DEast, Rustin gear up for District Duals quarterfinals
For the past seven years Downingtown East and West Chester Rustin have set the bar for Ches-Mont League wrestling.
From 2010-12 it was Rustin leading the way, coming a win away from qualifying for the PIAA duals three straight years. East has carried the torch ever since, becoming the first Ches-Mont team to reach Hershey as a runner-up in 2013.
This year, for the first time, both teams are in the Class AAA District 1 Duals quarterfinals at the same time. Friday, the No. 3 Cougars will face No. 6 Pennridge tonight at 6 p.m. at Upper Dublin High, while No. 12 Rustin, fresh off an upset of No. 5 North Penn, will take on fourth-seeded Upper Darby. The semifinals and first round of consolations will take place immediately after quarters, with eight teams vying for four spots to the PIAA tournament. The finals and consi semis and finals will be Saturday, starting at 1 p.m.
East (17-1) gets Pennridge with the revenge factor on its side after the Rams (10-1) were eight points better in last year’s consi semis.
Pennridge will be a tough task for East. The Rams have a quartet of stars in Matt Parker (113 pounds), Kordell Rush (126), Josh Stillings (160) and Kyle Gentile (182), as well as tough freshman Evan Widing (132) and savvy veteran, Andrew Reinhold (195). For as many hammers as Pennridge has, it has holes, as well.
For East, it will be all about limiting damage against the Rams’ point-scorers and capitalizing where it finds a mismatch. East has seniors at those key spots, with James Strommer (113) potentially getting Parker, Jude McDowell (160) with Stillings and Brett Czajkowski (182) or Owen Morris (195) likely getting Gentile.
The Cougars will have to keep getting points from freshman Lukas Richie (106), and seniors Wade Cummings (132) and Nik Zimmerman (138), along with winning the toss-ups from 145-up.
With a win, East will likely see No. 2 Council Rock South. The Golden Hawks are a tough matchup for the Cougars, though Cummings could get his fourth battle with state runner-up, Zack Trampe. Cummings won the first two, but Trampe won their bout earlier this season.
A loss to Pennridge would force East to have to beat Owen J. Roberts, most likely, and the Wildcats have recently gotten healthy and would be another tough mountain to climb.
If East gets to the semis and falls to South, it would likely face either Upper Darby, Spring-Ford or Rustin, with a trip to states on the line.
The Golden Knights will toil with Upper Darby, who beat West Chester East, 40-21, in the first round. Rustin defeated the Vikings, 38-22, earlier in the season but those comparisons don’t always line up.
The Royals are led by returning regional champ, Colin Cronin (138), Brian Kennerly (195) and Peter Augustin (285). Jacob Mejias is also a pin threat at 113. Upper Darby is fourth in District 1 with pins, while Rustin is not far behind in seventh.
There aren’t too many spots where the top kids from each team match up, so there could be a lot of back and forth with the wins. Bonus points, as always, will play a huge factor. The one weight where things look pretty close is 132 where Rustin’s Jon Reardon and Upper Darby’s Sam DePhillipo are. Rustin’s Costas Hatzipavlides could also see Kennerly, though Hatzipavlides would have to bump up from 182 to do so.
A win over Upper Darby would send Rustin to a likely matchup with top-seeded Boyertown. It seems like it’s pretty much a two-horse race between Boyertown and Council Rock South this year, so that semifinal might not end well for Rustin.
If Rustin were to lose in the quarters, it would get the loser of Boyertown and Spring-Ford. So, Spring-Ford, most likely.
The Rams have been a thorn in the sides of both Rustin and Downingtown East. Spring-Ford eliminated Rustin in 2011 and 2011 in the consi semis and knocked off the Cougars the past two seasons.
Spring-Ford isn’t as deep as it’s been in past years, but it has some stars in Steve Rice (170) and Brandon Meredith (106). The Rams are always game for a battle, so if Rustin were to face them, they’d have to wrestle disciplined and opportunistic.
To recap, if East beats Pennridge but loses to Council Rock South, and Rustin loses to Upper Darby but beats Spring-Ford, the Cougars and Golden Knights would square off for a berth in the state tournament. If both Rustin and East win in quarters they could either meet in the championship finals or the consolation finals.
