RILEY PALMER & JOE DOYLE DECK CANNON MAC
Council Rock South Advances to Quarterfinals
By Glenn Kaiser
The Council Rock South Golden Hawks were spectacular in their opening round match versus Cannon McMillan at the Giant Center in Hershey, PA Thursday night. They won a thriller, 30-29, in easily the most competitive bout of the evening at the 2017 PIAA AAA Team Championships. As expected, it went down to the last bout in a match that every point mattered, literally.
CRS Veteran Head Coach Brad Silimperi said after the match that “every point mattered,” and man did he mean it. It took a total team effort in getting bonus points, denying bonus points and avoiding falls, and, of course, scoring points when needed.
Silimperi appeared ridden with anxiety as the match got down to the final three matches with the Golden Hawks needing at least a win and a pin, as well as no more then a loss by decision to avoid the dreaded tiebreaking criteria to decide the outcome of this one. South’s final three bouts were in the hands of two wrestlers giving up a lot of weight to bigger opponents and one that is at the top of his weight class in Joe Doyle at 220-pounds.
Prior to Doyle’s heroics with a needed pin fall for the team victory, which he got over Cannon Mac’s Zach Rohaley in the first period with just five seconds remaining at 1:55, it was Tyler Gettmann wrestling up at 195-pounds setting up the drama. If you don’t think top-ranked wrestlers get nervous, you’re wrong. Doyle said, “I was definitely a little bit nervous…I knew to stay patient and I knew he’d open up so I could get the pin” despite being a bit frustrated early in the match. Gettmann - clearly in control the whole match against the Big Macs Alec Hendal - used his lone takedown and a quick escape to post a 3-2 win to hand the wheel over to Doyle. Gettmann, who seemed poised to score more points on his feet, settled for the decision, as he wrestled intelligently and knew the importance of the precious three team points needed. It seemed that the CRS fans knew of a possible headlock attack coming from Hendal, and it did come at the buzzer, out of bounds, and to no avail.
With South still trailing 24-29 after that win, everyone knew what was coming, and it did. Doyle decked the Big Macs. The match started interestingly enough at the 285-pound weight class, which was good and bad - the good Doyle would anchor the match, the bad CM’s heralded heavyweight Brendan Furman crushed Shane Anderson with a quick fall in 31 seconds. But South responded at 106 with Maximino Mendez earning an extra team point for the Golden Hawks with his late takedown and stalling point to steal the major decision 10-1. With momentum a big factor in such a high level match, it was key for the Golden Hawks not to let the Big Macs get any going. With both teams winning seven bouts apiece, it was indicative early that keeping things tight would pay off.
CRS suffered back-to-back losses with one coming at 120 to Cannon Macs Logan Macri, which was expected, but with just a tech fall earned, as Collin Waterman saved one of those precious points. Macri gained his 100th career victory with a takedown clinic, in which he appeared to be drilling during the match. The Golden Hawks returned the favor at 126 and 132 with Ben Radner earning a 6-0 win and Zack Trampe garnering a bonus point with a major decision. Radner had a chance at bonus points with a tight bar and half locked up at the buzzer. And like South, the Big Macs were in the same mode of keeping it close and saving points, and with just seven points there, the team score was 14-11 in the Big Macs favor.
The Palmer brothers scored next for the Golden Hawks as Carey Palmer struck first at 145 with a major decision and Riley at 152 with his spectacular quick lock cradle pin fall. Palmer secured the fall in just 44 seconds at perhaps the key moment in the match putting the CRS ahead 21-18. Riley said he “was ready for a different match” referring to his opponent from Cannon Mac he wrestled earlier in the season that bumped up to 160. He said he “knew he was going to have to wrestle a tough match no matter what…but things happen, things change and you have to adapt…I just did what my team needed me to do. I saw an opportunity and just took it.” And he did just that propelling his team towards victory. The Big Macs snatched two wins in a row at 160 and 170, which laid out the blueprint for South with three bouts remaining and the Hawks trailing 26-21. At 182, it appeared that maybe South would put out the grill on the Big Macs, as Nik Korbich led the entire match against Bryan Milligan until he got taken down at the buzzer, and than lost a scramble on a toss in Sudden Victory Overtime, 7-5.
Other highlights included a possible late takedown at 113 from Braden Ricchini (CRS) who locked up a cradle at the buzzer to only get a no call, dropping a 1-0 decision to Ken Hayman (CM). Cole Flanagan saved a point in his 160-pound for the Golden Hawks, defending a late takedown attempt at the buzzer and keeping the score to a major instead of a tech. And at 170, Robert Cooper got hit with a late penalty point that gave Big Mac Blaze Kansco a major 9-1 decision, which could have been costly to South.
This one had it all, and it was exciting wrestling at the highest scholastic level. CR South will have to ratchet it up again tomorrow in the quarterfinals versus Erie Cathedral Prep at 2 pm. Cathedral Prep, the District 10 champs, downed DuBois 42-22 in their first round match. Joe Doyle stated they defeated Prep last season in Hershey at the 2016 Team Championship, and feels that “everyone has to do their job and wrestle hard” if the team is to be successful again at this year’s championship, “and we should be fine.”
The good news is they’ll get some well-needed rest, as they work their way to the podium…
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 30, CANON McMILLAN 29
285 - Brendan Furman pinned Shane Anderson, 0:31 (0-6)
106 - Maximino Mendez maj. dec. Jacob Gardner, 10-1 (4-6)
113 - Ken Hayman dec. Braden Ricchini, 1-0 (4-9)
120 - Logan Macri won by tech. fall over Collin Waterman, 21-6 3:39 (4-14)
126 - Ben Radner dec. Anthony Mastrangelo, 6-0 (7-14)
132 - Zack Trampe maj. dec. Matt Oblock, 22-9 (11-14)
138 - Tim Hritsko maj. dec. Mike McKinney, 12-1 (11-18)
145 - Cary Palmer maj. dec. Dimitri Pihiou, 10-2 (15-18)
152 - Riley Palmer pinned Stefan Richer, 0:44 (21-18)
160 - Gerrit Nijenhuis maj. dec. Cole Flanagan, 14-1 (21-22)
170 - Blaze Kansco maj. dec. Robert Cooper, 9-1 (21-26)
182 - Bryan Milligan dec. Nik Korbich, 7-5 OT (21-29)
195 - Tyler Gettmann dec. Alec Hendal, 3-2 (24-29)
220 - Joe Doyle pinned Zach Rohaley, 1:55 (30-29)
Council Rock South wrestlers in bold.
- Log in to post comments
