Easton falls to Central Dauphin in 3A duals final; Nazareth takes third

FROM THE MORNING CALL

HERSHEY – —

The margins are slight this time of year. A nearly finished takedown here, uncalled back points there, not to mention interspersed penalty points, all can divert a championship run. Especially against a three-time defending champion.

Easton found itself on the other side of those margins Saturday. Central Dauphin won seven tossup bouts, one in overtime and another by fall, to defeat the Red Rovers 36-18 for the PIAA Class 3A Team Wrestling title at the Giant Center.

With the victory, Central Dauphin (23-0) matched Easton's record of four consecutive state-duals titles. However, the Rams won those in the expanded-field years, while Easton won from 2001-04, when the tournament had nine teams.

"Easton is still Easton," said Central Dauphin coach Jeff Sweigard, whose team ran its dual-match win streak to 73. "But it was enjoyable to beat them in the finals."

In the consolation round, Nazareth won five consecutive matches following Thursday's loss to Canon McMillan to place third. On Saturday, the Blue Eagles defeated Canon McMillan 33-19 and Council Rock South 33-24 for their highest finish since winning in 2007.

Ultimately, the state's top two teams reached the final. Central Dauphin, the District 3 champ, and Easton controlled their halves of the bracket on the way to an expected meeting of champions past and present. Central Dauphin made its fourth consecutive state-final appearance, while Easton qualified for its eighth title match (having lost its last three from 2005-07).

Though Central Dauphin won 10 bouts, the match felt closer than the 18-point margin of victory. The Rams won seven of the eight tossups, including four straight from 119-135 pounds. In between were moments that twisted both coaches' stomachs, though Sweigard had fewer of those. One happened right away.

Central Dauphin's Zak Koller (215) scored a takedown 20 seconds into the first overtime period to edge Easton's Tyler Greene 5-3 in the opening bout. Greene rallied from a 3-0 deficit and nearly hit the potential winning takedown at the third-period buzzer.

Easton's Jalal Paige quickly halted the momentum with a first-period pin at heavyweight (where Central Dauphin's normal starter was injured), but the Rams claimed control by winning five of the next six bouts. Four were decided by four points or less.

"[Easton] has a good following over there, and with high school kids, momentum is gigantic," Sweigard said. "It gets in their minds. I said, 'We've got to take that momentum away from them.' [Jeremy Schwartz at 103] got the ball rolling, and then we kept it going."

Still, the Red Rovers (22-2) nearly derailed Central Dauphin several times. Easton coach Steve Powell thought Greene might have hit that takedown at the end of regulation. And he was convinced Evan DiSora scored back points near the end of his 119-pound bout against Austin Rose.

Trailing 2-0 late, DiSora appeared to catch Rose in a tilt for at least a two-point near fall. Though the referee began to count, he awarded no back points, and Rose held on for the 2-0 victory.

After that, Central Dauphin's Shyheim Brown edged Calvin Daly 201 at 130, getting the eventual winning point via a penalty call. And at 135, the Rams' Nick Varndell was awarded two penalty points in a 6-3 victory over Joey Rizzolino.

"We had to get those close ones," Powell said. "In big matches like this, those are the difference. Evan [DiSora] wrestled as well as he could but just didn't get [the back points]. Daly wrestled a heck of a match but lost it on a penalty point. It's one of those things you learn in sports. You can't give it away."

Mitch Minotti (140) gave Easton some hope with a pin at 140, but Central Dauphin's Kevin Gooding quelled that with his ensuing pin at 145. Anthony Minotti led Gooding 5-3 in the third period and went for broke, which Gooding countered for the fall in 5:30.

Mason McIntyre (160) joined Mitch Minotti and Paige in going 4-0 for the tournament. Easton will wrestle Bethlehem Catholic, which won the PIAA 2A title, on Wednesday in its final dual match of the regular season.

"We take great pride in our schedule," Powell said, "and the best part of the Pennsylvania season is still to come."

For Nazareth, the state duals began with a uneven win over Owen J. Roberts last Monday and a loss to Canon McMillan on Thursday that left coach Dave Crowell at frustration's limit. He even skipped the pep talks Friday and Saturday, allowing the team to choose its own course.

"We were down as a staff Thursday night, but we had two ways we could go," Crowell said. "I let the kids do it. I didn't even talk to them anymore. I told them, 'I've said what I have to say. Now it's up to you.'"

Nazareth (17-5) responded by winning five matches Friday and Saturday, including a rematch with Canon McMillan and the consolation final over Council Rock South. The Blue Eagles' Greg Noll went on a particular roll.

HERSHEY – —

The 135-pound senior went 6-0 in Hershey, with two pins and a pair of 6-4 decisions over Greater Latrobe's Ty Lydic and Council Rock South's Matt Rappo, both ranked in the top 4 in the state.

The state duals also marked the return of Nazareth freshman Tyrone Klump, who sustained a broken finger in December. The finger ultimately became infected, and Klump spent a week at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in January.

Expected to miss the remainder of the season, Klump began practicing last week and wrestled at states for the first time in six weeks. He went 3-3 and plans to compete at districts.

"What he did just blew me away," Crowell said.

mark.wogenrich@mcall.com

610-820-6588

PIAA 3A TEAM WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS

FINAL

CENTRAL DAUPHIN 36, EASTON 18

103: Jeremy Schwartz (CD) dec. Kyle Baker 7-2

112: Peter Stanley (E) dec. Evan Davis 5-1

119: Austin Rose (CD) dec. Evan DiSora 2-0

125: Tyson Dippery (CD) dec. Robbie Rizzolino 6-3

130: Shyheim Brown (CD) dec. Calvin Daly 2-1

135: Nick Varndell (CD) dec. Joey Rizzolino 8-5

140: Mitch Minotti (E) pin Matt Lux 5:31

145: Kevin Gooding (CD) pin Anthony Minotti 5:30

152: Garrett Peppelman (CD) dec. Solomon Sohn 8-3

160: Mason McIntyre (E) dec. Colton Peppelman 5-2

171: Dorian Spradlin (CD) dec. Zach Bambary 7-4.

HERSHEY – —

189: Kenny Courts (CD) pin Jose Rotger :44

215: Zak Koller (CD) dec. Tyler Greene 5-3 OT

285: Jalal Paige (E) pin Nate Stewart 1:05

CONSOLATION FINAL

NAZARETH 33, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 24

103: Billy Rappo (CRS) pin Tyrone Klump 2:34

112: Trey Balasco (CRS) dec. Chase Zemenak 3-2 OT

119: Adam Delgado dec. Danny Martoccio 11-5

125: Franco Ferraina (N) pin Mack Moore 2:34

130: Zach Horan (N) pin Dan Altomare 1:41

135: Greg Noll (N) dec. Matt Rappo 6-4

140: Matt Martoccio (CRS) tech. fall Ian Stout 26-11 4:58

145: Connor Moore (CRS) vs. Hunter Weidner 12-4

152: Wyatt Miller (N) dec. Brian Greco 9-2

160: Ryan Krecker (N) pin Forester Somsanith :26

171: Shane Gilmore (CRS) dec. Eric Wolak 8-4

189: Jared Rosen (CRS) dec. Ben Bradley 12-3

215: David Wilke (N) dec. Tim Riley 3-1

285: Aaron Bradley (N) dec. Tom Trampe 2-1

SEMIFINALS
HERSHEY – —

EASTON 40, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 23

103: Billy Rappo (CRS) dec. Kyle Baker 4-3

112: Trey Bolasco (CRS) dec. Peter Stanley 2-0

119: Evan DiSora (E) pin Danny Martoccio 4:44

125: Robbie Rizzolino (E) pin Mack Moore 3:35

130: Calvin Daly (E) tech. fall Brian Heckman 20-5 in 5:23

135: Matt Rappo (CRS) dec. Joey Rizzolino 6-3.

140: Matt Martoccio (CRS) tech. fall Mark Misczenski.

145: Mitch Minotti (E) by forfeit

152: Anthony Minotti (E) dec. Connor Moore 10-2

160: Mason McIntyre (E) pin David Topham 1:49

171: Shane Gilmore (CRS) dec. Zach Bambary 1-0

189: Tim Riley (CRS) pin Jose Rotger 3:32

215: Tyler Greene (E) dec. Thomas Dingui 10-2

285: Jalal Paige (E) Tommy Trampe 2-1

CONSOLATION SEMIFINALS

NAZARETH 33, CANON MCMILLAN 19

103: Colton Shorts (CM) dec. Tyrone Klump 8-2

112: Dalton Macri (CM) dec. Chase Zemenak 5-4

119: Conner Schram (CM) dec. Adam Delgado 10-1
HERSHEY – —

125: Franco Ferraina (N) dec. Sammy Minor 10-4

130: Nick Toronzi (N) dec. Alec Hutchin 8-2

135: Zach Horan (N) dec. Solomon Chishko 4-1 OT

140: Greg Noll (N) dec. Dario Dobbin 4-0

145: Nick Catalano (CM) pin Ian Stout 3:26

152: Wyatt Miller (N) dec. Mark Dami 3-1

160: Ryan Krecker (N) pin Cody Renzelli :26

171: Eric Wolak (N) pin Zach Thomas 2:45

189: Ben Bradley (N) dec. Ian Binotto 5-2

215: Aaron Bradley (N) dec. Alex Campbell 5-1

285: Cody Klempay (CM) dec. Ian Mutch 3-0

http://www.mcall.com/sports/varsity/mc-wrestling-3a-duals-20110212,0,7862076.story?page=5