Rockyard Duals Feature Premier Matches
By Glenn Kaiser
Newtown, PA-Council Rock North (CRN) hosted their annual Jack K. Callender Memorial Duals Saturday, and as usual, the field was strong with many District One (D1) Team Championship contenders. Along with CRN, Neshaminy, Spring-Ford (S-F), Owen J Roberts (OJR) and Downingtown West (DTW) are vying for team supremacy later this month, starting on Thursday Jan. 23, 2020. Council Rock South and West Chester Rustin will host the first rounds, and the finals are slated for Friday, Jan. 30, and Feb. 1, 2020, at Upper Dublin H.S.
Although these matches did not have the same vibe as district dual championship weekend, the match-ups and wrestling were elite.
Neshaminy got off to a hot start with a victory over DTW. The ‘Skins were without standout Zac Martin due to illness but won convincingly, 43-29. Andrew Pokalsky wrestling at 160-pounds opened up a trio of falls for the ‘Skins in the middle of the match with the score relatively close at 13-7 in favor of Neshaminy. Despite never trailing in their dual with the Whippets, Gunnar Spain used a spectacular rolling cement job on DTW’s Mason Hale at 170, and Jason Pascuccci decked the Whippets’ Matthew Zhao after dominating the match thru the second period to blow the match wide open with a 31-7 lead.
West was able to make a run at the top of their line-up with their trio of studs in Max Hale (195), Chase Mielnik (220) and Matt Micale (285), shrinking Neshaminy’s lead to eight at 31-23. Nonetheless, Neshaminy’s lightweight Charles Doran used a slick Peterson roll to deck the Whippets’ Ryan Note to put the match away after the 106lb match (the dual started at 126). The ‘Skins Calvin Lederer secured a pin in the last bout to boost the final score to 43-29.
Neshaminy knew they were in a buzzsaw of a dual tourney when Coach Frank Bing scheduled their return to the Rockyard, but getting that first win was key for the ‘Skins. Next up was, perhaps the second-best team in D1, Spring-Ford. The ‘Skins battled mightily but came up short, losing 35-28. But who knows, maybe next time with Martin they could turn the tide. That is the ‘Skins goal - to beat enough D1 powers to advance to the PIAA Team Championships in early February 2020. Neshaminy dominated in a win over Ridley before taking on OJR in the third- place match. Owen J was just too much for the ‘Skins as they dropped a 41-27 match at the hands of the Wildcats.
The wrestling on the other mats was just as outstanding as Council Rock North took on OJR in a rematch from an earlier dual at the beginning of the season (OJR won 40-36). The Indians got revenge with the return of Luke Lucerne to the lineup as he was absent in the first battle between these two D1 behemoths. North was able to weather the storm at the front end of the match, going down 13-0 to the Wildcats to emerge 36-31 victors.
The Indians’ longtime head coach, Tom Vivaqua, made some moves, pitting Sammy Hayes on Owen J’s Antonio Petrucelli at 152, and it paid off as Hayes and Petrucelli battled hard with Petrucelli only managing a 10-6 decision. The move enabled Cam Robinson and Dillon Sheehy to move up to 160 and 170, respectively.
Sheehy engaged with OJR’s standout Connor Quinn in the most exciting match of this dual tourney. The match was filled with move-after-move action and counter action that resulted in Sheehy’s 1-point, 10-9 victory. The action comprised of stunning flurries that accounted for near fall points and control that required excellent officiating. Robinson’s fall and Sheehy’s big win brought CRN to within four points at 9-13.
With North trailing 9-24 heading to 220-pounds (the match started at 138lbs), the Indians rattled off three victories, all with bonus points, to take the lead 25-24. Blake Sliber posted an 8-0 shutout at 220, Max Harar made quick work of his opponent with a :39-second fall at heavyweight, and Dylan Savard shocked the Wildcats with a fall at 106lbs. With #1 ranked (PA Power) Kyle Hauserman and Lucerne still waiting to take the mats for North, things were looking good. Nonetheless, Anthony Burke needed to hang and/or win with the Wildcats Mason Karkoska at 113-pounds. He did that, battling to a 6-2 decision in Karkoska’s favor, keeping the team score tight at 25-27 with three bouts to go.
Hauserman (120) and Lucerne (132) did not disappoint as they recorded a fall and tech fall respectively to give the Indians a monster win after the Wildcats’ Matt Englehardt tied the score at 31-31 in between at 126 with a major decision and some revenge. These two teams will most likely meet again in a rubber match and a spot in the state duals on the line.
Despite winning seven bouts, CRN was not as fortunate in the championship match with Spring-Ford, losing 36-28. North’s Larry Tsai had a chance to win it for the Indians in the last bout at 138lbs. with North trailing 30-28. Unfortunately, the Rams’ Zach Needles overpowered Tsai, notching a first period fall enabling S-F to win the title.
All in all, it was an outstanding day of wrestling at Council Rock North with the anticipation of a great D1 team championships looming.
CRN upped their overall record to 9-2 going 3-1 on the day, Neshaminy left at 7-4 going 2-2. Central Bucks South wrestled to a win over Methacton 48-30, but only have that one win on their record at 1-7.
SOL dual action really heats up this coming week, as Council Rock South will battle Quakertown Wednesday and CR North on Thursday. These two dual meets should sort out the team rankings here in the SOL and beyond.
Neshaminy 43, Downingtown West 29
on Saturday, January 4, 2020
Rock Yard Duals (Round 1)
at Council Rock North HS
Related Info
126 - Luke Landman maj. dec. Harrison Hayford, 20-7 (4-0)
132 - Dan Hansbury pinned Matthew Wolf, 0:45 (10-0)
138 - Grant Hanak dec. Kevin Cush, 6-5 (10-3)
145 - Liam Moss dec. Greg Chamberlain, 5-0 (13-3)
152 - Dan Lilley maj. dec. David Jackson, 8-0 (13-7)
160 - Andrew Pokalsky pinned Zach Borkowski, 0:40 (19-7)
170 - Gunner Spain pinned Mason Hale, 2:56 (25-7)
182 - Jason Pascucci pinned Matthew Zhao, 2:28 (31-7)
195 - Maximus Hale pinned Jack Toy, 0:39 (31-13)
220 - Chase Mielnik pinned Bill Angerer, 1:23 (31-19)
285 - Matt Micale maj. dec. Zack Magdelinskas, 9-1 (31-23)
106 - Charles Doran pinned Ryan Note, 1:31 (37-23)
113 - Dominic Findora pinned Eric Gross, 1:47 (37-29)
120 - Calvin Lederer pinned Gage Gwiazdowski, 1:11 (43-29)
Neshaminy wrestlers in bold.
Council Rock North 36, Owen J. Roberts 31
138 - Connor Leister maj. dec. Larry Tsai, 13-3 (0-4)
145 - Jacob Dunleavy pinned Gavin Papp, 4:37 (0-10)
152 - Antonio Petrucelli dec. Sammy Hayes, 10-6 (0-13)
160 - Cameron Robinson pinned Cole Bechtel, 0:58 (6-13)
170 - Dillon Sheehy dec. Connor Quinn, 10-9 (9-13)
182 - Austin Boaman pinned Brendon Hardy, 1:10 (9-19)
195 - Tommy Dempsey won by tech. fall over Aden Roe, 21-6 6:00 (9-24)
220 - Blake Silber maj. dec. Dylan Bauer, 8-0 (13-24)
285 - Max Harar pinned Jaden Viti, 0:39 (19-24)
106 - Dylan Siverd pinned Zachary Sturm, 2:50 (25-24)
113 - Mason Karkoska dec. Anthony Burke, 6-2 (25-27)
120 - Kyle Hauserman pinned Joshua Jackson, 1:25 (31-27)
126 - Matthew Englehardt maj. dec. Tomasso Meara, 16-3 (31-31)
132 - Luke Lucerne won by tech. fall over David Forrest, 20-4 5:10 (36-31)
Council Rock North wrestlers in bold.
Spring-Ford 36, Council Rock North 28
on Saturday, January 4, 2020
Rock Yard Duals (Placement - Championship)
at Council Rock North HS
145 - Sammy Hayes maj. dec. Alex Johns, 16-3 (0-4)
152 - Cameron Robinson dec. Jack McGill, 11-4 (0-7)
160 - Dillon Sheehy pinned Xavier Cushman, 3:30 (0-13)
170 - Brendon Hardy dec. Jason Lepore, 3-1 (0-16)
182 - Gavin Hartman pinned Aden Roe, 1:11 (6-16)
195 - Joey Milano pinned Remy Weinstein, 0:50 (12-16)
220 - Louis Carbajal dec. Blake Silber, 7-2 (15-16)
285 - Max Harar dec. Sean Brogan, 6-5 (15-19)
106 - Cole Smith pinned Dylan Siverd, 2:08 (21-19)
113 - Dominic Ortlip dec. Anthony Burke, 3-2 (24-19)
120 - Kyle Hauserman pinned Aidan Phelan, 0:11 (24-25)
126 - Quinn Smith pinned Tomasso Meara, 0:59 (30-25)
132 - Luke Lucerne dec. Quinn Tobin, 5-0 (30-28)
138 - Zach Needles pinned Larry Tsai, 1:35 (36-28)
Spring-Ford wrestlers in bold
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