Wrestling

Seagreaves twins boost up-and-coming Coatesville over Dtown East

by
Nate Heckenberger
January 11, 2023

UWCHLAN >> For much of their matches, their long brown hair escaped the headgear, hiding the eyes of Coatesville’s twin brothers, Evan and Jason Seagreaves.

For as long as the duo has been wrestling, it’s mostly muscle memory at this point, but what the seniors could see is a promising lineup of underclassmen behind them.

Coatesville’s Jason Seagreaves. (Nate Heckenberger – For MediaNews Group)

Wednesday, the Seagreaves brothers scored key wins early and six underclassmen got their hands raised to propel Coatesville to its first win over Downingtown East since 2017, by the score of 30-21, in the Ches-Mont National Division dual meet.

“I told the kids we wrestled with a lot of heart,” Coatesville coach Jeff Bowyer said. “It was certainly ‘Ville mentality. We won most of the close ones and it was all guts and heart at the end. This is the first time we really had the opportunity to be competitive in these kinds of duals.”

Bowyer took over the helm in 2017, but is still looking for his first winning season. Often plagued with multiple forfeits and inexperienced lineups, Coatesville appears to be on a bit of an upswing after pushing Downingtown West in a 39-28 loss, last week, and winning eight of 13 bouts against East.

Coatesville’s Evan Seagreaves hits a merkle to take down Downingtown East’s Josh Hillestad, en route to a 7-2 win at 145 pounds. (Nate Heckenberger – For MediaNews Group)

Southeast Regional sixth-place finisher, Andrij Szczesniuk (121 pounds) kicked off the contest with a first-period fall.

Elijah Whitaker (127), who led 6-1 at one point, staved off a comeback from Frankie Hydutsky with a takedown in sudden victory.

Coatesville’s Elijah Whitaker shoots in on Downingtown East’s Frankie Hydutsky in a 9-7 win at 127 pounds. (Nate Heckenberger – For MediaNews Group)

Two bouts later, Jason Seagreaves (139) was knotted at two with Paxson Warnock, when he started the first 30-second rideout period on top. Seagreaves was able to lock up a tilt, and later escaped in the second rideout, to give Coatesville its second overtime win in four bouts.

“I knew I probably needed to score on top,” Jason Seagreaves said. “I wanted to pull through, not just for myself, but for my team. I really wanted to see them win.”

The magnitude of that match was not lost on Boywer.

“That was tremendous for Jason,” Bowyer said. “That was all guts. That was one of those wins that came down to who wanted it more and it was a big, pivotal match for our team.”

Coatesville’s Evan Seagreaves. (Nate Heckenberger – For MediaNews Group)

Evan Seagreaves (145) was tied with Josh Hillestad in the third period until he manuevered a merkle and used it for three near-fall points to claim a 7-2 victory.

“The whole time I felt it was much closer than it should’ve been,” Evan Seagreaves said. “I felt him go to the collar-tie a lot and the third period I could feel him getting tired, so I knew I’d hit my shrug when he went to it again, and it worked just as I thought it would.”

Up 15-3 after five matches, Coatesville (1-1 division, 1-1 overall) got wins at three of the next four weights to all but wrap it up.

Coaetsville’s Jacob Ruttman lifts Downingtown East’s Brandon Pacielli on his way to a technical fall victory at 152 pounds. (Nate Heckenberger – For MediaNews Group)

Jacob Ruttman (152) put on a takedown clinic en route to a technical fall, Jack Weldon (172) edged Ryan Loraw, 5-1 and Matt Luton (189) shut out Tommy Grizzanti, 6-0, to bulge the Red Raiders’ lead to 17, with three bouts to go.

“It’s really just everybody loving each other,” Jason Seagreaves said. “We worked so hard in the offseason and have been grinding every day.”

East (1-1, 3-2) stayed alive when its big man, Adham Abouraya, earned a pin at 285.

Downingtown East’s Adham Abouraya collects back points against Coatesville’s Jacob Chmielecki before pinning him at 285 pounds. (Nate Heckenberger – For MediaNews Group)

“(Abouraya) is a probably Division 1 football player and he spends very little time wrestling because he has very little time to do so,” East coach Joe Horvath said. “He has gotten more athletic and gained confidence and he’s decided to push some people around.”

Downingtown East’s Felix Mason tries to turn Coatesville’s Rami Ayoub during a 6-4 win at 215 pounds. (Nate Heckenberger – For MediaNews Group)

The Cougars also got wins from Steve Elinski (133), Cade McDowell (160), Felix Mason (215) and Valen Piff (114).

“We lacked athleticism, compared to their kids and overall determination,” Horvath said. “Some of that can be developed and some of that is inherent, so we have a tough task ahead of us.”