Central Bucks East defeated Souderton last week to capture the program’s 400th win.
By Alex Frazier
Happy 400th – Central Bucks East reached a milestone last Wednesday night when the Patriots defeated Souderton 36-34 to capture their 400th team win.
East has had just two coaches in its 43-year existence. John Tomlinson started the program in 1969 and coached the Patriots for 34 years, finishing with a record of 307-223.
Present coach Dave Scarpill took over the program in 2003. Scarpill is no stranger to East wrestling. He wrestled there for three years before graduating in 1989 and heading off to Central Connecticut State University, where he wrestled for five years, the last two as a consistent starter.
Upon graduating from Connecticut, he returned to East, where he became Tomlinson’s assistant for nine years.
“That was the whole plan from my high school days,” quipped Scarpill. “I knew I was going to come back.”
He said he had hoped to become a head coach a bit sooner, but that “it was worth the wait. That’s for sure.”
Amazingly, Scarpill has been involved in nearly 300 of East’s 400 wins.
Over the years, the Patriots have sent 17 wrestlers to the state championship, with only two placing. Marc Sodano won the 112 title back in 1982, and Devin Passman finished sixth in 2009.
East has produced three regional champions and 16 district champs.
As a team, the Patriots won five league titles in 1993, ‘94, ’95, ’99 and 2000.
Scarpill has yet to claim a league title under his reign, having had to deal with superpower Council Rock South for a while and then endure a powerful Quakertown era.
This year the league appears to be more balanced and the Patriots may be in the hunt. The win over Souderton certainly puts them in the mix. Central Bucks South will probably be the biggest hurdle.
“They look pretty tough,” said Scarpill. “I’ll have to come up with something.”
East’s 400th came with little fanfare. In the first place the Patriots were on the road, and secondly Scarpill didn’t even mention it to his wrestlers until following the match.
“I didn’t want that weighing on their minds (no pun intended),” he said. “I just wanted them to go out there and wrestle. They were more surprised than I thought they would be. They were like, ‘That’s pretty cool’ that they were a part of it.”
He was actually thinking the big moment wouldn’t come until sometime in January. The Patriots were 2-0 at the Abington Duals to bring them to 399 with three matches left to wrestle.
They lost all three.
They had two more chances before January. Souderton was the first last Wednesday and was expected to be a long shot. Fortunately they won that one because their next match on Thursday against Delaware Valley was somewhat of a romp as East won just five bouts (up from two last year).
The future is looking brighter for East. As Scarpill said, “My lineup is freshman, freshman, freshman, sophomore, freshman, sophomore, sophomore….”
State rankings –Twenty-four Suburban One wrestlers are ranked among the top 20 in their respective weight classes as of Dec. 19. With teams participating in top-notch statewide tournaments over the Christmas break, wrestlers will have a chance to improve their standing—or not.
106, 132 and 220 appear to be the deepest weight classes. Scott Parker (3) of Pennridge, Dan Martoccio (7) of Council Rock South and Collyn Dorney (16) of Quakertown are all ranked at 106.
At 132, Josh Di Santo of Pennsbury is ranked sixth, John Dutrow of Council Rock North is ranked 10th and Kevin Flack of William Tennent is 15th.
Tim Riley (Council Rock South) is ranked seventh at 220, Joe McNamara (Souderton) is 15th and Tyler Callender (Council Rock North) is 20th.
Two wresters are ranked at 120, 170, 195 and 285. Billy Rappo (Council Rock South) leads the pack in second place at 120, with Pennsbury’s Jason Bing following at 13th.
At 170, Shane Springer (Norristown) is rated second best in the state, and Dominic Rigous (Central Bucks South) is 15th.
Council Rock South’s Tommy Trampe is seventh at 285, followed by Andrew Van Buskirk of William Tennent in 12th.
Only one wrestler is rated at all the other weight classes as follows:
113—Zach Fuentes, Norristown, fourth
126—Tommy Stokes, Bensalem, 20th
138—Mike Springer, Norristown, eighth
145—Justin Staudenmayer, Plymouth Whitemarsh, seventh
152—Seth Ehlo, Central Bucks West, seventh
160—Brett Harner, Norristown, third
182—Larry Gordon, Norristown, 15th
SOL Top 5
1. Norristown
2. Council Rock North
3. Neshaminy
4. Council Rock South
5. Central Bucks South
Top Guns
106—Scott Parker, Pennridge
113—Zach Fuentes, Norristown
120—Billy Rappo, Council Rock South
126—Harry Wilson, Neshaminy
132—John Dutrow, Council Rock North
138—Mike Springer, Norristown
145—Justin Staudenmayer, Plymouth Whitemarsh
152—Seth Ehlo, Central Bucks West
160—Brett Harner, Norristown
170—Shane Springer, Norristown
182—Larry Gordon, Norristown
195—PJ Steinmetz, Council Rock South
220—Tim Riley, Council Rock South
285—Tommy Trampe, Council Rock South
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