No one in Butler has ever enjoyed more success on a wrestling mat than Cole Baxter.

The Golden Tornado's senior 171-pounder ended his storied prep career Saturday with a fourth-place finish in the PIAA Class AAA Championships at Hershey's Giant Center.

Baxter (45-4) dropped the consolation final by a 3-0 decision to Bethel Park's Nick Bonaccorsi. It was Bonaccorsi who defeated Baxter 5-0 in their WPIAL title match a week ago.

“This match was similar to that one in a lot of ways,” Butler coach Scott Stoner said. “Cole couldn't get out from under him in the third period.”

The two battled to a scoreless first period. Bonaccorsi — who lost his only match of the year earlier in the tournament — scored an escape and takedown in the second period.

Baxter wound up winning four matches at the PIAA event. Two were by pin, including a fall in 2:11 over Chad Hoffman of Hazelton in the consolation bracket.

The four wrestlers Baxter defeated — Dustin Taubert of Corry (fall in 1:22), Jacob Taylor of Bald Eagle (6-3 decision), Hoffman and Connor Moran of Solanco (6-3 decision) — were a combined 133-20 this season.

“He had quality opponents throughout, but that's how this state tournament is,” Stoner said. “There were defending state finalists who didn't make it back.”

Baxter wound up his career with a 160-18 record. He has 42 more wins than any other Tornado matman ever, was a WPIAL champion, three-time WPIAL finalist and two-time state placer.

“I'm still trying to figure out how these last four years are gone,” Stoner said. “Cole became the face of our program.

“You always strive to develop others, but he is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of performer. That combination of talent and effort just doesn't come by very often.”

• Grove City's Wes Phipps lost a 4-2 decision to Lewisburg's Nathaniel Brown (38-0) in the 171-pound championship bout Saturday.

Phipps (29-1) had defeated No. 2 seed Colin Hedash of Northern Lehigh 7-4 in the semifinal earlier Saturday.

The second-place medal gives Phipps three state medals in as many years. He placed fifth in 2009, then finished third last year.

Union held a 23-20 halftime advantage in its first round PIAA Class A playoff game, but Homer Center used a 12-0 run to open the third quarter and used a heavy dose of Katelyn Skinner to come away with a 52-47 victory Saturday at Clarion UniversitySkinner tallied 28 points in leading Homer Center (20-6) while Maggie McLoughlin scored all nine of her points in the second half.“We came out flat in the third quarter and had to battle back,” said Union coach Josh Meeker.Union (22-5) did regain the lead early in the fourth quarter on a Sierra Smith 3-pointer, but Skinner answered back with a trey of her own for a 40-38 lead, a lead Homer Center never gave up.“That was tough,” Meeker said. “The girls were playing really well. The crowd and the team got into it when Sierra hit the three.“Daneka Stuart got there for the shot by Skinner, but we shouldn’t have let her get her the ball ... That was a big momentum shift.”Homer Center’s size proved problematic for Union, who does not fare well against a 2-3 zone. Union, however, was able to sink nine 3-pointers out of its 13 field goals, the other four coming from Tina Lipps.“We tried to get the ball into Tina, then kick it out,” Meeker added.Mariah Winchester scored 19 points — including 15 on five 3-pointers — and added seven rebounds while Lipps added 12 points and nine rebounds.<B>HOMER CENTER 52Katelyn Skinner 8 9-13 28, Maggie McLoughlin 3 1-2 9, Breanna Rossi 3 0-0 7, Danielle Rura 1 0-1 2, Lauren Valyo 2 0-0 4, Sydney Horel 1 0-2 2. </B>Totals: 18 10-18 52.<B>UNION 47</B>Delani Priester 1 0-0 3, Mariah Winchester 5 4-6 19, Ashley MacKinlay 1 0-0 3, Sierra Smith 2 3-4 9, Tina Lipps 4 4-4 12, Daneka Stuart 0 0-1 0, Mackenzie Divins 0 0-0 0, Kassie McGarrity 0 0-0 0. <B>Totals:</B> 13 11-15 47.<B>Homer Center 8 12 17 15—52Union 10 13 10 14—473-point goals:</B> Homer Center 6 (Skinner 3, McLoughlin 2, Rossi; Union 9 (Winchester 5, Smith 2, Prister, MacKinlay