PAC-10 wrestlers embracing chance to leave mark on the postseason
Two post-season tournaments down, two bigger ones to go.
New York Yankees legend Yogi Berra once described baseball as being “90 percent mental, and the other half is physical.”
Steve Rice may not have done the math on the physical/mental balance in sports the way Yogi famously did … or maybe he has. At any rate, Spring-Ford’s senior 170-pounder is embracing the idea there’s more to the sport than just flexing one’s muscles.
“I’m looking at a new approach mentally and physically,” Rice said after accepting the first-place medal for his weight class at the District 1-AAA West tournament this past weekend. “Eating healthier, being physical during warmups, mentally listening to music and looking at how I prepare for matches.”
Rice (33-3) was solid in a final showing in his Spring-Ford gym. He posted a 16-4 major decision of Haverford’s Alex Mong, advanced to the championship round off Pottstown’s Isaiah Mayes defaulting due to injury. In a medal-round rematch with Boyertown’s Elijah Jones — they faced off for the Pioneer Athletic Conference’s 170 gold medal one week earlier, with Rice scoring a 9-1 major — he maintained his dominance over the Bear sophomore with a 10-0 major decision.
That win for Rice was an upgrade from his 2015 district experience, when he finished second to Radnor’s Tom Meyers. It earned him the second seed for the upcoming Southeast AAA Regional tournament, where he will start against the winner of a preliminary-round bout between Avon Grove’s Joseph Moran and Pennridge’s Stephen Blanchard.
“My whole mental state is to not be satisfied,” Rice said. “I wanted to break (Jones) down, make him not want to wrestle in the third period.”
Getting back to the PIAA Championships one last time in his scholastic career is on Rice’s to-do list for the coming weeks … and to further upgrade his postseason trek. He placed fourth in the regional last year, then went two-and-out at Hershey to finish his junior season with a 34-15 record.
“That’s been my goal after not wrestling in the postseason my sophomore year,” Rice said. “That’s my ultimate goal, After losing my second match by a close (9-7) score, I want to get back to Hershey.”
ON THE REBOUND
To say Garrett Mauger is enjoying his final go-round in the post-season would be an understatement.
The previous high-water marks of Mauger’s scholastic career were a PAC title his sophomore season, and a regional-qualifying third at District 1-AAA West that year. The Boyertown senior bookended thirds at PACs the other years, with his 2014-15 post-season curtailed between the league and district tourneys.
So Mauger was loving the 132-pound gold medal he scored at Spring-Ford this past weekend. The medal, the posterboard bracket chart with his name inscribed in the champion’s spot, the top step of the medal podium … the smile Mauger sported during the photo-taking portion of the awards ceremony was testament to the joy of his achievement.
“It was actually a long time coming,” Mauger said afterward. “I was in a stacked weight class (120) as a sophomore.”
Mauger faced a rematch in the district final with Owen J. Roberts’ Ryan Resnick, who scored PAC gold over him via a 4-2 decision. But he took charge in the second period, countering Resnick’s early 2-0 lead with a six-point flurry consisting of an escape, takedown and three back points en route to a 7-4 win.
His rematch victory was one of four scored by Boyertown wrestlers in the championship round. Matt Wilde (106) and Lucas Miller (126) preceded Mauger, and Hunter Vogels (152) followed in helping swell the Bears’ list of district champs to eight.
“That lit a fire under us last week,” Mauger noted. “We figured out what we needed to do, and we did it.”
WISE MOVES
He hadn’t been able to reach the top step of any postseason medal stands the past three years, doing no better than seconds and thirds his sophomore and junior years.
But Bryant Wise brought that to an end the past two weeks. The Pottstown senior started the roll with a 145-pound championship at the PAC tournament, and it continued with a gold medal from the District 1-AAA West competition Saturday.
So he continues his last go-round in the scholastic postseason with hopes of improving on two previous thirds at the Southeast AAA Regional, and a combined 1-4 during his two trips to Hershey for the PIAA tournament. And a 3-0 win over Upper Perkiomen’s Jacob Folk in the district’s title bout has bolstered Wise’s optimism.
“That’s a big confidence booster,” he said. “All the competition is tough at this level.”
Wise came to districts off a 3-2 win over Methacton’s Bryce Reddington in their PAC final. He had faced Folk in the semifinal round, coming away with a 3-0 decision of Folk.
“My focus was on getting the first takedown,” Wise said of his match strategy. “I didn’t want to give up points early, and wanted to control the match.”
Wise (26-3) heads the four-man Trojan contingent moving on to the regional. Logan Pennypacker had a third-place finish at 138, and Saddiq Ibn-Mustafah and Isaiah Mayes were fourth at 160 and 170, respectively.
Mason Pennypacker also reached the medal round, finishing sixth at 152.
SEEDS OF EXCELLENCE
They dominated the District 1-AAA West tournament, accounting for 11 of 14 weight-class champions and 37 of 56 medalists qualifying for the next round of the postseason.
Now, the PAC-10 teams that so dominated the Central League last weekend will take that success to Souderton for the Southeast AAA Regional. Led by three-time district kingpin Boyertown, the best of the West will face off against the best of the East and Central tournaments, hoping at the least to equal a showing in the 2014-15 tourney that saw the Bears. Spring-Ford and Owen J. Roberts finish among the Top Four, second-place Pennridge the lone non-PAC outfit in that mix.
Leading that charge will be eight wrestlers accorded either the top or second seed in the selections posted Sunday.
Boyertown’s Jakob Campbell (113) and Jordan Wood (220) are atop their respective brackets. Teammates Hunter Vogels (152), Gregg Harvey (182) and Tommy Killoran (285) are listed in the second spot.
Rounding out the PAC’s elite are Spring-Ford’s Hunter Mitch (120) and Steve Rice (170), and Pottstown’s Bryant Wise (145).
FOR THE RECORD(S)
They came to Royersford with perfect records this weekend, and left Saturday night with those unblemished marks still intact.
When they arrive at Souderton High for the Southeast AAA Regional tournament this coming weekend, Colin Cronin and Dan Iredale will again have the distinction of being the only contestants in the 168-man field who are unbeaten this winter.
Cronin, a junior 138-pounder for Upper Darby, is 37-0 while Iredale, a senior wrestling at 160 for Conestoga, is 34-0. They both marked their district experience by winning the 100th matches of their scholastic careers: Cronin in the 138 finals, Iredale with a 5-3 decision of Methacton’s Brendan Marion in the 160 semifinal round.
Following them are six regional qualifiers with just one loss out of 30 or more bouts: Boyertown’s Jordan Wood at 220 and Council Rock South’s Zach Trampe at 132 (both 42-1). Coatesville’s Chase Stephens at 152 and Oxford’s David Cox at 160 (both 34-1), Neshaminy’s Bruce Graeber at 285 (32-1), and Upper Dublin’s Colin Devlin at 138 and Harry S Truman’s Gunnar Fuss at 120 (both 30-1). Cronin/Devlin and Iredale/Cox could meet as early as the semifinal round of their respective weights.
WORTH WATCHING
Another intriguing matchup at the Southeast regional could be at 285 pounds, if Boyertown’s Tommy Killoran and Neshaminy’s Bruce Graeber meet.
They faced off in the 2015 championship finals at regional, Killoran edging Graeber 4-3. They wrestled again at the PIAA Class AAA Championships, their fifth-place bout going to Graeber, 8-2. This year, Killoran (36-7) comes to Souderton on the heels of championship runs in the league and district tournaments while Graeber struck gold at the Suburban One North and District 1-AAA East outings.
