SOL Wrestling Round-up (12-6-22)

SOL WRESTLING ROUND-UP
2022-23 Premier Was Spectacular
by Glenn Kaiser

Pennridge’s Cole Coffin (114-pounds) and Council Rock South’s Bek Sadriddinov (160) opened the 2022-23 PIAA wrestling season with championship titles at the Cumberland Valley Kickoff Classic.  This premier event to kick off the wrestling season was as spectacular as advertised.  Both CR South and Pennridge finished in the top-ten in the team race with the Golden Hawks finishing 5^th (116.5 points) and the Rams 6^th (114.5).  These two will tangle this Wednesday to set the tone for the upcoming dual season, and both seemed primed for success.  Even with a star on both sides sitting this one out, it is clear that this upcoming dual will be epic.  AA Faith Christian won the team title, well ahead of everyone with 277.5-points, with six champs, as they continue to build a powerhouse team.

CR South had a runner-up in Connor Lenahan at 107-pounds…notice the new weight classes.  Golden Hawk super-frosh Pat Woloshyn garnered bronze at 121-pounds as he kicked off his scholastic career.  CRS added some extra points at 160-pounds with Gavin Cole finishing in 4^th place with their double entry here.  Pennridge countered with Talan Hogan’s 3^rd place finish at 172-pounds, along with Sam Kuhns’ 5^th place finish at 145.  Plan on attending the next act at CR South this Wednesday, the curtain goes up at 7pm.

Many SOL teams competed up at Pottstown H.S. over the weekend, and some new and old names received top billing after two days of wrestling.  Central Bucks South established themselves as contenders this season with two champs in Jake Neill (145) and Brian Schmidt (172), who defeated Hatboro-Horsham grapplers Chris Staub and Joseph Palmeri, respectively.  Neill had a dominating performance as he blanked Bensalem standout Christian Martinez 5-love in the semis in his dress rehearsal for H-H’s Staub.  Neill closed the curtain with another shutout over Staub, 4-0. The Titans finished just ahead of H-H in third place, accumulating 199 points to the H-H Wrestling Warriors’ 141.5, which was good enough for 4^th place in the team race.  Perennial power West Chester Henderson ran-away with the team title with 235.5 points.  Abington and Bensalem finished 6^th and 7^th respectively in this 21-team event.

The Titans impressed with a solid performance up down their lineup, finishing with eight wrestlers in the top five, including six finalists, as Zach Thomas (114), Gabe Whittington (139), Skyler Speak (189) and Nicholas Stoughton (215) finished as runners-up.

Bensalem’s Chase Pollard was crowned the champ at 152-pounds with a fall over Penncrest’s Dylan DeJong.  In perhaps the marquee final at Pottstown, featuring CB West’s Patrick Kelly and Abington’s Matthew McCaughey at 127-pounds, it was the Bucks’ Kelly edging the Ghosts’ McCaughey, a state qualifier a year ago, 2-0. for the title.  West newcomer Chris Dennis got decked in the 121-pound final by Father Judge’s veteran Rickie Melendez and had to settle for silver in his first scholastic tournament.

Pennsbury finished strong at the Solanco Mule Classic with a 5^th place team finish in the 25-team field.  Although the Falcons had no champs, they accumulated 111-points with nine place-winners.  Central Dauphin finished first with 206-points, and Kennett, from District One, was second with 163.5 points in the team race.

Neshaminy grapplers looked like stars at the Battle of Bethlehem Duals, going 4-1, and North Penn went 3-2 as they both represented the SOL in the Lehigh Valley over the weekend.  Neshaminy dominated North Penn 63-10 in the championship round.  Neshaminy looked like the dual meet-team they have been over the past several years, racking up wins over Honesdale, St. Joe’s Prep, Sothern Lehigh and NP.  Their only loss was to a solid Bethlehem Freedom team 36-30.  Bek Baiyshbekov, Dan Hansbury & Nate Pokalsky all went 5-0 on the day this past Saturday.

SOLANCO MULE CLASSIC
Seventh Place
145 - Reiland Canaday (Oxford Area) won by inj. default over Zack Mongiello
Fifth Place
107 - Riley Evans (Penn Manor) pinned Kahne von Schmidt, 0:35
114 - John Luchansky pinned Dalton Reitterer (Kennard-Dale), 2:10
121 - Christian Ford (Avon Grove) dec. Kyle Von Schmidt, 2-0
133 - Kaden Brish (Blue Mountain) dec. Jay Hay, 7-0
139 - Nolan Halloran dec. Andrew Smith (Solanco), 3-2
160 - Benjamin Primich pinned Evan Baldwin (Dallastown), 0:49
Third Place
172 - Blaine Plastino (Solanco) dec. Mason Keller, 6-5
189 - Teagen Rogers (Penn Manor) dec. Walker Murray, 5-1

POTTSTOWN INVITATIONAL