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YourDailyLocal.com is counting down what we believe are the Top 10 moments/games/performances from the 2020-21 high school sports season in Warren County.
No. 2: Sheffield’s Finch, Youngsville’s Hogg Win State Silver
As good as the Warren County team achievements were in 2020-21, the individuals were even better.
Sheffield’s Ethan Finch ruled the winter on the wrestling mat as he made it to the state finals at 189 pounds and brought home a silver.
Youngsville’s Jake Hogg did him one better in the spring as he earned state silver in two events at the PIAA State Track and Field Championships, high jump and triple jump.
Finch had about as strong an offseason as he could ask for. He earned a pair of national rankings following a 4th place finish at the prestigious Super 32 tournament in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Finch then set his future plans by committing to the University of Pittsburgh wrestling program just over a week later.
Once the season started, Finch didn’t dominate his opponents as much as he simply dispatched them. He rolled to a 21-0 regular-season record with 12 of those wins coming via pinfall. Finch recorded 10 of those falls in less than 30 seconds. He also became the first Wolverine to reach 100 wins with a match-winning pinfall against Cranberry.
The pins didn’t stop once Finch got to the postseason.
He topped all three of his opponents at the District 9 tournament by fall, and won two of his three bouts at the Northwest Regional tournament with pins.
Things got a little dicier at the new in 2020 West Super Regional tournament as Finch won both his semifinal and the final match in sudden victory.
Finch won his quarterfinal match at the PIAA State tournament by fall, then won a thrilling semifinal in the second overtime to clinch his spot in the state final.
It was a 1 vs. 2 matchup in the final as Finch took on Montoursville’s Cael Crebs. Crebs came into the match as the top-ranked 189-pounder in the state, Finch was No. 2. Crebs won the title with a third-period pin.
Finch finished the season, and his high school career, with about as many accolades as he could. He now holds the school’s all-time wins record, has the highest state finish in program history, and is a multi-time district champion and state medalist.
As winter turned to spring, Hogg looked to make up for lost time after the 2020 spring season was canceled due to the pandemic.
Hogg was dominant in both the high and triple jumps throughout the season and cleared 6’10” in the high jump late in the year in a meet at Sheffield. He narrowly missed setting a meet record in the high jump at the Warren County Track Meet, where he won four events and was named the Boys’ Most Outstanding Field Athlete.
At the District 10 Championships, Hogg took first in the high jump by clearing 6’5″ and won the triple jump with a leap of 44’10 1/4″.
During a rainy State Championship meet in Shippensburg, Hogg cleared 6’6″ in the high jump, just an inch behind Chestnut Ridge’s Logan Pfister. Hogg nearly kept the competition going, but nicked the bar on his final attempt at 6’7″.
That wouldn’t be his only silver of the day.
Hogg bested his triple jump from districts by going 44’11” a jump that put him nearly eight inches in front of the third place finisher.
Like his Sheffield counterpart, the silver medals capped off an incredible career that saw Hogg win three district titles and three state medals (he finished 4th in the high jump at the 2019 championships). Those totals might be even higher had his junior season not been canceled.
