Council Rock North freshman Cam Robinson posted a lopsided win over his 132-pound foe for Abington and the rest of the team followed suit in a 64-18 win for the Rock Wednesday night on the Ghosts’ home court. (Steve Sherman – 21st-Century Media)
ABINGTON – Council Rock North is experiencing a youth movement this season on the wrestling mat. But that doesn’t mean the Indians aren’t winning.
The Rock recorded its second Suburban One National League (SONL) win in a row and fifth victory in its last six outings when it trounced Abington, 64-18, Wednesday night (Jan. 18) on the Ghosts’ home court.
The visiting Indians registered the lopsided win, despite the face they had six freshmen, three sophomores and a JV wrestler in the lineup. The eventual tally aside, the Rock needed to come back in this one to win after freshman Mike Ridlon sustained a pin in the opening bout at 182 pounds and sophomore Robbie Kay suffered a fall 1:04 into the 220-pound matchup.
Trailing 12-6, the Indians (9-4, 2-1: SONL) got pins by Shane Thompson (120) and Sammy Hayes (126) and tech-fall triumphs by Cameron Robinson (132) and Gianncarlo Flores (138) to assure a victory by Rock North.
According to Flores, an Indian win was never in doubt.
“We kept telling our guys to constantly keep fighting – six minutes – even if they were freshman or JV going into these varsity matches
“As long as they give us the six minutes, we knew we were going to win it.”
North’s freshman trio of Luke Lucerne (113) – who won by forfeit, one of three the Ghosts were forced to take in this dual meet – Robinson and Hayes accounted for 17 of the Rock’s points.
“These three freshman – Sammy, Cam and Luke – they are so talented,” said Flores. “It’s awesome seeing them doing so well and flourishing, right now. They are only going to get better.
“I can’t wait to see how good they are by senior year.”
While Robinson and Flores failed to get the pin, both recorded their techs midway through their respective matchups.
“It depends on the guys you’re wrestling,” explained Flores. “If you can’t pin him, you might as well just keep scoring points to get that tech.”
For good measure, CR North juniors Jacob Shalinsky (145) and Nick Nucero (152) pinned in their respective pairings in the first period. Nick was actually trailing 2-0 in his matchup with James Campbell when he pinned the Abington junior with 13 seconds left in the first period.
“Nucero is that type of kid that if he’s not doing well at first, he keeps going for the throws and eventually gets the kid on his back,” said Flores. “So far, he’s the leading one on our team with pins.
“That’s how he gets all his wins – he just pins them.
“He’s a grinder.”
With a record of 15-9 on the season, Shalinsky’s pin came in a blazing 57 seconds.
“Shalinsky also grinds on top; he pins a lot too,” stated Flores. “Him and Nucero are the top pinners on the team.”
Early on in the meet, North sophomore Tykee Jackson, a JV wrestler last season, recorded a key pin with the Indians trailing, 6-0.
Leading the 195-pound bout 2-0 after an early takedown, Jackson had allowed Zach Manning to deadlock the score with a pair of escapes in the second period.
As if to say he had had enough, Jackson – working from the bottom – ended his match with a quick pin 14 seconds into the final frame.
“Tykee is a sophomore who just got better since last year,” stated Flores. “He’s wrestling a lot of varsity matches really well.”
Still, with the score tied at 2-all, Jackson’s match with Manning could have gone either way. Manning had all the momentum in the match, outscoring Jackson 2-0 in the second period before the Rock wrestler turned the tables on his opponent.
“He was just wrestling hard and he started grinding on top,” explained Flores. “I guess he broke the kid and eventually, the kid turned over.”
The Indians took the mat Wednesday night, Jan. 18 without the services of senior 120-pounder Aidan Burke, who injured an ankle at the Escape The Rock tournament at CR South. With 98 varsity wins to his credit, Burke was a state medalist in 2015 and a South East Region medalist the past two seasons.
Stepping up in place of Aidan was junior Shane Thompson, no stranger to the mat wars with 45 varsity wins entering the bout. A fourth-place medalist and regional qualifier in 2016, Thompson made quick work when he pinned Ghosts’ 120-pounder Justin Ciesielski in 1:30.
“This is a great win for us,” stated Flores. “We came in here with the mindset that we were going to work hard no matter what and get this win.”
The sides finished the match with pins for their respective teams – North freshman Dillon Sheehy pinned his man in 3:10 in the 160-pound pairing and Abington senior Shane Rose pushed his way to 13-3 on the season when he put his 170-pound foe on his back in 3:48.
For the Ghosts, the loss to the Rock comes just one week after their team sustained a 58-12 defeat at the hands of SONL rival Neshaminy. Abington falls to 5-5, overall, 1-3 on the season.
CR North is now 9-4, overall, 2-1 in the SONL.
Council Rock North 64, Abington 18
(Jan. 18 at Abington)
182 — David McCaughey (A) pinned Michael Ridlon, 1:40
195 — Tykee Jackson (CRN) pinned Zach Manning, 4:14
220 — Ray Newlin (A) pinned Robbie Kay, 1:04
285 — Alec Leyferman (CRN) won by forfeit
106 — Lucas Keller (CRN) won by forfeit
113 — Luke Lucerne (CRN) won by forfeit
120 — Shane Thompson (CRN) pinned Justin Ciesielski, 1:30
126 — Sammy Hayes (CRN) pinned Matthew Spross, 1:43
132 — Cameron Robinson (CRN) won by tech. fall over Brian Spurrier, 3:04 19-4
138 — Gianncarlo Flores (CRN) won by tech. fall over Dan Brett, 2:56 16-0
145 — Jacob Shalinsky (CRN) pinned Naseer Mason, 0:57
152 — Nick Nucero (CRN) pinned James Campbell, 1:47
160 — Dillon Sheehy (CRN) pinned Sam Giordano, 3:10
170 — Shane Rose (A) pinned Rob Ranelli, 3:48
