Upper Dublin beats Wissahickon for Ambler Cup

UPPER DUBLIN >> Upper Dublin dominated the lower 10 weight classes through its first four matches this season. Entering Wednesday night’s Suburban One League Liberty Division opener against Wissahickon, the Cardinals were a combined 35-5 in dual matches in the 107-172 pound weight classes.

That trend continued in their fifth dual.

Upper Dublin won all nine matches from 107 to 160 pounds and cruised to a 47-18 win over the rival Trojans at Upper Dublin High School.

Zach Gallagher (114), Caden Cerminaro (121), CJ Ambrose (133), Dan Gorman (139), Elias Abebe (145) and Austin Pendleton (152) won with pins while Jake Evans (107) and Tommy Clayton (160) won on points, 9-4 and 11-9, respectively. Joseph Sirianni (127) won with a technical fall.

“All season, us lower weights, we have good JV guys, we’re working hard in the room,” Gallagher, who’s 7-3 this season, said. “We’re going live, we’re all beating up on each other. I think that gets us prepared for each match. We’re always going at each other and working hard. I think that’s why our lower weights are good.”

“We wrestled well,” Upper Dublin coach David Jones added. “We’re off to a great start. We scored almost 250 points in the first five matches. We’re solid through the lineup. We’ve got a lot of seniority, a lot of guys who are doing well. Last two years were tough with COVID, now these guys are all back. We look good. We’ve got Quakertown next week, which will be a good test for us.”

Wissahickon (0-3, 0-1 SOL Liberty) dominated the heavier weight classes. Nathanael Chez (172) finished the second period strong and won on points, 11-4, while Evan Prestipino (189) took his match, 6-0. Tyler Prince (215) pinned his opponent in the first period and Ryan Lee (289) pinned his opponent in the third.

“Our last four, even five, weights from 60, 72, 89, 215 and heavy are pretty good,” Wiss coach Anthony Stagliano said. “They had a good 60-pounder, too. Our guy wrestled tough there, Trey Stubbs… That could have gone the other way. At 107 (Mason Carr) I liked our performance. I think that could’ve gone the other way. Our strength is definitely up top.

“(Upper Dublin) has one of their best lineups in a long time, solid throughout. They’ve always had good kids and decent teams, but this is a solid lineup. I knew we had our work cut out for us and a challenge. The only way we could have been a little closer, I said we needed four pins and we got two. That wasn’t enough. I don’t think we executed in some positions we have to work on, but I did like our heart. Our guys fought off their back, even though some ended up getting pinned. I saw a lot of fight and a lot of heart, which if you’re going to get beat is all you’re looking for.”

Upper Dublin’s win means the Cardinals (5-0, 1-0 SOL Liberty) keep the Ambler Cup. The trophy is awarded to whichever team wins the matchup between these cross-town rivals, separated by a little more than two miles.

“It feels nice,” Gallagher, a senior, said of winning the cup. “Our first two years we lost. We got dealt with pretty good. It’s nice getting the cup back these two years right before I graduate.”