SUBURBAN ONE DOMINATES AT SE REGIONAL
The Suburban One League wrestlers can claim that they are the best of the best. SOL wrestlers captured seven of the 14 titles at the 2014 Southeast Regional this past weekend. Held at Pottstown High School, the SE Region championship mat was no stranger to SOL wrestlers; In fact, the SOL Continental registered six champs of their own with four of them coming from Pennridge in Kordell Rush (106), Scott Parker (120), Ben Ross (126), and Kyle Gentile (160). All told, the SOL had 10 finalists.
The 126-pound final featured a rematch of the D1 East final, but this time it was Ben Ross who was the victor over neighboring rival Kolton Veit of Souderton. Ross was solid and came out with a vengeance to defend his SE Regional crown, winning his second regional title 5-1. Scoring the first takedown in the match set the tone for Ross, who was in control the entire match as he was able to fend off any and all attacks by Veit.
Pennridge alone produced four champions, and with that enough team points to secure second place in the team standings with 80.5 points. Boyertown won the team title with 91 points with two champs and a total of five state qualifiers. The SOL had five teams place in the top 10 with Council Rock South finishing fourth (41 points), North Penn, eighth (35.5 pts.), Central Bucks East, ninth (32.5 pts.), and Norristown 10th (32 pts.) joining Pennridge.
The SOL American boasted one champ in Norristown’s Mikey Springer at 152 pounds. Springer blanked North Penn’s Jeff Reimel 7-0 for his second regional title. CB East’s Francesco Fabozzi also captured his second SE Regional title with a win in the finals over Shane Rhunke (Great Valley) by major decision 16-6. The 145-pound weight class featured some extremely talented wrestlers, Rhunke was a regional runner-up a year ago, and Riley Barth (CB West) just missed on a trip to Hershey, losing in the consolation finals by a narrow 3-2 margin to Owen J Roberts’ Dominic Petrucelli. Barth defeated Hatboro-Horsham’s Brad Humski 8-3 in an earlier wrestle-back match.
Alex Price, one of two of North Penn’s finalists, won the 182-pound weight class, beating a rugged Caleb Edwards (Avon Grove) 4-2. Riley Palmer (CR South) snagged the bronze at 106 with a solid 5-1 victory over Edgar Garcia (Avon Grove), a 2013 state medalist, to advance to the Giant Center this week. Rush (Pennridge) knocked off Garcia in the semis 3-1 to earn his spot in the finals at 106.
Wrestling for the AAA begins at 4:00 pm on Thursday, March 6, 2014, and runs through Saturday, March 8, 2014, concluding with the finals at 7:00pm.
Reigning PIAA bronze medalist Scott Parker (Pennridge), struggled a bit on his feet in the finals against Downingtown East’s Wade Cummings, tagging Cummings with his only loss of the season with an escape to win 1-0. Dan Martoccio (CRS) navigated his way through the 126-pound bracket to garner a trip back to Hershey with 3-1 victory over a stout Patrick Callaghan of Marple-Newtown. Martoccio lost a close one in the semis to Ross. The 126-pound weight class state qualifiers all come from the SOL.
At 132 pounds, Tommy Stokes (Bensalem) saw his perfect season come to an end with a sudden victory loss in overtime to one of Boyertown’s best, Eddie Kriczky 4-2. But he’ll return to Chocolate Town, USA, for a shot at a spot on the podium. Evan Wilson will join his workout partner Francesco Fabozzi in Hershey after defeating SOL rival Tommy Ambacher for third place, 5-1, Wilson avenged his loss to Ambacher a week ago in the D1 East 138-pound final. Rashon Lusane earned his second straight trip to the PIAA State Championships, avoiding the sophomore jinx with a dominating 18-6 win over Steve Phillips (Interboro) for third place. Kody Lupfer (Neshaminy) used his superior strength to battle through the wrestle-backs after losing to Edwards (AG) in the semis, with a 5-1 win in the consi-finals over Lawrence Atkins (Ridley).
William Tennent’s Marc Isaac also saw his undefeated season go up in flames, losing to the SE Regions Outstanding Wrestler, Mike Boykin (Coatesville), in the semifinals at 220, but will return to Hershey after squeaking by Mason Romano (Spring-Ford) 1-0 in the third place bout.
HERSHEY PREVIEW
The SOL had 16 of the 42 wrestlers advancing to the PIAA Wrestling Championships from the SE Region. There will be no easy path for SOL wrestlers to make their way onto the podium this weekend at the Giant Center. Returning state champions abound in several weight classes, and Pennsylvania’s best of the rest throughout the brackets. Nonetheless, the competing SOL wrestlers at States will surely find their way there, and here is a look at potential medalists and previews of each weight class.
106
Kordell Rush (Pennridge) is peaking at the right time and should medal in this extremely talented field of young guns. Franklin Regional’s undefeated Devin Brown is down below in the bracket and is the favorite. Riley Palmer will face Northwest champ Charlie McDowell (McDowell) in a prelim bout. If he can recapture his early season heroics, he to can medal here.
113
Franklin Regional will again have the favorite here in Spencer Lee, as Franklin Regional will look to add to its State Dual title with an individual team title in Hershey.
120
Scotty Parker (Pennridge) gets a good draw in the bottom half of the bracket away from Greater Latrobe’s Luke Pletcher, but he will be tested early against Middletown’s Zach Ulerick, who has not seen much mat time this season. If all goes well, look for Parker, to have a rematch with Parkland’s Ethan Lizak in the semifinals. Parker will place, it’s just a matter of how high.
126
The Southwest’s top three state qualifiers will look to stand in the way of the three SOL state qualifiers here. Ben Ross (Pennridge) will be in a war in the prelims with Waynsesburg’s A.C. Headlee, and Kolton Viet (Souderton) draws SW-2 Sam Kirvus from Hempfield. Dan Martoccio (CRS) is up top with a somewhat clearer path, and his previous experience in Hershey helps him here. Dalton Macri (Canon Mac) SW-1 is the favorite and is positioned in the bottom half of the bracket.
132
Chase Zemenak (Nazareth) may be the man to beat at this weight class. He is up top in this bracket. Tommy Stokes is down below and will face another senior in Joel Bowers (Punxsutawney), the NW-2, in a preliminary bout. If Stokes can elevate his game, his speed and style have what it takes to place.
138
Evan Wilson (CBE) makes it to Hershey in his junior season, a year that is critical for future placement, but why wait? Wilson has the talent now to get on the podium. This is a wide open weight class, but keep an eye on the Southwest’s Vincenzo Joseph (Pitt Central Catholic), South Central champ Pat Duggan (Cumberland Valley), and Haydan Hidlay (Mifflin) from the Northwest. Michael Kemerer will be dangerous from Franklin Regional after losing at regionals.
145
Returning state champions Joey Galasso (Father Judge) and Canon Mac’s Solomon Chisko are on the top and the bottom of the bracket respectively. CB East’s Francesco Fabozzi is up top with Galasso and could see him in the semis. Fabozzi’s chances to repeat as a medalist are good, but it will be a tough ride to move up the podium.
152
Both Mike Springer (Norristown) and Jeff Reimel (North Penn) are good bets to medal here. Springer looks good in the bracket to move to the finals from the lower half, and Reimel is battle tested to make a run at a medal. TC Warner of Cumberland Valley will make some noise up top but will have to do battle with Elijah Brown from Easton in a potential quarterfinal bout. Springer will most likely have to go through another seasoned wrestler from Franklin Regional, Josh Shields.
160
Central Dauphin will once again have a Peppelman at this weight class, and Garrett Peppelman will be the heavy odds-on favorite to win the title at 160. Pennridge’s Kyle Gentile will have his work cut out for him if he can get to the semis to face Peppelman. Nonetheless, with Gentile’s smooth style and calm demeanor, he is rarely desperate or outclassed in any match and should have what it takes to medal.
170
Rashon Lusane looks to medal this time around in Hershey, but it will not be easy. He will have SE Champ John Dambro (Garnet Valley) in his bracket. Dambro beat Lusane narrowly 6-5 at regionals. This weight class is owned by Kennard-Dale’s Chance Marsteller, who looks to become a four-time PIAA State Champion.
182
A somewhat quiet weight class could see Alex Price (NP) on the podium. Kody Lupfer (Neshaminy) will have to be at his best to medal, as he will face undefeated Zack Zavatsky from Greater Latrobe in the prelims. Greater Latrobe will also be a team to keep an eye on for the team title.
195
Contenders here are undefeated Cole Macek (Montour), Nezar Haddad (Parkland), Jan Johnson (Governor Mifflin), and Tom Sleigh (Dubois). Parkland also will throw its hat in the ring for the team title.
220
A two man race here with a rematch of this past weekends SE Regional final between Coatesville’s Michael Boykin and Boyertown’s Jordan Wood. Tennent’s Marc Isaac should also medal here, possibly third, thus a D1 sweep of the top three spots on the podium.
285
Can anyone beat Thomas Haines from Solanco as he attempts to become a four-time champ? He moves up to heavyweight after winning three state titles at 220 pounds.
When it comes to predictions, I have done pretty well, picking 11 champs correctly at the D1 East tournament, and 10 of 14 at the SE Region. I’ll take one more shot at picking the PIAA (AAA) State Champions:
106-Devin Brown (Franklin Reg.)
113-Spencer Lee (Franklin Reg.)
120-Luke Pletcher (Greater Latrobe)
126-Dalton Macri (Cannon Mac)
132-Chase Zemenak (Nazereth)
138-Pat Duggan (Cumberland Valley)
145-Joey Galasso (Father Judge)
152-TC Warner (Cumberland Valley)
160-Garrett Peppelman (Central Dauphin)
170-Chance Marsteller (Kennard-Dale)
182-Zack Zavatsky (Greater Latrobe)
195-Tom Sleigh (Dubois)
220-Michael Boykin (Coatesville)
285-Thomas Haines (Solanco)
Congrats to all the SOL and D1 wrestlers for a wonderful season, and good luck to all of our State Qualifiers this weekend.
See you in Hershey…
- Log in to post comments
