By Alex Frazier
Meet…Anthony Dutrow
Wrestling has been a huge unifying influence in the Dutrow family.
Anthony is the oldest of three brothers. A senior at Council Rock North, his second brother John is a sophomore and the youngest is James, a freshman.
All three have wrestling in common.
Anthony’s father trains horses and is frequently away from home, but wrestling has become a bond that ties them together.
“He’s been getting into it,” said Anthony. “It’s been a great opportunity for us to connect and open up to each other.”
Next Wednesday his father will attend the big C.R. South-North match.
Naturally, with his father away, his mother has taken a lot of responsibility. She, too, loves wrestling and over the years has taxied her sons to events and practices and been prominent in the booster club.
“She does everything she can,” said Anthony. “It’s got to be tough on her. Wrestling helps us all build as a family.”
With all three sons wrestling, she sometimes has to play referee in the house, just to protect the furniture.
“We love to roll around,” said Anthony.
Coach Tom Vivacqua describes Dutrow as an unorthodox wrestler.
“It’s hard to explain it,” he said. “He’s very good on the mat. He’s comfortable in many awkward positions that most kids struggle at.”
“I’m not as technical as everyone else,” admitted Dutrow. “I really try to work on my moves and keep everything functional. But there’s a time when I think something feels right and I’ll go for it.”
Dutrow’s favorite position is bottom.
“I like rolling around on the mat,” he said. “That’s where I’m the strongest. I usually just stay firm and let the other guy make the mistake and counter off it.”
Which often results in a pin or back points. He’s 13-5 this year, with three pins, a tech fall and two majors.
“He’s a pinner,” said Vivacqua. “Once he gets in those weird positions, he can catch people pretty easily. He’s hard to game-plan for because it’s not like he does the same thing every time.”
Last year he used legs and a power half a lot on top, but this year he’s working more on tilts.
Dutrow is also a team captain.
“He’s just a nice kid,” said Vivacqua. “The kids all like him He has a laid-back personality and relates well to the kids.”
Dutrow is undecided about his plans for next year.
“I really just want to let next year happen and decide what I want to do,” he said. “I don’t want to rush anything and regret it. I want to be 100 percent sure what I want to do.”
Attending Delaware Valley College might be a possibility. Interest in his father’s profession has grown over the years.
“I’ve had some slight interest this year, when before I was not interested whatsoever,” he said. “I hated going to the races, but I’m seeing some upside to it. My dad’s the hardest worker I’ve ever known. I think I could learn a great lesson from him.”
Dutrow is not likely to continue wrestling next year, so this will be his last hurrah. He wants to improve on last year’s fifth place finish at districts.
“My main goal is to qualify for states,” he said. “That would be a dream come true for me.”
Tough little guys – This year’s 103-pound weight class just might be the most competitive of them all. I count seven with three or fewer losses this year. Among the best are six freshmen, three sophomores and a junior.
The leader of the group is also the oldest. Council Rock South junior Billy Rappo, an eighth-place medalist at states last year, has lost just once this year to Bethlehem Liberty’s Brett Marino, who is ranked No. 1 in the state in Class AAA.
Rappo is wrestling 103 for the third consecutive year, but it is the first time that he has had to cut any weight, about 10 pounds.
“It’s more difficult,” he said. “The last two years I could eat whatever I wanted to eat. I’ve changed that mentality a lot.”
But there is one big advantage.
“Now that I’m bigger I can sometimes power kids over,” he said. “Last year and the year before, kids were doing that to me. It’s definitely a big change and helpful to me.”
In the Escape the Rock Tournament last weekend, Rappo defeated Bensalem freshman Tommy Stokes, handing him his second loss. But his biggest win came against Bethlehem Catholic’s Darian Cruz, who is ranked No. 1 in the state in Class AA.
Last summer, Rappo faced Cruz in a freestyle tournament and lost 4-2.
The finals match at Escape the Rock was a barnburner with Rappo escaping in the third period for a 4-3 victory.
“I was hoping to take him down early and go from there, try to stay in the match as long as I could and pull it out,” he said.
And that’s basically what happened.
“At first I was shocked,” said Rappo. “Then I was happy. I can’t really describe it.”
Rappo got off to a slow start this year. He broke his thumb wrestling in the pre-season Super 32 Tournament and had to wear a cast for two weeks. Then in practice he broke it again in a different place and was back in a cast for another two weeks.
His first competition was the Bethlehem Holiday Classic in which he placed third, losing only to Liberty’s Marino.
Pennridge freshman Scott Parker also has just one loss, that to Stokes by rideout in the Wetzel Tournament finals. Norristown sophomore Zach Fuentes, who is ranked fourth in the state, is 19-2. Both of his losses came at Escape from the Rock, one to Cruz, 7-4 and the other to Shane Peters of Clearfield, 4-2.
Pennsbury’s Jason Bing, also a sophomore, has a similar record. He lost to Parker (sudden victory) and Matt Cimino of Pottsgrove, 7-2.
Those are just the SOL kids. West Chester Henderson freshman Josh Nichter is 19-2 with 11 pins, Upper Perk’s Dante Stefenino is 18-5, and Avon Grove freshman Edgar Garcia is 13-3.
And in the wings are Boyertown’s Eddie Kriczky (17-8) and Quakertown’s Collyn Donley at 14-9.
Top of the heap – Three Suburban One wrestlers rank among the top 20 in the state in matches won as of Jan. 19.
Wissahickon’s Paul Wisloski (171) and Patrick Fennell (135) are No. 1 and 2, respectively, in the state with 27 wins each against just two losses. Pennsbury’s Josh DiSanto ranks ninth with 25 wins and no losses.
• Harry S Truman’s Sean Edmondson broke the school record for career wins Wednesday night, pinning William Tennent’s Frank Puccio in 29 seconds.
“The superintendent, principal and athletic director were all there in suit and tie,” said coach Steve Given. “They all wanted a piece of the pie because he’s such a great kid.”
What made it even more special was that more than 30 family members attended Edmondson’s historic match.
“It was a good night for Sean,” said Given.
On top of that the team won the match on criteria No. 6 (first points scored, 8-6) after tying at 34-34.
“It was nice all around,” said Given.
Edmondson’s career record now stands at 124-14. So far this season he is 21-0. He is shooting for his third undefeated regular season, having gone unbeaten as a freshman and sophomore.
Given said that if he places at states, he could be Truman’s best all-time wrestler.
• Neshaminy’s Nick Russell reached the 100-win plateau Wednesday with a technical fall over Eric Gray of Bensalem. His record is now 100-39.
All day before the match, Russell tried to take his mind off the impending milestone.
“I was so nervous when I first went out there,” he said.
Going in, he didn’t know who he’d be wrestling. In fact, there was a possibility that he could get a forfeit.
“We didn’t really want that, but once we looked at the kids, I knew I had a good chance of getting it,” he said. “No matter who they put out there I was still nervous about the whole thought of it, but I went out there and took care of business.”
When he came off the mat, he was greeted with high fives and hugs from his teammates. His parents presented him a poster with some 30 or 40 pictures from his wrestling career and a slogan that said: Congratulations. Good job on your 100th.
With that goal behind him, Russell is now shooting for the state tournament.
“I’m really looking forward to the post-season. I’ll probably wrestle at 160. I really want to place top four in states.”
Last year he went 1-2 in Hershey.
Around the league –
Escape the Rock
Four SOL teams competed in the 31-team tournament that drew teams from as far away as Virginia.
Host Council Rock South finished fifth. Billy Rappo walked off with the 103-pound championship. He was the only SOL champ.
Matt Rappo (135) and Matt Martoccio (140) finished second.
Norristown placed 12th. Brandon Parker (152) and Gavin Queenan (285) placed 4th, Zach Fuentes (103) and Larry Gordon (189) were fifth, Brett Harner (160) cam in sixth and Mikey Springer (140) was eighth.
Bensalem came in 23rd. Tommy Stokes (103) finished fourth; Nick Lippincott (135) and Shane Hughes (125) were both eighth.
Hatboro-Horsham finished 28th. Matt Harkins placed fifth at 119 and David Carney was eighth at 145.
Lehighton Duals
Pennridge went 5-0 to win the tournament. The Rams defeated Dieruff 44-30, Pius X 43-27, Scranton 38-24, Lehighton 37-33, and William Tennent 51-30. Scott Parker (103), Ben Ross (112), Alex Barday (135), and Richie Jasinski all went undefeated on the weekend.
Central Dauphin Duals
Central Bucks East’s Nick Dau and Francesco Fabozzi both went 4-1. Gio Mannino and Shane Peltonen both went 3-2.
As a team East was 1-4.
NHSCA Duals
CB West
Seth Ehlo and Chris Jastrzebski went 5-0 at the NHSCA duals for CB West. “Both had good matches that really tested them,” noted coach Joe McGinley.
Richland Duals
Wissahickon traveled to the Richland Duals in Johnstown. The team went 4 - 4 in the two-day event. Standouts for Wissahickon were: Paul Wisloski (8-0), Brennan Weiss (7-1), Patrick Fennell (7-1), Sean Saunders (6-1), Cody Franko (6-2), Kevin Casilanuovo (5-1), Isaac Philip (5-3) and Aaron Rodriguez (5-3).
Mechanicsburg Duals
As a team, Neshaminy was 3-2. Ryan O’Connor (119) finished the day a perfect 5-0. Harry Wilson (112), Joe Simcox (130), Colby Lederer (135) and heavyweight Tyler Stabilito all went 4-1.
Simcox’s 2-0 decision over Nick Klecker in the last bout gave the Redskins a 36-35 win over South Western.
Buckley Duals
Abington’s Max Greenburg (160) and Bill Natter (171) turned in back-to-back wins (Natter’s a 4-3 win over Van Barrett) to give the Galloping Ghosts a 36-30 win over West Chester East.
Top Five SOL
1. Council Rock South
2. Norristown
3. Souderton
4. Quakertown
5. Upper Moreland
Top Guns
103—Billy Rappo, Council Rock South
112—Trey Balasco, Council Rock South
119—Adam Slezak, Council Rock North
125—Matt Harkins, Hatboro-Horsham
130—John Dutrow, Council Rock North
135—Matt Rappo, Council Rock South
140—Lucas Wisniewski, Plymouth Whitemarsh
145—Matt Martoccio, Council Rock South
152—Brandon Parker, Norristown
160—Brett Harner, Norristown
171—John Staudenmayer, Plymouth Whitemarsh
189—John Bolich, Upper Moreland
215—Joe Stolfi, Souderton
285—Quentin Bryant, Harry S Truman
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