Warriors Rodriguez and Gallagher close careers with state medals | Sports

And what a season it was for Gettysburg – arguably the finest in program history.

Gettysburg easily captured another YAIAA-2 championship before going on to reach the District 3 Class 3A Team Championship finals. The Warrior gutted out a heart-stopping 32-30 win over Central Dauphin to claim their second title in three years.

Transitioning to the individual postseason, Gettysburg qualified four wrestlers for the state tournament for the first time, as Gabe Pecaitis (120) and Jake Cherry (160) joined the 1-2 punch. The winning continued at the Giant Center, where Rodriguez and Gallagher wrestled their way onto the podium, giving Gettysburg multiple state placewinners for the first time since 2000.

At the center of it all stood Rodriguez and Gallagher.

“Lots of growth for those guys, they were a combined as freshman 0-6 and were not the most dedicated individuals in our program at that time,” said Warrior head coach Chris Haines when asked about the development of the duo. “They’ve continued to grow and blossom and evolve throughout their high school careers. Super proud that they were state medalists nine and ten for the Gettysburg program. They did great things.”

By virtue of respective wins in the blood round on Friday afternoon, both Rodriguez (215) and Gallagher (285) secured coveted medals. Where they stood on the podium would depend upon their performance on Saturday. Neither fared well in the morning’s consolation round as Rodriguez lost by 17-2 technical fall to Carl DiGiorgio (37-4), who eventually placed fourth.

Gallagher (41-8) ran into similar trouble as he was pinned in 1:18 by Quakertown’s Frederick Retter (41-5), who later earned bronze.

More than 10 hours later, the Warrior tandem was back on the mat to make their final scholastic appearance. Rodriguez saw a familiar face in Jose Garcia of McCaskey, who he edged 10-9 in the District 3 Championships. The rematch was a mismatch as Rodriguez had his way from the opening whistle.

Leading 2-0 after the first period, Rodriguez hit two more takedowns to balloon the lead to 6-1 with two minutes remaining. A reversal made it 8-1, and Rodriguez was so relaxed that he was able to smile while talking to his coaches during a break in the action.

Having admittedly battled nerves all weekend, wrestling with a clear mind was a welcomed change for Rodriguez, who cruised past Garcia, 12-3, to place seventh.

“I’ve been working for this for a long time, I’ve always had it in my head but was never there mentally for it,” said Rodriguez. “This year mentally I picked it up said ‘I want to get that medal’ and I got it.”

Rodriguez came to the varsity program as a bit of a project, with untapped raw ability. He went just 0-2 as a freshman before putting together a career that included an 82-19 overall record, 44 pins, two Section 1 titles and a District 3 championship.

“Wrestling is a tool, especially in Sam’s life, to guide him and get him going in the right direction,” said Haines. “Wrestling will do more for you than you’ll ever do for wrestling. Wrestling has changed Sam Rodriguez’s life for the rest of his life.”

Rodriguez acknowledged what being a part of the Gettysburg program has done for him.

“Coach Haines, he’s a big inspiration to me and I love the guy to death,” he said. “I’m going to miss the team aspect of it. Going out there motivating each other, that mindset wrestling gives you is not comparable to anything.”

Rodriguez likely wrestled for a final time on Saturday as he is exploring a possible career in the military.

Gallagher ran into Waynesburg pinning machine Noah Tustin (43-15) in his seventh-place bout. Tustin, who recorded falls in 21 and 9 seconds in the consolations, ran out to a quick lead before stopping Gallagher in 1:32.

The loss did little to deter Gallagher’s outlook on his season and what Gettysburg has accomplished during his career.

“It means everything,” Gallagher said of leaving Hershey with a medal. “All of our hard work that we’ve put in the past four years has paid off. Everything Coach Haines has taught us got us to where we are right now.”

Gallagher finishes with a 92-32 record, two Section 1 titles, a District 3 crown and 57 career falls.

Gallagher is trading his headgear for shoulder pads and a helmet as he plans to continue his football career at Lebanon Valley College, where he’ll play center while studying criminal justice.

“They did an outstanding job, super proud of them,” said Haines. “They’re going to have bright futures in the things that they do.”