Council Rock South leads 11 area wrestlers into states

OXFORD — Council Rock South wrestling is simply better this season. On Saturday, Feb. 28 at Oxford Area High School, the site of the South East Region Class AAA wrestling Tournament, the Golden Hawks proved it.

Even without top-ranked Riley Palmer (106 pounds) in the lineup, South got five wrestlers out to states starting with junior Dylan Schwartz (152) who registered three decisions including a 2-1 rideout victory over Downingtown East senior James Meyer.

“This time of the year, the name of the game is advancing,’ said CR South head coach Brad Silimperi.

Only a pair of Hawks made states last year, though you had to make the top three spots at regionals to reach Hershey in 2014. The top five are going to Chocolatetown this year.

Three South grapplers made the top three this year including sophomore Zack Trampe (126) and senior Ben Kenis (195) who both earned runner-up medals at regionals.

“He used to be a one-trick pony but now ben is a complete wrestler,’ said Silimperi. “He’s developed into a well-rounded athlete. In three short years, to compete at the level he’s been able to compete at to help our team has been pretty impressive.’

Up and coming freshman Ben Radner earned a fourth-place medal after going 2-2 at regionals and sophomore Joe Doyle earned himself a fifth-place trophy when he blanked Quakertown junior Nick Bonomo, 7-0.

Kenis pushed his way to a regional title bout at 195 pounds starting with a tech fall win over Conestoga senior Ethan Pentz and a decision win over Upper Moreland junior Pat Walker. Unfortunately, he lost a close bout in the final to Owen J. Roberts junior Xavier Ferrizzi.

Trampe made it to the finals with decision wins over West Chester Henderson junior Kyle Medrow and Garnet Valley sophomore Nick Puluti. After his 42nd win of the season, Trampe dropped a 3-2 decision to Downingtown East junior Wade Cummings.

“You have to be able to weather his storm,’ said Silimperi, of Trampe’s wrestling style. “He’s going to come at you for six to eight minutes and it’s going to be non-stop.’

Showing what he’s made of, CR North junior Josh Shalinsky — who captured a SE Region title belt at 160 pounds — hasn’t lost a bout since dropping a 4-2 decision to Pennsbury senior Luke Kowal in the Suburban One National finals. At districts, Shalinsky went 3-0, capped by a 3-1 decision win over Kowal. At regionals, we also went 3-0 including a 5-2 decision win over Sun Valley senior Alex Elliot in the final.

At 33-5, Shalinsky (160) is headed to states together with sophomore Aidan Burke (31-8) whose only blip at regionals was a 3-0 loss to Pennridge 106-pounder Matt Parker.

Truman also has two wrestlers headed to states including senior Dylan Nuttall, who wrestled back with three straight wins after sustaining a devastating 4-3 loss to Owen J. Roberts senior Derek Gulotta, a three-time state medalist for the Wildcats.

Nuttall (120) wrestled bac with decision wins over Downingtown East junior Nik Zimmerman, West Chester East junior Noah Hankins and Pennridge freshman Micah Visuwan. Unfortunately, he found himself on the wrong side of a fall in his fourth-place bout with Garnet Valley sophomore Matt Marino.

Still, this is Nuttall’s first trip to states as it is for junior Dustin Stone (145), who both began and ended his performance at regionals with a pin. After winning by fall over Unionville senior Ian Larson, Stone fell by the slimmest of margins to eventual runner-up Dom Petrucelli of OJR. After blanking Kennett junior Tyler LaCosta and Spring-Ford senior Nick Beauchamp, he unfortunately got majored by Coatesville sophomore Chase Stephens. In the third period of his last bout, a fifth-place matchup with Boyertown sophomore Hunter Vogels, Stone put the Bears wrestler on his back 30 seconds into the final frame.

Neshaminy has just one wrestler headed to states as does Pennsbury. In his first trip to states, heavyweight Bruce Graeber will represent the Redskins. The junior wrestler went 2-1 at regionals, taking 39 seconds to pin West Chester Rustin senior Christos Moscharis and nipping Spring-Ford senior Zach Dorsey. Big Bruce was ahead in his championship bout with Boyertown junior Tommy Killoran when the Bears wrestler took him down for a 4-3 victory.

Still, a big improvement over last year’s performance at regionals by Graeber, who lost his first two bouts and was promptly eliminated in 2014.

Senior Dominick Stabilito (152), unfortunately, failed to make states after finishing regionals in sixth place, the same spot he earned last season. Stabilito began regionals with a sudden victory over Avon Grove senior Zach Swank and a major decision win over Conestoga junior Dan Iredale. He finished with three straight losses by decision, all to state qualifiers including an 11-5 loss to Garnet Valley senior Pat Rowe.

The only Falcon wrestler to make states, Pennsbury lightweight Antonio Martoccio capped a fabulous freshman campaign with a 4-2 performance at regionals including a 7-3 decision win over Haverford junior Vince Tavani, who was pinned by Martoccio in his opening regional bout.

Classmate Luke Kowal (160) fell just short of a state berth, making his way to a fifth-place regional bout where he was pinned by Wissahickon senior Josh Truck.

The PIAA Class AAA tournament begins March 5 and continues through March 7 at the Giant Center in Hershey.

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Class AAA Southeast Regional

Top 5 finishers qualify for states

Team scores: 1 — Boyertown 112; 2 — Pennridge 103; 3 — Spring-Ford 101; 4 — Owen J. Roberts 98; 5 — CR South 84.5; 6 — Downingtown East 51; 7 — (tie) CR North 48; 7 — Coatesville 48; 9 — Quakertown 46, 10 — Sun Valley 45; 11 — Garnet Valley 44.5; 12 — Upper Darby 41; 13 — Bayard Rustin 37; 14 — North Penn 36; 15 — Upper Perkiomen 33; 16 — Neshaminy 26; 17 — Pennsbury 25; 18 — CB East 23.5; 19 — Truman 23; 20 — (tie) Norristown 21, Pottstown 21.

Championship finals

106 — Matt Parker (PR) dec. Aidan Burke (CRN), 3-0; 113 — Dustin Steffenino (UP) dec. Kordell Rush, 2-0; 120 — Derek Gulotta (OJR) dec. Ryan Hayes (S-F), 8-4; 126 — Wade Cummings (DE) dec. Zack Trampe (CRS), 3-2; 132 — Colin Cronin (UDa) maj. dec. Joshua Stillings (PR), 13-2; 138 — Demetri D’Orseano (OJR) dec. Eric Thomas (I), 7-2; 145 — Riley Barth (CBW) dec. Dominick Petrucelli (OJR), 5-3,; 152 — Dylan Schwartz (CRS) dec. James Meyer (DE), 2-1 (tiebreaker); 160 — Josh Shalinsky (CRN) dec. Alex Elliott (SV), 5-2; 170 — Kyle Gentile (PR) dec. Tom Meyers (R), 7-0; 182 — Evan Wilson (CBE) dec. Gregg Harvey (Bo), 5-2; 195 — Xavier Ferrizzi (OJR) dec. Ben Kenis (CRS), 3-2; 220 — Jordan Wood (Bo) inj. def. Joshua Yeboah-Gyasi (UDa), 2:59; 285 — Tommy Killoran (Bo) dec. Bruce Graeber (Ne), 4-3.

Consolation finals

106 — Jakob Campbell (Bo) dec. Brett Kaliner (BR), 5-1; 113 — Harrison Campbell (Q) dec. Ben Radner (CRS), 3-0; 120 — Matt Marino (GaV) pinned Dylan Nuttall (HST), 2:07; 126 — Lucas Miller (Bo) dec. Nick Puliti (GaV), 4-0; 132 — Bryce Reddington (M) dec. Colin Devlin (UDu), 7-5; 138 — Bryant Wise (Po) dec. Eric Miller (UP), 3-1; 145 — Chase Stephens (Coa) pinned Colin Shannon (NP), 1:49; 152 — Zach Dellicompagni (Coa) dec. Jon Cooper (S-F), 1-0; 160 — Frankie Krauss (S-F) dec. Dom DeLaurentis (UMo), 10-3; 170 — Steve Okoorian (SV) pinned Steve Rice (S-F), :36; 182 — Joe Pyfer (PC) maj. dec. Phillip Stolfi (S), 16-4; 195 — Wesley McGuire (Coa) dec. Brendan Zimmie (S-F), 7-5; 220 — Ezra Outlaw (PR) dec. Billy McGinley (DE), 3-1; 285 — Zachary Dorsey (S-F) dec. Shaheed Hill (No), 1-0.

Fifth-place bouts

106 — Antonio Martoccio (PB) dec. Vince Tavani (H), 7-2; 113 — Ryan Resnick (OJR) dec. David Campbell (Bo), 3-2 (tiebreaker); 120 — Micah Visuwan (PR) dec. Kevin Edwards (AG), 3-1; 126 — Sofiane Bensmail (NP) dec. Daniel Labus (BR), 7-6; 132 — Sean Donohue (SV) dec. Joey Wilson (WCH), 3-2; 138 — Matt Krieble (S-F) won by disqualification over Mikey O’Brien (NP), 1:45; 145 — Dustin Stone (HST) pinned Hunter Vogels (Bo), 4:30; 152 — Pat Rowe (GaV) dec. Dominic Stabilito (Ne), 11-5; 160 — Josh Trunk (W) pinned Luke Kowal (PB), 2:56; 170 — Joe Doyle (CRS) dec. Nick Bonomo (Q), 7-0; 182 — Costas Hatzipavlides (BR) dec. Lawrence Alkins (R), 3-2; 195 — Gavin Caroff (Q) dec. Patrick Walker (UMo), 6-3; 220 — Isaiah Samuel (No) dec. Micah Jones (Q), 14-8; 285 — James McDonald (WCH) dec. Joe Kracz (PR), 4-2 (OT).

Outstanding Wrestler — Evan Wilson, CB East