective is to win it. Last year, I didn't leave it all on the mat. This year I will."
Mt. Pleasant had two other wrestlers Holt (112) and Lee Vanella (125) -- wrestle in the semifinals. Holt was edged by Blumer, while Vanella fell 5-2 to Hamburg's Nick Stabile.
Both will be wrestling for fifth place today.
