HORSHAM >> It was way back in December, in the regular season’s first week, in fact, that Plymouth Whitemarsh’s wrestling team lost a 36-30 decision to Quakertown.
The Panthers went on to win the Suburban One League’s American Conference crown, at which point the Colonials circled the Suburban One League Tournament on their schedule.
All this week, the PW wrestlers worked as hard as they have all year, with revenge on their collective minds.
Saturday, the Colonials delivered what they had been working for all year.
It wasn’t easy, and it came down to the final few matches, but PW got its revenge, topping Quakertown, 227.5-221 to take the team trophy.
“The guys worked real hard all week,” said PW head coach Justin Giovinco. “The same thing happened last year. We lost to Norristown early in the season, and then beat them for the league title.
“We gave our guys really hard practices, and they didn’t back down.”
PW responded early, putting nine wrestlers in the semifinals, then hanging on as the Panthers performed splendidly, earning four individual crowns
The Colonials collected three solo victories, then awaited the final team totals.
When Quakertown was announced as the second-place team, the Colonials celebrated wildly.
They had plenty to celebrate, but they were not alone in their joy.
Individually, along with Quakertown’s four crowns and the Colonials three, tourney host Hatboro-Horsham landed three individual titles, courtesy of Brad Mallon (138), Jalen Edwards (182), and Nick Chapman (285), while Wissahickon , Upper Dublin, Cheltenham and Upper Moreland earned one each.
The biggest surprise came courtesy of Quakertown freshman Zach Lewis at 120 pounds.
In just his 11th varsity match, the Panthers first-year matman rolled to the title, besting top-seeded Chris Walker of Upper Moreland in the final.
Hatboro’s Edwards was also a surprise.
In just his third year of wrestling, the Warriors upper weight outquicked and outclassed top-seeded Scott Horry of PW, eventually pinning him with just six seconds left in the third period.
“I’m probably as confident now as I’ve ever been,” said Edwards, who began wrestling in eighth grade. “I’m not the kind who looks at who he’s wrestling , I just go out and wrestle my hardest.”
Meanwhile, the real star of the day was Gershwin, who landed his fourth straight sectional/league individual crown in easy fashion.
He bested Wissahickon’s Ben Maltin in the semifinals for his 100th career win, then eased past second-seeded Zach Fisher of PW in the finals.
But the real heroes of the day were dressed in the grey and blue of Plymouth Whitemarsh.
“I’m happy for the team,” said 215-pound champ Nick Sudell. “We just worked so hard this week.
“It means so much more because we worked to get it.”
Team Scoring: Plymouth Whitemarsh (PW) 227.5; Quakertown (Q) 221; Wissahickon 171; Hatboro-Horsham (HH) 164; Cheltenham (C) 99.5; Upper Dublin (UD) 85; Springfield (S) 78; Upper Moreland (UM) 71.
Championship Finals
106 – Josh Stahl (Q) tech.fall over Caedmon Curry (S), 4:30 (16-0).
113 – Marco DiBattista (PW) dec. Corey Cope (Q) , 4-0.
120 – Zach Lewis (Q) dec. Chris Walker (UM), 11-9 (OT).
126 – Jason Amy (UM) pinned Trent Nielsen (Q), 1:21.
132 – Stone Snyder (Q) dec. Michael Clarkson (PW), 7-2.
138 – Brad Mallon (HH) dec. Isaac Avellino (PW), 2-1.
145 – August Gershwin (C) dec. Zach Fisher (PW), 13-6.
152 – Nick Senderling (W) pinned Austine Jaffe (HH), 4:26.
160 – Mason Novak (UD) dec. Zach Wakefield (PW), 8-5.
170 – Tommy DiSisto (PW) maj.dec. Dan Keller (W), 12-2.
182 – Jalen Edwards (HH) pinned Scott Horry (PW), 5:54.
195 – Noah Wood (Q) pinned Shamar Browne (C), 1:49.
220 – Nick Sudell (PW) pinned Mark Thompson (W), 2:51.
285 – Nick Chapman (HH) maj.dec. Paolo DeSanto (PW), 12-3.
Third Place Matches
106 – Dylan Moore (PW) pinned Aiden Reed (UD), 4:58.
113 – Charlie Brammer (W) maj.dec. Sam Negron (HH), 13-5.
120 – Brayden Druger (W) maj.dec. Justin Oliver (PW), 9-0.
126 – Alex Bonczkiewicz (UD) pinned Ian Patterson (C), 1:57.
132 – Kameron Wyatt (C) pinned Ray Footman (S), 2:59.
138 – Jake Wheeler (Q) pinned Peter Sweeney (W), 3:39.
145 – Nicholas Hadley (Q) pinned Ben Maltin (W), 1:39.
152 – Warren Young (PW) maj.dec. Johnny Frascella (Q), 12-3.
160 – Davis Wheeler (HH) pinned Isaiah Steinman (C), 2:13.
170 – Austin Zubyk (UM) dec. CJ Grier (HH), 7-0.
182 – Max Russell (Q) dec. Jon Keller (W), 7-0.
195 – Logan Flynn (HH) dec. James Guckin (S), 4-3.
220 – Jesse Redmond (Q) pinned Josh Fetscher (HH), 0:30.
285 – Ralph Martin (Q) pinned Jared Taylor (W), 2:11.
