ABINGTON – Council Rock South got a half-dozen wrestlers to states last year and Golden Hawks head coach Brad Silimperi is hoping to at least repeat the feat in 2017.
“You have to run the gauntlet; the name of the game is just advancing – it’s four, four, five,” said Silimperi. “We want to place as many guys as we can each week.
“I’m not putting a number out there; if everyone wrestles well, we can send a whole slew of guys.
“We have some wrestlers who are going to be dangerous; that’s for sure.
When he said four, four, five, the coach was referring to the number that are advancing from each tournament, starting with the Suburban One National League tournament tomorrow at Truman.
In addition to 2016 PIAA medalists Zack Trampe (6th at 138 pounds) and Joey Doyle (4th at 195), the Golden Hawks could see brothers Cary and Riley Palmer reach states.
Cary is 23-6 and has won 11 of his last 12 bouts, a string that even begin until after the Escape The Rock Tournament where he turned in a solid 2-2 showing. The SONL champ at 126 pounds last season, Cary Palmer grabbed a D-1 runner-up and SE Region medal while also going 1-2 in states in 2016.
More recently, he went 3-1 in a District 1 Class AAA Dual Tournament that saw South get past Boyertown for the first time in four tries and he also went unbeaten (4-0) in PIAA dual meet action.
The South East Region champion last year at 138 pounds, Riley Palmer is 20-6 and will probably compete at 145 pounds in this postseason. After winning a seventh-place medal in states as a freshman, Riley didn’t reach the podium the last two years, going 1-2 in the 2016 PIAA Tournament.
Recently, he recorded pins in both the District 1 Duals final and semifinal matches, and got another win by fall in the PIAA Duals opener against Cannon McMillan. He was also one of five Hawks to register match wins in the team’s semifinal loss to Nazareth.
Senior Tyler Gettman is just 14-11 after reaching 26 wins a season ago. But he’s coming on strong of late, recording wins in four of his last six bouts including close decision wins he registered against Boyertown, Cannon Mac and Erie Cathedral Prep.
Gettman’s 3-2 decision win over Big Macs 195-pounder Alec Hendal set up Doyle’s dramatic pin in the final bout of the meet, giving CR South a come-from-behind 30-29 victory.
“There were a ton of match scenarios that impacted the outcome of that (meet),” said Silimperi.
“Max Mendez got a takedown with two seconds left to get a major decision. That’s a bonus point. He doesn’t get that, we don’t win.
“Cole Flanagan was wrestling one of the best kids in the country (Gerrit) Nijenhuis. If he gets tech-falled, it’s tied and it goes to criteria. He scrambled the last 12 seconds. He was down by 14 and he scrambled out of a takedown. Not only did he not get pinned, he didn’t give up the tech-fall.”
“Every single point matters in every single match and to have us come out on top was really exciting.
“To have Joey Doyle – the Ice Man – close it out was a really cool moment for him in his career.”
Junior Ben Radner, after making states in 2015, is another PIAA hopeful for the Golden Hawks. He recorded 27 varsity wins as a freshman, a D-1 runner-up medal at 113 pounds and a fourth-place medal at SE Regionals to reach states.
But Big Ben sustained a concussion in last year’s PIAA Duals and could not clear the criteria in time to make an individual postseason bid. He’s 16-7 currently with three victories in D-1 Duals and two more in state duals.
Another South wrestler sure to go far is sophomore Max Mendez. A 106-pounder, Max recorded 26 varsity wins on the mat last year as a freshman. But onlookers stood up and took notice of Mendez this season, especially when he grabbed a championship title belt late last year in the Bethlehem Hurricane Classic.
Mendez also took a third-place medal wrestling earlier in the season at the King of the Mountain Tournament and more recently went 7-1 in the eight postseason bouts for the Hawks.
All of the aforementioned Hawk wrestlers as well as sophomore Eric Woloshyn (126) were winners in South’s recent D-1 Duals championship win over Boyertown. After losing to the Bears three years ago in the semis and the finals the last two years, the Hawks broke through with a convincing 38-24 win.
Against Boyertown in the championship, Riley, Radner, Doyle and Mendez pinned while Trampe and Cary Palmer came through with majors for CR South and Woloshyn and Gettman got decisions.
“For those seniors to break through against Boyertown, that was big for our guys; I was really happy for them,” said Silimperi.
CR South has had some injury bugs this season with Trampe, Riley Palmer, Radner and some others missing time on the mat. Every wrestler is ready to go now, says the coach.
“I believe in our guys and I have all year and I know the rest of the coaches do,” said Silimperi. “I knew once we got everybody healthy, we’d be dangerous in the postseason.
In addition to the exciting win over Canon-Mac in the PIAA Duals opener, the Hawks followed up with a 31-25 win over Erie Cathedral Prep. South got pins from Doyle and Mendez, a major from Trampe along with decisions by Gettman, Radner, Woloshyn, Cary Palmer and Mike McKinney.
With his recent tech-fall win registered in the team’s 82-0 win over Abington, Trampe tied former CR South standout Austin Carter for the most wins (154) in Golden Hawk wrestling history.
And Doyle’s pin in the 30-29 comeback D-1 Duals Championship win over Boyertown put him past CR South alum Tim Riley in career wins by fall. Dustin Tancredi is first on that list with 88.
TOP PHOTO: Council Rock South senior Zack Trampe, left, is vying for his third consecutive PIAA medal in the 2017 postseason. His campaign begins at the Suburban One National League wrestling championships Saturday at Harry S Truman High School. (Steve Sherman – 21st-Century Media)
