Easton advances 13, cruises to District 11 3A title

They don't discuss the streak that often (except for 2009, maybe), but they did talk about winning a title for the last time together.

The Red Rovers won two titles, advanced 13 wrestlers to regionals and claimed 14 medals overall in cruising to the District 11 Class 3A wrestling title Saturday at Liberty High. To punctuate the night, Easton coach Steve Powell was named the district's 3A coach of the year.

"This does mean a lot," Easton senior Joey Rizzolino said, "especially since we were disappointed at [state duals] a bit. This was our last shot to win one of these."

Rizzolino (135 pounds) and Mitch Minotti (140) each won their second district titles, extending Easton's streak to 64 of consecutive seasons with a district champion. Perhaps more important, though, was the lineup's consistency. The 13 wrestlers who advanced included freshman Kyle Baker (103); 152-pounder Solomon Sohn, who scored an upset Friday; and sophomore Dyvon Gibson, who entered districts having wrestled just seven varsity matches. Further, junior Francis Slover placed seventh at 189 to complete the full lineup of medals.

Beyond Easton's title, the tournament was highlighted by Zach Horan's march to history, Mike Ottinger's thrilling victory and Northampton's revival. Horan and Ottinger shared the outstanding-wrestler award with Blue Mountain's Corey Keener, who became a three-time district champ.

Horan defeated Blue Mountain's Brandon Choate 6-4 for the 130-pound title, becoming Nazareth's first four-time district champion, a feat in which he took pride.

"It's always nice to be the first," the senior said, "especially with all the great wrestlers who came through the program."

Horan (42-0) already has made his imprint on the program's history, but now he's focused on cementing that legacy with the elusive state title. The three-time runner-up continued his pursuit with a tough win over Choate.

The bout pitted two of the state's top wrestlers, who have combined for 319 victories and five state medals. Choate actually became the first wrestler to score a takedown against Horan this season.

"I relaxed a little bit, and he's someone who could make the state final," Horan said. "You can't really relax and give him any openings."

Horan considered dropping to 125, where he would have pursued a potential state-final rematch with Franklin Regional's Nico Megaludis. Ultimately, he remained at 130, where he has dominated most opponents this season. A 4-3 victory over Ohio state champ Jonni DiJulius convinced him to remain at 130.

Nazareth's Franco Ferraina (125) joined Horan in winning gold, and the Blue Eagles advanced 11 wrestlers to regionals.

Parkland claimed two titles (with 215-pounder Tarik Haddad winning his second) and advanced 10 to regionals. But the tournament's best-known grudge match went to overtime, again, with Parkland's Ottinger winning in overtime. Two more victories, he said, and the series will be all square.

The senior (26-2) reversed Nazareth's Ryan Krecker in the ultimate-tiebreaker period for a 4-2 win in the 160-pound final. Krecker had won two regular-season bouts against Ottinger, including one in overtime, to take a 6-4 lead in the series. But defending his district title was important.

"That," Ottinger said, "was a big relief."

Ottinger certainly was prepared for the bout; his coach, Ryan Nunamaker, wrote a three-page scouting report that Ottinger studied before the final. Teammate Haddad won his second consecutive district title, defeating Easton's Tyler Greene 5-3.

For Northampton, the tournament was a success after an uneven season. The Konkrete Kids led all teams with three champs and advanced 10 wrestlers to regionals.

"A lot of people really stepped up," said John Lambert, who won at 152. "It's definitely not what we expected at all."

The senior is wrestling the postseason with several pieces of protective gear, shielding a knee injury and a sore wrist from further trouble. For the most part, though, he doesn't think about them.

"I just try to stay out of predicaments where I really get hurt," he said. "I'm having a pretty good year, and I don't want it to end."

Lambert, a senior, won the 152-pound title with a 3-1 decision over Southern Lehigh's Luke Gotzon. Teammates Cole Sheptock (145) and Nick Sharga (285) joined him atop the podium.

At 112, Liberty's Anthony Cabrera won his second consecutive title by countering a late move from Dieruff's DeMarquis Holley. The junior scored a takedown as the third-period clock ran out for a 3-1 decision. It's a move he might not have been able to hit last year.

Cabrera, a senior, wrestled last season with a shoulder injury that required a brace, restricted his style and ultimately needed surgery. He had the procedure after states and rehabbed over the summer.

Healthy again, and wrestling without a brace, Cabrera is at full strentgth. He can breathe properly on the mat (the brace made it difficult) and he's able to hit his best moves again.

"I honestly feel 100 times better than last year," he said. "Without the brace, I feel like I can do anything I want."

Cabrera's teammate Brett Marino began his postseason by winning the 103-pound title

Emmaus' Troy Newhard (189) came from the fifth seed to win his first district title, defeating Freedom's Evan Kauffman 7-2 in the final.

DISTRICT 11 3A WRESTLING TOURNAMENT

TEAM SCORES (Regional qualifiers in parentheses)

1. Easton 273.5 (13); 2. Nazareth 231 (11); 3. Parkland 219 (10); 4. Northampton 214.5 (10); 5. Liberty 120 (4); 6. Stroudsburg 96 (5); 7. Pocono Mt. East 90.5 (5); 8. Blue Mountain 90 (3); 9. East Stroudsburg South 88.5 (4); 10. Pleasant Valley 79.5 (5); 11. Freedom 72 (2); 12. Southern Lehigh 66 (4); 13. Pocono Mt. West 56 (1); 14. Dieruff 49.5 (2); 15. Pottsville 49 (2); 16. Emmaus 48.5 (2); 17. Whitehall 40 (1); 18. Allen 21 (0); 19. Bangor 20 (0); 20. East Stroudsburg North 14 (0).

CHAMPIONSHIPS

103: Brett Marino (L) dec. Ethan Lizak (Pa) 6-5.

112: Anthony Cabrera (L) dec. DeMarquis Holley 3-1.

119: Corey Keener (BM) dec. Evan DiSora (Ea) 9-2.

125: Franco Ferraina (Na) dec. Devon Lotito (L) 8-2.

130: Zach Horan (Na) dec. Brandon Choate (BM) 6-4.

135: Joey Rizzolino (Ea) dec. Greg Noll (Naz) 9-6.

140: Mitch Minotti (Ea) dec. D.P. Miller (ESS) 10-0.

145: Cole Sheptock (No) dec. Anthony Minotti 3-0.

152: John Lambert (No) dec. Luke Gotzon (SL) 3-1.

160: Mike Ottinger (Pa) dec. Ryan Krecker (Na) 4-2 UTB.

171: Travis Moyer (BM) dec. Zach Bambary (Ea) 9-4.

189: Troy Newhard (Em) dec. Evan Kauffman (F) 7-2.

215: Tarik Haddad (Pa) dec. Tyler Greene (Ea) 5-3.

285: Nick Sharga (No) dec. Aaron Bradley (Na) 3-2.

THIRD PLACE

103: Colby Ems (ESS) dec. Kyle Baker (Ea) 5-3.

112: Chase Zemenak (Na) dec. Ian Evans (Pa) 6-1.

119: Grimaldi Gonzalez (L) pin Paul Hetrick (No) 2:11.

125: Robbie Rizzolino (Ea) dec. Mike Fake (Pa) 7-6.

130: Calvin Daly (Ea) dec. Mike Dahlstrom (PV) 2-1.

135: Jason Stephen (No) dec. Eric Howey (St) 4-1.

140: Zach Wilson (No) dec. Alex Yanovich (PV) 11-4.

145: Justin Heller (PV) dec. Kevin Finn (ESS) 8-1.

152: Solomon Sohn (Ea) dec. Ty Gardner (Po) 6-4.

160: Ed Helm V (PME) dec. Jacobi Nordmark (St) 5-2.

171: Eric Wolak (Na) dec. Joseph Fogle (PME) 5-1.

189: Cory Bruder (Pa) pin Blake Smith (PME) 4:48

215: David Wilke (Na) pin Jacob Dolin (W) :24.

285: Jalal Paige (Ea) dec. Josh Gonzalez (PMW) 3-2.

FIFTH PLACE

103: Brandon Sommer (No) dec. Kenny Yanovich (PV) 4-2.

112: Peter Stanley (Ea) dec. Sean Bianco (PV) 6-2.

119: Adam Delgado (Na) dec. James Palys (PME) 12-4.

125: Ernest Klingel (PV) dec. Josh Fritz (Em) 2-1.

130: Forest Touchberry (Pa) dec. Chris Gannon (ESS) 9-5.

135: Mike Marano (Pa) pin Tye Vallone (SL) 2:48.

140: Joseph Bickelman (Po) dec. Elijah Angradi (St) 7-4.

145: Matt Gotzon (SL) pin Wyatt Miller (Na) 2:19.

152: Aaron Transue (St) dec. Ryan Price (PME) 9-0.

160: Tim Kunkel (No) pin Dyvon Gibson (Ea) 1:49.

171: Jovon Reyes (D) dec. Robert Karstendiek (St) 3-2.

189: Ben Bradley (Na) dec. Marcus Newsom (No) 2-1.

215: Michael Wright (No) dec. Tyler Pearson (F) 3-1.

285: Shaun Heist (Pa) pin Daulton Romano (SL) 1:42.

SEVENTH PLACE

103: Guesseppe Rea (St) dec. Freddy Agou (W) 5-1

112: Tyler Hernandez (PMW) dec. Bailey Roos (Po) 7-1.

119: James Harris (Po) dec. Cole DiGuiseppi (F) 3-0.

125: Trey Daubert (No) dec. Tyler Galasso (F) 2-0 OT.

130: Bobby Fehr (No) dec. Dominic Fetter (L) 3-1.

135: Aaron Morekin (W) by default over Gino Giunta (PME).

140: Bryson Berard (Pa) pin Eric Seals (A) 4:42.

145: Matt Murphy (PME) dec. Josh Young (F) 3-2.

152: Rich Trotta (Pa) dec. Jonathan Slinger (PMW) 14-3.

160: Cody Thatcher (B) dec. Abraham Dawood (A) 10-2.

171: Kyle Spina (F) dec. Willie O'Brien (ESS) 4-3.

189: Francis Slover (Ea) pin Derrick Powell (St) 1:34.

215: Stanley Burke (Po) dec. Kenny Rogers (St) 3-1.

285: Sean Fortes (F) dec. Lance Francois (ESN) 6-5.

SEMIFINALS

103: Ethan Lizak (Pa) dec. Brandon Sommer (No) 10-2; Brett Marino (L) def. Kenny Yanovich (PV) 10-5.

112: Anthony Cabrera (L) dec. Chase Zemanak (Na) 8-6; DeMarquis Holley (D) dec. Peter Stanley (Ea) 4-3 OT.

119: Corey Keener (BM) pin James Palys (PME) :55; Evan DiSora (Ea) def. Grimaldi Gonzalez (L) 3-1.

125: Franco Ferraina (Na) tech. fall Ernest Klingel (PV) 18-2 in 5:59; Devon Lotito (L) dec. Josh Fritz (Em) 13-0.

130: Zach Horan (Na) pin Calvin Daly (Ea) 1:41; Brandon Choate (BM) dec. Mike Dahlstrom (PV) 3-2.

135: Greg Noll (Na) dec. Eric Howey (St) 7-3; Joey Rizzolino (Ea) tech. fall Jason Stephen (No) 18-2 in 4:40.

140: Mitch Minotti (Ea) dec. Alex Yanovich (PV) 12-1; D.P. Miller (ESS) def. Zach Wilson (No) 9-0.

145: Cole Sheptock (No) pin Kevin Finn (ESS) 1:30; Anthony Minotti (Ea) pin Justin Heller (Pa) 1:27.

152: John Lambert (No) dec. Aaron Transue (St) 12-2; Luke Gotzon (SL) dec. Solomon Sohn (Ea) 3-2 UTB.

160: Ryan Krecker (Na) pin. Ed Helm V (PME) 5:52; Mike Ottinger (Pa) dec. Tim Kunkel (No) 7-1.

171: Travis Moyer (BM) dec. Eric Wolak (Na) 9-2; Zach Bambary (Ea) dec. Jovon Reyes (D) 6-5 UTB.

189: Troy Newhard (Em) dec. Cory Bruder (Pa) 3-2; Evan Kauffman (F) dec. Blake Smith (PME) 10-4.

215: Tarik Haddad (Pa) pin Jacob Dolin (W) 1:10; Tyler Greene (Ea) dec. David Wilke (Na) 6-4.

285: Aaron Bradley (Na) dec. Josh Gonzalez (PMW) 3-2; Nick Sharga (No) dec. Jalal Paige (Ea) 5-3.