CANONSBURG – In a much-anticipated rematch between state-title contenders, the result would be the same when the dust settled. Despite a strong effort from Central Mountain junior Aiden Kunes to make something happen late, No. 1 ranked Kai Vielma (Connellsville) once again had an answer, defeating the Wildcat by 5-2 decision to be crowned West Class AAA Regional champion.

Though the loss stings, Kunes still left his mark on the event, blowing his previous fifth place showing out the water as he saw little resistance on his way to the 145-pound final. His effort headlined an area effort that saw Central Mountain and Bellefonte send two wrestlers each to states.

Kunes will be joined by fellow junior Patrick Tarantella, who scraped in at 133 by taking fifth. For the Red Raiders, seniors Ezra Swisher (152) and Jackson Long (189) punched their tickets, placing in third and fourth in their respective weight classes.

On his way to the finals, Kunes didn’t endure a full six-minute match until championship semis. He worked two tech falls – including one over state-ranked Jacob Chacon (Montour) – before posting an 11-1 major decision over Nathan Klingensmith (Norwin) to skate into the championship only surrendering four combined points.

Against Vielma, Kunes was able to pull off a late reversal to give himself a shot, cutting his 4-0 deficit in half with under a minute to go. But despite numerous shots being fired from that point until the final whistle, Vielma’s defense held firm in the end. As it stands, the two losses blemishing the Wildcat’s record both came against Vielma, both coming by 5-2 decision.

For Tarantella, each match was grueling, with all four lasting six minutes and three being decided by five or less points. But when it was all said and done, he was able to pick up the crucial when necessary to scrape out his first career PIAA qualification.

After reaching championship semifinals, Tarantella endured a rough setback to open Day 2, suffering back-to-back losses to fall into the fifth-place bout at 133, before bouncing back to get the job done. With a second-period escape and third-period ride out, Tarantella beat Mars’s Parker Joseph by 1-0 decision to clinch fifth.

For Bellefonte, Swisher also fell to consolations to kick off his Day 2, falling to No. 9 Michael Ruane (Franklin Regional) by 2-1 decision behind a second-period reversal. However, following that match, the Bellefonte senior wouldn’t drop another.

Like his previous bout, his remaining two against No. 14 Luka Lilley (Connellsville) and No. 3 Owen Campbell (Plum) came down to the wire. Each case saw the Red Raider advance by way of lone escape, as he won each match by 1-0 decision.

At 189, Long’s drop to consolations started earlier following a tough quarterfinal loss to close out Day One. He was tasked with winning three matches to clinch a state bid as a result. But the senior relished the challenge, running the table against No. 26 Teagan Barr (Trinity), No. 24 Musabek Sadyrbekov (Chartiers Valley) and No. 18 Noah Williams (State College).

His wins included a pin over Sadyrbekov and two tight decisions. And while he fell to No. 18 Bryce Collins (Canon-McMillan) in the third-place bout, his first trip to states had long been secured.

The four area state qualifiers are set to return to action on Thursday at the Giant Center in Hershey. Class AAA action begins at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday for this year’s rendition of the PIAA Wrestling Championships.