Council Rock South edged Council Rock North in Thursday’s Unity Cup match. Photos provided courtesy of John Gleeson. Check back for a gallery of photos.
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH GOLDEN HAWKS REBOUND WITH WIN OVER NORTH
By Glenn Kaiser
Holland, PA-It didn’t take long for the Council Rock South wrestling team to get back to top form, in fact it only took 24 hours, as the Hawks downed their neighborhood rival Council Rock North Thursday night after dropping their first loss in seven years to a SOL team. The Golden Hawks were stellar one night after suffering a loss to Quakertown on the road as they topped CR North to retain the Mike Sipler Memorial Unity Cup 34-29.
Despite losing some luster with the South loss to the Panthers Wednesday night, the match was everything everyone expected and more. North was looking to knock off South to take hold of the SOL National Conference and finally get over the mountain to be the best Council Rock wrestling team this season. It wasn’t meant to be, as the Golden Hawks used their magic, including their trademark robes for the pre-match warm-up, and wrestled as they normally do, with conviction and purpose.
Golden Hawks Head Coach Brad Silimperi was impressed with his team’s resilience and mental strength to recover quickly from a rough outing the night before. He cited the kids’ ability to stay focused, maintain their weight and stay healthy as a major component to the victory. The Golden Hawks were without standout Cole Flanagan, who is still nursing an injury from last season. Coach Silimperi indicated that Flanagan will be used accordingly based on his ability to recover and remain pain free throughout the season. Similar to a load management approach seen in the NBA.
The Indians did not back down, even after a slow start with the Golden Hawks securing bonus points out of the gate with Tom Woloshyn’s tech fall at 138-pounds. The match started at 138-pounds, a good spot for the Indians with top guns Sammy Hayes (145), Cam Robinson (152) and Dillon Sheehy (160) on deck. However, the trio was only able to post bonus points in two of those bouts with Hayes’ major decision and Robinson’s fall. South’s Joel Martsinovsky was able to hold Sheehy to a decision to keep the match close at 13-5 in favor of North.
South’s Matt Colajezzi grabbed the momentum from North at 170-pounds with a fall and Lucas Doyle followed with a 16-1 tech fall to propel the Golden Hawks into the lead, 16-13, and they never looked back. The Golden Hawks’ Giani Gilch made quick work of Alex Roe at 195-pounds with a fall to extend their lead to 22-13. A critical match, a toss-up bout that could go either way at 220, was won by Brendan Panchison (CRS) in the second ride out in overtime 6-3 over Roni Elbarouki to push the lead up to 25-13.
North’s Max Harar nailed down a pin at heavyweight, bringing the Indians within a match in the scoring 25-19. With the match turning over to the lightweights, tight battles were expected, however, South’s 106-pounder, Cavan Kinne, decked North’s freshman Dylan Siverd at a critical point in the match, giving South a somewhat comfortable lead. But everyone knew that with two of North’s biggest stars still to take to the mats, there was plenty of work to be done for South to retain the cup.
Anthony Burke was impressive with a major decision for North at 113-pounds winning 10-0 over South’s Chris Harner, and 120-pounder Tomasso Meara (CRN) decisioned Andrew Lindros (CRS) 8-3 to pull the Indians within striking distance at 34-26. And with teammates Kyle Hauserman and Luke Lucerne set to close out the match and secure a monumental win for the Indians, the gym became raucous, as it was most of the evening with fans on both sides cheering for their wrestlers in South’s gymnasium.
However, the Golden Hawks’ Kyle Waterman had different plans for the outcome, as he faced off with long-time nemesis Kyle Hauserman at 126-pounds. Waterman and Hauserman have had many meaningful matches over the past few years, and both are accomplished wrestlers having earned state medals. The match was tight as expected as Waterman used a reversal in the second period, after a scoreless first period, to post the only points of the match and a 2-0 victory, sealing the deal for South.
Waterman rode Hauserman tough in the third period, not allowing much space for Hauserman to score, despite valiant efforts with a series of Gramby rolls. With the loss, the Indians had no chance for the win over their sister school despite Luke Lucerne on deck at 132-pounds to close out the dual.
Waterman commented after the match that the dual meets this season have been challenging and exciting every time out on the mat for the Golden Hawks. Waterman’s assessment of the season so far is accurate, as this dual will be noticed when the PIAA Team Championships are seeded for the first round of the district duals. Perhaps these two teams will meet again with much higher stakes.
Council Rock South 34, Council Rock North 29
on Thursday, January 9, 2020
at Council Rock South (Mike Sipler Memorial Unity Cup)
138 - Tom Woloshyn won by tech. fall over Larry Tsai, 26-11 4:58 (5-0)
145 - Sammy Hayes maj. dec. Brian Adams, 14-6 (5-4)
152 - Cameron Robinson pinned Anthony Cerulli, 0:46 (5-10)
160 - Dillon Sheehy dec. Joel Martsinovsky, 6-2 (5-13)
170 - Matt Colajezzi pinned Brendon Hardy, 3:30 (11-13)
182 - Lucas Doyle won by tech. fall over Aden Roe, 16-1 5:59 (16-13)
195 - Giani Gilch pinned Alex Roe, 3:12 (22-13)
220 - Brendan Panchison dec. Roni Elbarouki, 6-3 TB (25-13)
285 - Max Harar pinned Brandon Berghaier, 0:36 (25-19)
106 - Cavan Kinne pinned Dylan Siverd, 0:32 (31-19)
113 - Anthony Burke maj. dec. Chris Harner, 10-0 (31-23)
120 - Tomasso Meara dec. Andrew Lindros, 8-3 (31-26)
126 - Kyle Waterman dec. Kyle Hauserman, 2-0 (34-26)
132 - Luke Lucerne dec. Mohammed Savriddinov, 7-0 (34-29)
Council Rock South wrestlers in bold.
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