WESTTOWN — Welcome to the Ches-Mont League, Caden Mareno.
Rather, Ches-Mont League, please welcome Caden Mareno.
After being cleared by District 1 earlier in the week to compete after wrestling much of the season for McDonogh School (Md), the Unionville senior impressed in his first action in the PIAA.
Mareno used a pair of pins to claim the 132-pound bracket at the Ches-Mont Championships at West Chester Rustin, Saturday, becoming one of 11 first-time champions on the day.
“I think it’s big for me,” said Mareno, a sixth-place finisher at National Preps last year. “Having not been in Pennsylvania for so long, there’s sometimes a difference between states. I needed to wrestle against some good competition and get a tournament win to get my psyche back.”
After first-round fall, Mareno accepted a medical forfeit from a banged-up Brandon Sheffield of Oxford in the semifinals. In the finals, Mareno faced and old friend from his youth days, Kennett’s Gerhardt Reiter, and jumped out to a 6-1 lead before turning him to get the pin late in the second period.
“The best part was seeing my old friends and how they’ve grown up and gotten better,” Mareno said.
Downingtown West’s Gavin Hale after winning his 100th career bout (Nate Heckenberger – For Digital First Media)
Downingtown West won the team title with tournament highs in champions (four) and top-six finishers (11), who will advance to the District 1 West tournament next Saturday.
Doug Zapf (120 pounds) won his third straight league title and Gavin Hale (152) joined the 100-career wins club in the semis before capturing his first championship.
“I love that I got it hear,” Hale said of his 100th win. “I know a lot of people here and I’m glad I got it at Ches-Monts instead of districts.”
West Chester East’s Tommy Luke and Downingtown East’s Brett Horne also earned their 100th career victories, Saturday.
Later, Max Hale (170) won his own title to match his older brother, and Jesse Cook (285) finished off the tournament with West’s fourth title.
“It’s really fun having him there, pushing me,” Gavin Hale said of Max. “Winning together is awesome.”
Downingtown East’s Josh Wileczek (Nate Heckenberger – For Digital First Media)
Downingtown East finished second, getting nine out. Lukas Richie (126) won his second straight gold, while Josh Wileczek (195) flipped a result from last month when he edged Coatesville’s Alex Raimondo, 6-5, to climb to the top of the podium for the first time.
“I’ve never been to the finals at Ches-Monts, but I’ve been working hard the past year,” Wileczek said. “It’s a good feeling.”
West Chester Henderson trailed only West for finalists, 6-4, and won two of them. Killian Delaney (113) had three pins on the day to win his first, and Ray Martin (160) cruised in the finals, 10-2 against Sun Valley’s Avery Frank.
Henderson’s Ray Martin (Nate Heckenberger – For Digital First Media)
“It’s very rewarding when you put all those hours in when no one’s watching and when your coach is breathing down your neck,” Martin said. “You put in all that extra work and all those hours were completely worth it.”
Great Valley got three to the finals, winning two of them. Ethan Seeley had a dominant day to earn the 182-pound title, and Luke Wilson (138) wrestled his best tournament of the season, knocking off Horne in semis and Henderson’s Luke Phayre in the finals.
With West’s Nick Lilley still nursing an injury and medically forfeiting to sixth place, 138 was wide open, and Wilson took advantage.
Great Valley’s Luke Wilson (Nate Heckenberger – For Digital First Media)
“For me, I was going to wrestle the best I could against whoever was in front of me,” Wilson said. “I took it one match at a time and it didn’t matter who it was.”
Tyler Kaliner (145) got by Avon Grove’s Nick Barnhart, 5-1, to give Rustin its lone champion, while Brennan McBride (106) had an impressive day for Coatesville.
McBride avenged a regular season loss to Henderson’s Sammy McMonagle in the semis and then shut out Downingtown East’s Keanu Manuel, 7-0, in the finals.
“I had a pretty good mindset, and it’s something to work harder for,” McBride said. “I couldn’t have done it without my practice partner, Nathan Lucier.”
Coatesville’s Brennan McBride (Nate Heckenberger – For Digital First Media)
Sun Valley’s Hunter Catka was named the Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament with three pins, including one against Downingtown West’s Chris Madanat in the finals.
The top six finishers from the Ches-Mont will join the top three finishers from the Del-Val league next Saturday at Interboro for districts. The top four finishers there will move on to the Southeast Regional tournament.
Team Standings
1. Downingtown West, 186.5; 2. Downingtown East, 145.5; 3. West Chester Henderson, 123; 4. Sun Valley, 99; 5. Octorara, 97.5; 6. Coatesville, 91; 7. West Chester East; 8. Great Valley, 86; 9. Unionville, 85.5; 10. West Chester Rustin, 85; 11. Oxford, 79; 12. Avon Grove, 71.5; 13. Kennett, 67.5
Championship Finals
106- B. McBride (Coatesville) dec. Manuel (Downingtown East), 7-0
113- Delaney (WC Henderson) pinned Lucier (Coatesville), 2:51
120- Zapf (Downingtown West) maj. dec. Hoopes (Octorara), 13-4
126- Richie (Downingtown East) maj. dec. Babauta (Octorara), 14-6
132- Mareno (Unionville) pinned Reiter (Kennett), 3:46
138- Wilson (Great Valley) dec. L. Phayre (WC Henderson), 4-1
145- Kaliner (WC Rustin) dec. Barnhart (Avon Grove), 5-1
152- G. Hale (Downingtown West) dec. M. Phayre (WC Henderson), 4-2
160- Martin (WC Henderson) maj. dec. Frank (Sun Valley), 10-2
170- M. Hale (Downingtown West) maj. dec. A. DiBernardo (WC East), 11-2
182- Seeley (Great Valley) dec. Mielnik (Downingtown West), 7-2
195- Wileczek (Downingtown East) dec. Raimondo (Coatesville), 6-5
220- H. Catka (Sun Valley) pinned Madanat (Downingtown West), 1:34
285- Cook (Downingtown West) pinned Lafferty (Great Valley), 2:43
Consolation Finals
106- C. Johnson (Oxford) med. forfeit S. McMonagle (WC Henderson)
113- Quin (Oxford) dec. King (WC Rustin), 4-2
120- Celenza (WC East) dec. Reigel (Kennett), 4-0
126- T. Luke (WC East) dec. Lehman (Unionville), 6-2
132- Bosio (Avon Grove) med. forfeit Sheffield (Oxford)
138- Gathercole (Coatesville) maj. dec. Smith (Avon Grove), 13-2
145- Lucas-Murphy (Downingtown East) dec. Wolov (WC East), 7-4
152- Dalton (Octorara) maj. dec. Lawton (Downingtown East), 12-0
160- Romanelli (Downingtown East) med. forfeit Hurley (WC Rustin)
170- Mousaw (Unionville) pinned R. Catka (Sun Valley), 4:19
182- Bailey (Sun Valley) dec. Harkins (WC Rustin), 10-5
195- McGuinness (WC Henderson) dec. Jackson (Octorara), 3-1
220- Castaneda (Kennett) dec. Blevins (Oxford), 4-2
285- Aceto (Downingtown East) pinned Watson (Kennett), 2:51
Fifth Place
106- Viarengo (WC Rustin) dec. A. Luke (WC East), 6-0
113- Chaclas (Unionville) pinned Cardi (Downingtown West), 6-0
120- Howard (Avon Grove) dec. D. Cox (Oxford), 5-1
126- Kochersperger (Kennett) dec. Spadaro (Oxford), 4-2
132- Eadie (WC East) pinned Hanak (Downingtown West), 3:46
138- Horne (Downingtown East) med. forfeit N. Lilley (Downingtown West)
145- Sharpless (Octorara) pinned Semar (Great Valley), 2:15
152- Caldwell (Unionville) pinned Paolella (Great Valley), 1:53
160- Cusack (Downingtown West) dec. W. Johnson (Oxford), 7-1
170- Wasko (Octorara) pinned Uggla (Downingtown East), 3:35
182- Grim (Unionville) maj. dec. Buonocore (Avon Grove), 9-0
195- Shafer (Downingtown West) med. forfeit Griffin (Sun Valley)
220- Jones (WC Rustin) dec. Range (WC Henderson), 6-5 UTB
285- Geter (Coatesville) med. forfeit Timm (WC East)
