By Alex Frazier
Five years ago, Norristown went 1-6 in the Suburban One League.And since then the Eagles lost three state-qualifiers to LaSalle.
You can imagine, then, how elated coach Mark Harner and his charges were Saturday night when they nipped LaSalle by one point (111-110) to claim the Southeast Regional Wrestling Championship.
On top of that, the Eagles also surpassed third-place Council Rock South, who some thought would win a fourth straight title.
“We were kind of the team left out of the conversation,” said Harner. “It’s a pretty big accomplishment. I’m still kind of shocked over it.”
It was the first regional title for the Eagles since 2001.
Norristown sent four wrestlers to the championship finals with two claiming titles. Brandon Parker (145) won by medical forfeit over LaSalle’s Casey Kent, and Brett Harner (152) decisioned Pottsgrove’s T. J. Demetrio, 3-2. Zach Fuentes (103) lost to C.R. South’s Billy Rappo, 3-1, in a replay of last week’s district final. Gavin Queenan (285) was pinned by Father Judge’s Jeremy Rieth.
Mike Springer (135) and Larry Gordon (189) finished just out of a state berth in fifth place. Nevertheless, their team points helped assure the Eagles a title.
Harner pointed to two key matches that could have made the difference. In Zach Fuentes’ quarterfinal match on Friday, he was leading Father Judge’s Anthony Siwek 9-0 when he gave up a reversal with four seconds left.
Harner implored him to get an escape so that he would earn a major decision, which he did, winning 10-2.
“That was one point right there,” said Harner.
Gordon’s last match was against LaSalle’s P.J. Steinmetz, who had beaten him 12-6 in the quarterfinals. This time, however, Gordon got revenge, winning 4-1, and more importantly gaining a point for the team.
The Eagles went into heavyweight bout with a one-point lead. It was Queenan’s second meeting with Rieth, who had pinned him in the Escape the Rock Tournament.
When Garnet Valley heavyweight Brendan Walsh pinned LaSalle’s Ryan Geiger in the consolation match on the adjacent mat to ensure Norristown would win the team title, Queenan and Rieth were tied at three in the second period.
“He looked over and saw the pin and knew we had won it, so he tried a big throw and it wasn’t there, so he got pinned,” said Harner. “He got so excited and decided to go for it.”
Overall, the Suburban One League had a banner year at regionals. Nine SOL wrestlers won championships, another seven took second place, four finished third, three came in fourth, six placed fifth and two were sixth.
Perhaps the biggest upset of the tournament happened in the quarterfinals when Pennridge’s Rich Jasinski upset LaSalle’s Shane Springer, who finished second in the state last year at 152 and is currently ranked No. 3 at 160 this year.
“I’m very excited and proud of myself, that’s for sure,” said Jasinski. “I was just positive. I knew I was the underdog, so I wasn’t nervous. I just knew I would go out and be aggressive.”
Springer, however, jumped out to a 10-4 lead by basically controlling Jasinski on his feet.
“I wasn’t taking the best shots,” said Jasinski, “and he countered off of them.”
Ironically, it was Jasinski late in the match who came back to tie it and then win it 13-11 in overtime on takedowns.
“Once I got the feel of how he wrestled and what I could do, I knew what I would be able to do against him, so once I escaped and got my point, I started setting up shots that I knew would work against him,” he said.
After tying it in regulation, Jasinski used a single sweep to score the winning points.
“I wore him down,” said Jasinski. “It was awesome.”
Jasinski will be heading to states for the second time; the last was in his sophomore year when he went 0-2.
He doesn’t plan to check out the brackets to see whom he is wrestling, but coach Dan Goetter noted that he had an excellent draw.
“That excites me a lot,” he said. “I’m definitely looking to do better now that I got a feel for it my sophomore year. I know what to expect. I’m excited to go have fun out there. I’m trying not to make it a huge deal.”
What many considered the best match of the finals came at 140 where Council Rock South’s Matt Martoccio faced off against LaSalle’s Matt Cimato.
It was a controversial match in which both wrestlers were warned for stalling.
Martoccio managed to stay more aggressive and collected a stalling point in the fourth overtime to win 2-1.
All three Council Rock South finalists won. Besides Martoccio, Billy Rappo took his third post-season title at 103, and brother Matt did likewise, taking the 135-pound championship.
Hatboro-Horsham’s Matt Harkins achieved another goal en route to the 119-pound championship, but he nearly missed it. Harkins won his 150th match defeating Pennsbury’s Josh DiSanto 14-6 in the finals.
But it almost didn’t happen because in the semifinals against Council Rock North’s John Dutrow it took a locking-hands call in overtime to give Harkins a slim 2-1 victory.
The three Council Rock wrestlers were among seven who are undefeated in the post-season. The others are Harkins at 119, Norristown’s Brandon Parker at 145 and Harner at 152, Plymouth Whitemarsh’s John Michael Staudenmayer at 171 and John Bolich of Upper Moreland at 189.
For Brett Harner, it was his first regional title. He placed fourth last year as a freshman and went on to finish eighth in the state.
“This year feels pretty good,” he said. “I’m hoping to get a little bit higher this year. There’s no guarantees at all. The weight is loaded.”
For the second week in a row he defeated Pottsgrove’s T.J. Demetrio.
Last week he was holding on at the end for a 6-4 decision. This week it was a lower scoring, more defensive match.
“I was able to control him better than last week and keep the points down,” said Harner. “I got my points when I needed them.”
For the second week in a row, Bolich was named the Outstanding Wrestler. He dominated his weight class, culminating in a 20-second pin of Harriton’s Corbett Haddon in the championship finals.
“As far as the tournament went, it’s good to see I’m still dominating and that I’m keeping up my consistency,” said Bolich. “That’s why I’m feeling good, not necessarily because of the OW, but it’s still a cool accomplishment.”
Despite being so dominant, Bolich said he still gets butterflies every time he goes out on the mat.
Which may be a good thing.
“I do my best wrestling when I’m nervous,” he said.
Bolich is hoping to improve on his seventh place finish in Hershey last year.
“If I bring my best game, I’ll win,” he said. “If I don’t, any of those guys in the bracket could knock me off.”
You can imagine the butterflies will be flitting around.
“I can’t even begin to explain how my stomach is feeling every minute of every day now,” he said. “I’ll be losing sleep all week.”
PIAA first-round matchups
103 – SE-1 Billy Rappo (CRS) 39-2 vs. SC-3 Tanner Shoap 37-2; SE-2 Zach Fuentes 50-5 vs. SW-2 Dom Forys 33-5
119 – SE-1 Matt Harkins (HH) 39-2 vs. NW-3 Austin Gillihan (Corry) 35-2; SE-2 Josh DiSanto (Pb) 43-2 vs. NE-3 Evan DiSora (Easton) 29-9; SE-3 John Dutrow (CRN) 33-11 vs. SW-1 Mackenzie McGuire (Upper St. Clair) 31-2
125 – SE-2 Justin Staudenmayer (PW) 35-4 vs. SC-2 Max Good (South Western) 31-4; SE-3 Shane Longstreth (CRN) 29-10 vs. NE-1 Devon Lotito (Liberty) 35-5
130 – SE-2 Scott Wolfinger (Q) 30-6 vs. NW-2 Nolan Barger (Clearfield) 29-8; SE-4 Tyler Romano (NP) 24-7 vs. NE-1 Zach Horan (Nazareth) 45-0
135 – SE-1 Matt Rappo (CRS) 42-7 vs. NE-3 Eric Howey (Stroudsburg) 33-12; SE-3 Mike Mathis (CBS) 38-5 vs. NE-1 Joseph Rizzolino (Easton) 40-5
140 – SE-1 Matt Martoccio (CRS) 44-2 vs. SC-3 Kevin Gooding Central Dauphin) 37-12
145 – SE-1 Brandon Parker (No) 53-5 vs. NW-3 Logan Walstrom (Phillipsburg-Osceola) 31-12; SE-3 Connor Moore (CRS) 33-10 vs. SW-1 Nick Catalano (Canon McMillan) 44-1
152 – SE-1 Brett Harner (No) 52-6 vs. NW-3 Geno Morelli (DuBois) 33-6
160 – SE-1 Rich Jasinski (Pr) 22-1 vs. SC-3 Mike Shermot (Governor Mifflin) 35-6; SE-2 Nick Russell (Ne) 335-7 vs. NW-2 Damian Lascoli (Hollidaysburg) 29-9
171 – SE-1 John Staudenmayer (PW) 38-0 vs. NW-3 Derek Danver (Clearfield) 34-8; SE-3 Shane Gilmore (CRS) 37-12 vs. NW-1 Jacob Taylor (Bald Eagle Area) 32-1
189 – SE-1 John Bolich (UMo) 37-0 vs. SW-3 Nikos Garofola Hempfield 38-5
215 – SE-2 Joe Stolfi (S) 40-2 vs. NE-2 Jason Laboranti (Pittston Area) 19-4
285 – SE-2 Gavin Queenan (No) 49-6 vs. SC-2 Dawson Peck (Chambersburg) 37-1
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