Five Ches-Mont teams set for District Duals
WESTTOWN — The road to Hershey, as a team, begins Thursday night with the District 1 Duals.
Five Ches-Mont League teams earned spots in the 16-team bracket, as round one will take place Thursday. The rest of the tournament will happen February 5-6, with the top four teams qualifying for the PIAA tournament.
Thursday, West Chester Rustin and Council Rock South will host the first round action, with four of the five local teams able to stay nearby. Third-seeded Downingtown East, No. 12 Rustin, No. 13 West Chester East and No. 16 Unionville will compete at Rustin, while No. 15 Downingtown West has to take the long trip to Bucks County to face the hosting Golden Hawks.
Downingtown East and Rustin will wrestle at 5:30 pm, while the Vikings and Indians will compete right after, approximately 7 pm. West will wrestle at 7 pm.
The first round is single elimination, while winners will advance to the quarterfinals where the tournament becomes double elimination. Here’s what to look for from the Ches-Mont representatives.
No. 3 Downingtown East (15-1) vs. No. 14 Quakertown (9-5)
The Cougars are looking for a return trip to states after becoming the first Ches-Mont team to qualify in the 2012-13 season. The Panthers only have five wrestlers with winning records in their lineup and only seniors Nick Bonomo (182 pounds) and Gavin Caroff (220) are ranked in the district. Freshman Josh Stahl (106) could be a good matchup for East’s freshman Lukas Richie, who has wrestled tough this season. The Cougars have a major advantage from the light to light-middle weights and getting Jude McDowell (160) back from injury is a key stabilizing feature in the middle of the lineup. This should be a good warmup for East, who is looking at potentially No. 6 Pennridge and Council Rock South as its next two, much tougher, opponents.
No. 12 West Chester Rustin (6-2) vs. No. 5 North Penn (12-3)
Of any of the underdogs from the Ches-Mont, Rustin probably has the best shot to pull the upset, but it will be tough sledding. North Penn vaulted up the seeding board thanks to a win over highly-ranked Pennridge two weeks ago. The Knights have a foursome of dangerous wrestlers with returning state qualifiers Sofiane Bensmail (126) and Colin Shannon (152), a regional sixth-place finisher in Mikey O’Brien (145) and stud freshman Ryan Vulakh (132). The Golden Knights have to stay off their backs against them and do have kids at those weights who could give good battles. Rustin’s own state qualifiers Brett Kaliner (120) and Costas Hatzipavlides (182) have to score big to set the tone and make the upset possible.
No. 13 West Chester East (9-4) vs. No. 4 Upper Darby (16-2)
The Vikings are back in the duals for the first time since 2012-13 and face one of the better teams out of Delaware County in recent history. The Royals kind of burst onto the scene last winter when they lost by criteria in the first round to Downingtown East in a 27-27 dual. Upper Darby has three kids ranked in the district — returning regional champ Colin Cronin (138), Brian Kennerly (195) and Peter Augustin (285). Eight other Royals have winning records, as well. Upper Darby is fourth in the district in team pins with 100, while East is fifth with 97. Noah Hankin (126) and Caleb Subach (182) give East its best mismatches, but the Vikings have to manage bonus points to have a shot.
No. 15 Downingtown West (7-0) vs. No. 2 Council Rock South (9-0)
The Whippets have had a strong start this season and may feel slighted by their seed, but regardless, they have the unenviable task of tangoing with a District 1 pillar, C. R. South.There are five Golden Hawks ranked No. 1 in the district in their respectable weights — Ben Radner (120), Zack Trampe (132), Riley Palmer (138), Dylan Schwartz (152) and Joe Doyle (195), and Lucas Martoccio is No. 2 at 145. South is always well-coached, always has a strong emotional backing and will come after opponents. West has done a good job at minimizing damage in losses, but with only a few favorites in the lineup, it will need a few upsets as well. Doug Zapf (106) and Cole Zapf (170) are the Whippets best shots at giving the Whippets life.
No. 16 Unionville (10-4) vs. No. 1 Boyertown (12-0)
For the second straight year the Indians drew the top-seeded Bears, and will hope to improve on last year’s 68-6 drubbing. Boyertown is stocked, top to bottom, and really only has one hole in its lineup at 160. Five Bears, Jakob Campbell (113), Lucas Miller (126), Gregg Harvey (182), Jordan Wood (220) and Tommy Killoran (285), won state medals last winter. Wood is a three-time state finalist and returning state champion, and six other Bears are ranked in the district. It will be a good experience for Unionville to see state-level competition, but it may not be a pleasant one. The feature bout could come at 120, where Unionville’s Jake Taylor, No. 2 in the district, and Boyertown’s David Campbell, No. 4, are paired.
