Wrestling

After late coaching hire, Conestoga building on talented base

by
Nate Heckenberger
January 25, 2023

SPRINGFIELD >> Coming into the season, Conestoga had the makings of a pretty competitive wrestling team in the Central League.

The Pioneers had a solid mix of talented seniors and promising underclassmen. One thing, and a major thing at that, was missing: They had no head coach.

Gary Baker was officially hired three days prior to the start of the season, and while he was thrown into the fire of figuring out weight decisions and competition points, his time in the Conestoga youth program brought more than enough familiarity with the team.

Conestoga coach Gary Baker talks with Miles Warkentine during a stoppage. (Nate Heckenberger – For MediaNews Group)

Wednesday, Baker’s boys went on the road and defeated Springfield (Delco), 59-15, to stay undefeated in the Central and kept hope alive for the Pioneer’s first league title since 2006.

“Our goal is to get better, faster,” Baker said. “Everyone is getting better, but it’s our goal to get better, faster than our opponent.”

Senior Jake Allred (189 pounds) is a returning state qualifier, and Miles Warkentine (127), Hayden McLellan (172) and Bryce Beltrante (215) made regionals last season. There was certainly a nice base for Baker to build on, but his procrastinated reintroduction meant everyone would have to figure some things out on the fly.

Conestoga’s Miles Warkentine locks up a leg cradle against Springfield (Delco’s) Shane Klein at 127 pounds. (Nate Heckenberger – For MediaNews Group)

That started with the schedule. By the time Baker stepped in for former coach, Tom Elicker, the schedule was pretty much set. Any chance for Baker to increase the difficulty had passed, so his Pioneers (6-0 Central, 17-1 overall) have had to make do.

“It’s been a clean transfer (to Baker),” McLellan said. “I wish he came in earlier so we could’ve gotten the schedule strengthened, but we all pretty much go hard with each other each day and get good technique and some high-level goes.”

Conestoga’s Matt Boye. (Nate Heckenberger – For MediaNews Group)

McLellan is right in the middle of ’Stoga’s strength, starting with Matt Boye (160). McLellan is 24-1 on the season and is ranked No. 2 in District 1 (pa-wrestling.com), as is Allred, who like Boye, is 23-2. Beltrante, the fourth senior of the group, is 15-3.

That quartet scored 23 points to close out the Cougars (2-4, 8-11), who had cut their deficit to 15 with five bouts to go.

Conestoga’s Hayden McLellan takes down Springfield (Delco’s) Matt Klein en route to a technical fall at 172 pounds. (Nate Heckenberger – For MediaNews Group)

Having seen Allred punch his ticket to Hershey as a junior, and making regionals twice already, himself, McLellan believes he can not only qualify for states, but do it as a regional champion.

“It’s exciting,” McLellan said. “I’ve wrestled most of those kids at 172 and I feel like I can hang with them. I feel like it’s my weight to lose.”

Conestoga’s Teddy McKenzie pins Springfield (Delco’s) Joaquin Vazquez at 139 pounds. (Nate Heckenberger – For MediaNews Group)

The first half of ’Stoga’s lineup has some potential, as well. Freshman Steven Wiechecki (121) leads the team with 25 wins, and Miles Warkentine (127) is 19-1, coming off a regional appearance as a freshman.

They both pinned against Springfield, as did August Mullin (114), Teddy McKenzi (139), Alec Calvitti (145) and Hayden Leon (285).

While the win/loss ratios look great, Warkentine and crew understand it is well worth risking some losses to get better prepared for the postseason. Thursday, Conestoga will take on Spring-Ford in the first round of the District 1-3A Duals, and the 13th-seeded Pioneers will get by far their biggest test against the No. 4 Rams who’ve qualified for the PIAA Duals five straight years.

Conestoga’s Miles Warkentine. (Nate Heckenberger – For MediaNews Group)

“I really want to compare myself and see how I stack up against better competition,” said Warkentine, who could see returning state qualifier, Quinn Smith of Spring-Ford. “I want to be able to wrestle great wrestlers. (Smith) beat me last year, so it’ll be a great opportunity.”

Conestoga’s Steven Wiechecki. (Nate Heckenberger – For MediaNews Group)

Conestoga’s remaining league foes are Ridley and Lower Merion, the next two Wednesday nights. Not on the schedule this year is Strath Haven, who is also undefeated in the league. The Pioneers edged the Panthers by 2.5 points in the Central League Championships, last Saturday, so keeping that league record unblemished is priority No. 1.

“We’re not Central League champs, yet,” McLellan said. “It was good to come in and keep winning league duals. We want the full championship over Strath Haven.”