Competing in his final PIAA Class AAA Wrestling Championship, Butler's Cole Baxter wasn't looking to waste any time chasing a title.

At the Giant Center in Hershey, Baxter scored an early takedown in Thursday's 171-pound preliminary-round match against Corry's Dustin Taubert and wrapped it up with a pin at 1:22.

“Honestly, (Taubert) never looked to be a threat,” said Butler coach Scott Stoner. “Cole took him down right away. The kid bailed on the takedown.”

By the time Taubert, the No. 2 seed from the Northwest region, worked himself off the mat, Baxter held a 4-0 advantage before a pin shortly thereafter put him in today's quarterfinals.

Baxter (42-2), the WPIAL runner-up, will face Spring Grove's Neal Grudi (32-4), who knocked off 46-match winner Nick Burns of LaSalle.

In the Class AA finals, Grove City's Wes Phipps scored a 16-2 major decision over Pequea Valley's Mitchell Ball in the preliminary round at 171 pounds.

Phipps (27-0), the Northwest No. 1 seed, will face Wyalusing's Mike Cobb in today's quarterfinals.