OXFORD >> Sometimes the sting of a disappointing loss only serves as incentive to work harder and get better. That was certainly the case for Upper Dublin senior Collin Devlin, who captured the District 1, Class AAA title at 138 pounds Saturday night at Oxford High School to lead a group of eight local wrestlers earning the top four finish to advance to next week’s AAA Southeast Regional tournament at Souderton.
Devlin, a district champ as a sophomore, had to settle for second after a heartbreaking loss in the finals last year.
“Honestly, the goal at this time of year is simply to keep advancing,” said Devlin. “But my ultimate goal is to get to states and win a medal, so winning tonight puts me in a better position for next week at regionals and keeps me moving to my goal.”
Standing between Devlin and his second district title was Downningtown East’s Nic Zimmerman. After a scoreless first, the long and lean Devlin chose top to start the second, and immediately began to use that length to his advantage, riding with legs, and cranking a power half.
“You start young, and you just sort of learn what works for you, regardless of the body type you’re wrestling against, and you have to learn to beat all of them,” said Devlin.
Zimmerman made an attempt to roll through the hold, but Devlin stopped him dead, tightened up the half and got the slap of the mat at 3:56.
At 132, Norristown’s Eric Fuentes squared off against Henderson’s Kyle Medrow, who jumped out to the early lead with a takedown, then added a reversal and back points with a Peterson in the second before Fuentes finally got on the board with a reversal of his own. Medrow added a third period reversal to put the final at 9-2.
Upper Moreland’s Patrick Walker took to the mat against West Chester East’s Erik Gassenmeyer at 195. Though Walker gave up a takedown on the buzzer at the end of regulation, he came out on the right end of a scramble in sudden victory to pull out the 9-7 victory and the 195 pound championship.
At 285, Plymouth-Whitemarsh’s Qunicy Williams ran in to Avon Grove’s Vince Walls. Walls, ranked No. 1 in the district by Pa-Wrestling.com tallied a pair of takedowns and added two near fall points and and escape enroute to a 7-2 victory.
Also advancing to next week’s regional tourney at Souderton following third place finishes are Norristown’s Justin Altrooge (106), Upper Moreland’s Jason Amy (113), and a pair of Plymouth-Whitemarsh wrestlers in Ben Billings (145) and Tommy DiSisto (170).
In Class AA action, Lower Moreland took home the team crown, clinching the title in the final bout of the night. Trailing New Hope-Solebury two points headed into the final bout of the night, Lower Moreland’s Arthur Aloian decked New Hope’s Matthew Fest with eleven seconds to go to clinch both the 285-pound title as well as the team trophy.
The Lions had two other champions crowned. Stephen Pylayev hit a lateral drop for a takedown and the fall at 145, and Joao Mariani picked up a third period reversal for a 2-0 win over Bristol’s Shaun O’Brien in a battle of returning champions at 152.
“It feels great to come here and win the title,” said Lions’ coach Rocco D’Arcangelo. “We opted out of district duals because we had some ups and downs this season. So it’s especially nice to see the guys come in here and get the job done today.
NOTES: Upper Moreland’s Amanda Walker (106 pounds) joined a very small and exclusive club in the state of PA, becoming just the third female to win a match at the district level. Walker opened her tournament with a decisive 5-2 victory over Rustin’s Luke Phayre.
Walker is only a sophomore, and will spend the next two years looking to become the state’s first female to qualify for regionals or states.
“It felt great to win,” said Walker. “It lets me know that I do have what it takes to win at this level, and I just have to keep working to improve on bottom and work on adding some strength.”
