NEWTOWN – On the heels of what is shaping up to be another successful season for Council Rock North (9-3, 3-0 league), the Indians, according to head coach Tom Vivacqua, have simply been trying to get through their past couple of matches.
After convincing victories against Bensalem and Pennsbury in mid-December, North finished middle of the pack with a seventh place (out of 15 teams) finish at the Manheim Holiday Tournament on Dec. 30 and took care of Harry S Truman by a score of 42-23 to kick off the month of January.
However, the team was shorthanded against Truman and was undermanned again at the Rock Yard Duals Jan. 9 on the Indians’ home court, due in large part to a flu bug that has bitten a couple of the team’s wrestlers.
“We’ve just got to keep building and keep getting fit,” Vivacqua said. “We’ve had the bug the last week or so, so I want [the team] to get healthy so we can put some good work in and push them a little bit. For now, we’re just trying to manage health. Kids are still sick, so we’re just trying to get through these matches and move on to next week.”
One of North’s wrestlers who can help do that is 182-pound senior Josh Shalinsky, whose younger brothers and teammates John (a freshman) and Jake (a sophomore), are two of the guys who have been out with the illness plaguing the team.
“He’s just a great leader,” Vivacqua said. “He gives great effort in the room and he’s just a good role model for the young guys.”
Shalinsky, who finished first in regionals last year but failed to place at states, passed the century mark in career varsity wins earlier this season and added two more at Rock Yard to bring that total to 106.
Although he walked off the mat victorious with a 16-9 decision against Archbishop Wood sophomore Harry Green, Shalinsky, Vivacqua said, probably struggled more than he should have in his first match of the day.
“[Green] kind of frustrated him a bit,” Vivacqua said. “[Shalinsky] forced some things, so I just told him to relax and said he’ll come after you.”
“Josh is a good scrambler,” Vivacqua said. “He actually wrestles better when people go after him. When people slow it down on him, he has to set the tempo, so he has to learn how to go after people that don’t go after him. He likes movement and motion, so when people don’t go after him, it’s tricky.”
Shalinsky elaborated a bit further on the conversation he had with Vivacqua after the match.
“He said, ‘You went out there and tried to force every move and you probably thought it was going to be a cakewalk.’ I didn’t think it was going to be that tough of a match. The third period came and I woke up and started wrestling better and I figured out how to beat the kid.”
And Shalinsky certainly took his coach’s words to heart in his second round match against Pottsgrove senior Jonathan Quintrell, where he was noticeably more methodical and played to his strengths by letting Quintrell come after him.
After grappling with Quintrell during the early part of the match, Shalinsky jumped out to an early 5-0 lead after a takedown and a near fall just before the end of the first round.
Shalinsky turned it on in the second round with several more takedowns and reversals and handily defeated Quintrell with a 16-0 technical fall.
The 195-pound match immediately following Shalinsky’s match was highlighted by an outstanding cartwheel-like reversal from North senior Timmy Everett, who subsequently pinned Pottsgrove senior Christopher Quintrell seconds later.
Unfortunately, North’s early success in their morning matches could not be duplicated in their afternoon bouts.
The Indians dropped their third match of the day to eventual tournament champions Pennridge by a score of 54-16 and lost their third-place match to Spring-Ford by a narrow 34-33 decision.
While the overall matchup against Pennridge was a rather lopsided affair, the 138-pound bout between North sophomore Andrew Cabo and Pennridge senior Christian Cooper produced one of the day’s most spirited and aggressive matches.
Both wrestlers vigorously grappled with one another through three rounds, but neither could manage to score a point in regulation.
In the overtime period, Cabo appeared to have the advantage over Cooper at one point, but the sophomore allowed the more seasoned senior to slip out of his grips. With each wrestler breathing heavy, Cabo fell victim to a near fall and Cooper took the 2-0 decision for Pennridge.
After the match, Cabo was visibly distraught on the sidelines and could be seen clearly mouthing, “I had him” several times before punching the padded wall in frustration.
The 182-pound match between Shalinsky and Pennridge senior Kyle Gentile saw two of the best wrestlers in the district square off against one another in a battle between two longtime friends.
Gentile (137 career wins) and Shalinsky (106) are in the top 10 on the district’s active career wins list, ranking third and ninth respectively. And as of the latest updates to the rankings on Jan. 7, Gentile is the district’s top-ranked wrestler in the 182-pound weight class.
A fifth-place medalist at states last year, Gentile got the better of this matchup when he pinned Shalinsky in a mere 37 seconds.
“I’ve known [Gentile] since I was this big,” Shalinsky said as he motioned low to the floor. “We’ve always had close matches and a lot of overtime matches. I knew it was going to be a tough one.”
The Indians suffered a big loss during their match against Spring-Ford when Shalinsky suffered an apparent head injury and was deemed by an on-hand medical specialist to be unable to continue with his match.
After the match, Shalinsky said he would be “okay,” but it would be a tough loss for an already-short-handed team if he were to miss the Jan. 13 matchup at Neshaminy.
North sophomore Shane Thompson finished the day 3-1 and led the team in wins, two of which came by pin and major decision. After going 12-15 as a freshman, the 106-pound Thompson is enjoying a 17-9 season in his second year with the Indians.
Finishing with two wins apiece were Shalinsky and fellow seniors Luke Ely (160) and Andrius Dincia (220/285).
Thompson, Dincia and junior Aidan Burke were winners vs. their Pennridge opponents. Ely, Dincia, Everett, seniors Wes Olsen and Billy Storm and sophomore Nick Nucero won their matches against Spring-Ford.
Contact the author at stephen.f.pileggi
RESULTS
Council Rock North 49, Archbishop Wood 22
106 — Shane Thompson (CRN) dec. Max Shaffer, 1-0
113 — Stephen Veneziale (AW) won by forfeit
120 — Aidan Burke (CRN) maj. dec. Alex Shaffer, 13-1
126 — Gianncarlo Flores (CRN) dec. Zach Shaffer, 6-2
132 — Wesley Olsen (CRN) pinned Brett Yoos, 1:08
138 — Austin Gillick (AW) pinned Andrew Cabo, 1:17
145 — Matthew Palage (AW) pinned Nick Nucero, 3:51
152 — Billy Storm (CRN) pinned Zac St. Thomas, 0:58
160 — Luke Ely (CRN) pinned Billy Grace, 0:21
170 — Dan Boruta (CRN) pinned Xavier Pomrink, 0:35
182 — Josh Shalinsky (CRN) dec. Harry Green, 16-9
195 — Timmy Everett (CRN) pinned Matt Murray, 0:30
220 — Andrius Dincia (CRN) pinned Connor Bishop, 0:19
285 — Jason Barish (AW) maj. dec. John Vanderslice, 11-3
Council Rock North 66, Pottsgrove 9
113 — Kyle Fehnel won by forfeit
120 — Aidan Burke won by tech. fall over Chase Banyai, 16-0; 3:38
126 — Gianncarlo Flores pinned Frank Gagliare, 1:23
132 — Wesley Olsen pinned Brady Carpenter, 1:36
138 — Andrew Cabo pinned Marcus Keen, 1:35
145 — Nick Nucero won by forfeit (29-6)
152 — Billy Storm dec. Christian Pace, 3-2 OT TB
160 — Ryan Finn dec. Luke Ely, 2-1
170 — Dan Boruta pinned Michael Ragusa, 0:47
182 — Josh Shalinsky won by tech. fall over Jonathan Quintrell, 16-0; 2:57
195 — Timmy Everett pinned Christopher Quintrell, 3:25
220 — Andrius Dincia pinned Skylar McLeod, 3:05
285 — Alec Leyferman pinned Isaac Hanna, 0:45
106 — Shane Thompson pinned Michael Kilgore, 0:53
Pennridge 54, Council Rock North 16
120 — Aidan Burke (CRN) won by forfeit
126 — Kordell Rush (PN) pinned Gianncarlo Flores, 1:22
132 — Evan Widing (PN) maj. dec. Wesley Olsen, 11-1
138 — Christian Cooper (PN) dec. Andrew Cabo, 2-0
145 — David Nahas (PN) pinned Nick Nucero, 2:48
152 — David Blanchard (PN) dec. Billy Storm, 5-0
160 — Joshua Stillings (PN) dec. Luke Ely, 4-2
170 — Paul O’Neill (PN) pinned Dan Boruta, 3:42
182 — Kyle Gentile (PN) pinned Josh Shalinsky, 0:37
195 — Andrew Reinhold (PN) won by tech. fall over Timmy Everett, 16-1
220 — Andrius Dincia (CRN) pinned Stephen Dadio, 1:41
285 — Brian Lafty (PN) pinned Alec Leyferman, 3:12
106 — Shane Thompson (CRN) maj. dec. John Snyder, 10-1
113 — Matt Parker (PN) won by forfeit
Spring-Ford 34, Council Rock North 33
126 — Hunter Mitch (SF) pinned Gianncarlo Flores, 0:47
132 — Wes Olsen (CRN) dec. Jimmy Frank, 6-5
138 — Matt Krieble (SF) pinned Andrew Cabo, 0:28
145 — Nick Nucero (CRN) pinned Jonathan Westlake, 1:12
152 — Billy Storm (CRN) dec. Michael Gradwell, 8-5
160 — Luke Ely (CRN) dec. Jack Files, 2-1
170 — Brett McGill (SF) maj. dec. Dan Boruta, 9-1
182 — Steve Rice (SF) won by forfeit
195 — Timmy Everett (CRN) pinned Tim Moran, 0:39
220 — Andrius Dincia (CRN) pinned Zach Gulgule, 1:27
285 — Matt Lepore (SF) dec. Alec Leyferman, 2-0
106 — Brandon Meredith (SF) won by forfeit
113 — Dirk Nugent (SF) dec. Shane Thompson, 7-1
120 — Aidan Burke (CRN) won by forfeit
