WHITEMARSH — In the three seasons prior to favorite son Justin Giovinco returning to take the head coaching reins of the Plymouth Whitemarsh High wrestling program, the Colonials won exactly six league matches.
Since, PW hasn’t lost a single league match.
The Colonials locked up their second straight unbeaten Suburban One League American Conference title with an easy, breezy, 49-22 win over Upper Moreland in a match that saw the home team go up, 21-4, and not look back.
And while the Colonials wrestlers were quick to point to Giovinco as one of the primary reasons for their recent success, Giovinco quickly pointed in the opposite direction.
“It’s really been our seniors,’ Giovinco said. “When they started coming around, the team came around. That class has been the life of this team the last couple years.
“And they’ve set a great example for the teams that will be coming up.’
“So much of it has been believing in ourselves,’ said senior middleweight Gianpiero DiBattista, who landed his 97th career victory in the clincher. “And Coach has done a lot for us. He knows how to motivate us. If you do something wrong, he’s not going to yell and make you feel bad about it. He’ll correct you.
“He believes in everyone’s ability, and he doesn’t turn anyone away.’
Giovinco agreed, he’s not a screamer. But he is a correcter.
“It’s important to point out mistakes, but you don’t need to dwell on them,’ he said. “If they do something wrong, I usually know what it takes to fix it.’
Giovinco didn’t need to do much correcting Wednesday night.
DiBattista’s major decision at 138 pounds got the Colonials off and running. And when Andrew Vo suddenly took down and stuck his foe at 145, the countdown was on.
PW had so much going its way, that even Giovinco got away with a coaching mistake.
Up 15-0 at the outset of the 160-pound bout, Giovinco wanted to forfeit to Upper Moreland standout Dom DeLaurentis.
“I got caught up in the matches, and by the time I turned around, Tommy (DiSisto) had already run out there.’
But DiSisto more than made up for the tactical error, battling DeLaurentis evenly after a quick 7-0, first-period deficit. DiSisto wound up losing by major decision, but allowed only two more points over the remainder of the bout.
“That didn’t surprise me,’ Giovinco said. “Tommy has the work ethic, he lives in the weight room and he’s not afraid of anybody.’
After that quick start, a boisterous Senior Night crowd responded as the Colonials shifted into put-away mode.
Forfeits at 182 and 220 briefly got the Bears close, but heavyweight Quincy Williams and Marco DiBattista got back-to-back sticks, and the Colonials championship party was full-out on.
When Bears 120-pounder Matt Amy failed to pin Zach Wakefield, the title officially belonged to the Colonials — again.
“We’ve come through a lot of adversity,’ DiBattista said. “We like fighting through a lot of adversity on the mat.
“And this win and this championship come from the heart.’
Plymouth Whitemarsh 49
Upper Moreland 22
138 – Gianpiero DiBattista (PW) dec. Ernest Brown, 10-0.
145 – Andrew Vo (PW) pinned William Smith, 3:28.
152 – Ben Billings (PW) tech.fall over Brandon Vogt, 4:56 (18-3).
160 – Dom DeLaurentis (UM) dec. Tommy DiSisto, 9-1.
170 – Robert Brooke (PW) pinned Tyler Smith, 2:29.
182 – Harry Green (UM) won by forfeit.
195 – Pat Walker (UM) dec. Nick Sudell, 5-3.
220 – Ryan Caral (UM) won by forfeit.
285 – Quincy Williams (PW) pinned Ricky Mapes, 1:45.
106 – Marco DiBattista (PW) pinned Amanda Walker, 1:44.
113 – Zach Fisher (PW) dec. Yoshi Johnson, 12-0.
120 – Matt Amy (UM) dec. Zach Wakefield, 1-0.
126 – Dan Smith (PW) won by forfeit.
132 – Francesco Palagruto (PW) won by forfeit.
