ChesCo dives into revamped postseason
It’s taken an extra week for the District 1 wrestling postseason to begin, due to the eliminations of leagues as a qualifier, which means the intensity will be ramped up right out of the gates.
The format this year is a change from the past, where the Class 3A teams condense three tournaments prior to the PIAA tournament into two. Now, there will be four sectional tournaments that feed the top four finishers into 16-man brackets at the Southeast Regional tournament next weekend.
The Ches-Mont League, minus Great Valley, will battle in the West sectional at West Chester Rustin and will be joined by Chichester, Garnet Valley, Glen Mills and Penncrest.
Conestoga, Great Valley, as well as Souderton from the Suburban One League, will join the 11 3A Pioneer Athletic Conference teams in the north sectional, at Pottstown High.
With the bigger brackets, and full wrestlebacks, sections are a two-day affair, with action beginning at 530 p.m. on Friday, and 930 a.m. on Saturday, at all four locations.
Friday’s session will include the first round and the quarterfinals.
Church Farm will host the District 1/12-2A tournament on Saturday, starting at 9 a.m.
If the dual season proved anything, the Ches-Mont lacked strength team-wise in the district, but with four returning state medalists and seven other returning state qualifiers, there is a chance at redemption in the individual postseason.
Here is a breakdown of the West brackets:
106
This bracket is coincidentally split with the big 106-pounders up top and the lighter ones down low. This was a welcomed sight for No. 2 seed, Dom Findora of Downingtown West, and No. 3 Cannon Hershey of Oxford. Hershey threw Findora and pinned him back at the Ches-Mont Championships in December, despite an early lead by the freshman Whippet, so revenge will be on the mind if they meet in the semifinals. That talented, yet smaller, duo avoid top-seeded Keanu Manuel of Downingtown East, West Chester Henderson’s Billy Wilson and Garnet’s Matt Ricci. Manuel is the heavy favorite, but there is some good young talent — seven of the 11 wrestlers are freshmen — that should make for some fun matchups.
113
Despite two head-to-head wins against Coatesville’s Nate Lucier this season, Henderson’s Sammy McMonagle was seeded below him at No. 2. McMonagle, who has won 28 bouts in a row, still looks like the pick, but will have bit of a tougher road to the finals with Rustin’s Jimmy King likely waiting for him in semis. There is not a ton of experience in the bracket, and a big quarterfinal bout between Oxford freshman Ben Smith and Garnet freshman Chris Wood could determine the fourth qualifier. The winner there should see Lucier, who’s expected to reach the finals from the top.
120
State runner-up Killian Delaney of Henderson is the top seed and assumed champ, but the race for 2-4 should be very entertaining. Delaney will likely see Garnet’s Griffin Hollingsworth in the semis if West Chester East’s Andrew Luke doesn’t upset the Jaguar. On the bottom half, four — Kennett’s Trent Kochersperger, Penncrest’s Nico Partsanakis, Chichester’s Chase Whartnaby and Oxford’s Kevin Quin — of the seven wrestlers have at least 24 wins. Kochersperger and Partsanakis should square off in quarters and the loser will have a tougher consolation semifinal bout. Quin may be waiting in the semis, and after a win over Kochersperger at Ches-Monts, the Kennett sophomore has taken the last two.
126
Here is another weight where a couple deserving wrestlers will be at home for regionals. West Chester East senior, Corey Celenza, is the lone wrestler at the weight who’s been to states. He’s the top seed and the favorite and will probably get either Cooper Johnson of Oxford or Garnet’s Kevin Puliti in semis. Johnson appears to be favored as a returning regional qualifer, but Puliti has had his moments this season. On the bottom half, Unionville’s Dom Chaclas is sitting on 99 career wins and will be tested by some eager underclassmen. Rustin’s Josh Viarengo majored Henderson’s Palmer Delaney last week and the two could meet in quarters. Regardless of who makes the finals, the consi semis will be very competitive.
132
Top-seeded Lukas Richie of Downingtown East is the only senior here, as well as the Ches-Mont’s active wins leader with 138. It’d be a major upset if Richie didn’t coast to a title at this weight, though Oxford’s Landon Meredith gave him a go in December. Meredith and Richie could meet in semis. There are no big names on the bottom half, though Penncrest’s freshman, Christian Reed, could be one to get to know as the No. 2 seed. He and Henderson’s Justin Tran are the only wrestlers with winning records on the bottom half, and the two should meet in semis. If Reed wins that matchup, there is a chance Tran could see Rustin’s Charlie Baldesari in the consi semis in a rematch of last week’s dramatic dual meet finale.
138
There are a handful of brackets throughout the district where the seeding seemingly put the top two kids on the same side of the bracket. This could be one of them, as Oxford’s Brandon Sheffield and Garnet’s Gavin Hollingsworth are on the bottom half. They should meet in the semis with a combined record of 57-10. That’s not to say anyone on the top half is not deserving of a finals spot, as Downingtown East’s Jett Lucas-Murphy is a returning regional qualifier, and top-seeded Jacob Lehman is a seasoned senior. Henderson’s Connor McMonagle and West Chester East’s Jamison Eadie also have potential to make some noise up top.
145
The penciled-in finals matchup of Avon Grove’s Nick Barnhart and Penncrest’s Brendon Stocku could be the top inter-league final of the tournament. Barnhart is a returning state qualifier but is still looking for his first postseason title after four runner-ups. Stocku was 34-1 and a district champ last year before an injury forced him to miss regionals, so the senior is motivated to make up for lost time. He’s 25-5 this year and his biggest competition on his way to finals appears to be Henderson’s Bobby English. A pair of sophomores with winning records, Garnet’s Desmon Perry and Unionville’s Sam Elsen, look to take the next step on Barnhart’s side.
152
Welcome to the great unknown part of the program. Henderson’s Luke Phayre is the top seed (as of 2/20), but the returning state qualifier hasn’t wrestled since Jan. 24, and there is question on how healthy he is at this point. That leaves the weight wide open with a bunch of wrestlers who have no resumes yet. Rustin’s Alex Pratzner noticed and bumped up from 145, and he’s one of five wrestlers, out of 14, with a winning record. Expect Delco to make a push here, with Chichester’s Tymier Bush and Penncrest’s Shane Stevens on Pratzner’s side. West Chester East’s Dan Clifford is a 20-match winner and he has a good draw to the semis where Phayre may or may not be waiting.
160
Like Phayre, Rustin’s Collin Hurley’s health could sway the bracket, one way or the other. The senior has only wrestled 15 bouts this season and won’t be 100 percent. The bracket has been adjusted a couple of times and Hurley is now the third seed with a winnable route to the finals. Central League champ, Austin Filippone of Garnet, will likely be his quarters opponent, and Glen Mills sophomore Xzavier Morgan is the two seed on his side. Chichester’s Marquell Hudnell is the top seed and is 30-1. He will be a challenge to beat by anyone, and he will likely see either Spencer Uggla of Downingtown East or Henderson’s Koh Bauman in semis. Uggla beat Bauman earlier in the year, but Uggla was up a weight.
170
With uncertainty the theme at the previous two weights, the strength here is known, with returning sixth-place state medalist, Max Hale of Downingtown West, returning state qualifier, Andrew DiBernardo of West Chester East, and 27-bout winner, Will Johnson of Oxford, as the top three seeds. Hale should cruise to the finals after liking facing either Garnet’s Dillon Conlon or Chichester’s Nick Baney in the semis. DiBernardo and Johnson seemed destined for a date in the semis in what would be their first time facing each other. Rustin’s Chris Hatzipavlides has experience as a senior and a cradle that could be a game-changer.
182
After flirting with a drop to 170, Unionville’s returning eighth-place state medalist, Tyler Mousaw, is the top seed. Downingtown West’s Chase Mielnik, who took sixth in the region as a sophomore, is opposite as the second-seed. Mousaw has pinned in 51 of 92 of his career wins, while Mielnik has decked 48 of his 79 victims. Mielnik has been pinned 14 times in three years, to Mousaw’s two, so the challenge will be staying off their backs, in what could be an explosive final. Avon Grove’s Chris Buonocore is on Mielnik’s side, and if he can reach semis, he has a good shot to advance. A quarter between Henderson’s Mason Baldwin and Penncrest’s Anthony Chero could go a long way in determining the fourth qualifier.
195
Downingtown West’s Joe Shafer needs two wins to reach 100 for his career, and he shouldn’t have too much trouble getting them at this weight. There is little experience on his side of the bracket, with Garnet freshman, Sam DiTrolio, the winningest wrestler with 20 victories. Below, Rustin’s Zack Jones earned the No. 2 seed with 22 wins and he will look to reverse a 2-1 loss in January to Chichester’s Chris Mattero, in the semis. West Chester East’s Syncere Cooper hasn’t wrestled in a month, but he could give Jones trouble in the quarters.
220
Much to the chagrin of the other dozen wrestlers in the bracket, Sun Valley’s Hunter Catka is back and healthy. A state champion as a sophomore, Catka has only wrestled five bouts this year, but is arguably the most dominant kid in District 1. Rustin’s Owen Walsh hopes to see him in quarters, and Henderson’s Gavin Range will likely have to get past Glen Mills’ Terrance Averett to see Catka in the semis. The lower half should be more competitive with Chichester’s 30-win junior, Matt Richardson, and Garnet’s Joe Morrone expected to meet in one quarter, and Downingtown East’s Zach Aceto and West’s Pat Cusack in the other.
285
It’s not a stretch to call Garnet sophomore Coltin Deery the Central League’s most dominant wrestler this season. The big man has pinned in 24 of his 33 wins and is the top seed in a very deep weight. Eleven of the 14 heavyweights have winning records. On Deery’s side are Coatesville’s Ayden Geter (19-5), Downingtown East’s Zach Sharaf (21-10), Rustin’s Gabe Walsh (16-10) and West’s Matt Micale (17-16). On the other half, a semi between Oxford’s Sam Blevins (24-4) and West Chester East’s Hugh Lemmon-Kishi (30-6) would be a battle. Unionville’s Eli Lyons (19-9) and Kennett’s Collin Watson (12-9) meet in the first round to get to Lemmon-Kishi, and Chichester’s Faizan Raza (15-8) is not someone to be taken lightly.
North sectional
Great Valley’s Ethan Seeley (195 pounds) is the only undefeated wrestler in the tournament at 29-0. That unblemished record will be put to the fire with Souderton’s returning state qualifier, Bruno Stolfi, a potential semifinal opponent and the district’s top-ranked wrestler, according to pa-wrestling.com, Jacob Miller of Boyertown an expected finalist on the opposite side.
Conestoga’s Paul Pelham is the top seed at 220, but he will be challenged as well, with Methacton’s returning state qualifier Tonee Elliss and Pottsgrove’s Avery Shivak (26-1) on the other half.
Other top-four seeds for Conestoga’s are Mitch Baker (No. 3 at 120), Liam Walker (No. 4 at 126), Morgan Lofland (No. 2 at 132) and Matt Hamilton (No. 2 at 182). For Great Valley, Casey Capetola (No. 2 at 126), Andrew DiSanto (No. 3 at 170), Tyler Humphreys (No. 4 at 182) and Tim Dyer (No. 3 at 285).
District 1/12-2A
Church Farm’s Sebastian Corrales is going for a school record fourth district title. After wrestling at 152 all season, he bumped up to 160, with the No. 1 kid in the state, Ryan Vulakh of Pope John Paul II, at 152. Corrales is the top seed.
Noel Gilgeous dropped to 182 and is the top seed there, avoiding a pretty tough 195 bracket. Emmanuel Lawal is the top seed at 285, at 24-2.
Edwin Kent is No. 2 at 145 and the top-three finishers qualify for the regional tournament.
