Blue Eagles eye rematch with Red Rovers
DISTRICT 11 DUALS.
New-look Nazareth anticipates potential showdown with Easton in the semifinals. Friday,
February 01, 2008
By MICHAEL BLOUSE
The Express-Times
Saturday could be quite an exciting afternoon -- and evening -- for wrestling fans, assuming everything transpires
tonight as expected.
The District 11 Duals open this evening at Freedom High School with quarterfinal-round action in both Class AAA
and AA.
The "Elite Eight" matchups in both classifications commences at 6 p.m.
Northampton, the Lehigh Valley Conference champion, is the No. 1 seed among Class AAA teams. Northwestern, the
Colonial League champion, is the top seed in the Class AA bracket.
Perhaps none of the 15 other programs competing this weekend will be more improved from the start of the season
than Dave Crowell's Nazareth Blue Eagles.
Nazareth Area High School (11-5) is the No. 3 seed and meets up in the opening round with LVC rival Parkland (11-5).
The Blue Eagles beat Parkland 41-24 in their first conference meet in December.
Looming at 1 p.m. in Saturday's semifinals is a possible rematch with Easton (16-2), the second seed.
"I'm very pleased with the way we've come along," said Crowell, who lost five state placewinners from
last season's powerhouse.
"If you asked me two months ago, I would have never thought that we'd have gotten to this point. It's difficult
to tell what that means for this weekend, but that's kind of what makes it exciting ... to see if we've closed
the gap on anyone or widened the gap on anyone."
Nazareth's best performance of the season was probably its 35-27 loss to the Red Rovers.
That was the turning point for the Blue Eagles.
"I think a rematch with Easton has definitely become the driving force for our team," Crowell said. "The
guys have it in their minds that they'd like to wrestle Easton again."
"At the beginning of the season," Nazareth senior 171-pounder Eric Sergent said, "we never thought
we'd be where we're at now. It was in the middle of the Easton match, when I think it hit a lot of our team: 'We're
in it.' And by the end of the match we were thinking if a few things would've went our way, maybe we could've beaten
them.
"Beating Easton would be a great accomplishment."
One advantage for the Blue Eagles this time would be the return of seniors Hugh Harris from injury and Bobby Ward
from suspension.
Harris is 6-2 at 160 pounds. Ward is 2-0 at 152 pounds. (Crowell declined to speculate what weight Ward, a two-time
state qualifier, would compete at this postseason.)
"It's always nice to wrestle with what you thought would be your original lineup," Sergent, who owns
a 22-9 record, said. "Bobby, it definitely helps having him back. And Hugh makes our lineup better."
Crowell warns, though, that just because two key starters are back doesn't automatically equal improved results.
"The first time we wrestled Easton, I didn't think they wrestled exceptionally and I'm sure they probably
feel the same way," Crowell said. "I think we're a better team with Hugh and Bobby. Maybe we would've
won with them but maybe we wouldn't have won."
Besides potential points from Harris and/or Ward, Nazareth would also probably need an upset or two -- like the
Blue Eagles got in the first matchup -- to knock off Easton.
Sophomore Tyler Torcivia upset Red Rovers senior Tevin Gibson 6-5 at 140 pounds in the LVC matchup on Jan. 9.
"Nazareth is proven to have some real good kids in their lineup," Easton coach Steve Powell said. "There's
no doubt it'll be a challenge. They're trying to do to us what we did to them last year -- beat us in the duals
after we beat them in the LVC. Paybacks are a son-of-a-gun."
The likely reward for Saturday afternoon's potential Easton-Nazareth survivor: a nighttime date with 19-0 Northampton.
Michael Blouse can be reached at 800-360-3601 or by e-mail at mblouse@express-times.com.
K-Kids flex their muscles
AAA DUALS. Easton to face Nazareth in semis.
Saturday, February 02, 2008
By MICHAEL BLOUSE
The Express-Times
BETHLEHEM TWP. | The Northampton Konkrete Kids, Easton's Red Rovers and the Blue Eagles of Nazareth all prevailed
in convincing style during Friday night's quarterfinal round of the District 11 Class AAA Duals.
Today's semifinals and this evening's championships at Freedom High School figure to be much more competitive.
No. 1 seed Northampton ripped Pleasant Valley 74-2 in the quarterfinals, second-seeded Easton annihilated Emmaus
52-15 and No. 3 Nazareth powered past Parkland 46-5.
Those results set up Red Rovers-Blue Eagles in one 1 p.m. semifinal clash, with the Konkrete Kids likely awaiting
the survivor in a 6 p.m. championship showdown.
"We wrestled poorly the first time," said Easton senior Kegan Handlovic, referring to a 35-27 Red Rovers
victory last month. "We really overlooked Nazareth. All the talk was Northampton, Northampton. And Nazareth
came to wrestle.
"We'll be ready this time."
"It was a close one," Blue Eagles senior Dave Dotter said, "and we were even without Bobby (Ward)
and Hugh (Harris). We wanted Easton again. I think we've got a good chance."
Both powerful programs looked ready Friday night.
Easton parlayed six falls into a rout. Colin Dailey started the pin parade at 152 pounds -- the first bout -- and
Jeremy Snyder followed at 160. Joey Rizzolino needed only 13 seconds to register a fall at 112.
Mark Hartenstine, Patrick Corpora and Jordan Oliver contributed back-to-back-to-back pins from 125 through 135
for coach Steve Powell's squad.
The highlight of the match, however, was at 119. Handlovic scored a strong 13-4 major decision over Taylor Brown
in a rematch of last season's state championship.
"It's always nice to wrestle good competition," said Handlovic, who won 7-4 in the PIAA 112-pound final.
"Everyone was saying, 'let's not take Emmaus lightly,' knowing we'd probably win. For me, it was completely
different. He's a quality opponent."
Nazareth was equally as dominant against Parkland, prevailing in 12 of 14 bouts.
Freshman Zach Horan and senior Colin Fischl were the only Blue Eagle pinners, but coach Dave Crowell's team won
five matchups by three points or fewer.
Dotter scored a 6-4 overtime decision over Sean Smith.
"I thought we wrestled really well as a team," Dotter said. "I wasn't happy with myself tonight
because I beat Smith 7-2 and 3-0 earlier this season. But we're all looking forward to (Saturday)."
The Konkrete Kids hardly broke a sweat in their 41-minute, 72-point smackdown of five-time defending Mountain Valley
Conference champion Pleasant Valley.
Northampton, the Lehigh Valley Conference champ with a perfect 20-0 record, accepted eight forfeits from the Bears
and earned bonus points in its five other victories. Zack Wilson at 119 pounds, Phil Marano at 140 and Erik Schaffer
at 285 all prevailed by fall for the K-Kids.
Pleasant Valley lost a team point for an unspecified rules violation.
"They let us know ahead of time that they had a bunch of injuries and were banged up," Northampton coach
Terry Daubert said. "It happens and usually when it happens, it catches fire and spreads around the team."
Pleasant Valley was without injured standouts Jordan Toledo, a sophomore 112-pounder, and Chris Servian, a senior
152-pounder. Several other starters were out.
The K-Kids now turn their attention to fourth-seeded Blue Mountain, which knocked off No. 5 Liberty 38-27 in Friday
night's quarterfinals.
"I guess it is difficult not to look ahead," Daubert admitted, "but we really don't know too much
about Blue Mountain. The bottom line is we must wrestle well to accomplish our goals."
Michael Blouse can be reached at 800-360-3601 or by e-mail at mblouse@express-times.com.
Deschler's upset win paces
Panthers
AA DUALS.
Saucon Valley advances; Wilson loses to NL.
Saturday, February 02, 2008
By NICK FIERRO
The Express-Times
BETHLEHEM TWP. | Given the way Saucon Valley started its District 11 Class AA quarterfinal wrestling match against
Tamaqua on Friday night, the Panthers looked just about invincible.
Coach Chad Shirk made a lineup switch right away, throwing sophomore backup Tyrone Deschler out to the mat to face
one of Tamaqua's best individuals, Kolby Mashack, at 125 pounds.
Five minutes and 37 seconds later, it was over as Deschler, who weighed in at 119, recorded a shocking pin. A little
more than an hour after that, Saucon Valley Area High School had wrapped up a berth in today's semifinals with
a convincing 45-27 triumph.
The Panthers next will face Colonial League rival Northern Lehigh, which advanced with a 45-19 victory over Wilson.
Looming in the other half of the draw are Lehighton and Northwestern. Lehighton ousted Tri-Valley 45-30, and top
seed Northwestern, with a 21-1 record, followed with a 46-22 win over Central Catholic.
"I didn't know anything about him, I just came out and wrestled," said Deschler, who had lost two of
his three total varsity matches coming in. "I was on bottom and somehow I just got a double underhook and
threw him on his back.
"I only wrestled like three times this season and I beat a good kid. It was exciting."
"I like juggling the lineup around sometimes," Shirk said, "so I can see what guys can do in pressure
situations."
Mashack, who was 20-2, wasn't the only big winner from Tamaqua to absorb an upset. At 160, Saucon Valley sophomore
Chris Rahs put his 4-14 record up against Justin Miller's 17-3 mark and came away with a 7-4 decision.
Jarid Solosky (130), Ian Gimbar (152) and Brandon Palik (189) each recorded pins for the Panthers, who will try
this morning to avenge last month's 38-20 setback to Northern Lehigh.
Their top winner, senior Reuben Herrera, struggled in a 7-1 win over Matt Stewart at 145.
"He looks like he's a little banged up," Shirk said. "Come district time, hopefully he'll be back
to wrestling his best."
Despite entering as the seventh seed, Wilson had high hopes for this tournament -- at least before losing the coin
flip.
"That basically allowed them to control every bout from 145 through 171," coach Tom Mertz said. "Realistically,
if we had won the flip and gotten the matchups we wanted, we could have won all four of them, but we only won two."
Not only did the Bulldogs win at 145 and 152, but they scored back-to-back pins --Zach Heller over Korey Kilpatrick
and Jonathan Corcoran over Ray Mosby. That pushed their team score to 21 points, enough to win the match even had
they not won another bout.
Still, the night wasn't a total loss for the young Warriors.
The coach was especially pleased with what he saw from D.J. Hartrum, a 14-5 major decision over Colin Herdash at
125; Austin Warman, a 12-6 decision over Kris Krawchuk at 140; and Matt Hunter, an 8-3 win over Jason Krawchuk
at 160.
"Warman had never beaten that kid before, so that was nice to see," Mertz said. "Hunter didn't wrestle
last year, so we're just trying to get him back into the swing of things."
Mertz's plan for the rest of the weekend is to give his wrestlers a couple days off before beginning the most intense
training regimen of the season leading to the individual postseason tournaments.
"We started our morning runs three weeks ago," he said, "so we're not there yet. But that's our
focus right now."
Nick Fierro can be reached at 800-360-3601 or by e-mail at nfierro@express-times.com.
District Duals Notebook
Sunday, February 03, 2008
-- Nazareth coach Dave Crowell said before this weekend's District 11 Duals that his Blue Eagles were much-improved
from the start of the season. These results are exhibits A, B and C.
A) Nazareth beat Parkland 41-24 Dec. 5; the Blue Eagles routed the Trojans 46-5 Friday night.
B) Nazareth lost to Easton 35-27 Jan. 9; the Blue Eagles turned the tables on Easton 29-25 Saturday morning.
C) Nazareth lost to Northampton 40-19 Dec. 22; the Blue Eagles lost to the Konkrete Kids 31-23 Saturday evening.
-- Nazareth freshman Zach Horan improved his record to 33-4 with two wins Saturday. The 103-pounder's 33 wins are
most among Lehigh Valley wrestlers. Horan is 33-4 and all four losses are against out-of-state competition.
-- Northampton junior Joe Piro is the Lehigh Valley Conference's top pinner. The 189-pounder registered two falls
Saturday to increase his season total to 24. Piro owns a 30-5 record.
-- Pandemonium ruled following the conclusion of Saturday's Nazareth-Easton semifinal. Referees Tony Phillips and
Chris Grammes were quickly escorted by police to their lockerroom after the final bout. A Bethlehem Township officer
standing guard outside the lockerroom said: "I could've arrested 50 people out there. Those were some pretty
excited fans."
-- Easton failed to qualify for the PIAA Class AAA Team Championships for the first time since 2000. The Red Rovers
reached the finals in each of their seven appearances. They won titles in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004.
MICHAEL BLOUSE
Sommer sparks K-Kids
AAA DUALS.
Northampton captures first team title since 2000 season with 31-23 win over Nazareth.
Sunday, February 03, 2008
By MICHAEL BLOUSE
The Express-Times
BETHLEHEM TWP. | Sophomore Austin Sommer informed his Northampton Konkrete Kids teammates and coaches he'd lost
his only previous bout against Nazareth's Colin Fischl.
"I wrestled him in second grade. He beat me pretty bad," Sommer later recalled.
"We were sweating bullets when Austin told us," kidded Northampton coach Terry Daubert.
The story was cute to everyone wearing Konkrete Kids colors after their 31-23 championship win over Nazareth's
Blue Eagles on Saturday night at Freedom High School in the District 11 Class AAA Duals.
Sommer's 4-3 decision over Fischl at 130 pounds -- payback for that defeat in the second grade -- put Northampton
up 25-23 with one bout remaining. Sommer scored a reversal with 45 seconds left to prevail in the matchup of elite
performers.
Shane Fenningham's anticipated pin then provided the 22-0 K-Kids with their first district duals crown since 2000.
"I felt like we lost a little momentum after Josh (Yurasits) lost," Sommer said of Ryan Krecker's decision
over Yurasits at 125 to put Nazareth ahead 23-22. "I just tried to wrestle my hardest and come through for
the team."
The district duals title was Northampton's first in Daubert's eighth season.
"It seems like forever," Daubert said. "I'm not one to enjoy wins too much but I will enjoy this
one. It's a long time coming.
"I thought we wrestled real, real well against Blue Mountain (in the semifinals) and even though we lost some
close bouts, I thought we did well against Nazareth, too."
Northampton, ranked No. 1 in The Express-Times region and state by PA Power, built a 22-9 lead after Aaron Chamberlain's
11-3 major decision over Pat Murphy at heavyweight.
Joe Piro's pin, Jimmy Sheptock's technical fall and Mike Wechsler's major provided the K-Kids with bonus points.
Phil Marano opened the duals duel with a win at 140.
Freshman Zach Horan started the Blue Eagles' comeback bid with a major over Greg Rinker at 103 pounds. Greg Flamisch
followed with a decision, Dave Dotter with a major and Krecker's 7-3 win over Yurasits put Nazareth ahead for the
only time.
Yurasits beat Krecker, who was the star of the Blue Eagles' 29-25 semifinal win over Easton, twice previously.
"What a day for Krecker," Nazareth coach Dave Crowell said.
Bobby Ward, Eric Sergent and Tim Murphy also were winners for Nazareth.
Crowell, during the 160-pound bout, gathered his wrestlers for a "motivational" speech.
"I was not, at that point, pleased with our effort," the veteran coach said. "My message was at
least have a little bit of dignity. Don't get beat up and lose your dignity. We did seem to perform better after
that."
Northampton and Nazareth both move on to this week's PIAA Class AAA Team Championships.
The Konkrete Kids, as the District 11 champions, earn a bye into Friday's quarterfinal round at Hershey's Giant
Center. They will wrestle an opponent to be determined at 2 p.m.
Nazareth meets Quakertown, the No. 3 seed from District 1, in a first-round matchup 7 p.m. Tuesday at Freedom.
Daubert and the K-Kids, though, plan to enjoy Saturday night's victory for the next 24 hours.
"We're going to have a little party," Daubert said with a smile, "drink some Kool-Aid and play pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey."
Michael Blouse can be reached at 800-360-3601 or by e-mail at mblouse@express-times.com.
Saucon falls short of Northern
Lehigh
AA DUALS.
Heavyweight Steve Kircher comes out of sick bay but gets pinned by Bulldogs' Troxell.
Sunday, February 03, 2008
By NICK FIERRO
The Express-Times
BETHLEHEM TWP. | They did everything they believed they needed to for a victory but Saucon Valley High School was
beaten on Saturday by something they could not control.
That's what made their 33-27 loss to Northern Lehigh in the semifinals of the District 11 Class AA Duals at Freedom
so difficult to accept.
Heavyweight Steve Kircher, too ill to even take the mat in Friday's quarterfinals, wasn't in much better shape
Saturday when he lasted just 1 minute, 24 seconds with Jonathan Troxell before being pinned. Kircher had beaten
Troxell in both of their previous meetings this season.
"That was the match right there," said Saucon Valley coach Chad Shirk, whose Panthers are ranked No.
8 in The Express-Times region. "He was in the hospital (Friday). He was sick and he didn't have his 'A' game
today. It's just unfortunate.
"I was worried about him. We were trying to get his energy back up but, unfortunately, it didn't look like
he had it today."
Troxell's victory, coupled with other pivotal wins by Brandon Olewine (2-1 over Kyle Steckert at 171) and Casey
Hedash (3-0 over Eric Gimbar at 215), was enough to lift the Bulldogs, ranked No. 6 in the region, into the championship
against fourth-ranked Northwestern. The Tigers reached the final by dispatching Lehighton, 43-27, in the semifinals.
Northwestern then went on to beat Northern Lehigh, 39-28, for the title.
"I owe all the credit to the kids," said first-year Northwestern coach Bryan Klass, a state champion
wrestler at Wilson. "They did a phenomenal job. They wrestled better than they did all year. ... It was a
team effort from 103 all the way up to heavyweight."
Coming so close once again before being denied a trip to the state duals will leave the Panthers smarting for a
while.
"It kind of sucks being a senior and three years in a row making it this far and coming up short," said
Reuben Herrera, who bumped up to 152 and did his job by scoring a 3-1 decision over Zach Heller. "We really
progressed since the last time. I think we lost by 21 points the first time and losing by six (this time) shows
something."
Herrera's win was followed by teammate Ian Gimbar breaking open a tight bout against Jason Krawchuck with a five-point
move in the third period for a 14-7 decision at 160. Two bouts after that, Brandon Palik's pin of of Danny Boyle
at 189 gave Saucon Valley a commanding 18-3 advantage.
The wins by Hedash and Troxell and a forfeit to Shane Ehrich at 103 helped Northern Lehigh pull even with six matchups
to go.
Northern Lehigh won the last three bouts to put it away with Craemer Hadash's 12-0 major over Nick Parson at 135
setting up a winner-take-all bout at 140. Kris Krawchuk won that one with a second-period technical fall.
Had Saucon Valley pulled it out, Shirk was confident his team could have done the same thing against Northwestern
in the final. As it was, he still was able to look back on what his team accomplished with a great measure of satisfaction.
"I think, for the most part, the kids wrestled really well," he said. "(Jarid) Solosky lost to (Colin)
Hedash last year, he came back and beat him. Chernasky, at 119, wrestled Nikko (Stevens) wrestled another hard-fought
bout (with Stevens winning a 4-2 decision). Ian Gimbar bumped up to 160 and wrestled a good match.
"I just thought our kids battled pretty good. So, I'm proud of them."
Nick Fierro can be reached at 800-360-3601 or by e-mail at nfierro@express-times.com. |
Silver finish tails this Tiger
Narrowly missing PIAA gold medal in '07 motivates Northwestern's Yenolevich.
By Beth Hudson | Of The Morning Call
February 1, 2008
Northwestern junior Evan Yenolevich will watch a videotape with his wrestling coach, Bryan Klass, in early March.
In one sense, it's the last tape Yenolevich wants to see. He remembers his 9-7 overtime loss to Shady Side Academy's
Dane Johnson in the 2007 PIAA Class 2A 112-pound final vividly -- even without the video.
But Yenolevich knows watching the bout again -- just days before this year's state tournament, no less -- is a
smart move. If a memory can push him through 6 a.m. running drills in the high school gym and afternoon practices
in a balmy wrestling room, just imagine what reliving those six-plus minutes could do for him.
''That's the match that motivates me the most,'' Yenolevich said. ''I think about that.''
It's been that way all season.
Yenolevich improved to 29-1 with a 51-second fall over Lee Coleman in his team's 46-26 victory over Bangor on Wednesday
night. In fact, the Northwestern wrestler has been perfect since a 7-5 loss to Michael Garofalo of Colonial Forge,
Va., in early December.
No matter what, though, the state final sticks with him.
Most sophomores -- most wrestlers, really -- can only imagine what it would be like to win a state silver medal,
but Yenolevich also knows how close he came to reaching the highest step on the platform. He took an early lead,
but then Johnson fought back with a flurry of takedowns.
''He tied it with a second left,'' Yenolevich said. ''We went into overtime, and I got taken down again.''
Still, Yenolevich smiled even as he talked about the bittersweet experience and quickly added that his teammates
occasionally tease him about the match. He has a sense of humor about that.
As Klass said later, ''That's Evan.''
Searching for the right way to describe one of his standouts, Klass finally settled on a story from school. The
coach oversees a flex period (similar to a study hall) at one point during the day. Yenolevich is part of it.
''When he's not there, that's the first thing I notice,'' Klass said. ''Where's Evan? He laughs, he's fun to be
around. And, if he loses or he's having a tough week, he always turns it into a positive and works harder.
''Everyone enjoys being around Evan. He just fits in. He fits in with any group.''
'WRESTLING IS HIS LIFE'
In particular, Yenolevich fits in as a wrestler.
He took up the sport sometime around kindergarten and has a wrestling mat in his basement -- a built-in practice
area for him and his teammates in the offseason.
He doesn't consider himself a big sports fan in general. But wrestling?
''That's his life,'' Klass said. ''Wrestling is his life.''
A year-round competitor, Yenolevich has worked to improve on his feet and develop a few new moves this season.
Even better, Klass said, is the 16-year-old's consistent determination to face top opponents.
''Ninety-nine percent of the time, we'll put him against the tougher of two kids [in an opponent's lineup],'' Klass
said. ''It is the hardest thing to do -- to bump up in weight. [But] he looks for the best competition. He gets
more upset if we want to hold him down.''
Yenolevich already has bonus-point victories over some of District 11's better wrestlers -- including Nazareth's
Dave Dotter, Pocono Mountain West's Brendan Kennelly, Palmerton's Dan Costenbader, Northern Lehigh's Nikko Stevens
and Wilson's D.J. Hartrum -- and he beat Downingtown West's Pat May (a returning 3A state medalist) at the Parkland
Duals.
TOP PRIORITY
This weekend, though, it's all about the team.
The Tigers are the top seed heading into the District 11 Class 2A Team Tournament, which begins with 6 p.m. quarterfinals
today at Freedom High School. Yenolevich and two of his close friends, seniors Victor Konno (31-2) and Ben Clymer
(28-2), will try to lead Northwestern to its second straight district title, and the Tigers could end up with a
rematch against second-seeded Northern Lehigh for the championship.
''Practice has been very intense,'' Yenolevich said. ''But it's for our own good. We know it's going to help us
get better for this weekend.''
Once the dual-meet season is over, he can think about individual goals and, perhaps, pick up where he left off
as a sophomore. The motivation, of course, is always with him.
''He and I sat down toward the end of the school year last year,'' Klass said. ''He told me, 'Coach, I want a state
gold medal.' He was very adamant about it.''
beth.hudson@mcall.com 610-820-6501
Surprises aplenty at D-11
Team Wrestling Championships
Rebuilding Nazareth downs Parkland;
K-Kids need just 41 minutes to get semifinal berth.
By Beth Hudson | Of The Morning Call
February 2, 2008
At the beginning of the season, Nazareth wrestling coach Dave Crowell wasn't sure where his team would fit in at
the District 11 Class 3A Team Tournament. He wasn't even certain his rebuilding Blue Eagles would qualify this
year.
Needless to say, he's thrilled with their results.
''They've really, really done a nice job in improving -- in a lot of areas, not just the technique part,'' Crowell
said. ''A significant part of wrestling is the toughness part. That's one of the things we're most pleased with.''
Third-seeded Nazareth (12-5) showed some of that toughness Friday night, beating sixth-seeded Parkland, 46-5, in
the opening round of the duals at Freedom High School. And it was a substantially different match than the one
the two teams wrestled in December, when Nazareth won, 41-24.
Among the changes: Bobby Ward (152 pounds), Hugh Harris (160) and Greg Flamisch (112) were in the lineup this time,
and all three won. In fact, the Eagles won 12 of 14 bouts against the Trojans and didn't surrender a bonus point.
''I'm very happy -- really happy with this group,'' Crowell said. ''They've done everything we've asked, and we've
asked a lot.''
Their reward is a 1 p.m. semifinal rematch today with Easton (17-2), which defeated Nazareth by eight points in
early January. Top-seed Northampton will meet No. 4 Blue Mountain in the other semifinal. The championship match
will begin at 6 p.m.
There are quick wins, and then there's what happened between Northampton and Pleasant Valley in the quarterfinals.
No one expected the Konkrete Kids to struggle in their opening match. At the same time, few would have expected
them to dispatch their first-round opponent in just 41 minutes.
But that's what happened.
Northampton (20-0) defeated No. 8 Pleasant Valley, 74-2. The Bears, who forfeited eight bouts, simply didn't have
the manpower to make the match competitive.
''They let me know ahead of time,'' Northampton coach Terry Daubert said. ''They've got a bunch of injuries right
now. It happens. ? We just go about our business -- did what we had to do and, hopefully, we'll do what we have
to do [today].''
What made Friday's result especially surprising, though, was the fact that Northampton and Pleasant Valley wrestled
less than a week ago (the K-Kids won, 57-15). Unfortunately for the Bears, some of their best wrestlers, including
112-pound Jordan Toledo and 152-pound Chris Servian, weren't able to compete this time. Buddy Gouger (171) picked
up Pleasant Valley's lone victory, 10-7 over Seth Csaszar, while Erik Schaffer (285), Zach Wilson (119), Billy
Paukovits (125), Austin Sommer (130) and Phil Marano (140) won for Northampton (and eight others won by forfeit).
Second-seeded Easton knocked off No. 7 Emmaus, 52-15.
Emmaus trailed Easton by just three points, 15-12, after the first six bouts, but the Red Rovers then won six straight
to boost their advantage to 34 points. Colin Dailey (152), Jeremy Snyder (160), Joe Rizzolino (112), Mark Hartenstine
(125), Patrick Corpora (130) and Jordan Oliver (135) had pins for Easton, while Kegan Handlovic (119) won a major
decision over Emmaus' Taylor Brown -- a rematch of last year's state final at 112. Juan Velasquez won by fall at
189 to lead the Green Hornets.
Fourth-seeded Blue Mountain split its bouts with Liberty, but the Eagles earned bonus points in five of them on
their way to a 38-27 win over the Hurricanes. Corey Seasock (171), Keith Graeff (285) and Josh Kindig (135) won
by fall for the Eagles.
beth.hudson@mcall.com 610-820-6501
Lehighton earns match with
top-seeded Tigers
By Tim Shoemaker | Special to The Morning Call
February 2, 2008
It's been quite a while since the Lehighton wrestling team won a match in the first round of the District 11 Class
2A Team Tournament.
Now comes the hard part -- winning again.
Lehighton defeated Tri-Valley 45-30 in the quarterfinal round Friday night at Freedom High School and will advance
to the second day of competition for the first time in several years.
The Indians will wrestle top seed Northwestern in today's 11 a.m. semifinals. No. 3 seed Saucon Valley will wrestle
second-seeded Northern Lehigh in the other semifinal.
The championship match is scheduled to start at 6 p.m.
In the other quarterfinal matches, Saucon Valley defeated Tamaqua 45-27, Northwestern ripped Central Catholic 46-22
and Northern Lehigh knocked off Wilson 45-19.
The top two teams will also qualify for the PIAA Class 2A Team Championships next week.
''We always lose in the first round. We haven't gotten past the first round in seven or eight years,'' Lehighton
coach Floyd Brown said. ''This is the first time in a while we've been able to come out and wrestle well in the
first round. It feels real good. I'm really proud of our kids.''
Lehighton (13-3) won five of the last six bouts to overcome a 24-18 deficit after 171. The Indians got a forfeit
at 189 to tie it at 24, then pins from Matt Dorward (215) and Briar Stern (285) to go up 36-24.
Tri-Valley's Brandon Tran pinned Jeremy Gornick in the first period to make it 36-30, but Lehighton finished strong
with wins from Matt Mark (fall at 112) and Brett Flexer (119).
''Our upper weights really came through,'' Brown said. ''I thought we wrestled very well all the way throughout.
... We came in thinking it would be a really close match. Our kids did a nice job. They were aggressive. It was
a very good team effort. Hopefully, we can carry that into [today].''
At 130, Lehighton's Jared Brownmiller moved up from 125 to pin his opponent.
Saucon Valley (9-2) has lost only to Northwestern and Northern Lehigh this season, back in the second week of January.
If the Panthers are to win the tournament, they will have to reverse at least one -- and probably two -- of those
decisions in one day.
''I think we regrouped,'' Saucon coach Chad Shirk said. ''We lost a lot of close matches [against Northern Lehigh]
the first time. We'll give it everything we've got.''
Tyrone Deschler moved into the lineup at 125 and got the Panthers off to a good start with a pin. Jarid Solosky
moved up to 130 and pinned Philip Christman in the first period to make it 12-0. The Blue Raiders (14-6) rallied
with two falls of their own to tie it at 12, but Saucon took the next three bouts and five of the next six to win
going away.
Reuben Herrera (145), Ian Gimbar (152), Chris Rahs (160), Brandon Palik (189) and Eric Gimbar (215) all won for
Saucon, which won by forfeit in the final two bouts, 112 and 119.
Neither Northwestern (21-1) nor Northern Lehigh (17-4) had substantial trouble with their quarterfinal opponents.
Northwestern got pins from Victor Konno (130), Nick Boyd (145), Ben Clymer (171) and Tyler Sell (285), a tech fall
from Eddie Keichel (140) and major decisions from Evan Yenolevich (125) and Ricky Williams (135).
Northern Lehigh had six pins -- Joe Grammes (130), Zach Heller (145), Jonathan Corcoran (152), Brandon Olewine
(189), Danny Boyle (215) and Nikko Stevens (119) -- in its win over Wilson.
Tim Shoemaker is a freelance writer.
Northampton holds off Nazareth
with two late wins
By Beth Hudson | Of The Morning Call
February 3, 2008
If you saw Terry Daubert's grin when he finally hoisted the District 11 Class 3A Team Championship trophy over
his head on Saturday night, you caught a glimpse of what this title meant to the Northampton wrestling coach.
Daubert isn't one to savor a victory.
Typically, he's one to focus on what happens next on the schedule and how his team can improve. But Northampton's
31-23 victory over Nazareth in the district final at Freedom High School was far from ordinary.
''I'm not one to enjoy wins all that much,'' Daubert said. ''[But] I'm going to enjoy this one. It's been a long
time coming.
''It's the first time in a long time we've left the district duals happy.''
Austin Sommer (130 pounds) and Shane Fenningham (135) won the last two bouts of the night for Northampton, and
the Konkrete Kids (22-0) claimed their first district team title since 2000. Coincidentally, that was also the
last time they qualified for the PIAA Team Tournament; Northampton beat Connellsville for the state championship
that season.
Daubert took over as head coach (from Don Rohn, who's now Daubert's assistant) the following year. Asked how long
he had waited for this moment at districts, Daubert said simply, ''It seems like forever.''
By winning the championship, Northampton earned a bye into Friday's 2 p.m. quarterfinals at the Giant Center in
Hershey. Nazareth, meanwhile, is District 11's second seed and will wrestle Quakertown (the third seed from District
One) at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Freedom. The winner will move on to Hershey.
''This is the dessert,'' Nazareth coach Dave Crowell said. ''Anything we've gotten at this point is not expected.''
Nazareth, the 2007 state dual-meet champion, was in rebuilding mode this season. But the Blue Eagles progressed
and came on strong at the end -- a point made clear by their performance at districts.
After losing to both Easton and Northampton in the regular season, the Blue Eagles downed the Red Rovers, 29-25,
in Saturday's semifinals and then pushed the Konkrete Kids in the finals. Northampton defeated Blue Mountain, 47-12,
in the semifinals.
Northampton won three of the first four bouts against Nazareth and took a 12-3 lead after Mike Wechsler won a major
decision over Hugh Harris at 160 pounds. Around that same time, Crowell huddled with the kids on his bench, trying
to generate more enthusiasm among the Nazareth wrestlers.
''I was asking for a much better effort,'' Crowell said. ''If you're going to get beat, that's OK, but at least
walk out of the gym with your dignity.''
Apparently, it worked.
Nazareth fought back with decisions from Eric Sergent (171), Tim Murphy (215) and Greg Flamisch (112) and bonus-point
victories from Zach Horan (103) and Dave Dotter (119). And the Blue Eagles took their first (and only) lead of
the night, 23-22, after freshman Ryan Krecker hit a takedown at the buzzer to wrap up a 7-3 decision over Josh
Yurasits.
Fortunately for Northampton, two of its best were awaiting their chance.
Sommer reversed Nazareth's Colin Fischl with 41 seconds left in the third period and held on for a 4-3 decision.
The Northampton wrestler said he hadn't wrestled Fischl since second grade -- and Sommer recalled losing that one.
From there, it was up to Fenningham -- and he closed the victory in style with a first-period fall over Ian Stout.
Phil Marano (140), Jimmy Sheptock (152), Joe Piro (189) and Aaron Chamberlain (285) also won for the Konkrete Kids
-- Piro (fall), Sheptock (technical fall) and Chamberlain (major) with bonus points.
Sommer also said he and his teammates weren't surprised by Nazareth's effort (Northampton beat Nazareth, 40-19,
in late December).
''We knew they were getting better as the year went on,'' Sommer said. ''We knew they were going to be tough with
Bobby Ward and Hugh Harris [back] in the lineup.''
This time, though, it was Northampton's night.
beth.hudson@mcall.com
610-820-6501
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