This week’s notebook recaps some of the top performances at this weekend’s tournaments and also includes the SOL’s Top Guns. To view photos of the Ghost Town Duals, please visit the Photo Gallery.
PARKER, PALMER, & TRAMPE KINGS OF THE MOUNTAIN:
SOL Wrestlers Shine at the King of the Mountain Tournament at Central Mountain H.S.
A trio of lightweights from suburban Philadelphia traveled with their teams to the mountains of Pennsylvania, in Mill Hall (just outside of Lock Haven) to battle PA’s best wrestlers at Central Mountain High School in the King of the Mountain (KOM) Tournament. And those three – Matt Parker (Pennridge), Riley Palmer (Council Rock South), and Zack Trampe (CR South) – all came home with titles at their respective weight classes.
Matt Parker led the way for the Pennridge Rams, who placed fourth as a team at the prestigious KOM Tourney. Parker captured the 106-pound title, defeating Alan Diltz of Benton 8-4. CR South’s Riley Palmer (113) and Zack Trampe (126) stood atop the podium for the Golden Hawks to help South finish eighth overall as a team. Palmer faced his nemesis from his own backyard in Pennridge’s Kordell Rush in the 113-pound final and won this rivalry match in the first edition of their 2014-15 season scrums. Palmer caught Rush with a cradle for a fall in the finals at 1:47 of the first period. Rush and Palmer are two of PA’s most exciting wrestlers who scramble to come out on top looking for the fall at all times. They will surely excite all through out the season as they did last year all the way to Hershey. Zack Trampe perhaps turned in the best performance of the tournament as he conquered one of the toughest weight classes at the King. Trampe was in top form defeating Greater Latrobe’s Ethan McCoy 7-5 after building a solid 5-1 lead heading into the third period.
Pennridge and Council Rock South established themselves early as top individual teams to be reckoned with in Pennsylvania and beyond. The Rams third finalist was Kyle Gentile at 182-pounds. Gentile came up short in a 1-0 loss to John Jacobsen of Stroudsburg to capture second.
Pennridge heavy Joe Kracz garnered the bronze as he placed third at 285 pounds, winning the consolation bracket with an 11-2 major decision over Boyertown’s Tommy Killoran to add to the Rams team score. Freshmen newcomer Josh Stillings placed seventh at 138 pounds for the Rams. CR South was boosted by Dylan Schwartz’s fourth place finish at 160 lbs and two seventh place finishes from Joe Little at 145 lbs, and Ben Kenis at 182.
District One was well represented on the podium up and down the weight classes as both Boyertown (5th Place) and Owen J Roberts (6th) had strong tournaments. Downingtown East also was noticeable at the King of the Mountain.
Abington Ghost Town Duals: Pennsbury Crowned Champs
Pennsbury came to wrestle in the 10-team dual event at Abington. The Falcons pinned their way to the championship with a victory over West Chester Henderson in the finals 45-33. Pennsbury was a perfect 5-0, posting bonus points and lopsided scores with wins over Wissahickon (76-6), Upper Darby (46-22), Hatboro-Horsham (58-24), and Father Judge (46-27). Outstanding performances were turned in by Antonio Martoccio (106), Connor Joyce (126), Eric Mongiello (145), Zack Clarke (152), and Luke Kowal (160).
Around the SOL
Quakertown went 3-1 at the Exeter Duals with a SOL non-league win over Norristown (54-16), along with wins over Dallastown (42-25) and Warwick (46-26). The Panthers dropped a 44-24 match versus hosts Exeter.
Neshaminy placed second at the Travis Manion Tournament at LaSalle College H.S. The Redskins were second to Kennard-Dale, former school of Chance Marstellar, 4X PIAA State Champion.
Harry S Truman took second at the Colley Classic hosted by West Chester East. Senior Dylan Nuttall took the 120-pound title, going 5-0 and earning Outstanding Wrestler honors for the second week in a row. Other individual champions included Brandon Wiley (285), Dennis Burns (113) and Dustin Stone (145).
100 Win Milestone: Congrats to Central Bucks West’s Riley Barth for eclipsing the 100th Win mark last week. Barth wrestling again at 145-pounds this season was 4th at the Southeast Regional in 2014, and looks to make the trip to Hershey this season to the 2015 PIAA State Championships. He now owns a career record of 101-20 with a .835 win percentage.
SOL Team Rankings:
1-Pennridge
2-Council Rock South
3-Pennsbury
4-Quakertown
5-Plymouth-Whitmarsh
Top Guns:
106-Matt Parker (Pennridge)
113-Riley Palmer (Council Rock South)
120-Dylan Nuttal (Harry S Truman)
126-Zack Trampe (CR South)
132-Josh Stillings (Pennridge)
138-Mikey O’Brien (North Penn)
145-Riley Barth (Central Bucks West)
152-Dominic Stabilito (Neshaminy) & Luke Ely (Council Rock North)
160-Luke Kowal (Pennsbury)
170-Dom DeLaurentis (Upper Moreland) & Josh Shalinsky (CR North)
182-Kyle Gentile (Pennridge) & Evan Wilson (Central Bucks East)
195-Mike Rodemacher (CR North)
220-Thiason Ngyuen (CR South)
285-Bruce Graeber (Neshaminy) & Joe Kracz (Pennridge)
*SOL Individual Rankings will be posted over the Holiday break.
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