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By Alex Frazier
The day began as a disaster for the Quakertown wrestling team.
The Panthers’ 103-pound returning state place winner Scott Wolfinger stepped on the scale and was .7 of a pound overweight, dashing his hopes for a return to Hershey.
But Quakertown rebounded from the setback by winning the Class AAA District One North team title, overshadowing second place Norristown, 156-98.5.
“It definitely put a downer on the day,” said 152-pounder Nick Lubenetski, “but we came together and said that was in the past and there was nothing we could do about it.”
The team title is just another in a list of accomplishments for the Panthers this year including a Continental Conference title, a District One Dual Meet team title and a Section Two championship.
“We want to prove we’re one of the best Quakertown teams ever,” said Lubenetski. “Now, next we have to win regionals as a team.”
And to add some icing to the Panthers’ cake, Lubenetski was voted the meet’s Outstanding Wrestler.
“It feels good,” he said. “We had our fingers crossed the whole time. I knew it was going to come down to me or (Pennridge’s) Colin McConnell. I went out there and did my job and got my pins.”
Lubenetski pinned all three of his opponents in an aggregate time of 8 minutes and 16 seconds.
“I didn’t want to go in there thinking I could do that,” he said. “You just have to wrestle to the best of your ability every time, and when the opportunity comes, you try to end the match early.”
Ironically, it was just recently that Lubenetski and some teammates were figuring out who had the most pins on the team. He has 16 falls in 27 matches. After Saturday night, he could well be the team leader.
He wowed the home crowd with his one minute, 59 second pin of Norristown’s Joe Kent in the finals.
Not only was it his first OW award, but it was also his first district title and first trip to regionals.
“It’s really nice,” said Lubenetski. “It’s been a big senior year for me.”
Host Quakertown crowned three champions, including Colin Bynum at 125 and Eric Koch at 140, and advanced nine wrestlers to next week’s Southeast Regional at Oxford.
Fans were treated to an abundance of dramatic matches, starting in the very first one at 103 where Central Bucks South’s Mike Mathis, who was disappointed that he didn’t have a shot at Wolfinger, settled for a 7-5 win over Methacton’s Rob D’Annunzio in the finals for his second district title.
A tilt late in the third period proved the difference.
“I wrestled pretty good my first two matches, but the last match I was a little sloppy,” he said.
At 112, Hatboro-Horsham’s Matt Harkins and Central Bucks West’s Bubba McGinley had a knockdown, drag-out contest that wasn’t decided until the last 40 seconds when Harkins took McGinley down and rode him out for an 8-6 win.
The two met earlier this year with Harkins taking a 12-9 decision.
“Last time I was just wrestling my own style,” said Harkins. “This time I was more cautious of what he did.”
Harkins was down 4-0 at the beginning of the second period but fought back to take the lead on a reversal in the third.
“I was really in the match,” he said. “I wasn’t thinking about the score. I just wanted to get my points.”
The 119 final was another close bout. Central Buck West’s Steve Ferrara knew Norristown’s Dale Irwin lived and died by the big move. He had been caught by Irwin’s headlock in the dual meet but managed to escape that in the finals. But Irwin turned instead to his Peterson roll and the four points he earned proved to be the difference.
“He’s a five-point mover,” said Ferrara. “It’s tough to watch out for everything at once. I got in a lot of good shots on him. It was a heartbreaker, but I feel I did the best I could have done.”
Ferrara made regionals as a freshman but this time he won’t be satisfied with just going. He wants to take it to the next level.
Colin Bynum helped the Panthers’ cause with a 2-0 victory against Upper Perk’s Garrett Fellman in the 125-pound finals. A first-period takedown was all he needed.
Bynum had to endure the pain of an ankle injury, which he sustained in the semifinals when he rolled it trying to throw legs.
It was his third win this year over Fellman.
“I had a lot more nerves coming it,” said Bynum. “It was my home gym with all my friends and family, and I didn’t want to lose in front of them.”
Bynum made it to the district finals his freshman year but lost, and last year he didn’t make it out of sectionals, so this title was particularly pleasing.
Many Quakertown fans were anticipating a re-match between Central Bucks East’s Jon Brodzik and Matt Rust at 135. Brodzik won last week and in the process was named OW.
It was another thriller, as Brodzik maintained his supremacy with a 4-3 decision.
Brodzik earned two back points in the second period, which proved the difference.
“I picked it up and just kept taking it at him,” he said. “Once he let me up in the third period, I knew I was going to win. I wasn’t going to let him take me down.”
One of the most anticipated matches of the night came at 160, where undefeated John Staudenmayer (37-0) and Central Bucks East’s Devon Passman met for a second time in the district finals, with a similar result. The PW sophomore won his second straight district title.
Staudenmayer credited his superior conditioning as a major factor in his 8-3 win.
“It played a big part,” he said.
At 189, Souderton’s Joe Stolfi and Central Bucks West’s Ted Conrad met for the fourth time this year. Conrad won the first two, but Stolfi evened the series at 2-2 by majoring
Conrad in the Section Two finals and then again in the district finals, 10-2.
“I’ve actually been watching a lot of film,” said Stolfi. “I was watching all his movements and all the little things. I had confidence. I just knew he wanted to come out and win today, so I had to step up my game.”
District One North Class AAA Tournament
Team standings
1. Quakertown 156, 2. Norristown 98.5, 3. Central Bucks West 86.5, 4. Hatboro-Horsham 80, 5. Central Bucks East 76, 6. Upper Perkiomen 72, 7. Methacton 69, 8. Pennridge 60. 9. Plymouth Whitemarsh 59, 10. Perkiomen Valley 53, 11. Pottsgrove 44.5, 12. Souderton 39, 13. Central Bucks South 37, 14. Phoenixville 34, 15. North Penn 29, 16. Wissahickon 27, 17. Upper Dublin 24, 17. Upper Merion 24, 19. Cheltenham 7, 20. Pottstown 0
Championship Finals
103—Mike Mathis, Central Bucks South, dec. Rob D'Annunzio, Methacton, 7-5
112—Matt Harkins, Hatboro Horsham, dec. Chris McGinley, Central Bucks West, 8-6
119—Dave Irwin, Norristown, dec. Steve Ferrara, Central Bucks West, 6-5
125—Colin Bynum, Quakertown, dec. Garrett Fellman, Upper Perkiomen, 2-0
130—Luke Wisniewski, Plymouth Whitemarsh, dec. Gavin Milligan, Perkiomen Valley, 3-0
135—Jon Brodzik, Central Bucks East, dec. Matt Rust, Quakertown, 4-2
140—Eric Koch, Quakertown, dec. Brandon Parker, Norristown, 8-3
145—Colin McConnell, Pennridge, maj. dec. Stephen Parker, Norristown, 16-2
152—Nick Lubenetski, Quakertown, pinned Joe Kent, Norristown, 1:59
160 John Staudenmayer, Plymouth Whitemarsh, dec. Devon Passman, Central Bucks
East, 8-2
171—Dave Smith, Hatboro Horsham, dec. Connor Horn, Central Bucks West, 3-2
189—Joe Stolfi, Souderton, maj. dec. Ted Conrad, Central Bucks West, 10-2
215—Brandan Clark, Methacton, dec. Robert Smothers, Souderton, 6-2
285—Jared Bennett, Upper Perkiomen, pinned Alex Myers, Hatboro Horsham, 1:05
Third Place
103—Daniel Rodenberger, Upper Perkiomen, dec. Eric DuBree, Pottsgrove, 8-2
112—Chris Onder, Phoenixville, maj. dec. Doug Silveria, Central Bucks East, 14-2
119—Justin Andrews, Methacton, dec. Nick Ronzano, Quakertown, 4-0
125—Drew Felice, Hatboro Horsham, pinned Doug Ludy, Pottsgrove, 3:49
130—Rich Jasinski, Pennridge, dec. Zach Robinson, Pottsgrove, 4-3
135—Jordan Deane, Perkiomen Valley, dec. Dan Michaels, Pottsgrove, 5-1
140—Jarrett Sanders, Central Bucks East, dec. Pat Reilly, Upper Dublin, 4-2
145—Briar Malischewski, Quakertown, dec. Dominic Colangelo, North Penn, 3-1
152—Alex Vuotto, Upper Merion, dec. Randy Haun, North Penn, 7-1
160—Taylor Franko, Wissahickon, dec. Tyler Wolfe, Quakertown, 5-0
171—Nick Edmonson, Upper Perkiomen, dec. Seth Gray, Quakertown, 5-4
189—Sam Morison, Plymouth Whitemarsh, dec. Brett Petriello, Perkiomen Valley, 7-4
215—Ken Cenci, Phoenixville, dec. Greg Walker, Quakertown, 3-1
285—Marcus Robbins, Norristown, dec. Chase Godfrey, Perkiomen Valley, 8-1
Fifth Place
103—Dave Yannes, Wissahickon, dec. Justin Beitler, Perkiomen Valley, 5-2
112—Tyler Romano, North Penn, won by forfeit
119—Josh Konz, Pennridge, dec. Nick DiMuzio, Upper Dublin, 9-3
125—Matt Cermanski, Phoenixville, won by forfeit
130—Kyle Beljanski, Central Bucks East, dec. Ben Lowery, Norristown, 15-9
135—Ramil Gamble, Plymouth Whitemarsh, dec. Pat Carr, Methacton, 9-7
140—Nick Vuotto, Upper Merion, pinned Rick Seybolt, Central Bucks South, 3:53
145—Chris Jastrzebski, Central Bucks West, dec. Vaughn Gehman, Perkiomen Valley, 7-0
152—Brad Herrmann, Pennridge, pinned Paul Choi, Upper Dublin, 2:15
160—Kyle Kovalsky, Methacton, dec. Brett Kerr, Upper Perkiomen, 5-2
171—Joe Pierce, Norristown, dec. Eliot Reisz, Methacton, 9-7
189—Julian Gulbinski, Central Bucks South, maj. dec. Robert Basile, Quakertown, 8-0
215—Brian Corliss, Wissahickon, dec. Joe Winters, Pennridge, 6-0
285—Matt McMurdo, Central Bucks West, vs. Joe Burke, Central Bucks East
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