Ramirez’s pin part of fast start as Souderton earns 1st win over North Penn since 2011

TOWAMENCIN >> Souderton wrestling’s Gisele Ramirez admitted doubt was creeping in after going her first 10 matches without a win against varsity boys competition in her sophomore season.

 But in the third period of her 113-pound contest Wednesday night, Ramirez quieted the uncertainty and ignited the Indians’ bench as she slipped free of the grasp of North Penn’s Josiah Thomas and found herself with a chance at a pin, working to eventually secure a fall at 4:50.

“That just proves that all the hard work that I put in really made it worth it,” Ramirez said. “Even today I was like I don’t know if this is the sport for me, I feel like I’m getting beat on. And then I went out there tonight and I won and I was like that is what I work for, that is why I put all the effort in.”

Ramirez’s win – the second in her career with the Big Red boys varsity and the first that was not a forfeit – put visiting Souderton up 12-0 after two matches of the Suburban One League Colonial Division dual meet. The Indians proceeded to win the next four to build a 31-0 advantage and went to spoil the Knights’ Senior Night by collecting a 49-21 victory.

“She’s been struggling with confidence a little bit through the early part of the year and rightfully so, I think she’s 7-1 or 8-1 in the girls tournaments we’ve gone to but wrestling boys she’s had it tough,” said Souderton coach Chris Atkinson of Ramirez. “She dropped a weight class and she’s been working harder and I think she’s starting to get some of her mojo back, a little bit of confidence and, yeah, she wrestled really good tonight.”

The Indians (7-8, 3-2 division) finished with seven pins as they snapped a 10-dual meet losing streak to the Knights (9-11, 3-2), claiming their first win in the rivalry since 2011.

“Getting the ball rolling then the momentum and then the kids are all getting into it even more and that just everybody wanted to elevate their game,” Atkinson said.” Those first couple matches were key, once we started blowing everything open, the team just responded. And I’m really proud of the team, I said to them at the end, I said ‘See this is what you guys are capable of if everybody does their job and does what they’re supposed to do.’”

“That’s what could have been for this team – Pennridge, CB East were really tough as North Penn. North Penn’s not a slouch of a team, I mean we just got really lucky tonight but had we wrestled Pennridge and CB East like that, could have been different matches. I mean we could of won the league title but that’s how it goes, you got to be ready to go every match.”

William Mayland gave North Penn its first win of the night with a 6-0 decision over Andrew Hallman at 145 while William Morrow’s pin of Dane Soulliard in 1:47 at 152 to cut the Knights’ deficit to 31-9.

“We were not at the top of our game,” North Penn coach Robert Shettsline said. “That was our worst performance in a number of years.”

Ben Beckett stopped the two-match NP run winning via second-period fall at 160. The Knights’ Dylan Verway collected a pin in 11 seconds at 172 but Souderton’s Kole Lester (189) and Joseph Morales (215) followed with back-to-back pins.

“We all just really wanted to punch North Penn in the mouth and we did it,” Morales said. “We came at them full force and hit them hard like a truck. We just wanted to bulldoze our way through them and we did it.”

Lester was down 4-2 against Caleb Moister but in the second period earned a pin at 2:27. Morales won a back-and-forth battle with Amir Rose at 215 with his third-period fall at 5:26.

“I was just thinking that I have to beat this guy and I can’t get pinned because I really need it for the match,” Morales said. “We really want to beat North Penn cause we haven’t beat them in a while so that was just pulling me right through the end.”

Ramirez trailed 8-2 after two periods but after starting the third on the bottom, she got to her feet, popped her head free and worked to capture the fall with 1:10 left in the period.

“He got into a headlock and he was in (a) bad position so I kind of rolled back into him,” Ramirez said. “And I was able to pin him.”

Ramirez began wrestling in seventh grade but in her second practice broke her ankle so her first season came a year later.

“What we do at Indian Crest is we do like a trial wrestling day, they roll out the mats for gym class and everybody goes and they have the coach come in and we roll around,” Ramirez said. “And I did it and I fell in love with it and even then I grew up kind of around wrestling, my dad was a wrestler, so since I was a baby he was rolling around with me doing wrestling moves on me so it’s just kind of like something I was familiar with.

 “And I’ve tried a lot of sports – never liked them – but wrestling just kind of stuck. It was the sport for me.”

As a freshman, Ramirez finished sixth at 122 pounds at the state championships and so far this season is 6-1 against girls competition. Last fall, Souderton became the first District 1 school to sanction a girls program and per pa-wrestling.com in among 34 schools in Pennsylvania to have a girls team.

“I think it just means more fair, equal matches for me,” Ramirez said. “My girls record, I’m 6-1 right now for girls matches for the team and that shows that I’m not a bad wrestler but when it comes to going out against the boys I’m at a disadvantage so having that girls team is really important to get girls the matches that they deserve. They deserve to go out there and have a fair playing field.”

Wednesday’s dual meet started at 106 with Souderton’s Luke Ragusa pinning Daniel Mallitz in 1:55. After Ramirez’s pin made it 12-0 Big Red, Charlie Arobone picked up a 7-2 decision over Jaden Stahl at 120 to extend the visitors’ lead to 15.

At 126, AJ Stayton came up with a takedown and near fall late in the third period to earn a 10-2 major decision over Dylan Reinhard.

Geiger faced a 6-0 deficit in the second period against Michael Cliver at 132 but flipped the match to his favor with a takedown that quickly became a fall at 3:37. Erick Dominguez then pinned Wyatt Miller in 3:51 at 138 to make it 31-0 Souderton.

“I feel like every wrestling team is like a family but our team I feel like we have a really close bond,” Ramirez said. “We all work hard together, we all encourage each other in and outside the practice (room), in and outside of just these matches. We’re rooting for each other, we’re helping each other get places.

“It’s a really nice bond and it’s really nice to know that you have a whole team of people cheering you on.”

Souderton 49, North Penn 21
106: Luke Ragusa (S) pinned Daniel Mallitz (NP) 1:55 (S 6-0).
113: Gisele Ramirez (S) pinned Josiah Thomas (NP) 4:50 (S 12-0).
120: Charlie Arobone (S) dec. Jaden Stahl (NP) 7-2 (S 15-0).
126: AJ Stayton (S) maj. dec. Dylan Reinhard (NP) 10-2 (S 19-0)
132: Tyler Geiger (S) pinned Michael Cliver (NP) 3:37 (S 25-0)
138: Erick Dominguez (S) pinned Wyatt Miller (NP) 3:51. (S 31-0)
145: William Mayland (NP) dec. Andrew Hallman (S) 6-0. (S 31-3)
152: William Morrow (NP) pinned Dane Soulliard (S) 1:47 (S 31-9)
160: Ben Beckett (S) pinned Nick Ray (NP) 4:35. (S 37-9)
172: Dylan Verway (NP) pinned Brayden Crawford (S) 0:11. (S 37-15)
189: Kole Lester (S) pinned Caleb Moister (NP) 2:27. (S 43-15)
215: Justin Morales (S) pinned Amir Rose (NP) 5:26. (S 49-15)
285: Devon Pinkett (NP) win by forfeit (S 49-21).