Connect with us

Wrestling

Facing the end, wrestlers compete for a slim chance to move on (GALLERY)

QUAKERTOWN – Imagine a postseason game where the players who are picked to advance have already been decided. Now, think about a situation that requires competitors to play on, despite the fact that they are facing an almost imminent end of their season.

Welcome to the wonderful world of wrestle-backs, or more specifically, fifth-place matchups at last weekend’s District 1-AAA wrestling tournament.

Two wrestlers from Neshaminy, a pair from Pennsbury, two from Council Rock North, one from CR South and one from Truman captured fifth-place medals at districts only moments after being bumped out of contention for third- and fourth-place medals.

In a world where only the first four finishers advance, the only way any member of this group can compete in the upcoming South East Region Class AAA Tournament Friday, March 4 and Saturday, March 5 is if one of the guys ahead of him gets sick or sustains an injury.

It’s happened in the past but, truth be told, the chances are slim.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE PHOTO GALLERY AT http://media.buckslocalnews.COM

Neshaminy senior Joey Little was in the fifth-place pairing facing Chichester 145-pounder Tommy Smarkola, whom he had decisioned 8-2 earlier in the tournament. And yet, here he was trailing Smarkola 7-2 with a little more than a minute to go in the match when the Redskin wrestler decided to go for broke.

Little gives you an idea of what it’s like to battle in consolation rounds where all of the combatants are sent home for the season or in his case, his entire varsity career which, for him, started at CR South.

“You just want to go out there and win it – why not? You want to go out on top,” he said.

“It was the last match of my career so I figured I’d do something fun and see what happens.

“It was kind of a cool move and it worked out so …”

The move Little pulled on Smarkola was, as he described it, a gator roll combined with a cement mixer. And for good measure, Joey threw in a ‘Little’ twist.

“Instead of bringing it this way, I brought it that way,” he said, motioning with his hands.

“I don’t think he saw it coming.”

Pennsbury senior Connor Joyce – who went to regions his last two campaigns – was in a similar bout facing William Tennent 126-pounder Randy Knapp.

Joyce had never wrestled Knapp before but he pinned the sophomore for the Panthers in just 34 seconds.

Connor didn’t use any fancy moves; he just wrestled the way a four-year varsity starter with over 100 wins on his résumé knows how.

“I just threw him,” said Joyce, of his final varsity matchup. “He started coming at me so I jacked him up and I just tossed him through.

“I just figured this is it; it’s my last match ever so you want to win. That’s how I want to be remembered.”

Joyce might also be recalled for how he wrestled in his previous bout, one in which he was majored by North Penn senior Sofiane Bensmail, who took third at Quakertown. Joyce went the full six minutes, despite trailing the Knights wrestler the whole way.

At one point late in the match, Bensmail looked like he was looking for a little bit of a breather outside the circle and had to be told by the match official to return to the center of the ring. Joyce, meanwhile, kept running back to the middle on restarts.

“I just had to keep going at him; I had to just keep pushing the pace,” said Connor. “If you lose too much control, that’s when things get sloppy.

“It was just more fuel to the fire to keep going at him – not to quit.”

Ironically, Bensmail cannot wrestle at regionals due to injury, giving Connor his third shot at a South East Region Class AAA medal this weekend at Souderton. Two years ago, he finished fourth at regionals while last year, he came up short of the medal round in the tourney.

Joyce’s teammate, sophomore Antonio Martoccio, went to states last year and yet he was also knocked back to the fifth-place round after getting pinned by Pennridge junior Matt Parker and Souderton sophomore Harrison Andrade. Two tough opponents, Parker went on to win a District 1 title belt at 113 pounds and was a state medalist last season. Andrade finished fourth at districts this season after taking fifth a year ago.

In his fifth-place bout, Martoccio was facing a familiar foe in CR South sophomore Collin Waterman. After taking a minute and a half in pinning the Golden Hawks wrestler a week earlier at the Suburban One National League tournament, Antonio used just 26 seconds of the clock in putting Waterman on his back this time around.

It was a tough way to end the season for Martoccio, a wrestler with 62 varsity wins against just 14 losses in his two years on the mat.

From Jump Street, it was a tough campaign for the Falcons.

In addition to the graduation of alums Eric Mongiello, Luke Kowal and Mason Houriet – all of whom were regional qualifiers last season, Pennsbury suffered an unexpected loss when juniors Andrew Roccograndi and Connor Romano along with senior Kenny Hickman decided not to come out for wrestling this season.

What’s more, senior Alex Cwenar, a league runner-up who registered 26 wins last season, could not get medical clearance to return to the mat after sustaining a neck injury last spring.

“We did the best we could with what we had,” said Joyce. “That, I’m glad for.”

Staring at the end of his varsity career, he offered, “It went too fast.”

Additional fifth-place District 1 East medalists in the SOL National Conference included sophomore Gianncarlo Flores (120) and senior Andrius Duncia (220) for CR North, freshman Max Mendez (106) for CR South, junior Vince Stabilito (160) for Neshaminy, and senior Austin Vossbein for Truman.

After posting 26 varsity wins as a freshman, Mendez completed his inaugural varsity campaign with a 16-0 tech fall win over Hatboro-Horsham sophomore Sam Negron. Flores finished his second year by pinning CB South 120-pounder Nick Polinchock in 3:25 and Duncia pinned North Penn 220-pounder Tyler Leidy in just 55 seconds.

With 30 seconds left in the second period, Stabilito pinned Hatboro-Horsham senior Joseph Hwang and Vossbein decisioned CR North senior Billy Storm, 9-3. Waterman, Knapp and Storm all earned sixth-place medals at districts.

Contact the author at ssherman@21st-Centurymedia.com or @BucksLocalSport on Twitter

DISTRICT 1-AAA EAST TOURNAMENT

(Feb. 27 at Quakertown)

Fifth Place Pairings

106 — Maximino Mendez (CR South) won by tech. fall over Sam Negron (Hatboro Horsham), 16-0

113 — Antonio Martoccio (Pennsbury) pinned Collin Waterman (CR South), 0:26

120 — Gianncarlo Flores (CR North) pinned Nicholas Polinchock (CB South), 3:25

126 — Connor Joyce (Pennsbury) pinned Randy Knapp (William Tennent), 0:34

132 — Shane Mathis (Interboro) dec. Kyle Murphy (CB South), 2-0

138 — Ryan Tiernan (CB West) maj. dec. Will Laughlin (North Penn), 13-3

145 — Joe Little (Neshaminy) pinned Tommy Smarkola (Chichester), 4:54

152 — Austin Vossbein (Truman) dec. Billy Storm (CR North), 9-3

160 — Vincent Stabilito (Neshaminy) pinned Joseph Hwang (Hatboro Horsham), 3:30

170 — Luke Kohler (CB South) dec. Kyle Beck (Hatboro Horsham), 3-2

182 — Alec Sager (CB East) pinned Anthony Zizza (Interboro), 2:25

195 — Owen Verespy (North Penn) dec. Anthony Cellucci (Chichester), 6-0

220 — Andrius Duncia (CR North) pinned Tyler Leidy (North Penn), 0:55

285 — Justin Correa (Quakertown) pinned Giberilla Dukuray (Penn Wood), 2:12

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

More in Wrestling

situs slot gacor provider terbaik agen toto slot terpercaya 2023 agen toto togel terpercaya 2023 situs toto togel pasaran resmi terbaik bandar toto macau pasaran resmi toto togel bandar toto slot gacor 4d 2023 bo togel online pasaran terlengkap sepanjang masa bo toto slot terlengkap sepanjang masa situs toto togel 2023 bet 100 perak daftar toto slot dan toto togel 2023 bermain toto togel dengan bet hanya 100 perak daftar toto slot bonus new member terpercaya bermain toto slot pelayanan 24 jam nonstop situs toto togel terpercaya situs toto togel online terbaik winsortoto winsortoto winsortoto winsortoto winsortoto winsortoto unsurtoto unsurtoto unsurtoto winsortoto winsortoto winsortoto rasa4d rasa4d rasa4d gampangtoto gampangtoto gampangtoto winsortoto unsurtoto gampangtoto rasa4d bungtoto bandar toto togel terbesar hadiah 4d 10 juta daftar winsortoto situs toto terbaik winsortoto situs toto slot gacor dengan toto togel terbaik winsortoto situs toto terpercaya bet 100 perak winsortoto agen toto togel dan situs toto slot 4d winsortoto situs toto togel online deposit 10rb winsortoto situs toto togel online resmi hadiah 4d 10 juta winsortoto agen toto togel online terpercaya winsortoto agen toto slot dan situs toto togel resmi winsortoto situs toto togel 4d terpercaya winsortoto bandar toto togel dan toto slot winsortoto situs toto togel online resmi terbesar winsortoto situs toto togel dan agen toto slot terpercaya winsortoto situs toto terpercaya beragam bonus winsortoto situs toto terpercaya toto togel dan toto slot gacor winsortoto situs togel online dan slot online terpercaya winsortoto situs togel online hadiah terbesar winsortoto agen toto togel bonus harian terbesar winsortoto agen togel online terlengkap bet 100 perak winsortoto situs toto togel 4d dan toto slot 4d terbaik winsortoto situs toto togel dan toto slot terpercaya winsortoto bandar toto togel online terpercaya 2023 winsortoto agen toto togel 4d dan toto slot 4d winsortoto agen toto togel online banyak bonus terbesar winsortoto situs toto terpercaya bonus new member winsortoto situs togel online resmi terpercaya pasaran terlengkap winsortoto situs toto togel online 4d terpercaya situs toto togel deposit pulsa tanpa potongan winsortoto situs toto slot pasti slot gacor winsortoto situs toto slot dan toto togel hadiah terbaik winsortoto situs toto terpercaya permainan resmi dan terpercaya winsortoto situs toto resmi bonus new member 100rb tanpa potongan winsortoto toto slot gacor dan togel online resmi terpercaya winsortoto situs toto toge online terpercaya di Indonesia winsortoto toto togel online bonus new member terbesar winsortoto agen toto togel resmi hadiah 4d 10 juta terpercaya winsortoto toto togel online hadiah 4d 10 juta bet 100 winsortoto situs togel online terlengkap dan terpercaya winsortoto situs togel online resmi dan toto slot gacor winsortoto situs toto togel dan agen toto slot gacor winsortoto situs toto togel permainan toto togel dan toto slot winsortoto situs toto terpercaya bonus menarik winsortoto situs toto togel online terpercaya winsortoto bandar toto togel dan toto slot terpercaya winsortoto situs toto togel online terlengkap dan terpercaya winsortoto situs toto togel online winsortoto situs toto terpercaya togel online dan slot online resmi winsortoto situs toto dengan permainan togel 4d dan slot 4d winsortoto situs toto terpercaya permainan togel online terlengkap winsortoto situs toto togel terpercaya permainan resmi winsortoto situs toto togel resmi bet 100 perak tanpa potongan winsortoto agen toto togel dan situs toto resmi winsortoto toto togel dan toto slot terpercaya dan terbaik winsortoto unsurtoto gampangtoto bungtoto rasa4d titi4d ltdtoto bobatoto bobatoto situs toto togel slot situs bandar toto togel slot terpercaya titi4d titi4d login titi4d daftar titi4d slot titi4d togel situs titi4d titi4d login titi4d daftar titi4d titi4d togel titi4d slot situs titi4d agen titi4d bandar titi4d