When it comes to tough competition in a tough tournament, the Escape The Rock tournament has it all.
In day one of the 14th annual tournament, a few teams from the Suburban One League battled against some of the greatest wrestlers in the country at Council Rock South High School.
Highlighting day one of the two-day tournament was Germantown Academy’s Christopher Kim, who went 3-0 on the day to advance to the semifinals of the 120-pound tournament.
Kim, who is seeded fourth in the tournament, struggled in his first match against Jacob Gardner from PIAA power Canon McMillan.
Kim hanged on to advance to the second round with a tough 6-2 decision victory.
Things got tougher for Kim against Ray Goode from New Kent (VA) in the second round.
A single takedown was all Kim needed to advance to the quarterfinals with a 2-0 decision victory.
Kim, however, made a huge statement by pinning the number five seed Justin Bierdumpfel from St. Joseph Regional (NJ) in 5:43 to advance to tomorrow’s semifinals.
“The goal of every match is to go out and dominate,” said Kim. “The one thing coach and I talked about was just keep your head up and today we got the job done.
“When it comes to tournament time, it doesn’t matter if you pin the guy in five seconds or have a ride-out match as long as you get the job done,” added Kim. “So it felt really good to get the big win in the quarterfinals.”
Kim will take on number-one seed and two-time New Jersey state champion Anthony Clark from Delbarton High School in the semifinals tomorrow.
Germantown Academy head coach Soloman Fleckman is thrilled with Kim’s performance to advance to tomorrow’s semifinals.
“I’m honestly not surprised that Kim is in the semis tomorrow,” said Fleckman. “He has a lot of talent, he has been in big stages like these before, he’s prepared, and he got really excited with the big pin in the quarterfinals.”
Another Suburban One team that shined in the Escape The Rock tournament was the trio team from William Tennent.
Despite only sending three wrestlers to a big stage tournament, the Panther trio of AJ Tamburrino, TJ England and Anthony Colella had a strong showing.
Tamburrino started the day strong with a quick pin against Damar Jackson from Mariana Bracetti Academy in 42 seconds.
However, Tamburrino suffered an ankle injury against Council Rock South’s Eric Woloshyn in the second round, forcing him down to the consolation bracket.
Despite having an injured ankle, Tamburrino came up big with a pin and a 9-2 decision victory in his next two matches to advance to consolation quarterfinals tomorrow.
“My ankle hurts me when I bend it in certain ways,” said Tamburrino. “But coach told me battle hard and forget about the injury to get the job done.”
Tamburrino will take on Chambersburg’s Tate Nichter in the consolation quarterfinals tomorrow.
England and Colella will also compete in the consolation quarterfinals on Sunday for William Tennent.
Colella will take on Dom Difrancescantonio from Hanover Park (NJ) while England, who suffered his first defeat in the quarterfinals, will take on Joshua Pence from JW Robinson (VA) on Sunday.
After day one of the Escape The Rock tournament, Northampton leads the team standings with 96.5 points while nationally ranked Cincinnati LaSalle (OH) is in second with 95.5 points.
Day two of the Escape The Rock tournament will begin on Sunday at 9:00 a.m. with the consolation quarterfinals.
The semifinals will begin at 10:00 a.m. with the finals scheduled to start at approximately 12:30 p.m.
Fans are encouraged to watch the action live at Council Rock South High School or online at flowrestling.com.
