Methacton posts 8 pins, rallies past Wissahickon

WORCESTER — It was about efficiency for Matty Shumaker Wednesday night

“Get on the mat, get off the mat, don’t mess around, don’t get injured,” the Methacton wrestling junior said. “Go get the job done.”

He did just that, needing only 36 seconds to pin Wissahickon’s Michael Choi in their match at 160 pounds.

“I got out there aggressively, found it, threw him over,” Shumaker said. “Knew it was pretty much done from there.”

Shumaker’s fall gave the host Warriors a lead they never relinquished in the pin-heavy non-league dual meet.

Twelve of the 13 matches ended by fall including the first 11 – Wissahickon winning the first four to build a 24-0 advantage before Methacton answered with pins in the next seven as the Warriors went on to claim a 51-24 victory.

“Going down 24-0, it’s not easy to come back from,” said Shumaker, a two-time South East Regional qualifier. “And it was (Ryan) Hayes who started that, the pin train. I think once one guy gets a pin, it sets a tone and tells the next guy, ‘Hey, we need three more of these now to tie it up.’ And I’m not going to be the one to hold it to three, I want to go take the lead with a pin.”

Shumaker broke a 24-all tie with his fall at 160 while Gavin Rose put the Warriors up 36-24 with a fall in 54 seconds at 172.

Collin O’Neill clinched the win for Methacton at 189 as he earned a pin in the second period at 2:33.

“We got out of the game quick, those guys performed really well,” Wissahickon coach Anthony Stagliano said. “And I knew we were going to lose some of those matches but if you look at some of the matches, they really were like pinned or be pinned, I think a couple of those matches could’ve gone either way.”

Wednesday’s lone match that did finish via fall came at 215 between the Warriors’ Dylan Pachik and Wiss’ Tyler Prince. The juniors – who split a pair of matches last season, each winning by decision – were even 1-1 after six minutes before Pachik got a point in the first tiebreak period then rode out Prince in the second for a 2-1 decision.

“They wrestled last year so I knew that one, it was going to be good,” Shumaker said. “I know Tyler, he’s been on some of my club teams, he’s been on some of my teams for offseason and everything so he’s really good, Dylan’s been working hard so I knew that was going to be a barnburner.”

As a freshman in 2021-22, Shumaker took third at 152 at the District 1-3A North Tournament before dropping his first two matches at regionals to end the year 25-8.

Last season at 152, he took fourth at districts then opened regionals with a 9-0 major decision over Ridley’s Rocco Hartfuss to reach the quarterfinals, where he was pinned by Owen J. Roberts’ Sam Gautreau, who went on to place fourth at the PIAA Championships.

In consolations, Shumaker bounced back with a 11-1 major decision over Strath Haven’s Michael Spielman but was then pinned by Pottsgrove’s Trenton Allen – his junior season finishing at 36-8.

“Mainly, mindset’s been a big thing,” Shumaker said. “My freshman year, I went in and I had a Maryland commit (Central Bucks East’s Mason Stein) in the first round and then I had a tough guy (Kennett’s Josh Kochersperger) in the second round so I kind of doubted myself a little bit.

“Last year, I went in there and kind of just let it rip and was able to win two matches. So goal this year, get up on that regional podium and then hopefully onto the state podium.”

Shumaker began this season taking first place in 160 at the Pottstown Invitational – pinning Upper Merion’s Jowell Jones in the final in 3:28 – with Wednesday’s victory improving him to 5-0.

Methacton competes in West Chester East’s Colley Classic Saturday then finishes December at Conestoga Valley’s Neil Turner Memorial Holiday Classic Dec. 29-30.

“We’re looking good,” Shumaker said. “We’re pretty young, we were pretty young last year. I think we’re actually a lot younger this year so we have a good group developing, coming up.”

Wissahickon hosts Springfield-Montco Wednesday.

“We’re pretty young,” Stagliano said. “This group is one of the most energetic, enthusiastic, hard-working groups I’ve ever had. It’s going to take some time to develop and the younger guys, I’m not saying we’re a great team by any means but they’re really working hard, they’re working together, lot of enthusiasm in the room and energy.

“So maybe as time goes on we get a little better, and younger guys get a little more experience and maybe we’ll be OK.”

Trojans freshman Rafael Oguiwara opened the dual meet with a pin in 27 seconds at 107 while Walter Vandegrift at 114 doubled the lead when he got a fall in 1:13.

Second period pins by David Lotman at 121 and Mason Carr at 127 put the Trojans up 24-0 before Ryan Hayes gave Methacton its first win with his pin in 1:08 at 1:33.

Victories by fall from Jack Hayes at 139 and Joey Simko at 145 pulled the Warriors to within 24-18 before Robert Goliash tied the dual meet with his pin in 3:19 at 152.