By Alex Frazier
Council Rock South won its fourth consecutive district team tournament Saturday night in a shortened District One North Tournament at Quakertown.“I’m very, very proud of that,” said South coach Brad Silimperi. “I think highly of our district and to be able to do it once is a huge accomplishment, and to be able to do it four times now, I’m so proud of the entire team and the program.
“We’re peaking at the right time. Our guys are wrestling hard; they’re in great shape. I’m really pleased. We’re on the right path. It’s enjoy this tonight and back to work Monday.”
Team and individual results are not yet complete as 11 more matches, some for third and some for fifth, will be wrestled Monday evening at 6 p.m. at Hatboro-Horsham, because wrestlers are only allowed five matches in one day and for some it would have been their sixth match.
The tournament was originally scheduled for two days but was shortened to one because of Friday’s snowstorm.
The Golden Hawks will advance at least six wrestlers to next week’s Southeast Regional Tournament and possibly one more if Connor Moore wins his fifth-place match on Monday.
“Right now my focus is to get him to regionals,” said Silimperi.
The Golden Hawks were also honored with the tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler in Josh Dziewa.
The 135-pound senior set a goal to pin every opponent, and he did just that, decking all three foes in the first period in an aggregate time of 2:21.
“My goal was to pin everybody in the first period with a cradle,” said Dziewa. “That was my goal. I didn’t get any cradles, but I got my first period pins. That was nice. I really just wanted to get on and off the mat. I wanted to continue stepping forward to the goal.”
Remarkably, Dziewa has pinned all six of his post-season opponents so far, five of them in the first period.
Besides Dziewa, the Hawks crowned three other champions.
Matt Rappo claimed his third district title, defeating Quakertown’s Scott Wolfinger, 7-5.
“I didn’t know what to expect,” said Rappo. Wolfinger didn’t wrestle at districts last year because he missed weight. “I just tried to go out there and do what I do best.”
What he did best is to use his bar arms.
“I’ve been working on my bars this year,” he said. “I started off with legs and gave up a lot of reversals, so coaches said to stop that and go back to my bars. They taught me a couple of tricks.”
That helped Rappo build a 6-3 lead before Wolfinger closed the gap with a takedown.
Matt Martoccio eased past Norristown freshman Brett Harner, 10-4 at 140.
After placing second last week in Section One, 171-pounder Bobby Lavelle rallied to defeat Quakertown’s Tyler Wolfe, 3-1.
“It feels good,” said Lavelle. “Last week was a big disappointment.”
Lavelle broke open a 1-1 match with a takedown in the third to claim his second district title.
Three wrestlers entered the district tournament with undefeated records, but only one will advance to regionals unblemished.
That would be Pennsbury’s phenomenal freshman, Josh DiSanto.
Last week in the Section One finals, he handed William Tennent’s Kevin Flack his first loss of the year. The two met again in Saturday’s final with a similar result. DiSanto built an 8-0 lead before putting Flack away a second time in 1:52.
“I was nervous,” said DiSanto. “I knew he would come out ready to wrestle. I was going out ready to wrestle too and do my best.”
At 119, Hatboro-Horsham’s Matt Harkins won his second district title, defeating C.B. West’s Bubba McGinley for the third time, 12-7.
“It feels nice, but it’s not all about districts,” said Harkins. “It’s good to win districts to get a good seeding at regionals, but the past two years at regionals I fell short.”
Harkins said that last year’s title was more pleasing when he beat McGinley, particularly since he has become good friends with him since then.
“We were talking to each other during the match,” he said.
Harkins basically won the match on his feet.
“He’s a real funky wrestler and I’m the same way,” said Harkins. “He can beat me and I can beat him.”
In the only overtime match in the finals, Norristown’s Brandon Parker outlasted Pottsgrove’s Thomas Demetrio, 5-4, to win his first district title.
“He was really aggressive,” said Parker. “He got into my head at the start and my coaches kept telling me to clear my head, keep my head in the match and that was why I was able to come out with a win.”
The match was 3-3 after regulation and the first period of overtime.
Parker chose down in the second and reversed but gave up an escape, which meant that Parker would have to ride Demetrio out in the third period.
“I thought I could get ahead of him and then ride him out the next period,” said Parker. “I thought to myself that I needed to power him on top. I kept my weight on top of him so he couldn’t push forward. He started gassing before I did. I had a full tank left.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh junior John Staudenmayer won his third district title, edging a very tough John Bolich of Upper Moreland, 3-1. The two had met earlier in the year in the dual meet, with Staudenmayer winning 2-1.
“It feels good, but I didn’t finish my shots like I wanted to,” said Straudenmayer. “He’s a very tough kid.”
Staudenmayer picked up two of his points on pure aggressiveness, as Bolich was penalized for stalling. The other came on an escape.
“He’s a tough kid on top, and on his feet he’s great,” said Staudenmayer, who hopes to claim his first regional title next week.
“It’s something I don’t have yet,” he said. “I’ll probably see him in the finals again.”
Council Rock North claimed two champions in Greg Lanctot (152), a 2-1 winner over Pennsbury’s Mark Nicholson, and Jamie Callender, who crushed all three of his opponents enroute to the 189-pound title.
Upper Merion’s Ryan Ginsburg won his first district title in an Upper Merion uniform after transferring from LaSalle.
He defeated Upper Moreland’s Tim Santry, 7-3.
Fresh off an OW performance at the Section Two tournament, Souderton’s Joe Stolfi once again dominated his weight class, tech falling Brian Corliss of Wissahickon in the quarters, defeating Phoenixville’s Ken Cenci, 8-2, in the semis, and decking Methacton’s Brandan Clark with a spladle in 2:28 in the finals at 215.
“In the first period, I couldn’t take him down,” said Stolfi. “He was always where I didn’t expect him. He’s good on his feet and a very strong kid. When he was on bottom, I couldn’t keep him on the mat. Right away I tried to go to a spiral and I couldn’t break his base, so I slipped in a leg and was actually working for a merkle. He reached over and grabbed my leg with his other arm and that’s when I felt I had enough to pull it.”
Both wrestlers were returning district champions, Stolfi at 189 and Clark at 215.
“We both wanted to defend our titles at the same time,” said Stolfi. “It feels good.”
One of the biggest upsets in the finals came at 285. Norristown’s Marcus Robins led Pottstown’s William Carter 8-2 when he decided to cut him in the first period. The two locked up, each working for a throw. It turned out that Carter had the advantage in leverage at that point, as he tossed Robbins to his back for a fall at 1:30.
Wrestling resumes Monday.
District One North Wrestling Tournament
(at Quakertown)
Championship finals
103—Dylan Steffenino (UP) dec. Ryan O’Connor (Ne), 11-4
112—Josh DiSanto (Pb) pinned Kevin Flack (WT), 1:52
119—Matt Harkins (HH) dec. Bubba McGinley (CBW), 12-7
125—Matt Rappo (CRS) dec. Scott Wolfinger (Q), 7-5
130—Ryan Ginsburg (UMe) dec. Tim Santry (UMo) 7-3
135—Josh Dziewa (Pb) pinned Will Dill (UMo), 1:14
140—Matt Martoccio (CRS) dec. Brett Harner, (No), 10-4
145—Brandon Parker (No) dec. Thomas Demetrio (Pg), 5-4 OT
152—Greg Lanctot (CRN) dec. Mark Nicholson (Pb), 2-1
160—John Staudenmayer (PW) dec. John Bolich (UMo), 3-1
171—Bobby Lavelle (CRS) dec. Tyler Wolfe (Q), 3-1
189—Jamie Callender (CRN) tech. fall Dan Cox (Me), 5:55
215—Joe Stolfi (S) pinned Brandan Clark (Me), 2:28
285—William Carter (Pt) pinned Marcus Robbins (No), 1:30
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