TRAMPE CAPTURES SILVER
Zack Trampe took to the mat with a 126-pound championship title on the line against 2014 AA Champ Luke Karam from Bethlehem Catholic. After a scoreless first period that saw Trampe attempt a couple of shrugs that were unsuccessful, Karam chose bottom to start the second and scored a quick escape to get neutral. Trampe attempted another shrug but was again unsuccessful as Karam countered with a double leg to score two. Trampe escaped near the end of the second to make the score 3-1. He again scored a point with a stand-up to get neutral but was taken down by Karam with a slick duck to a high crotch takedown to earn a 5-2 win and the title. Trampe, a sophomore for the Golden Hawks, has a bright future at the Giant Center. He completed a great run in the state tournament as a follow-up to his stellar regular season, finishing as the runner-up at 126 pounds.
The Suburban One League continued on at Hershey with its lightweight strength as both Aiden Burke (Council Rock South) and Matt Parker (Pennridge) medaled, finishing fourth and fifth respectfully. Parker executed two snap-down takedowns, one with a throw-by to capture fifth place with a flawless 4-1 victory. Burke was unable to win his final bout at the Giant Center as he dropped a 5-4 decision to District One’s Jakob Campbell from Boyertown. All in all, this 
lightweight tandem for the SOL was stellar all season long, and both will be returning down the road to Hershey in the years to come. Both are only tenth graders.
Pennridge 160 pounder Kyle Gentile avenged his quarterfinal loss to Manheim Central’s Jared Siegrist by the score of 1-0 to garner fifth place. Gentile used a solid arm bar ride in the third period to secure the win after escaping for the lone point of the match in the second. Gentile’s win combined with Parker’s win early moved the Rams back into the top ten of team standings. And with Ezra Outlaw still on deck for Pennridge, things looked good for them to stay there.
Central Bucks East senior Evan Wilson capped his high school career off with a fourth place medal as he was unable to duplicate Gentile’s feat of avenging an early loss to his 
opponent. Wilson could not score a takedown and lost 3-1 to Casey Glunt from James Buchanan. Glunt beat Wilson in their quarterfinal bout 7-3.
At 220 pounds, Ezra Outlaw faced Zeb Pfeiffer (Penn Manor) in the seventh place bout. Outlaw struck first with a double leg takedown to open the scoring 2-0; however, Pfeiffer got a quick one back with an escape making it 2-1 to end the first. Pfeiffer tied the score at two with another escape to start the second period. It ended at 2-2, and Outlaw escaped immediately to start the third to go up 3-2 in the neutral position. Outlaw - on the defense - scored a late takedown and a penalty point to win 6-3 after a late escape by Pfeiffer. The Rams finished just out of the top 10 in the team standings, capturing 11th.
Next up it was Neshaminy’s Bruce Graeber in a rematch of last weekend’s SE Regional final at 285 pounds with Boyertown’s Tommy Killoran. Graeber scored a quick takedown in just :07 seconds to go up 2-0. Graeber kept heavy pressure on Killoran to ride out the period and lead 2-0. Graeber scored immediately 
off the bottom with an escape to take control of the match 3-0. He followed with a bear hug takedown and back points to lead 7-0. Killoran was hit for stalling for a second time, and Graeber took an 8-0 lead to the third period. Killoran chose neutral to start the third, he was hit with a penalty point, and another at the end of the match to close the scoring 8-2 to finish in fifth place at the heavy weight division.
Notes: Next season District 3 will get the fifth State Qualifier and D1 will only get four. It was a rough outing for D1’s fourth 
and fifth place SE Regional placers; nonetheless, they did win some matches, and in 2017, we will get the fifth qualifier back as D1 and D3 will flip flop every other year getting the fifth qualifier to states from regions. Considerations for D1 to relook at Districts and Regionals is in the works, but it is always hard for changes to be implemented District wide, despite the size of the Suburban One League and its proposals. Despite only seven medalists from the SOL and 19 overall from D1, D1 continues to send quality wrestlers to the PIAA Championships. Bethlehem Catholic jumped up to AAA from AA a year ago, the reigning AA champs were no match for the dominance displayed by defending AAA champ Franklin Regional.
ROCK SOUTH’S TRAMPE WILL GO FOR GOLD
Council Rock South’s Zack Trampe set up a showdown with Bethlehem Catholic’s Luke Karem in the 126-pound championship bout at the Giant Center in Hershey, PA. Trampe was the only Suburban One wrestler to advance to the finals, as Council Rock North’s Aiden Burke was unsuccessful in his bid to reach the finals at 106. Burke did avenge two postseason losses to Pennridge’s Matt Parker, defeating him in the consolation semis, and will go for third place against District One’s David Campbell from Boyertown.
Boyertown has a strong showing in the tournament and moved into the top five of the team scoring in fourth place with 67 points. The Bears are the highest placing team from the Southeast Region. Franklin Regional (134 points) has jumped out to a big lead over Bethlehem Catholic (96 pts.), and Greater Latrobe (74 pts.). Pennridge has dropped down into 11th place but remains the highest team from the SOL in the standings. CR South has moved up into the top 25 in 22nd place, followed by both CB East and CR North tied in 36th place to be in the to 40 in the AAA team scoring.
Although title hopes for the Rams have vanished, they will have three wrestlers earning medals as Parker will go for 5th place, as will Kyle Gentile (170), and Ezra Outlaw (220) will contend for 7th. They will join the four other SOL medalists in Burke, Trampe, CB East’s Evan Wilson (182), and Neshaminy’s Bruce Graeber at 285 pounds.
Wilson will be going for the bronze, and will have a chance to avenge his semi-final loss to Casey Glunt (James Buchanan) at 182 pounds. Wilson has had an outstanding season, and can cap off a solid tournament with a win here. Both Ezra Outlaw and Bruce Graeber have been workmanlike with their efforts to reach podium. Gentile, although very disappointed with his semi-final loss to Manheim Township’s Jared Siegrist can also get revenge in his 5th place bout, as he will battle Siegrist again for the second time in this tournament. Outlaw will wrestle Penn Manor’s Zeb Pfieffer in his medal match. Graeber will rumble with Boyertown’s Tommy Killoran in his 5th place bout, Killoran defeated him in the SE Region finals last week.
Notes: 19 Wrestlers from District One (SE Region) will earn medals, seven of those are from the SOL (Continental - four and National three). Only two will have an opportunity to win it all and claim a prestigious PIAA Individual Championship, and, of course, one of those is the Golden Hawks Zack Trampe who will look to knock off the defending AA Champ in Becca’s Luke Karam. Yesterday’s delayed start was once again a black eye for the PIAA, as the AA ran late with the new mat assignment regiment that kept fans out in the cold.
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