FORT WASHINGTON — Losing matches has been a rare occurrence for Spring-Ford this winter.
So, too, has the need to come back from such down performances — though the Rams have dealt with that situation twice in little more than two weeks. But they proved adept at it Saturday.
One day after losing in the semifinal round of the District 1 Class AAA Duals tournament — and with a spot in the state duals tourney at stake — Spring-Ford showed its resilience. The Rams qualified with their 50-18 consolation-semifinal victory over Owen J. Roberts, then secured a third-place standing by handling Pennridge, 39-25.
“The kids responded,’ head coach Tim Seislove said afterward. “They were upset about how things went Friday, but they didn’t get down. They got the job done.’
Though it went wire-to-wire for the win, Spring-Ford saw the Suburban One League Rams get to one point (21-20) of catching it. But the locals put distance between them and the tourney’s fourth seed, getting two pins and an injury-default award to build an insurmountable lead over the final four bouts.
Brandon Meredith started the run with his third-period drop of John Shyter at 113, and Jimmy Frank followed with a first-period pin of Anthony Oswald at 120. Ryan Hayes (29-2) added to Frank’s match-clincher when Pennridge’s Matt Visuwan was unable to continue after just 38 seconds of the 126-pound bout.
“We got the chance to go to Hershey’ Seislove said. His team must first contend with Exeter, District 3’s third-place finisher, in a Monday match to qualify for a visit to the Giant Center later in the week.
Matt Krieble, Nick Beauchamp, Jonathan Cooper and Frankie Krauss got Spring-Ford an initial 18-point lead. Krieble (23-3) pinned Ethan Clemmer 36 seconds into the 138-pound opener, Beauchamp (26-5) scored a 9-0 major decision on Dylan Gerhart at 145, Cooper added an 11-1 major of Will O’Shea at 152 and Krauss (29-1) racked up a technical fall on Stephen Blanchard at the four-minute mark of their 160-pound duel.
Zach Dorsey (27-2) added a 3-2 decision of Joe Kracz at 285, one that boosted Spring-Ford’s lead to 24-14 before the lightweights came up.
“We got big points,’ Seislove noted, “and we didn’t give up a lot of points to their top guns.’
————
The sequel ended up about the same as the original.
Good for Spring-Ford, not so much for Owen J. Roberts.
One week after they met in their Pioneer Athletic Conference regular duel, the Rams and Wildcats squared off in the Class AAA bracket’s consolation semifinals. And it was another decisive win for Spring-Ford, this time by a 50-18 score.
Brandon Meredith’s major decision at 106 proved the clincher for the Rams, giving them a 39-12 lead with three weights to contest. It was good for one of the district’s four spots in the state duals tournament, the Rams joining repeat district champion Boyertown, second-place Council Rock South and fourth-place Pennridge.
“It didn’t work out,’ Owen J. head coach Steve DeRafelo said. His fifth-seeded Wildcats (9-5) saw their hopes for a return trip to the state duals — their last came during the 2013 season — halted by successive losses to Pennridge (41-22 Friday) and Spring-Ford.
“After the match, we had a discussion about toughness versus mental toughness. No one let down.’
Demetri D’Orsaneo produced one of the biggest comeback for Roberts from the previous week, with his decision of Nick Beauchamp at 138. They had a reverse of the previous outcome, Beauchamp racking up an 8-2 decision on D’Orsaneo in their previous go-round.
Owen J’s other points came from Xavier Ferrizzi’s 5-0 decision of Tim Rudderow at 220, Ryan Resnick’s second-period pin at 113, and Dominick Petrucelli getting a forfeit at 145.
“I’m disappointed we didn’t go further,’ DeRafelo said. “But at the same time, we have a chance to get people better. We have time to get healthy.’
Spring-Ford rode pins by Matt Krieble (138), Jonathan Cooper (160), Brendan Zimmie (195), Zach Dorsey (285) and Oscar Granese (126) to build its lead. Frankie Krauss (170) and Ryan Hayes (120) chipped in with technical falls for the Rams.
Owen J. will be looking at wrestling four PAC-10 duals in three days this week to close out its regular-season league schedule. It will host three league visitors Friday — Pottsgrove at 4 p.m., Phoenixville at 5:30 p.m. and Pottstown at 7 p.m. — after visiting Pope John Paul II Wednesday.
—- Results —-
Third-Place Match
Spring-Ford 39
Pennridge 25
138-Matt Krieble (SF) pinned Ethan Clemmer, 0:36 (6-0)
145-Nick Beauchamp (SF) dec. Dylan Gerhart, 3-0 (9-0)
152-Jon Cooper (SF) maj. dec. Will O’Shea, 11-1 (13-0)
160-Frankie Krauss (SF) won by tech. fall over Stephen Blanchard, 23-8; 4:00 (18-0)
170-Kyle Gentile (Pr) maj. dec. Steve Rice, 12-2 (18-4)
182-Zach Tuerke (Pr) dec. Ryan Yanulevich, 2-1 (18-7)
195-Andrew Reinhold (Pr) dec. Brendan Zimmie, 2-1 (18-10)
220-Ezra Outlaw (Pr) maj. dec. Timothy Rudderow, 15-4 (18-14)
285-Zachary Dorsey (SF) dec. Joe Kracz, 3-2 SV (21-14)
106-Matt Parker (Pr) pinned Anthony Kostusiak, 0:54 (21-20)
113-Brandon Meredith (SF) pinned John Snyder, 4:27 (27-20)
120-Jimmy Frank (SF) pinned Anthony Oswald, 1:28 (33-20)
126-Ryan Hayes (SF) won by inj. default over Micah Visuwan, 0:38 (39-20)
132-Joshua Stillings (Pr) won by tech. fall over Jonathan Westlake, 3:46 (39-25)
—- Results —-
Consolation Semifinals
Spring-Ford 50
Owen J. Roberts 18
132-Hunter Mitch (SF) dec. Stone Bissland, 3-2 (3-0)
138-Matt Krieble (SF) pinned John Ruckle, 1:57 (9-0)
145-Demetri D’Orsaneo (OJR) dec. Nick Beauchamp, 5-2 (9-3)
152-Dominick Petrucelli (OJR) won by forfeit (9-9)
160-Jon Cooper (SF) pinned Chase Rutkowski, 0:59 (15-9)
170-Frankie Krauss (SF) won by tech. fall over Nick Duliakas, 5:45 (20-9)
182-Steve Rice (SF) dec. Connor Mitchell, 4-0 (23-9)
195-Brendan Zimmie (SF) pinned Will Dawson, 3:19 (29-9)
220-Xavier Ferrizzi (OJR) dec. Timothy Rudderow, 5-0 (29-12)
285-Zachary Dorsey (SF) pinned William Scherfel, 3:31 (35-12)
106-Brandon Meredith (SF) maj. dec. Tyler McCutchen, 13-0 (39-12)
113-Ryan Resnick (OJR) pinned Derek Weast, 2:27 (39-18)
120-Ryan Hayes (SF) won by tech. fall over Jake Glace, 2:39 (44-18)
126-Oscar Granese (SF) pinned Matthew Brownley, 3:32 (50-18)
