GRATERFORD >> It’s official.
No question about it. No further discussion necessary.
Spring-Ford has retained its standing as the Pioneer Athletic Conference’s wrestling kingpin.
The Rams firmed up that status Thursday when they faced Perkiomen Valley in the Liberty Division’s title finale. The twice-rescheduled, winner-take-all duel between the Liberty co-leaders went Spring-Ford’s way, 47-17.
The dominating win enhanced Spring-Ford’s season-long record of accomplishments, bolstered by its first-place team finish from the PAC’s Individual Tournament in January and a win over Frontier champ Pottsgrove the previous week. It was the satisfying cap to a season marked by such achievements as a third-place showing in the District 1-AAA Duals, runner-up status in Souderton’s Big Red Duals and a sweep of Council Rock North’s Rock Yard Duals.
“We didn’t want to come in here and lose,” SF head coach Tim Seislove said. “We wanted to be undefeated PAC champs.”
Seislove had no cause for worry in that regard, not even with Carson Pascoe getting PV (4-1, 12-5) off to a 3-0 start with his 7-3 decision in the 160-pound opener. Spring-Ford (5-0, 18-5) used successive pins from John Kelly at 172 and Kyle Huston at 189 — both scored in the first period — and a forfeit to Dan Borzillo at 215 to post an 18-3 lead that wasn’t topped the rest of the way.
The clincher came at 126, where Quinn Smith (33-4) had a technical fall that was scored at the second-period buzzer. It gave the Rams a 40-9 lead with four weights left to contest.
“The guys showed up tonight,” Seislove noted. “We hit our goals and wrestled well through the lineup.”
Even some less-successful Rams had an impact. Seislove lauded Ryan Horvath, who came out on the short side of the 7-3 score at 160, for moving up in the lineup as part of the team’s overall strategy.
“He filled a hole so we could be stronger up top,” Seislove added. “That kind of performance shows what the team is all about.”
For seniors like Ryan Lepore, winner of a 13-5 major decision at 145, the big outcome brings the realization the Class of 2022 grapplers are coming into the home stretch of their scholastic careers.
“Dominic (Ortlip) and I had a conversation about how we’re coming to our last match in our own gym,” Lepore (28-8) said in reference to the team’s Senior Night contest with Chichester Friday. “This brought clarity, the idea we’ve come full circle. We started early in the sport, and thought about what we did as a whole.”
For PV, the reality of working through various injury issues this season took some luster off a matchup that looked to be a key one as each team racked up wins against division opponents.
“It was nice to get Carson (Pascoe) back,” head coach Dave Thomas said. “He only had two matches since Christmas.”
Cole Euker, a freshman working primarily at 285 with older brother Grant lost for the season with an injury at the PAC Championships, scored a 1:49 pin that cut Spring-Ford’s early lead to 18-9. But the Rams’ sweep of the four lowest weights (106-126) proved decisive, the Vikes managing only Aidan Stratton’s decision at 132 and Kelly Kakos’ tech-fall at 138.
“Spring-Ford is tough. They’re able to reload every year,” Thomas noted. “Their lower weights are strong.”
Gus Smith (26-7) got the Rams back on track at 106 with his 4:56 technical fall. He and older brother Quinn used their tech-falls to bookend Cole Smith’s 52-second pin at 113 and a forfeit of 120 to Ortlip.
Putting the finishing touches on the win were Lepore and Anthony Attilio (21-11), who worked out a 7-3 decision of PV’s Carter Euker (20-10) at 152.
“It was very important winning the PAC and being undefeated,” Lepore said. “It helps us keep rolling and gets our confidence up.”
It also erased questions about whether the 2022 Rams, graduating a Class of 2021 led by state champion Joey Milano and runner-up Jack McGill, could find wrestlers capable of extending the program’s dominance in the division and conference a fourth straight year.
“I didn’t know what to expect, graduating a talented senior class,” Seislove said. “But we had a lot of kids who stepped up this year and made us successful.”
The next challenge for Spring-Ford will be the District 1-AAA North tournament being hosted by Perk Valley next weekend. Cole Smith and Ortlip are returning district champions with a Ram unit that finished as the District 1-AAA South team champ last year.
“We should get some guys to advance,” Seislove said. “We have to keep moving forward.”
For their part, the Vikings are looking forward to being the host program for districts.
“The kids are happy to be hosting,” Thomas said. “They’re home, and they have the practice room to themselves. This is the first time PV has been host in a while, and we’re looking forward to showing off our facility.”
Kakos is in pursuit of a third straight district championship. He won at 120 his freshman year, and at 132 during a sophomore campaign capped by an eighth-place medal at states.
NOTES
In tune-up for districts, PV will be taking part in Downingtown West’s Duals Saturday. “We’re hoping to get some more guys back,” Thomas said. “It’s nice to have competitions instead of practices.” … Seislove on the buildup of anticipation prior to Thursday’s match: “We had this circled on our calendar for a while. Whenever we wrestled it, we would be ready.”
