WESTTOWN >> In his first exposure to the District 1-3A Duals, Garnet Valley junior, Kevin Puliti, distinctly remembered watching his older brother Nick Puliti set the tone two years ago.
Thursday night, at West Chester Rustin, Kevin Puliti (132 pounds) paid that inspiration forward by jolting the Jaguars with a hard-fought victory of his own.
Tied at five heading into the third against Wissahickon’s Charlie Brammer, Puliti scored a reversal and two near-fall points to walk away victorious, 9-7. The win got No. 6 Garnet off to a fast start with five straight victories, and the Jags advanced to the quarterfinals with a 45-24 win over No. 11 Wissahickon.
Thirteenth-seeded Ridley was eliminated by No. 4 West Chester Henderson, 57-18, but Garnet now enters the double-elimination part of the tournament with hopes of earning a top-four finish and a trip to the PIAA Duals. Garnet will face No. 3 Owen J. Roberts next Friday.
Garnet Valley’s Austin Filippone nears a fall. (Nate Heckenberger – For Digital First Media)
“I’m an upperclassman and I thought about when I wrestled as a freshman with my brother and he started it off for us,” Puliti said. “I figured if I could do that, the younger guys would see it as just another match and go out and compete.”
Gavin Hollingsworth (138) erased an early deficit to earn a major decision, Desmon Perry made it three in a row with a decision and Ethan Cooper (152) and Austin Filippone (160) put the Jaguars up, 22-0, with pins before Wissahickon could even catch its breath.
“We had a couple people in District 1 saying Wissahickon was going to beat us, so we wanted to prove everyone wrong,” Puliti said.
Wissahickon made its run with three straight wins from 170 to 195, but Joe Morrone (220), Coltin Deery (285) and Daniel Hussain (106) slammed the door shut with pins to clinch it with three bouts to go.
Garnet Valley’s Daniel Hussain works on a pin. (Nate Heckenberger – For Digital First Media)
“I think it was pretty important,” Morrone said of the win. “We try to be uncommon. That’s our motto. I thought we came out here and were uncommon and proved everyone wrong.”
Garnet will hope the Puliti mojo repeats itself from two years ago, as the Jags used four pins to upset Owen J. Roberts in the quarters in Nick Puliti’s senior year.
“We got off to the start we needed,” Garnet coach Rocco Fantazzi said. “Kevin going out and taking the challenge, did his job and got the ball rolling. We’ve been doing it all year and don’t get the credit or respect sometimes, but that’s OK. As a team we come out and do our job. We don’t have anyone with a state medal, or even anyone that’s been to states, but the guys in the room want to be part of something special.”
Ridley’s first appearance in the district duals since 2013 started strong before Henderson eventually showed its power.
Eli Rodriguez (138) and Ryan Prum (152) erased early leads to win by fall, and Prum knocked off a returning state qualifier in Luke Phayre. But the Green Raiders’ 12-8 lead after four evaporated quickly as only Tommy Bramwell (285) was able to get his hand raised for Ridley the remainder of the dual.
Ridley’s Eli Rodriguez uses a headlock for a pin at 138. (Nate Heckenberger – For Digital First Media)
“It was a nice step to get accepted to the duals,” Ridley coach Tony Fabri said. “We came here ready to compete and I thought we did a good job representing ourselves.”
At 10-6, Ridley is hoping to have its first winning season since the 2013-14 campaign, and after a duals tournament at Radnor Saturday, a trip to Garnet Valley looms on Wednesday. Each step is a part of the program’s rebuilding process.
“Hopefully it’s a sign of things to come,” Fabri said. “Hopefully next year we’ll be a higher seed and be a better team.”
Ridley’s Ryan Prum locks up a cradle at 152. (Nate Heckenberger – For Digital First Media)
Garnet Valley 45, Wissahickon 24
132- Puliti (GV) dec. Brammer, 9-7 (3-0)
138- Ga. Hollingsworth (GV) maj. dec. Sweeney, 16-6 (7-0)
145- Perry (GV) dec. Quinn, 6-2 (10-0)
152- Cooper (GV) pinned Dowling, 5:04 (16-0)
160- Filippone (GV) pinned Aon, 1:06 (22-0)
170- Salmon (W) dec. Conlon, 3-0 (22-3)
182- Keller (W) pinned Sorokanych, :57 (22-9)
195- Fennell (W) pinned Padgett, 1:04 (22-15)
220- Morrone (GV) pinned Pester, 2:43 (28-15)
285- Deery (GV) pinned Thompson, 1:25 (34-15)
106- Hussain (GV) pinned Pacheco, 5:10 (40-15)
113- Adriaanse (W) dec. Wood, 5-2 (40-18)
120- Gr. Hollingsworth (GV) tech. fall Prieston, 16-1 (45-18)
126- Fritz (W) won by forfeit (45-24)
West Chester Henderson 57, Ridley 18
132- Tran (WCH) dec. Cowan, 1-0 (3-0)
138- Rodriguez (RID) pinned C. McMonagle, 1:22 (3-6)
145- English (WCH) tech. fall Chouinard, 5:30 (8-6)
152- Prum (RID) pinned Phayre, 1:55 (8-12)
160- Bauman (WCH) maj. dec. Shaak, 11-2 (12-12)
170- Baldwin (WCH) tech. fall Zielke, 3:19 (17-12)
182- Artis (WCH) pinned Blasick, 1:51 (23-12)
195- Plawecki (WCH) pinned O’Doherty, 1:09 (29-12)
220- Range (WCH) won by forfeit (35-12)
285- Bramwell (RID) pinned Caruso, 3:48 (35-18)
106- Wilson (WCH) maj. dec. Treloar, 11-2 (39-18)
113- S. McMonagle (WCH) pinned C. Green, 3:44 (45-18)
120- K. Delaney (WCH) pinned Rainey, :49 (51-18)
126- P. Delaney (WCH) pinned Morrell, 3:14 (57-18)
