By Alex Frazier
Meet…Sean Edmondson
Looking for the ideal wrestler?
Someone that consistently produces bonus points.
Someone that maintains a 4.0 GPA.
Someone that is respected by his peers and faculty as well.
Look no further than Sean Edmondson.
The Harry S Truman junior has it all.
Heading into Wednesday’s match against Pennsbury, Edmondson was 26-0 with 20 pins. In his freshman year, out of the 33 matches he won, only 12 came via regular decision. He had 14 pins. As a sophomore, he was even more prolific with 19 pins in 33 bouts and only six of those wins were three-point decisions.
As you can see, coach Steve Given can count on him for extra points almost every match.
“Sean’s a pinner,” he said. “If not, he knows how to rack up the points to get to the major or tech fall. He’s smart about building a lead early. He knows how to manage a match.”
That extra pressure doesn’t faze Edmondson.
“I know if I don’t (pin) then one of my teammates will,” he said. “I just go out and do my best, basically, and do my best for the team.”
Edmondson has been wrestling since he was four years old. He started with the Pennsbury youth program and then switched over to the Truman Rams when he was about nine.
His father, who had wrestled in high school, took him to watch a Pennsbury practice.
“We went to see if I liked it, and they didn’t have that weight (40-45) and I started to practice that day,” said Edmondson.
At first he didn’t like it, but he stuck with it and finally did.
“I had to grow into it,” he said. “I’d cry when I was little when I went out. They had to give me candy to get me out there.”
While Truman doesn’t have any specified captains, Edmondson is certainly one that takes a leadership role.
He drills with everybody in the room.
“He’s like having a coach in the room,” said Given. “There’s plenty of times I’ve gone to Sean and say, ‘What do you think about this?’ and 99 percent of the time he agrees. Other times I’ll ask him, ‘What do you think about this, because I don’t know?’”
While some wrestlers excel on the mat but struggle in the classroom, not so with Edmondson. He has carried a 4.0 GPA for three years. His favorite subject is math and he’s thinking of pursuing teaching or engineering when he heads off to college in two years.
“Getting my grades up helps me on the mat because then I don’t have to worry about any of that when I’m wrestling and going to practice,” he said.
“He’s a great student,” said Given. “He’s probably one of the best in the school.”
Edmondson is also popular at Truman.
Given said, “If he ran for class president, he’d probably win. He’s liked by everybody. Teachers that have him in class have nothing but great things to say about him.”
He’s made such a name for himself that even the basketball players came to support him at last Saturday’s match against Whitehall.
“Everybody talks around school and they found out and came and watched,” he said. “They come up and tell me they’re going to be my bodyguard someday.”
“They all went over, shook Sean’s hand and went back to practice,” said Given.
Yes, Edmondson has it all, all except a long post-season run.
“It’s pretty much been a disappointment,” he said. “Last year I lost in the quarterfinals. I got caught and pinned and then I lost to a kid I beat in sectionals. Year before that, I made some mistakes in my matches.”
He’s hoping to correct that this year.
“First I have to make it to states and then I’ll set my goals from that,” he said.
Given notes that he has shown improvement this year. One measuring stick of that was his bout against Dave Santos of Brick Twp., NJ. Last year he lost 6-2. It was one of just three regular season setbacks.
This year Edmondson turned the tables, beating Santos 5-2.
“There’s definitely an improvement right now in his strength and his wrestling,” said Given. “As long as we can keep him healthy.”
Edmondson is definitely planning on wrestling in college, though he hasn’t yet begun a search.
“I’ll pretty much have to, if I get a scholarship,” he said.
100 and counting – Back when he was a freshman, James Nicholson used to work out with Nick Shute. A regional champion his senior year, Shute went 1-2 at states and finished his high school with 99 wins.
“I told myself one day I was going to get 100,” he said.
No Upper Moreland wrestler achieved the magical 100-win career until last year when Tim Santry became the first.
Last Wednesday, Nicholson also took his place in Upper Moreland wrestling history, recording his 100th win by pinning Upper Dublin’s Ryan Hopkins in 1:45.
“It was probably one of the best nights in my four years of high school wrestling,” he said.
“It’s nice to see a kid like that get it,” said Upper Moreland coach Stefan Muller. “We knew the effort and hard work were there. It was just a matter of getting to the point.”
The timing couldn’t have been more appropriate. In the first place it was Senior Night and the Bears’ den was filled to capacity.
Also it was only the second home match Nicholson wrestled in this year (the Bears only had three) and the last one of the season.
But more importantly, it was also his grandmother’s birthday. Nicholson lost his grandmother about a week after his 18th birthday on Oct. 8.
“I was thinking of her a lot during that week,” he said. “It was a tough week for me. I dedicated that to her.”
Nicholson credits his success to wrestling out of season. He started freestyle after his freshman year and went from 12 wins to 28 as a sophomore and then 35 as a junior.
“I really want to promote that,” he said. “Learning a different style is fun and you get better.”
He went to freestyle nationals in Fargo three summers and placed eighth at the Super 32 as a junior. He was unable to go this year as it conflicted with his grandmother’s funeral.
Next year Nicholson plans to wrestle in college. He has been accepted at Edinboro and Kutztown with the latter his likely choice. He plans to major in health science with the goal of getting into physical therapy and coaching down the road.
“I like helping people physically,” he said. “I’ve had some wonderful people help me out. And I want to become a coach and give back.”
District Duals – The first two rounds of district duals produced a few upsets, none of which was more notable than No. 13 Norristown knocking off No. 4 Quakertown.
For the Panthers, it was what coach Kurt Handel called a “gut check.”
“If we don’t learn from this lesson, then this loss is nothing,” he added.
After examining the matchups through the middleweights, Handel was concerned entering the match.
“119 all the way to 145, I was sitting there saying, ‘Uh oh,’” he said.
Despite the early bow out, Handel was optimistic.
“We still have a lot of season left,” he said. “We’re looking for a league title, we want to make some noise in the post-season run. The season isn’t over, but this loss is devastating. That’s one thing we’re going to have to work on with our guys. We lost here, but we still have a lot of wrestling left.”
Another big upset came with No.11 Upper Moreland beating No. 6 Spring-Ford 33-24.
Will Dill gave the Bears their first lead 13-12 at 140, but that was short-lived as the Rams pinned at 145, before Max Agasar pinned Sean Heron at 152 to give Upper Moreland the lead for good. His was the first of four straight wins and was followed by Dan Bolich, John Bolich and James Nicholson, who put the match out of reach at 33-18.
The Pennsbury-Neshaminy first-round match started the same way as the league meet between the two less than two weeks prior—with the Falcons’ Josh Mitchell pinning John Emery.
But there were a few lineup changes that helped Neshaminy gain bonus points and rally from a 15-0 deficit to win 34-31. Mark Nicholson and Neshaminy’s Nick Russell had another classic battle that went to overtime before Nicholson prevailed once again, 4-2.
Luke Kisselback and Tyler Stevens switched weights. Kisselback had lost to George Peel in the dual, but Stevens pinned him, while Kisselback, up a weight at 171 pinned Tristan Chadwick, whom Stevens had decked in the dual meet, netting nine points for the Redskins.
Neshaminy’s celebration was short-lived as the Redskins fell to No. 3 Boyertown 56-13 in the next round.
No. 16 Hatboro-Horsham suffered a minor upset when the Hatters lost to No. 17 Upper Darby.
Around the league – There were a couple of upsets in league action Wednesday evening.
Council Rock South heavyweight Tommy Trampe edged William Tennent’s Ricky Dracup, 4-3, as the Golden Hawks cruised to a 60-12 victory.
In the Continental Conference, Central Bucks East’s Keegan Beljanski, a sometime starter, knocked off C.B. West regional qualifier Steve Ferrara 9-8 on a third period escape. The Patriots took advantage of its strong heavyweights to down the Bucks, 34-23.
North Penn was the beneficiary of some gift points when Central Bucks South heavyweight William Bendon was disqualified. Three team points were deducted from the Titans.
The Knights Dominic Colangelo (160), Will Bachert (171), Evan Conti (119) and Mike Robinson (145) racked up pins en route a 43-33 win.
Last weekend Council Rock South had a good tussle with Lehigh powerhouse Northampton, losing by a mere two points 32-30.
Bobby Lavelle got the match to within two points (26-24) at 189. But Northampton got that fall back at 215, leaving the Hawks trailing by eight with two bouts left.
Unfortunately, Tommy Trampe (285) and Billy Rappo (103) could only deliver decisions leaving South two points shy of a big win.
Josh Dziewa (140) and Matt Martoccio (145) recorded pins for the Hawks.
In another tight match, North Penn edged Neshaminy 32-31. The Knights roared out to a 32-17 lead and lost the last three bouts to end it in a 32-32 tie. But the Knights were the recipient of another gift as the Redskins were penalized a team point, which gave North Penn the victory.
Upper Dublin nearly upset Methacton. The Flying Cardinals’ Brian Corson pinned at 189 to pull them to within two points (29-28), but Methacton pinned in the finale to take the win. Matt Gusick (119) and Nick DiMuzio (125) recorded falls for the Cards.
TOP Five SOL
1. Council Rock South
2. Council Rock North
3. Norristown
4. Quakertown
5. Upper Moreland
Top Guns
103—Billy Rappo, Council Rock South
112—Mike Mathis, Central Bucks South
119—Matt Harkins, Hatboro-Horsham
125—Scott Wolfinger, Quakertown
130—Tim Santry, Upper Moreland
135—Ryan Ginsburg, Upper Merion
140— Josh Dziewa, Council Rock South
145—Matt Martoccio, Council Rock South
152— Eric Koch, Quakertown
160— John Staudenmayer, Plymouth Whitemarsh
171—John Bolich, Upper Moreland
189— Jamie Callender, Council Rock North
215—Joe Stolfi, Souderton
285—Marcus Robbins, Norristown
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