LANGHORNE — To pin or to be pinned — that is the question.
In a dual meet where 11 of the 14 bouts were decided by fall, Neshaminy wrestlers pinned visiting Truman to the mat seven times to post a resounding 51-29 triumph over the Tigers who pinned in four of their five wins.
“They picked up some really good momentum early on,’ said Truman head coach Jesse Dunn. “Our guys couldn’t stay off their backs.’
On Senior Night in Langhorne, the Skins got out to a resounding 27-0 edge in this one, thanks to wins by fall by senior Dominic Stabilito (152 pounds), junior Ben Stern (170) and Noah Kisselback and a decision win by sophomore Jon Albarran (160).
“Getting out to a big lead when we start off with the upper weights is always the plan,’ said Neshaminy heavyweight Bruce Graeber.
“Our upper weights are always the better part of our team.’
While the Skins suffered a brief setback when sophomore Kyle Osterhaudt found himself on the wrong side of the mat, Neshaminy came right back with pins by Graeber and freshman Mike Megahan. A wrestler with 70 career wins, Graeber won his eighth straight bout via the fall when he pinned Tigers heavyweight Isaiah Godbold in 3:28.
Graeber and his mat-mates got some incentive to win even before the bout began in a message delivered by Neshaminy assistant coach Frank Bing, a graduate of Truman.
“He said if we lose to Truman today, ‘ do not bring your wrestling shoes for the rest of the season. You will be running for the rest of the season.’
“I’ll speak for the rest of the team — running is not our forte. We do not like to run.’
The defending District 1 heavyweight champion, Graeber is 22-1 on the season. He notched several takedowns and near-falls in his bout with Godbold before pinning the Truman wrestler in the second period.
“Last year, I worked on pinning with speed,’ said Graeber. “I really need to work on technique this year so my goal is to take matches slower and score more points.’
After Graeber’s pin, Megahan, a freshman with just a dozen wins, put Truman sophomore Ernie Registre on his back with 33 seconds to go in regulation.
At that point, the Tigers’ fate — while still not mathematically excluded from victory in the match — was sealed.
Truman junior Dennis Burns stopped some of the bleeding for the Tigers when he tech-falled Neshaminy freshman Austin Saba, 18-3, in the 113-pound matchup but junior Asaph Alexander and senior Justin Kramer helped seal the win for the Skins when they pinned respectively at 120 and 138 pounds.
Kramer’s pin may have been most impressive of all Neshaminy’s wins by fall.
For one, Truman junior Johnny Joel (16-7) dropped Justin on his head 35 seconds into the bout.
“He just outmuscled me in the moment; he was able to go and pick me up,’ said Kramer.
“It was weird; it’s not really often that a person picks me up and actually slams me on the head.’
While Joel lost a point for the illegal maneuver, Johnny rebounded with a takedown in the last 20 seconds of the first period to take a 2-1 edge.
Kramer answered with an escape point by the first period buzzer then took the Tiger down and kept him there, winning by fall 3:34 into the match.
“I got angry,’ stated Kramer. “When I get angry, I’m able to focus more — the moves come a little easier and you’re just in the flow.’
“I saw him standing up to try and reverse me and I saw an opportunity — a mistake, really, in his wrestling — and I just took advantage of it.’
The Skins didn’t need Kramer to pin to win the match but after getting slammed by Joel, victory was sweet revenge for the Neshaminy senior.
To its credit, Truman came on strong at the end, registering pins of its own by senior Dylan Nuttal (126), Austin Vossbein (132) and Dustin Stone (145).
“Nuttall looked strong and we DO have a solid group of juniors,’ said Dunn, adding that Nuttall is finally over a recent bout with sickness that took him weeks to recover.
A wrestler with 125 career wins, Nuttall is a two-time district medalist and regional qualifier.
“He’s not dragging out there anymore; you can see it in his face,’ said Dunn. “He’s getting tough; hopefully, he’s going to peak at the right time.’
After a slow start (3-3) Vossbein is holding his weight at 16-9 on the season.
“Recently, he’s been coming through more often than not, finishing guys and putting six on the board for us,’ said Dunn, of Vossbein.
Truman junior Brandon Wiley showed a lot of moxie when he pinned sophomore Kyle Osterhoudt in 1:32 of the 220-pound bout. The previous weekend, Brandon injured his ankle in the semifinal round of the New Oxford Invitational.
A wrestler whose varsity career started off slow, Wiley now has 40 wins under his belt the past two seasons. After the injury forced Brandon to medically default out of the competition, he wound up finishing sixth.
Burns meanwhile made his way to the finals and took second after getting decisioned by New Oxford 113-pounder Zurich Storm.
Nuttall finished fourth in the tourney while Stone wound up with a third-place medal after a 2-1 decision win over Delone Catholic sophomore Brian Shermyer.
Stone now has 90 career wins. He’s 28-2 on the mat this season, falling only to Governor Mifflin senior Jonah Fisher and Southern Columbia senior Kent Lane, a state runner-up in 2014. His most impressive win of the season came in the Buckley Duals in a pin of Coatesville junior Colin McBride, a district medalist in 2014.
NOTES: The Tigers took a forfeit when it had no one to answer the bell at 182 pounds.
Neshaminy 51
Harry S. Truman 29
152 — Dominic Stabilito (N) pinned Alex Litz, 1:09
160 — Jon Albarran (N) dec. Skyler Whittington, 5-3
170 — Ben Stern (N) pinned Quentin Mulbah, 2:56
182 — Thomas Errico (N) won by forfeit
195 — Noah Kisselback (N) pinned Justin Litz, 0:45
220 — Brandon Wiley (T) pinned Kyle Osterhoudt, 1:32
285 — Bruce Graeber (N) pinned Isaiah Godbold, 3:28
106 — Mike Megahan (N) pinned Ernest Registre, 5:27
113 — Dennis Burns (T) won by tech. fall over Austin Saba, 18-3
120 — Asaph Alexander (N) pinned Estephen Sulguero, 0:22
126 — Dylan Nuttall (T) pinned Anthony Giaquinto, 3:45
132 — Austin Vossbein (T) pinned Matt Jacoby, 3:01
138 — Justin Kramer (N) pinned Johnny Joel, 3:34
145 — Dustin Stone (T) pinned Raheem Rahamatulla, 4:57
