Connect with us

The Mercury

Trio carrying the torch for Upper Perkiomen; Boyertown’s Campbell wins No. 150

FRANCONIA >> It’s effectively filed the drama of late January away.

Now, the focus of Upper Perkiomen’s wrestling contingent is on forging a bright present … and an even brighter future.

Three Indians came out of Friday’s action at the South East AAA Regional tournament with good feelings, and determination to maintain them. Jacob Folk and Michael Modugno remain in the gold-medal hunt at their respective 160- and 220-pound weight classes while Jared Kuhns is working out of wrestlebacks at 113.

It all puts to rest the upheaval the UP program faced when head coach Sam Walters announced his resignation on Jan. 23. Assistant coach Jake Engle was elevated to interim head, charged with stabilizing the situation as the team faced the bulk of its Pioneer Athletic Conference Frontier Division slate and the District 1-AAA Duals competition.

“It’s behind them,” Engle said. “After the initial blow, they put it behind them.”

The program’s trio of post-season qualifiers have Hershey in their sights … after getting through Saturday’s competition at Souderton.

“We all want to work hard to get to states,” Folk, who scored a 6-5 decision of Downingtown West’s Giovannia Angelini in his lone encounter Friday, said. “We’re doing it for the coaches.”

Folk has already exceeded last year’s regional showing. He went 0-2 in 2016 after having to deal with an unusual medical condition.

“Last year, I was in the hospital being treated for my cauliflower ear,” he recalled. “The medication I was taking made me throw up.”

Modugno qualified for states off a third-place finish at regionals his junior year. Like Folk at the current level, he’s looking to improve on a two-and-out at states.

He’s crediting assistant coach Ryan Kemmerer, himself a state-caliber grappler, with helping him pave a straight path to the Giant Center.

“He’s worked hard with me, on certain things I worked at my last match. He’s keeping me going forward.”

Kuhns also has prior regional experience, the junior with an 0-2 outing at Souderton last year. He started out with a 2:57 pin of Chichester’s Jeremy Gannon before running into Downingtown East powershouse Lukas Ritchie, who scored a pin one second before the second period ended.

“It’s what we expected,” Engle said of his team’s post-season showing to date. “Three horses who’ve gotten to this point. So far, they’ve looked good.”

And the hopes for all three moving on to Hershey gets stronger at each step along the way.

“They all expect to get to states,” Engle said. “We talked to them before the start of every match, telling them every match could be their last at this point.

“They have to go at it like their season could be over.”

Boyertown’s Jakob Campbell works on top against Pennsbury’s Antonio Martoccio on his way to his 150th career win. (Nate Heckenberger – For Digital First Media)

* * *

Jakob Campbell spent the week in the company of some top-flight Boyertown wrestling alumni; namely, Jordan Wood and Matt Malfaro.

Not face to face, but on the area’s career win chart. En route to his championship finish in the District 1-AAA West Tournament last weekend, Campbell upped his win total to 149 … the same number Wood — his former teammate from the Class of 2016 — and Malfaro (Class of 2010) achieved during their storied careers.

But with a new tournament on his itinerary this week, Campbell was ready to move upward. And move up he did, getting win number 150 during Friday’s quarterfinal round of the South East AAA Regional tournament.

The Boyertown senior reached the mark in fine fashion, too. He scored a 4:27 pin of Pennsbury’s Antonio Martoccio to become his program’s fourth grappler to hit that total, and the 13th from The Mercury’s coverage area.

“150 is really big,” Jakob said, “and I have a lot of people to thank for reaching it. But I came here to be a regional champion, and I’m shooting to get two wins off the bat tomorrow.”

He admitted being concerned at the start about how his twin brother, David, was doing in his 120-pound quarterfinal with Council Rock North’s Aidan Burke. That proved a minimal distraction, however.

“He (Martoccio) caught me off guard,” Jakob said. “I was focused on how my brother was doing. But I ended up wrestling my match.”

A gold medal will be the crowning moment of Campbell’s four-year tenure as a force in the Southeast Region. He’s medaled each of his three previous trips, scoring silver as a freshman and junior and bronze as a sophomore.

It will also give Jakob a unique “fourpeat” of qualifying for the state tournament — a distinction that will be his alone within the Boyertown program.

And on another note, the two wins that will secure that achievement will tie Campbell with another former teammate (Lucas Miller, Class of 2016) and Upper Perkiomen alumni Ryan Kemmerer (2010) and Wolfgang McStravick (2013) at 152.

Spring-Ford’s Chase Smith reverses Central Bucks East’s Collin Stevens to give Stevens his first loss of the season in the 182-pound quarterfinal bout. (Nate Heckenberger – For Digital First Media)

A total of 15 wrestlers from Pioneer Athletic Conference schools are still in the regional gold-medal chase.

Few could compare with Chase Smith’s showing at 182.

The Spring-Ford senior, coming out of the District 1-AAA West tourney with a silver medal and 22-13 record, came out of Friday’s first round with a 4:49 pin of Plymouth-Whitemarsh’s Scott Henry. That put him in the dubious position of facing Central Bucks East’s Collin Stevens, who sported a 33-0 record through his 1-AAA East title showing last weekend.

Smith turned “dubious” into “fabulous.” He scored a 4-1 decision on Stevens to send the Patriot upperweight into wrestlebacks and put him one win away from a championship-round pairing, pending the outcome of his semifinal with Avon Grove’s Kevin Edwards (29-2).

Elsewhere in the field, Boyertown’s Matt Wilde (113), Chris Berry (152) and Elijah Jones (182) stayed with Jakob Campbell in the championship bracket. They all won their weight classes at the PAC and district tourneys the last two weeks.

Owen J. Roberts, currently second to team leader Council Rock South (40-35.5), has five semifinalists in Luke Resnick (120), Antonio Petrucelli (132), Daniel Mancini (145), Ryan Resnick (160) and Nick Duliakas (195), The Wildcats are followed in the team standings by Boyertown, third with 26.

Spring-Ford’s Brandon Meredith (113), Methacton’s Bryce Reddington (145) and Pottsgrove’s Pat Finn (170) are the PAC’s other semifinalists.

NOTES >> Saturday’s session starts at 9:30 a.m. with first-round consolations, followed by championship semifinals and second- and third-round consolations at 11:30 a.m. The 6 p.m. medal round will be preceded by the region’s Hall of Fame presentation at 5:30 p.m., and the Parade of Champions at 5:45 p.m. … The top five from each weight class qualify for the PIAA Championships.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

More in The Mercury

situs slot gacor provider terbaik agen toto slot terpercaya 2023 agen toto togel terpercaya 2023 situs toto togel pasaran resmi terbaik bandar toto macau pasaran resmi toto togel bandar toto slot gacor 4d 2023 bo togel online pasaran terlengkap sepanjang masa bo toto slot terlengkap sepanjang masa situs toto togel 2023 bet 100 perak daftar toto slot dan toto togel 2023 bermain toto togel dengan bet hanya 100 perak daftar toto slot bonus new member terpercaya bermain toto slot pelayanan 24 jam nonstop situs toto togel terpercaya situs toto togel online terbaik winsortoto winsortoto winsortoto winsortoto winsortoto winsortoto unsurtoto unsurtoto unsurtoto winsortoto winsortoto winsortoto rasa4d rasa4d rasa4d gampangtoto gampangtoto gampangtoto winsortoto unsurtoto gampangtoto rasa4d bungtoto bandar toto togel terbesar hadiah 4d 10 juta daftar winsortoto situs toto terbaik winsortoto situs toto slot gacor dengan toto togel terbaik winsortoto situs toto terpercaya bet 100 perak winsortoto agen toto togel dan situs toto slot 4d winsortoto situs toto togel online deposit 10rb winsortoto situs toto togel online resmi hadiah 4d 10 juta winsortoto agen toto togel online terpercaya winsortoto agen toto slot dan situs toto togel resmi winsortoto situs toto togel 4d terpercaya winsortoto bandar toto togel dan toto slot winsortoto situs toto togel online resmi terbesar winsortoto situs toto togel dan agen toto slot terpercaya winsortoto situs toto terpercaya beragam bonus winsortoto situs toto terpercaya toto togel dan toto slot gacor winsortoto situs togel online dan slot online terpercaya winsortoto situs togel online hadiah terbesar winsortoto agen toto togel bonus harian terbesar winsortoto agen togel online terlengkap bet 100 perak winsortoto situs toto togel 4d dan toto slot 4d terbaik winsortoto situs toto togel dan toto slot terpercaya winsortoto bandar toto togel online terpercaya 2023 winsortoto agen toto togel 4d dan toto slot 4d winsortoto agen toto togel online banyak bonus terbesar winsortoto situs toto terpercaya bonus new member winsortoto situs togel online resmi terpercaya pasaran terlengkap winsortoto situs toto togel online 4d terpercaya situs toto togel deposit pulsa tanpa potongan winsortoto situs toto slot pasti slot gacor winsortoto situs toto slot dan toto togel hadiah terbaik winsortoto situs toto terpercaya permainan resmi dan terpercaya winsortoto situs toto resmi bonus new member 100rb tanpa potongan winsortoto toto slot gacor dan togel online resmi terpercaya winsortoto situs toto toge online terpercaya di Indonesia winsortoto toto togel online bonus new member terbesar winsortoto agen toto togel resmi hadiah 4d 10 juta terpercaya winsortoto toto togel online hadiah 4d 10 juta bet 100 winsortoto situs togel online terlengkap dan terpercaya winsortoto situs togel online resmi dan toto slot gacor winsortoto situs toto togel dan agen toto slot gacor winsortoto situs toto togel permainan toto togel dan toto slot winsortoto situs toto terpercaya bonus menarik winsortoto situs toto togel online terpercaya winsortoto bandar toto togel dan toto slot terpercaya winsortoto situs toto togel online terlengkap dan terpercaya winsortoto situs toto togel online winsortoto situs toto terpercaya togel online dan slot online resmi winsortoto situs toto dengan permainan togel 4d dan slot 4d winsortoto situs toto terpercaya permainan togel online terlengkap winsortoto situs toto togel terpercaya permainan resmi winsortoto situs toto togel resmi bet 100 perak tanpa potongan winsortoto agen toto togel dan situs toto resmi winsortoto toto togel dan toto slot terpercaya dan terbaik winsortoto unsurtoto gampangtoto bungtoto rasa4d titi4d ltdtoto bobatoto bobatoto situs toto togel slot situs bandar toto togel slot terpercaya titi4d titi4d login titi4d daftar titi4d slot titi4d togel situs titi4d titi4d login titi4d daftar titi4d titi4d togel titi4d slot situs titi4d agen titi4d bandar titi4d