Malvern wins third straight ETR title with champ, O’Neill; OJR’s Bechtold wins belt

HOLLAND >> It’ll be some time before Malvern Prep sneaks up on anyone in the wrestling realm. But at the Escape the Rock tournament, Sunday, a few Friars made impressions.

Eight Friars earned top-eight medals and five of them out-placed their initial seeding. Malvern won its third straight team title at this tournament, that perennially draws top talent from multiple states.

Malvern’s Nik O’Neill (127 pounds) and Owen J. Roberts’ Dillon Bechtold (215) were the only champs from Chester County, but a pair of locals made surprising runs to the finals.

The first was freshman, Lukas Littleton Mascaro (114), who made his tournament debut with the Malvern starters.

“I was at 120 (pounds) and they needed me to cut down,” Littleton Mascaro said. “I realized I was too small at 120, so 114 is a better weight for me and I made the best of it.”

The Berwyn-area native had been backing up multiple-time prep All-American, Tommy Link, but got his chance on a big stage with nationally-ranked starter, Anthony Mutarelli, out with an injury.

Littleton Mascaro started the tournament as the No. 6 seed and began day two of the tournament in the semis, against No. 2 Leo DeLuca of Blair Academy. Littleton Mascaro used two stall points in the third period to knock off DeLuca, who was ranked No. 6 in the country at 120 by MatScouts. 

In the finals, Littleton Mascaro dropped a 3-1 decision to Bethlehem Catholic’s returning state champion, Nate Desmond.

“I did pretty good, making the finals,” Littleton Mascaro said. “I didn’t expect that in my first varsity tournament. After I beat (DeLuca), my confidence was really high. I wanted the win and obviously didn’t get the result I wanted, but I’m definitely happy with it all.”

Malvern’s Nate Rickards was seeded 10th, but after beating the seventh, second and sixth seeds, to get to the finals, the Bucktown-area resident’s heater ended.

Against Matt Henrich of Southern Regional (NJ), Rickards scored a takedown with 12 seconds left in regulation to force overtime. In the sudden victory period, Henrich scored two for a 5-3 win.

“I’ve been wrestling a lot better and finishing shots,” Rickards said. “I’ve been close in every tournament, I just haven’t been coming out on top.”

O’Neill went from the fifth seed to champ, Duncan Christensen took third at 172 after being seeded seventh, and Nick Wehmeyer (189) won the consolation bracket as a No. 10 seed.

“It’s time for everyone to step up,” Rickards said. “We don’t have the No. 1 kid in the nation (Nick Feldman) anymore, so everyone has to step up and place high.”

In the semis, O’Neill made his move, locking up Dillon Campbell of Legacy Christian Academy (OH) in a cradle. Campbell is ranked No. 3 in the country by MatScouts, while O’Neill is No. 19.

“Getting that cradle locked up gave me a ton of confidence and kind of drove me to win in the finals.”

There, O’Neill went to overtime with Blair’s Matty Lopes, but won a scramble and scored a four-point move to earn his first championship belt.

“Taking fourth last year and coming back to the same weight class, that win felt really good,” O’Neill said. 

Malvern’s Jack Consiglio started as the No. 2 seed and found Central Mountain’s Dalton Perry, a Penn State recruit, in the finals. Perry managed a four-point move out of a scramble in the third to win, 5-3.

“I felt good and felt a lot more confident with my shots,” Consiglio said. “The final didn’t go my way, but that’s life and I just have to move on and deal with it.”

Tommy Link (121) and Reed Fullmer (160) took fifth for Malvern, in their finales at ETR.

Owen J’s Bechtold used the tournament as a gauge for a potential weight change. Wrestling at 189 most of the year, Bechtold bumped up to 215 and gave up only two takedowns in five matches.

“It definitely gives me something to think about,” Bechtold said. “I’ll have a conversation with my coaches, but I came here to see how it felt to wrestle with the big boys and it was a good turn out for me.”

In the finals, Becthold defeated Anthony Moscatello of Mt. Olive (NJ), 7-1, converting a scramble for a takedown in the second, and claiming OJR’s first title at the tournament.

“It means a lot,” Bechtold said. “Last year I went 1-2. I didn’t even make it to day two. I put a lot of work in, and have been wrestling at Chance Marsteller’s club and it’s paying off.”

Team Standings (top 10)

1. Malvern Prep, 206.5; 2. Blair Academy, 181; 3. St. Joseph Regional, 147; 4. Faith Christian Academy, 127; 5. Bethlehem Catholic, 122; 6. St. Peter’s Prep, 115; 7. Notre Dame Green Pond, 113.5; 8. Christian Brothers Academy, 105.5; 9. Southern Regional, 83.5; 19. Central Mountain, 83

Championship Finals

107- Smith (Notre Dame) dec. T. DeKraker (Blair), 3-2 UTB

114- Desmond (BECA) dec. Littleton Mascaro (Malvern), 3-1

121- Knox (St. John Vianney) dec. Botero (Faith Christian), 9-2

127- O’Neill (Malvern) dec. Lopes (Blair), 6-2 SV

133- Perry (Central Mountain) dec. Consiglio (Malvern), 5-3

139- Rath (BECA) dec. Manville (State College), 3-1

145- Gaj (Quakertown) dec. George (Christian Brothers), 6-2

152- Henrich (Southern Regional) dec. Rickards (Malvern), 5-3 SV

160- Queen (St. John Vianney) Sadriddinov (Council Rock South), 5-3

172- Waters (Faith Christian) dec. Garcia (Notre Dame), 5-2

189- Griffith (Sanford) dec. Dellagatta (South Jersey Regional), 5-2

215- Bechtold (Owen J. Roberts) dec. Moscatello (Mt. Olive), 7-1

285- Neves (Blair) dec. Mullen (South Jersey Regional), 10-7