WEST GOSHEN >> West Chester East’s Noah Hankin has a set of goals he wants to reach this year. The first of them might be a bit out of reach.
“First off, I want to win the lottery tonight,” said Hankin.
Assuming the Hankin family didn’t awaken to discover that they were new members of the billionaire class, at least the Vikings’ 126-pounder can check the next one off the list, as Hankin notched the 100th win of his career as his team piled up bonus points through the middle weights on the way to a 47-24 victory over visiting Avon Grove.
“I think it shows that I’ve put in a lot of hard work, so it feels good to get there,” said Hankin. “I felt good, and I felt strong. It’s nice to get it during a win for the team.”
Hankin wasted no time in getting to work, scoring a pair of takedowns in the first 30 seconds or so before running a reinforced bar for the fall in 1:33.
“The big goal is to get to Hershey (for the PIAA Championships) and come back with a medal once I get there,” said Hankin.
According to East head coach John Gallo, Hankin reaching the century mark in career wins was no surprise.
“It’s just a testament to hard work,” said Gallo. “It’s a testament to staying healthy and a little bit of good fortune, but it’s also a testament to focus and determination. It’s been a huge pleasure for us to have had him in the room the last four years.”
The dual meet got under way at 182, where Brayden Peck got the Devils’ off on the right foot with a fall in 1:12. Josh Walls followed with another win for Avon Grove at 195, parlaying a pair of reversals into a 4-3 victory.
Erick Narveaz finally got the home team on the board with a 19-second pin at 220 before Avon Grove stretched the lead to 15-6 when Vince Walls collected a forfeit at 285.
It was the third period before any points were on the board at 106, when the Devils’ Jordan Howard broke free for an escape, and avoided the takedown for the remainder of the bout to squeak out a 1-0 victory.
Ethan Samuel kicked off a five-bout win streak for the Vikings at 113, picking up a 7-1 victory over Joey Greco. Tommy Luke followed, running a half then adjusting to a headlock to get a pin with just a second to go in the first.
After Hankin did his thing, Campbell Wolov locked up a crossface cradle for a pin in 56 seconds. Mark Phillips took just 1:17 to get the slap of the mat at 138.
The Devils’ Kevin Edwards broke up the streak briefly, decking Peter Fabiani in 3:09, but then the Vikings closed this out with three straight wins. Andrew DiBernardo ran a bar for the fall at 152, and then Justin Cooper discovered the ankle pick was open at 160, hitting the move eleven times on the way to a 23-8 technical fall.
“The opportunity just kept presenting itself,” said Cooper. “I just kept moving him around, and the pick was there so I kept taking it. It was good to see the way we really came out hard and put up all the bonus points like we did starting at 120.”
The Vikings’ Caleb Subach rounded out the scoring with an 8-5 victory over Joe Moran at 170.
West Chester East 47, Avon Grove 24
182: Peck (AG) pinned Manieri (1:12) (6-0)
195: J. Walls (AG) dec. Gasenmeyer 4-3 (9-0)
220: Narvaez (WCE) pinned Santos (0:19) (9-6)
285: V. Walls (AG) won by forfeit (15-6)
106: Howard (AG) dec. Celenza 1-0 (18-6)
113: Samuel (WCE) dec. Greco 7-1 (18-9)
120: Luke (WCE) pinned Armstrong (1:59) (18-15)
126: Hankin (WCE) pinned Wojcik (1:33) (21-18)
132: Wolov (WCE) pinned Bosio (0:56) (27-18)
138: Phillips (WCE) pinned Rico (1:17) (33-18)
145: Edwards (AG) pinned Fabiani (3:09) (33-24)
152: DiBernardo (WCE) pinned Hoferer (1:02) (39-24)
160: Cooper (WCE) tech. fall over Boyd 23-8, (4:54) (44-24)
170: Subach (WCE) dec. Moran 8-5 (47-24)
