WHITEMARSH >> On the most important night of any high school wrestling team during the regular season, the Plymouth Whitemarsh won a thriller over Upper Moreland on senior night 37-36.
Before the match started, Plymouth Whitemarsh honored its five seniors for senior night including Marco DiBattista, Zach Fisher, Scott Horry, Darren Ries and Warren Young.
The match went down to the nitty-gritty as both teams were tied 36-36 after the last match of the night.
The match started with the Colonials getting six points when Dylan Moore earned a forfeit at 106 pounds.
At 113 pounds, the Upper Moreland Bears came right back to tie the match 6-6 when Jake Bainbridge pinned Colonial Chris Diaz in 2:57.
The 120-pound match also resulted in a pin, but it was for Colonial John Zhang in 4:38 over Aiden Supsic.
The 126 and 132 pound matches both resulted in forfeits as DiBattista — currently ranked fifth in the District 1 rankings on PA-Wrestling.com — and Upper Moreland’s Chris Walker earned six team points respectively.
Upper Moreland’s Ricky Sobel goes for pin on Plymouth Whitemarsh David Garcia during their 195-pound match on Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2017. Garcia went on to earn 10-7 decision. (Alex Wahl/For Digital First Media)
Colonial Mike Clarkson increased Plymouth Whitemarsh’s lead to 21-12 by earning a hard-fought 4-2 decision victory over John Ritcher.
Upper Moreland got its first lead of the night when Tyler Patterson and Tyler Weimer earned pins at 145 and 152 pounds, respectively.
Fisher gave the Colonials the lead back with the match of the night at 160 pounds.
After leading 2-0 heading into the second period, Fisher came up big with an escape, takedown and a three-point near fall to lead 8-0 heading into the final period.
With only 15 seconds left in the third period, Fisher went fishing for a pin and he snatched it to give the Colonials a 27-24 lead.
“I was just trying to put on a show for the fans,” said Fisher. “I knew it was going to be a close match, so I thought getting six points would be beneficial for us.”
“I’m always expecting a pin,” added Fisher. “You always have to expect earning six points for the team.”
The Bears tied the match 27-27 when Austin Zubyk earned a tough 3-1 decision victory over Young at 170 pounds.
Upper Moreland got the lead back at 33-27 when Harry Green — ranked second in District 1 — scored a pin in 33 seconds over Horry.
Plymouth Whitemarsh’s David Garcia made it a three-point match when he earned a 10-7 decision over Ricky Sobel at 195 pounds.
Plymouth Whitemarsh’s Darren Ries goes for headlock on Nasir Thomas during their 220-pound match on Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018. Thomas went on to earn a 5-2 decision. (Alex Wahl/For Digital First Media)
The final win for the Bears came at 220 pounds when Nasir Thomas earned a 5-2 decision over Ries to put his team up by six heading into the final match.
At 285 pounds, Colonial Paolo DiSanto only needed 33 seconds to pin Anthony D’Amore to tie the match at 36-36 and decide the match on criteria.
“I knew I had to get it down at the last match,” said DiSanto. “I just went out there aggressively and got the pin that I needed for the team.”
After nearly 10 minutes on the scoring table, Plymouth Whitemarsh earned the senior night victory on Criteria H, which is awarded to the team with the most takedowns in the first period of every match.
Upper Moreland head coach John DeFranco was pleased with his Bears despite the tough loss.
“I think our kids did very well,” said DeFranco. “I was hoping for Ritcher at 138 pounds to get a decision, but it was a hard-fought match and I really think it came down to the 138-pound match.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh head coach David Luthy was thrilled with his team’s victory on senior night, especially for DiSanto’s victory.
“I knew we had to get six points at the end,” said Luthy. “Paolo is wrestling on a different level this year and he’s hitting his stride at the right time.”
“We wanted our seniors to go out right,” added Luthy. “These guys have wrestled here for four years so we we’re really excited for a team win for them.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh and Upper Moreland now head into the individual postseason, which for both teams begin at Hatboro-Horsham for the Suburban One League American Conference Championships Feb. 17.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 37*, Upper Moreland 36
106: Dylan Moore (PW) wins by forfeit. PW 6-0
113: Jake Bainbridge (UM) pins Chris Diaz (PW) 2:57. Tied 6-6
120: John Zhang (PW) pins Aiden Supsic (UM) 4:38. PW 12-6
126: Marco DiBattista (PW) wins by forfeit. PW 18-6
132: Chris Walker (UM) wins by forfeit. PW 18-12
138: Mike Clarkson (PW) 4-2 decision over John Ritcher (UM). PW 21-12
145: Tyler Patterson (UM) pins Max Madonna (PW) 1:57. PW 21-18
152: Tyler Weimer (UM) pins Isaac Avellino (PW) 2:21. UM 24-21
160: Zach Fisher (PW) pins Hunter Williams (UM) 5:45. PW 27-24
170: Austin Zubyk (UM) 3-1 decision over Warren Young (PW). Tied 27-27
182: Harry Green (UM) pins Scott Horry (PW) 0:41. UM 33-27
195: David Garcia (PW) 10-7 decision over Ricky Sobel (UM). UM 33-30
220: Nasir Thomas (UM) 5-2 decision over Darren Ries (PW). UM 36-30
285: Paolo DiSanto (PW) pins Anthony D’Amore (UM) 0:33. Tied 36-36
*Plymouth Whitemarsh wins on Criteria H (Most first period takedowns)
