Norristown starts fast, tops Wissahickon in battle of two young SOL rivals

WEST NORRITON >> It was a tale of two young teams.

But one was slightly farther along than the other.

Norristown High bested Wissahickon, 58-18. Wednesday night in a dual of Suburban One League American Conference wrestling rivals.

Both sides count few seniors, but the Eagles are a bit more battle-tested, and the results bore out that fact.

Norristown collected six falls, got three in the first period, and otherwise took the match to the Trojans, who didn’t quite answer the bell as aggressively as head coach Anthony Stagliano would have liked.

“I like our team,” the coach said. “I know we’re young, and so is Norristown.

“But I felt we were a little timid in some of our matches.”

For Norristown, head coach Mark Harner was pleased not just with the result, but with the fact that he was able to fill out a full lineup for the first time in recent memory.

“It’s been a while,” he said, “and I always feel a lot more confident when we have a full lineup.

“We’ve also backed off on practice a little and the team looked fresher.”

Justin Altrogge got it going for the Eagles, earning a 14-second fall to get things rolling, and Norristown never stopped, building a 27-0 lead before the Trojans could answer with a Nick Senderling fall at 138 pounds.

But after Zaire Tucker pulled out a tough win at 145, the Eagles were not going to be stopped.

By the time Marlon Cephus and JhaJha Onyejiake earned sub-1:00 falls to end the match, the verdict was clear.

The Eagles may be young, but they do have promise.

“We’re young, we’re very inexperienced and sometimes it’s like herding cats,” Harner said. “We have very little experience, but there’s a lot of talent.”

NORRISTOWN 58, WISSAHICKON 18
106 – Justin Altrogge (N) pinned Jaylen Pacheco, 0:14.
113 – Grant Rubin (N) pinned Charlie Brammer, 2:36.
120 – Nick Semon (N) tech.fall over Peter Sweeney, 5:09 (18-1).
126 – Rick Bregenzer (N) maj. dec. over Billy Bishop, 12-0.
132 – Eric Fuentes (N) pinned Austin Goodrich, 1:47.
138 – Nick Senderling (W) pinned Josh Seigle, 3:07.
145 – Zaire Tucker (N) dec. Benjamin Maltin, 10-8.
152 – Jack Jones (W) pinned Quentin Turner, 1:28.
160 – Mike Johnson (N) maj. dec, over Rob Gailor, 13-3.
170 – Rich Maggio (N) won by forfeit.
182 – Mason Hall pinned John Keller, 1:07.
195 – Brian Fennell (W) pinned Enrique Escabado,
220 – Marlon Cephus (N) pinned Mark Thompson, 0:20.
285 – JaJa Onyajake (N) pinned Baba Ige, 0:52.