Alex Frazier highlights Abington’s Bryan Osei as well as SOL wrestlers who excelled at holiday tournaments.
By Alex Frazier
Osei out – When Abington’s Bryan Osei shot a duck under in the finals of the Bullet Invitational at Brandywine Heights, he heard a pop in his shoulder.
Osei didn’t want to stop even after an injury timeout. With only one arm, however, he was no match for Muhlenberg’s Ramon Perez who pinned him in 3:11.
“I couldn’t take my shots and it took me off my match,” he said.
It turned out to be a devastating way to end his high school career.
The following week he had an MRI and discovered he had torn his labrum and partially tore his bicep tendon.
He originally injured his shoulder during football, but didn’t think much of it.
“When you’re off(ensive) tackle, it’s kind of like the same pain,” he said.
He will have surgery in the next couple of weeks to repair it.
Bryan finished his senior season at 1-1. For his three-year career he was 51-32.
Osei had hoped to move on to states this year and place like his older brother did. David finished second in 2009. Bryan missed states by one place last year, finishing fifth at regionals.
Instead, he will be rehabbing so that he can be ready for his freshman year at Temple next year where he will be going on a full football scholarship. He is expecting to play a combination defensive end/linebacker.
Though there is no more wrestling in his future, Osei still goes back to the Abington wrestling room to help coach heavyweight Angel Carlo and, of course, his younger brother Justin.
Unlike his two older brothers, Justin doesn’t like football. And he’s also the smallest, wrestling at 145. Wrestling is his main sport, and according to Bryan, “I think he’s going to be better than me and my brother.”
Naturally the entire Abington wrestling staff is saddened to lose Bryan, who is not only one of its best wrestlers but is also a role model for everyone else in the room.
“We were looking forward to working with him to have a great senior season,” said coach John Gillespie. “We also really feel bad for a young man who has worked hard and had lofty goals for himself. Unfortunately, everyone who participates in a sport has his or her career come to an end, and all too often it is not on the terms that he or she wants.
“Bryan is a great athlete, and once he has his shoulder repaired, we look forward to seeing him continue his football career at the collegiate level.”
Congratulations to our Holiday champs –
• Hatboro-Horsham’s Phil Torresani won the 106-pound crown at the Ralph Wetzel Holiday Classic. He wrestled a gutsy finals match, nipping Methacton’s Joe Savella in an ultimate tiebreaker, 3-2. It was his first high school tournament win.
• Josh DiSanto of Pennsbury won the 132-pound championship at the Governor Mifflin Mustang Holiday Classic. He also had a 3-2 win over Dover’s Russ Drawbaugh, getting the win on an escape in the third period.
“It was tough,” said DiSanto. “The kid held in there the whole time.”
Except for a lone loss to William Tennent’s Kevin Flack, DiSanto is off to a strong start at 9-1.
“It was a tough match,” DiSanto said of his loss to Flack, “but I have to move on from that and focus on getting better. I’ve been working on a lot of my technique, trying not to make some of the mistakes I made before.”
DiSanto was also named the Outstanding Wrestler at the Abington Duals.
• In a very tough field, Council Rock South’s Billy Rappo won the Bethlehem Holiday Classic, defeating Bethlehem Liberty’s Grimaldi Gonzalez 4-0 on a takedown and reversal.
“The kid was pretty good,” said Rappo.
In his first tournament of the year, King of the Mountain, the defending 103-pound state champion lost to Jason Nolf of Kittanning, 3-2, in the finals. Nolf is ranked 13th nationally in the 120-pound weight class by InterMat.
“I thought I should have beaten him, but I didn’t,” said Rappo.
Of course, Rappo was also a bit undersized at 120.
“The kids are bigger and stronger than at 103,” he said. “It’s a bit of adjustment, but I’m still doing everything the same and am still winning matches, so that’s good.”
Wrestling above his weight isn’t new. For his first two years in high school he was way below 103.
Rappo will be dropping to 113 for the Escape the Rock Tournament and will stay down from then on.
He has yet to make a college decision although he is considering Penn, Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina.
“I’m going to try to wait until after the season to do that stuff,” he said. “I could possibly get better offers.”
• Also in the Bethlehem Tournament, Pennridge’s Scott Parker took the 106-pound title.
Parker’s finals opponent Tyrone Klump of Nazareth was no stranger.
“I had wrestled that kid before over the summer and through all my youth stuff,” said Parker, who had hoped to score points on top but had to settle for a pair of takedowns and an escape for the win.
“On top I was trying to turn, but everything I switched to he would counter and I couldn’t do anything, so I just rode him out pretty much,” said Parker. “I was confident. I was trying to score the most points I could on him. He always wrestles me tight matches, so I was trying to extend the distance I had from him the last time.”
Parker also met another familiar face in Bound Brook’s (NJ) Craig DeLaCruz, whom he had beaten in the finals of the Battle of the Beach back on Dec. 17th, 6-0.
He met DeLaCruz in the quarterfinals and won 5-1 to face Council Rock South’s Dan Martoccio, who was possibly his toughest competition. The match was scoreless into the third period when Parker reversed and scored three back points for a 5-0 win.
“He was a good test,” said Parker. “He was tough and big. He wrestled me well.”
For Parker it was his second tournament title in the still young season. His record heading into 2012 is a perfect 9-0.
“I feel like the season’s underway,” he said. “I just have to keep working. Everything seems to be going as planned.”
• Central Bucks West’s Seth Ehlo won his second tournament of the season, defeating Chris Almony of John Carroll (Md.), 1-0 on a third-period escape at the Boiling Springs Tournament.
“He was really strong,” said Ehlo. “I had some scoring opportunities, but I wasn’t able to capitalize on them.”
Ehlo also won the opening New Hope Tournament and is now 9-0.
After placing eighth in states as a sophomore, Ehlo was eliminated from the post-season in regionals last year. This year is his best start in four years, and he’s hoping that will propel him to states in his final season.
“Of all four years at West, I definitely feel the best right now,” he said. “I feel strong for my weight. Right now it’s going well. I’m just looking to keep it up.”
West teammate Chris Jastrzebski racked up four falls in winning the 195-pound championship.
Other place winners at holiday tournaments include:
Boiling Springs
Third—CB West’s Jason Stout (113), Bryan Jastrzebski (126) and Riley Barth (145)
POWERade
Norristown Area recently finished fourth out of 44 teams at the 45th annual Powerade Wresting Tournament at Canon McMillan High School in Canonsburg, near Pittsburgh. Powerade is ranked as the third-toughest wrestling tournament in the country and the toughest tournament in Pennsylvania by WrestlingReport.com. The field included nine teams currently ranked among the top 20 AAA schools by The PA Power Rankings. The three teams finishing ahead of Norristown — Blair Academy (NJ), Canon McMillan and Central Dauphin — are all ranked among the top 25 teams in the nation by InterMat Wrestling.
Second — Brett Harner (160 pounds) was the lone Eagle wrestler to reach the finals, where he fell 11-4 to the nation’s top-ranked wrestler, Chance Marsteller of Kenard Dale. Prior to the final, Harner recorded four falls including a third-period fall of Blair Academy’s Patrick Coover in the semifinal round. At the conclusion of the tournament, Harner was awarded the tournament’s most fall trophies
Third—After suffering an early-round overtime defeat to Ripley, West Virginia’s Adam Bicak in the 170-pound bracket, Shane Springer reeled off five straight wins in the consolation bracket to earn a third-place medal. In the consolation final Springer avenged his early-round loss by pinning Bicak in the second period.
Fourth—Zach Fuentes (113), Larry Gordon (195). In his consolation semifinal match Fuentes recorded a 3-2 decision of Ohio state champion Brandon Thompson of Solon High School.
Eighth—Mike Springer (138)
Other Eagles scoring team points were Juan Carbajal (182) and Jesse Prante (220).
Governor Mifflin Mustang Holiday Classic
Ten Pennsbury wrestlers placed in the tournament.
Second—Ernie Tessein (182)
Third—Anthony DiEmidio (126)
Fourth—Jason Bing (120)
Fifth—Dominic Martoccio (113), Mike O'Brien (195)
Sixth—Eric Mongiello (106), Luke Kowal (145)
Seventh—Matt Maine(138)
Eighth—David Mills(152), Ryan Healy (160)
Ralph Wetzel Holiday Classic
Abington finished 9th out of 22 teams.
Third— Mike McCaughey (132), Angel Carlo (285)
McCaughey battled back from an opening round loss and rattled off five wins including a win over Anthony DeLaurentis of Upper Moreland who he had lost to in the first round. Winshel continues to impress the coaching staff with his toughness and enthusiasm.
Fourth— Brandon Scheitrum (182)
Fifth—Alex Winshel (106)
NEXT WEEK: The American Conference title could well be decided next Wednesday when Upper Moreland travels to Norristown to take on the Eagles. The Golden Bears have outscored their two opponents 127-27, while Norristown is 108-46 against its two foes. Should be a barnburner.
SOL Top 5
1. Norristown
2. Council Rock North
3. Council Rock South
4. Central Bucks South
5. Pennsbury
Top Guns
106—Scott Parker, Pennridge
113—Zach Fuentes, Norristown
120—Billy Rappo, Council Rock South
126—Harry Wilson, Neshaminy
132—Josh DiSanto, Pennsbury
138—Ryan O’Connor, Neshaminy
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—Tyler Callender, Council Rock North
285—Andrew Van Buskirk, William Tennent
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