Easton tops Nazareth for District 11 3A wrestling duals title

FROM THE MORNING CALL

Easton wrestled as a sort-of underdog last season, emerging from the No. 4 seed to win the district duals wrestling title. Returning to the role of favorite suited the Red Rovers fine Saturday.

With two sure-fire performances in the semifinals and final, Easton defended its District 11 Class 3A duals title and established itself as the probable favorite for this week's state tournament. After overwhelming Northampton 47-12 in the semis, the Red Rovers defeated Nazareth 33-22 for their 10th overall title in the district duals.

"It's easier, and maybe more fun, to do the chasing than to be the guy with the target on your back," Easton coach Steve Powell said. "But I thought the kids handled it very well."

The Red Rovers (19-1) advanced to next week's PIAA duals for the 10th time since 2000. They will face the winner of the Spring-Ford/Big Spring pigtail match in Thursday's quarterfinal round at the Giant Center in Hershey.

Nazareth (12-4) will wrestle Owen J. Roberts, the third-place team from District One, in a pigtail bout at 7 p.m. Monday at Methacton High. The winner advances to Hershey, where it will wrestle the District 7 champ in the first round.

Easton and Nazareth are on opposite sides of the bracket, meaning a third meeting is possible in Saturday's state final.

"Sure, it's possible," Nazareth coach Dave Crowell said. "Hopefully, the kids will keep it going."

Last year, Easton rallied from a stuttering start to the season by defeating No. 1 Nazareth and No. 2 Parkland on the same day to claim a surprising duals title. On Saturday, the Red Rovers faced a pair of rematches against rivals and bettered themselves on both counts.

In the afternoon semis, Easton won the first 10 bouts (one by forfeit) to overtake Northampton by 35 points. The margin was 11 points higher than Easton's dual-meet win over the Kids last month.

The Red Rovers followed that with an 11-point win over Nazareth, bettering themselves by eight points from their 27-24 victory this season.

"We didn't have quite the edge we usually do, but you can't take anything away from Easton," Crowell said. "They're very, very good. They find ways to win matches."

In the final, Easton found it quickly, getting an opening-bout victory from senior heavyweight Jalal Paige. Earlier this season, Paige lost 3-2 to Nazareth's Aaron Bradley. But on Saturday, Paige hit strong takedowns in the first and third periods to reverse the result with a 5-2 victory.

"I felt a little bit of pressure, and [wrestling first] was nerve-wracking, because whether you win or lose can affect the team's spirit," said Paige, who improved to 28-4. "I tried to use that to my advantage to help my team."

The win sparked Easton, which took an 11-3 lead following wins from Kyle Baker (103) and Evan DiSora (119). Nazareth rallied with three straight wins from Franco Ferraina, Zach Horan and Greg Noll to take a 13-11 advantage, but Easton grabbed control at 140.

Joey Rizzolino had a major decision at 135, and Anthony Minotti (145) and Mitch Minotti (152) both scored pins to give Easton a 27-13 lead. Mason McIntyre's 7-6 win at 160 pushed Easton to the brink of victory, which Zach Bambary clinched by holding Nazareth's Ben Bradley to a 3-1 win at 189.

"I thought we wrestled really well against Northampton, then we turned around a couple against Nazareth," Powell said. "Everybody wrestled a nearly perfect match."

For Nazareth, Horan won his 150th career bout with a 12-3 decision at 130. The senior improved to 30-0 on the season.

The day's best 3A bout came in the semifinals, where Nazareth edged Parkland 28-27. Ben Bradley turned a five-point move into the decisive 8-2 victory at 189. In the bout, Bradley made an aggressive second-period move, getting a takedown and three back points for the winning margin against Parkland's Cory Bruder. Both wrestlers have missed time this season because of injuries.

The match had a series of tight outcomes, of which Nazareth won the majority. Six bouts were decided by four points or less, and the Blue Eagles went 5-1 in those.

Nazareth's David Wilke (215) opened the run with an 8-7 victory over Shaun Heist, and Noll (140) edged Bryson Berard 8-6. The match's marquee bout came at 160, where Krecker defeated Mike Ottinger 6-2. Krecker hit a four-point move in the first period for his second win over Ottinger this season.

Nazareth defeated Parkland despite taking a forfeit at 119 pounds. Parkland was penalized one team point for bench unsportsmanlike conduct, though Nazareth would have won the match based on tiebreaker (most bouts won).

mark.wogenrich@mcall.com

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DISTRICT 11 CLASS 3A DUALS

FINAL

EASTON 33, NAZARETH 22

103: Kyle Baker (E) tech. fall Tyler Tarsi 15-0 in 4:26 (N)

112: Chase Zemenak (N) dec. Peter Stanley 3-2

119: Evan DiSora (E) dec. Adam Delgado 10-7

125: Franco Ferraina (N) dec. Robbie Rizzolino 3-1

130: Zach Horan (N) dec. Calvin Daly 12-3

135: Greg Noll (N) dec. Mark Misczenski 6-0

140: Joey Rizzolino (E) dec. Ian Stout 10-2

145: Anthony Minotti (E) pin Hunter Weidner :32

152: Mitch Minotti (E) pin Wyatt Miller 2:54

160: Ryan Krecker (N) pin Solomon Sohn 3:45

171: Mason McIntyre (E) dec. Eric Wolak 7-6

189: Ben Bradley (N) dec. Zach Bambary (E) 3-1

215: Tyler Greene (E) dec. David Wilke 5-2

285: Jalal Paige (E) dec. Aaron Bradley 5-2

EMIFINALS

NAZARETH 28, PARKLAND 27*

103: Ethan Lizak (P) pin Tyler Tarsi 1:03

112: Chase Zemenak (N) dec. Ian Evans 4-0

119: Josh Ortman (P) by forfeit

125: Adam Delgado (N) dec. Grady Millick 14-11

130: Franco Ferraina (N) dec. Forest Touchberry 14-4

135: Zach Horan (N) pin Mike Marano 3:51

140: Greg Noll (N) dec. Bryson Berard 8-6

145: Justin Heller (P) dec. Wyatt Miller 11-3

152: Rich Trotta (P) pin Hunter Weidner 1:46

160: Ryan Krecker (N) dec. Mike Ottinger 6-2

171: Ryan Irwin (P) dec. Eric Wolak (N) 6-4

189: Ben Bradley (N) dec. Cory Bruder 8-2

215: David Wilke (N) dec. Shaun Heist 8-7

285: Tarik Haddad (P) dec. Aaron Bradley 7-2

*Parkland deducted one team point for unsportsmanlike conduct

EASTON 47, NORTHAMPTON 12*

103: Kyle Baker (E) dec. Brandon Sommer 4-3

112: Peter Stanley (E) dec. Zach Valley 9-3

119: Evan DiSora (E) dec. Paul Hetrick 14-4.

125: Robbie Rizzolino (E) pin Trey Daubert 3:19

130: Calvin Daly (E) dec. Bobby Fehr 3-0

135: Mark Misczenski (E) dec. Jason Stephen 8-4

140: Joey Rizzolino (E) pin Zach Wilson :30.

145: Mitch Minotti (E) by forfeit

152: Cole Sheptock (N) dec. Solomon Sohn 8-0

160: Mason McIntyre (E) dec. John Lambert 15-5

171: Tim Kunkel (N) pin Zach Bambary 4:57

189: Marcus Newsom (N) dec. Francis Slover 2-1

215: Tyler Greene (E) dec. Nick Sharga 5-3

285: Jalal Paige (E) pin Michael Wright 1:02

*Northampton deducted one team point for unsportsmanlike conduct

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