Council Rock North’s Shalinsky defends South East region title in OT (VIDEO)
SOUDERTON – The Class AAA Southeast Regional Wrestling Tournament is a wrestler’s paradise featuring the most talented matmen. To make it to the winner’s stand takes focus, skill, and a little bit of luck with many an outcome decided in the final seconds.
No one knows this scenario better than Council Rock North’s Josh Shalinsky. Winning a regional championship is great. Winning two in a row is just short of unreal. This past weekend, Josh managed to pull off a repeat when he took the 170-pound championship at Souderton High School.
Experience granted the Indian senior ample grounds for a solid strategy. “I just take one match at a time. My coach (Tom Vivacqua) always tells me that these matches are all won in the last few minutes of the match. It will be close and it depends on who gets the last points.”
The coach’s wisdom certainly bore truth in Josh’s opening match against Penncrest’s Liam Frank. Josh knew he was in for a battle. “I knew my first match was going to be tough because the kid was ranked second in the region but he ended up taking third last week (at districts) and that put him on my side of the bracket.”
Seeding aside, Frank presented Josh with a further challenge. “I knew the kid would be tough because of his body style. I always have a problem with that type of body. He was short stocky and hard to move. He was good on his feet and a solid wrestler all-around. I figured it was going to be one of my toughest matches of the tournament.”
The match got down to the final seconds, tied 4-4. Josh was ready, taking his man to the mat for two points and a 6-4 win. The thrilling win set up a semifinal bout with Boyertown’s Elijah Jones.
Here, the confidence gained from previous battles came to Josh’s aid. “The second guy was more my body type. He’s a little bit lankier. He was tough but he was only a sophomore so I went out like I’m going to be the bigger man here. I knew it would be tough because he had beaten Liam Frank in the districts. Boyertown’s whole team are studs.”
The match proved a seesaw battle with Josh ultimately prevailing by a 6-3 margin. “I scored first and then he got a reversal. Toward the end of the match, he took a shot and I got a three-quarter nelson on him. I took him to the mat and he literally stopped wrestling.”
Josh did not have long to savor the victory. He was no stranger to his opponent, Spring-Ford’s Steve Rice, in the championship bout. “I had wrestled him and lost last year when I was called for stalling. I wrestled him this year in the Rock Yard Duals but I didn’t go the whole match because I got a concussion in the first period.”
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE PHOTO GALLERY AT http://media.buckslocalnews.COM
Josh quickly sized up his old nemesis. “He definitely looked to be the strongest of my opponents. He was good on his feet and got to my legs a few times.”
Not surprisingly, Josh found himself in yet another nail-biter. “It was 0-0 in the first period. In the second period, I got out on bottom. I was riding him and I picked him up in the air. I did that three times and he finally broke my grip and hit a reversal.”
Josh was certainly prepped for a last-second tussle. “I had 40 seconds until the period was over and I got one point that sent the match into overtime. He kept pressing and was shooting on me. I just stuffed his head and got the miracle for two.”
The 4-2 overtime decision earned Josh his second straight regional title. “I just believed in myself through the whole match. It was one of those matches with close calls in the beginning. I was really excited to be a two-time champ.”
Perhaps most important, the victory should earn Shalinsky good seeding in the upcoming state tournament. He is already mapping out his battle plan. “I just have to take it one match at a time. I can’t start thinking if I beat this kid, than I’ll have this opponent. I have to think about the match that is about to happen. Everybody is 0-0 to me. Anything can happen at states.”
Helping him with his prep will be Luke Ely, who finished fifth at regionals. “My practice partner Luke Ely has been my partner for two years. He’s still going to come to states, get me warmed up before my matches, and root for me and Aidan Burke (Rock’s 113-pound third place regional finisher).”
Other local wrestlers joining Shalinsky and Burke in their trek to Hershey are CR South’s four regional champs, Zack Trampe (132), Riley Palmer (138), Dylan Schwartz (152) and Joe Doyle (185). Also earning the right to walk down the Keystone yellow brick road are Harry S Truman’s Gunnar Fuss (120) and Dustin Stone (145), Neshaminy’s Bruce Graeber (285), and CR South’s Cary Palmer (126) and Luke Martoccio (145).
All 11 elite grapplers know the intensity they experienced at regionals will only increase in Chocolatetown and all 11 are ready for the challenge!
