Glenn Kaiser recaps the SOL highlights at this weekend’s Southeast Regional Tournament. Check the web site for photos.
SOL CROWNS NINE CHAMPS AT SOUTHEAST REGIONAL
Council Rock South Team Runner-up & Pennridge Finishes Third
By Glenn Kaiser
Suburban One League wrestlers dominated the PIAA AAA Southeast Regional Individual Championships as they captured titles in nine of the 14 weight classes. Council Rock South led the way with four individual champions, the most of any team in the tournament. Pennridge had three champions, the second most, and Boyertown, the team champions, only had one champ, but the Bears advanced the most individuals to Hershey with nine state qualifiers.
Council Rock South will send six Golden Hawk wrestlers to the Giant Center this week to compete in the PIAA AAA Individual Wrestling Championships. The Golden Hawks will look to battle for the team title with both Boyertown, and Bethlehem Catholic. BECCA will match Boyertown with nine state qualifiers and Nazareth will have seven grapplers. Central Dauphin will also be in the hunt with six state qualifiers. Belle Vernon (6) and Cathedral Prep (7) will challenge as well in the team race. District 3 powerhouse, Cumberland Valley (6), cannot be counted out, nor can Mifflin County with six wrestlers in the tournament.
Council Rock South’s four champions Zack Trampe (132), Riley Palmer (138), Dylan Schwartz (152), and Joe Doyle (195) will be joined by teammates Cary Palmer (126) and Lucas Martoccio (145) in Chocolate Town, USA, Thursday March 10, 4 pm, for the first whistle. Cary Palmer placed fourth for the Golden Hawks after suffering his second straight loss to Kordell Rush from Pennridge. Last weekend they met in the finals at the D1 East Championship match at 126 pounds, this weekend it was in the consolation finals. Martoccio was one of two SOL wrestlers at this weight to advance to states with a narrow 1-0 victory over Truman’s Dustin Stone in the consolation final at 145 pounds.
Zack Trampe won his first SE Regional championship with a repeat of last weekend’s final as well, defeating Ryan Vulakh (North Penn) in the 132-pound final 9-3. Riley Palmer wrestled in the featured bout of the evening against undefeated Colin Cronin from Upper Darby at 138. Riley tagged Cronin with his first loss of the season by riding out Cronin after scoring the only point of the match with an escape 1-0. Dylan Schwartz, wrestling almost a carbon copy of himself in Coatesville’s Chase Stephens, was victorious 4-3, and Joe Doyle continued to dominate the 195-pound weight class with a fall in the finals in just one minute over Brian Kennerly of Upper Darby.
Pennridge will not send the numbers that the Golden Hawks will to Hershey, but with three bona fide champs in Matt Parker (113), Josh Stillings (160), and Kyle Gentile (185), along with three-time state qualifier Kordell Rush (126), the Rams should be in the top 10 in the team standings when all is said and done with the PIAA AAA Championships. Parker got revenge on Boyertown’s Jakob Campbell with a solid 5-1 decision, wrestling well from all positions. Parker suffered a loss to Campbell last year in Hershey. Stillings took care of the other undefeated wrestler from D1 in the 160-pound final, hanging on for a 1-0 win over Dan Iredale (Conestoga). Gentile wrestled longtime rival and friend Gregg Harvey in the 185-pound with the same result as always, a Gentile win, 3-1. It was Gentile’s third regional title.
Kordell Rush was upset in the semifinals by Boyertown’s Lucas Miller in overtime 3-2 and found himself in the consi-finals, but nonetheless, Rush will return to Hershey for the third time to once again look for some hardware.
A total of 22 SOL wrestlers will compete in the PIAA AAA Championship Thursday, March 10, through Saturday March 12. The other two SOL SE Regional Champs were Council Rock North’s Josh Shalinsky at 170 pounds and Quakertown’s Gavin Caroff at 220 pounds. Caroff secured the title at 220 in dramatic fashion with a crushing lateral drop on ‘Stoga’s Kade LaMarre in 1:46 of the first period. Caroff used the same move last weekend to capture the D1 East title. Shalinsky needed a takedown in overtime over Spring-Ford’s Steve Rice, and after furious action, Shalinsky snagged the takedown for the sudden victory 4-2. Freshman Tyler Williams (Souderton) came up short in his title tilt at 106 pounds, dropping a 7-1 decision over a very hot wrestler in Brandon Meredith from Spring-Ford. Williams was able to stop another upstart lightweight in Lukas Richie (Downingtown East) in the semifinals, punching his ticket with a 4-2 win. Richie had upset Matt Wilde (Boyertown) in the quarterfinals.
The Southeast Region - composed of five leagues (SOL/Ches-Mont/PAC 10/Central/Del Val) - will be well represented at states, and for the first time in years will look to crown multiple state champions. The 20-man bracket at states will be a grueling test of talent, grit, and experience as the best of the best will battle for three days in the Giant Center. Other state qualifiers finishing in third place from the SOL were: 113 pounder Aidan Burke (CR North), a returning state place winner a year ago finishing fourth, freshman Gunnar Fuss (Truman) at 120 pounds, Colin Shannon (NP) another returning state qualifier from 2015 at 145 pounds, and Q-town’s Nick Bonomo (195). Finishing fourth and capturing the final spot in their respective weight classes were Dustin Stone (145) Truman, Tanner Seislove (152) Quakertown, and Patrick Walker (195) Upper Moreland. Walker was the only SOL American Conference wrestler to advance.
Best of luck to all of our SOL wrestlers this week as the travel the road to Hershey for the greatest show on Earth, the PIAA Wrestling Championships. And to those that missed the trip, best of luck next season, and to all of our Seniors we wish you the best in all you do both in wrestling and life, thanks for the excitement, dedication, hard work, and commitment.
Look for some key match-ups and predictions later in the week…
- Log in to post comments
