FORT WASHINGTON – In his own words, Council Rock South coach Brad Silimperi is a self-proclaimed “traditionalist.” He loves “the individual [matches] with team score.”
But he admits there’s something special about district duals.
“This is why dual meet wrestling – especially the district duals – is so much fun,” Silimperi said. “There’s an element to district duals that just is absolutely electric and exciting. Matchups are crucial. I hope the fans saw some good wrestling tonight.”
It’s probably fair to say they did.
The Golden Hawks (14-1, 6-0 league) entered the District 1-AAA duals as the no. 2 seed and eventually finished the tournament in second place, losing to powerhouse Boyertown by a score of 40-21 in the championship final Feb. 6 at Upper Dublin High School.
Having secured a convincing 46-12 victory against no. 15 Downingtown West on their home floor back on Jan. 28, then-still-undefeated South appeared poised for a deep run in the District 1-AAA duals.
But just getting to the championship final was no walk in the park, as the Hawks hit an early bump in the road with their matchup against Owen J. Roberts in the quarterfinals the previous day.
To the bewilderment of South’s faithful, the Golden Hawks fell behind 30-6 early to the Wildcats.
However, the turning point for South came in the 120-pound match between South sophomore Mike McKinney and OJR sophomore Aidan Renn.
The match was stopped in the second round when McKinney suffered a bloody nose.
With gauze in place to stop the bleeding, McKinney was able to continue and finished Renn off with two reversals and a takedown in the third round to garner just enough points to earn a major decision in his 12-4 victory.
During the third round of the very next match between South sophomore Ben Radner (126) and Roberts freshman Daniel Mancini, Radner was taken down awkwardly and slammed the side of his hard on the mat.
Play stopped briefly to have Radner tested for concussion symptoms, but he was able to continue and followed up shortly thereafter with a quick reversal after being down 2-1 to secure the 3-2 decision in that matchup.
Silimperi singled out sophomore Radner and junior Joe Doyle (195) for being key contributors in the victory against Roberts.
Radner – who according to Silimperi had been out of matches for two and a half weeks prior – was credited by Silimperi for bumping up his weight from 120 to compete in the 126 pound and “gutting out” a close victory.
Having closed the once-sizable gap to 30-28 and needing at least a decision to move on to the next round, Schwartz easily handled Roberts freshman Ricky McCutchen, winning by a 20-5 technical decision and giving the Golden Hawks a narrow 33-30 victory and a matchup against the no. 3 seed Downingtown East in the semifinals.
Also winning their matches against Roberts were seniors Shane Flanagan (160), Zach Trampe (132) and Luke Martoccio (145).
“In dual meets, it’s all [about] matchups and we got pinned a couple times,” Silimperi said. “In the district dual meet tournament against the best teams, you can’t get pinned. The big thing in the Owen J. matchup is that we won the close matches and that was the deciding point.”
“Everybody’s got a job to do,” Silimperi said, “and those role players are really the guys that tend to win in matches. Unfortunately, the first match [against Roberts] didn’t work out and our hammers had to come through and they did.”
One of those “hammers” is South junior Zach Trampe, rated as the best pound-for-pound wrestler in the district as of the latest rankings released Feb. 4.
The 132-pound bout saw Trampe (32-1) and East senior Wade Cummings (34-1) – ranked first and second in the district at 132 pounds, respectively – square off against one another in the tournament semifinals
Entering the match, the Golden Hawks were up 24-18 and Trampe was sporting a spotless 30-0 record while Cummings had just one loss to his name.
Following a scoreless first round, Cummings took a 1-0 lead – and several bumps to the head and nose – with an escape in the second round.
During the break before the third and final round, Silimperi instructed Trampe to take control of the match and to go on the offensive.
Trampe started the round with an escape to tie the match at 1-all, and despite what turned out to be a seesaw matchup, a Cummings reversal and escape in the middle of the round proved to be the difference. Cummings continued to evade Trampe for the rest of the match and emerged victorious with a close 4-3 decision, handing Zack his first loss of the season.
Silimperi said the fans got a treat with that matchup.
“People got their money’s worth with two of the best kids in the country going at it,” Silimperi said. “I know Zach came out on the short end of the stick, but in the big picture that’s meaningless right now. It’s just going to make him better. Hats off to both kids for letting it fly.”
Winning their matches against East were seniors Nick Verdi (145), Luke Martoccio (152), Dylan Schwartz (160) and John Anderson (285), juniors Tyler Gettman (182), Joe Doyle (195), Cary Palmer (126) and Riley Palmer (138) and sophomore Ben Radner (120).
South would go on to win their matchup against East by a score of 44-21 to advance to the championship finals the following day, but eventually lost to Boyertown by a 40-21 margin, suffering their first loss of the season in the process.
Council Rock South 46, Downingtown West 12
132 — Zack Trampe (CR) pinned Nick Lilley, 4:34
138 — Nick Verdi (CR) dec. Alex Murta, 6-4
145 — Lucas Martoccio (CR) pinned Gavin Hale, 0:34
152 — Giovanni Angelini (DW) dec. Shane Flanagan, 5-2
160 — Dylan Schwartz (CR) maj. dec. Joe Shafer, 10-1
170 — Cole Zapf (DW) pinned Keith Bennett, 1:10
182 — Tyler Gettmann (CR) dec. Kevin Clements, 5-2
195 — Joe Doyle (CR) pinned Chris Madanat, 0:55
220 — Brandon Kohn (CR) dec. Matt Duplicki, 2-1
285 — John Anderson (CR) dec. Chad Giles, 3-2 OT TB
106 — Doug Zapf (DW) dec. Maximino Mendez, 9-7
113 — Collin Waterman (CR) dec. Mitch Byers, 6-0
120 — Mike McKinney (CR) dec. Chase Hanak, 2-1
126 — Cary Palmer (CR) won by forfeit
Council Rock South 33, Owen J. Roberts 30
160 — Shane Flanagan (CR) dec. Jason Zollers, 6-4 (3-0)
170 — Micky Kohn (OJR) pinned Tyler Gettmann, 3:55 (3-6)
182 — Nick Duliakas (OJR) pinned Nik Korbich, 4:12 (3-12)
195 — Joe Doyle (CR) dec. Xavier Ferrizzi, 1-0 (6-12)
220 — Connor Mitchell (OJR) pinned Brandon Kohn, 3:48 (6-18)
285 — William Scherfel (OJR) dec. John Anderson, 2-1 (6-21)
106 — Luke Resnick (OJR) won by tech. fall over Braden Ricchini, 15-0 4:14 (6-26)
113 — Tyler McCutchen (OJR) maj. dec. Maximino Mendez, 12-4 (6-30)
120 — Mike McKinney (CR) maj. dec. Aidan Renn, 12-4 (10-30)
126 — Ben Radner (CR) dec. Daniel Mancini, 3-2 (13-30)
132 — Zack Trampe (CR) pinned Stone Bissland, 4:41 (19-30)
138 — Riley Palmer (CR) dec. Ryan Resnick, 7-4 (22-30)
145 — Lucas Martoccio (CR) pinned Cole Meredith, 3:00 (28-30)
152 — Dylan Schwartz (CR) won by tech. fall over Ricky McCutchen, 20-5 2:17 (33-30)
Council Rock South 44, Downingtown East 21
170 — Alec Horne (DE) dec. Keith Bennett, 7-3 (0-3)
182 — Tyler Gettmann (CR) dec. Brent Czajkowski, 9-5 (3-3)
195 — Joe Doyle (CR) pinned Josh Wileczek, 0:16 (9-3)
220 — Owen Morris (DE) dec. Brandon Kohn, 3-1 OT TB (9-6)
285 — John Anderson (CR) dec. Brenden McGinley, 3-1 OT TB (12-6)
106 — Lukas Richie (DE) pinned Maximino Mendez, 3:19 (12-12)
113 — James Strommer (DE) pinned Collin Waterman, 3:10 (12-18)
120 — Ben Radner (CR) pinned Brett Horne, 0:40 (18-18)
126 — Cary Palmer (CR) pinned Connor Birzes, 3:56 (24-18)
132 — Wade Cummings (DE) dec. Zack Trampe, 4-3 (24-21)
138 — Riley Palmer (CR) dec. Nik Zimmerman, 11-6 (27-21)
145 — Nick Verdi (CR) won by tech. fall over Jake Neubaum, 16-1 5:59 (32-21)
152 — Lucas Martoccio (CR) pinned Wayne Salt, 0:27 (38-21)
160 — Dylan Schwartz (CR) pinned Luke Moran, 1:03 (44-21)
Boyertown 40, Council Rock South 21
170 — Alec Horne (DE) dec. Keith Bennett, 7-3 (0-3)
182 — Tyler Gettmann (CR) dec. Brent Czajkowski, 9-5 (3-3)
195 — Joe Doyle (CR) pinned Josh Wileczek, 0:16 (9-3)
220 — Owen Morris (DE) dec. Brandon Kohn, 3-1 OT TB (9-6)
285 — John Anderson (CR) dec. Brenden McGinley, 3-1 OT TB (12-6)
106 — Lukas Richie (DE) pinned Maximino Mendez, 3:19 (12-12)
113 — James Strommer (DE) pinned Collin Waterman, 3:10 (12-18)
120 — Ben Radner (CR) pinned Brett Horne, 0:40 (18-18)
126 — Cary Palmer (CR) pinned Connor Birzes, 3:56 (24-18)
132 — Wade Cummings (DE) dec. Zack Trampe, 4-3 (24-21)
138 — Riley Palmer (CR) dec. Nik Zimmerman, 11-6 (27-21)
145 — Nick Verdi (CR) won by tech. fall over Jake Neubaum, 16-1 5:59 (32-21)
152 — Lucas Martoccio (CR) pinned Wayne Salt, 0:27 (38-21)
160 — Dylan Schwartz (CR) pinned Luke Moran, 1:03 (44-21)
