Wrestling: District Duals Notebook (1-29-24)

Photo courtesy of the CR North/Neshaminy match courtesy of Trish Sexton. Check back for a gallery of photos: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/f933726263

COUNCIL ROCK NORTH MOVES ON TO DISTRICT ONE QUARTERFINALS

By Glenn Kaiser

Langhorne, PA - Council Rock North’s Head Wrestling Coach, Mike Diglia, was studying the weigh-in sheets diligently as soon as weigh-ins were complete prior to their opening round District One Team Championship match.  He clearly was looking for an advantage in their closely matched dual with crosstown rivals Neshaminy, and he found it.  Diglia inserted Grady Moore at 107-pounds to open the scoring for the Indians down low.  He knew his team could run the table with such a move and extend his star-studded line-up in the lower to middle weight classes all the way up to 139-pounds.  The move was genius, CR North won six straight matches with bonus points to blow the match wide open at 28-0 after Eren Sement finished with a pin (with his patent cradle) at 139-pounds in just under a minute with his 53-second fall of Almir Naizabekov.  Moore secured an 11-1 major decision over Richard Frazer in the opener.  In between the Diaz brothers took care of the Pokalsky brothers at 114 and 121 pounds respectively, as both Xavier and Alexander knotted major decision over Sean and Nate.

On the other side of the mat, Neshaminy Head Coach Frank Bing was confident he could wrestle the Indians straight up with the strength of his consistent lineup, but CRN wanted it more and was extremely tough from the top position and were able to dominate on their feet as well.  Marco Loss decked Alexander Jumanev at 127-pounds and Pierce Kane was superior in his major decision win over Anthony Mattoi 16-4.  If it wasn’t for ‘Skins’ Ryan Hinze solid win over Mack Marcy 7-0, the Indians may have very well extended their victories all the way up to 145-pounds with their bumped-up lineup.

As expected, the Baiyshbekov brothers took care of business in the upper middle-weights with Bek securing a tech fall and Ernazar finishing with a fall.   Notable here at this point in the match it appeared CRN has left some points on the mat down low, and Neshaminy a couple of points with Hinze narrowly missing out on a major and Bek Baiyshbekov not posting a pin.  Nonetheless, after Neshaminy’s Carter Lee earned a hard-fought win at 172-pounds over Dexter Moore, 12-11, the ‘Skins still had a chance for a come-from-behind victory.  But the Indians’ Kristian Koroveshi shut the door on Neshaminy at 189-pounds with a dominate 5-0 win over Colton Clee with the score on the board reading 31-17.  Kroveshi explained after the match that he was confident stepping on the mat, as he had beaten Clee previously.  North will take on another SOL opponent, Pennridge, in the quarterfinals of these D1 duals at Upper Dublin H.S. Saturday Feb. 3, 8:30am.

Four out of the six SOL entries advanced for four spots in the PIAA AAA Team Championship bracket.  #2 Pennridge advanced easily to the Elite Eight with their 62-12 shellacking of West Chester Henderson.  #1 Council Rock South cruised past Avon Grove 58-12 and #4 Quakertown was never really challenged by Garnet Valley, winning 48-18.  All three held their seeds and advanced.  South will tangle with Owen J Roberts, which won a tight battle with Pennsbury 35-31 in their quarter match.  Quakertown will be tested by Sun Valley, the #7 seed who had a big win over Perk Valley Wednesday night 45-30.

#7 COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 31, #10 NESHAMINY 26
107: Grady Moore (CRNH) over Richard Frazer (NEHS) (MD 11-1)
114: Xavier Diaz (CRNH) over Sean Pokalsky (NEHS) (MD 14-5)
121: Alexander Diaz (CRNH) over Nate Pokalsky (NEHS) (MD 8-0)
127: Marco Loss (CRNH) over Alexander Jumaev (NEHS) (Fall 3:49)
133: Pierce Kane (CRNH) over Anthony Mattoi (NEHS) (MD 16-4)
139: Eren Sement (CRNH) over Almir Naizabekov (NEHS) (Fall 0:53)
145: Ryan Hinze (NEHS) over Mack Marcy (CRNH) (Dec 7-0)
152: Beknazar Baiyshbekov (NEHS) over Justin Swope (CRNH) (TF 21-6 0:00)
160: Ernazar Baiyshbekov (NEHS) over Arya Chaudhary (CRNH) (Fall 2:29)
172: Carter Clee (NEHS) over Dexter Moore (CRNH) (Dec 12-11)
189: Kristian Koroveshi (CRNH) over Colton Clee (NEHS) (Dec 5-0)
215: Victor Filimonov (NEHS) over Logan Lombardi (CRNH) (Dec 9-3)
285: Owen Swartz (NEHS) over (CRNH) (For.)

District One Team Championships Final Predictions
Quarterfinals:
#1 Council Rock South over #7 Owen J Roberts - CR South will dominate, despite the advantage OJR has in the upper weights.  South has too much star-power for the Wildcats down low and through the middle.  We could see a great match-up should Golden Hawk Bek Sadriddinov (ranked #1 by PA Power) lock horns with OJR’s Sam Gautreau (#5 PA Power) at 172-pounds.  Even without standout Anthony Mutarelli, CRS the #1 ranked team AAA team in the state by PA Power, will look to advance all the way to Hershey.

#2 Pennridge over #10 Council Rock North - CRN is the lowest seeded team left in the Elite 8 but will not upset a Pennridge Rams team looking to repeat as D1 Team Champions and return to Hershey.  The Rams stiffest challenge before they get to the finals will be Pioneer Athletic Conference power Boyertown in the semis.  Pennridge has moved up to #8 in the recent PA Power AAA team rankings.

#3 Boyertown over #6 Spring-Ford - Boyertown is the best in the PAC and has downed S-F already this season 34-21.

#4 Quakertown over #5 Sun Valley - This one should be the most interesting matchup of the quarterfinals.  Sun Valley will be competitive and keep this one close, but Quakertown matches up very well with the Vanguards lineup (keep an eye on where SV individuals weigh-in).  It will be a chess match, but nonetheless Quakertown has more talent and should rack up bonus points to win this one.

Semifinals:
Council Rock South over Quakertown - CRS dominated Q-town in the Panthers home opener 40-19.  This time around it will be a bit closer but South still wins. CRS won 9 of 13 matches in the first one, six of those wins came with bonus points.

Pennridge over Boyertown- Boyertown has experience in these team championships, but Pennridge wants a re-match with CR South, they will want it more than the Bears.  If Colby Martinelli returns, the Rams, with a full healthy lineup will be difficult to defeat.

Championship Match:
Pennridge over Council Rock South-This one will be a nail-bitter.  Pennridge will have an advantage with Mutarelli out of the Golden Hawks line-up.  They will have more mobility but may not need it, as CRS may have to make moves to dethrone the Rams and prevent a repeat.  Pennridge’s lineup looks completely different than it did at the beginning of the season when they opened up the season at CRS with a 41-30 loss.

Consolation Bracket:
The wrestle-backs in this tournament have a history of both excitement and upsets.  With two spots in the state bracket on the line teams that can dig deep and stay focused will advance.  If my predictions are correct the match-ups will look like this:

Owen J Roberts vs. Sun Valley - SV gets a slight nod here, this one will be close, don’t count OJR out.  Sun Valley wins a tight one with a more consistent lineup.  In the other first round wrestle-back dual, Spring-Ford takes on Council Rock North.  S-F beat CRN in the Rock Yard Duals 39-24, but the Indians are hot, and will be in it to win it.  S-F wins, as they have been in this spot many times and will use their experience to get them through.

Consi Semifinals:
Boyertown over Sun Valley-Boyertown edges SV here, SV will lay it all on the line in this one though. 
Quakertown over Spring-Ford-This will be a battle royale.  Both teams are talented and gritty, but Quakertown has more fire power.

3^rd Place Match:  Quakertown over Boyertown - With both teams already placed in the state bracket, this one loses some of its flair if it was an elimination match.  Nonetheless, both teams will want the win for a better spot in the bracket.  Quakertown (#14 according to PA Power) and Boyertown (#20) will both be formidable opponents wherever they land.  I have this going Quakertown’s way between two balanced teams with top-ranked grapplers.  The winner gets District 3’s fourth place finishing team, and our fourth place team takes on D3’s third place team on the road Monday 2/5/24.