Easton patches together strong start at District 11 3A wrestling tournament

FROM THE MORNING CALL

Patching together a lineup with what he called "Elmer's Glue" has been a season-long project for Steve Powell. The Easton coach did so again at the District 11 Class 3A tournament with unexpected results.

The Red Rovers advanced eight wrestlers to Saturday's semifinals, including two seeded 11th or lower, to take the team lead after Friday's opening day of districts at Liberty High School. The Red Rovers' semifinalists range from senior Mitch Minotti, a returning state champ who became the fifth Easton wrestler to win 150 career bouts, to sophomore Jose Roche, who entered the tournament as a 13th seed with just five varsity bouts.

"We preach that JV wrestlers are important to the future of the program," Powell said. "But the future has been today — over and over and over."

Easton, which won the District 11 duals title this month, enters Saturday's rounds with 79.5 team points, ahead of second-place Parkland (70) and third-place Pleasant Valley (67). The Trojans have six semifinalists, while Pleasant Valley has five.

The semifinals are scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Saturday, with the Class 2A and Class 3A championship finals set to be wrestled simultaneously at 7 p.m. at Liberty. The top six wrestlers in each weight class advance to next weekend's PIAA Northeast Regional at Freedom.

Pleasant Valley, which won the Mountain Valley Conference title, seeks to become the first team outside of Lehigh or Northampton counties to win the District 11 3A team title since the tournament began in 1948.

"We can definitely be the first to do it," Pleasant Valley coach Mark Getz said. "We set that as one of our goals coming here."

To win, the Bears likely will have to go through Easton, which wrestled a fine first day. Top seeds Minotti (32-0) and Peter Stanley (26-3) led the Rovers' collection of semifinalists, with Minotti reaching a milestone victory.

The 145-pound senior pinned Liberty's Ardis Smith in the first round for his 150th career victory. He joined Jordan Oliver, Alex Krom, Matt Ciasulli and Russell Souders (who wrestled one season at Easton) atop the program's win list. Minotti was enshrined into Easton's Wall of Fame last month to commemorate his 2011 state title. He is a two-time District 11 champ who has signed to wrestle at Lehigh University.

"You get to where it's expected, but he has certainly done what has been expected," Powell said. "He has done such a great job as captain as well."

But because of injury and disciplinary issues, Easton's lineup also included four wrestlers who competed primarily on the JV team this season. At 126, Jose Roche made the biggest move into the semis.

The sophomore defeated the fourth- and fifth-seeded wrestlers in his class to earn a semifinal bout against top-seeded Mike Dahlstrom of Pleasant Valley. Roche had limited varsity experience entering districts but arrived with a 5-0 record.

"It does make you really proud when a kid like Jose makes the semifinals," Powell said.

Joining him was junior Kyler Kilpatrick, who won a pair of close decisions (including one in overtime) to make the semifinals at 152. Kilpatrick will face Parkland's Bryson Berard. The Red Rovers also advanced Anthony Parisi (106), Stanley (120), Robbie Rizzolino (132), Tyler Greene (182) and Francis Slover (195).

Parkland, the 2010 district team champ, advanced six to the semifinals, along with Blue Mountain. Top seed Ethan Lizak (106) dominated with a pin and technical fall, and Berard had two technical falls without giving up a point.

Pleasant Valley advanced a tournament-high 13 wrestlers to Saturday'sE action, including its five semifinalists. A strong showing in the consolation rounds, coupled with victories by their top seeds, could propel the Bears into contention.

Getz said he was particularly pleased with Sean Bianco, who opened with a technical fall at 113, and Mike Benner, who made the semifinals from the No. 6 seed at 285. Bianco faces Northampton's Zach Valley, to whom he lost recently.

"Sean was sharp, and that's a potential revenge match for him," Getz said. "And Benner wrestled really well, very smart."

For Northampton, which advanced four to the semifinals, senior Jason Stephen (138) won his 100th career bout.

After a tough dual-meet season, Nazareth has 12 wrestlers still competing, including five semifinalists. The most elated was freshman Brandon Lance, who edged second-seeded Tyler Peerson of Freedom 3-2 in overtime at 285.

Lance, the No. 10 seed, lost to Peerson 5-2 during the regular season. He was taken down twice in that bout but did not allow a takedown Friday.

"My plan was to be the underdog and go out and compete as hard as I could," Lance said.

DISTRICT 11 3A WRESTLING TOURNAMENT

SATURDAY'S SEMIFINALS

106: Ethan Lizak (Parkland) vs. Anthony Parisi (Easton); Tyrone Klump (Nazareth) vs. Kenny Yanovich (Pleasant Valley).

113: Sean Bianco (Pleasant Valley) vs. Zach Valley (Northampton); Bryant Penberth (Blue Mountain) vs. Guesseppe Rea (Stroudsburg).

120: Peter Stanley (Easton) vs. Colby Ems (E.S. South); Chase Zemenak (Nazareth) vs. Grimaldi Gonzalez (Liberty).

126: Mike Dahlstrom (Pleasant Valley) vs. Jose Roche (Easton); Charles Sell (Bangor) vs. Corey Keener (Blue Mountain).

132: Devon Lotito (Liberty) vs. Robbie Rizzolino (Easton); DeMarquis Holley (Dieruff) vs. Cody Kievman (Blue Mountain).

138: Jason Stephen (Northampton) vs. Josh Ortman (Parkland); Alex Gosch (Blue Mountain) vs. Alex Yanovich (Pleasant Valley).

145: Mitch Minotti (Easton) vs. Mike Marano (Parkland); Ray Nicosia (P.M. East) vs. Matt Mirth (Southern Lehigh).

152: Cole Sheptock (Northampton) vs. Kevin Finn (E.S. South); Kyler Kilpatrick (Easton) vs. Bryson Berard (Parkland).

160: Aaron Transue (Stroudsburg) vs. Josh Young (Freedom); Matt Bonshak (Whitehall) vs. Joseph Fogle (P.M. East).

170: Mitch Myers (Blue Mountain) vs. Nezar Haddad (Parkland); Ryan Barry (Stroudsburg) vs. Shawn Cicero (Pottsville).

182: Travis Moyer (Blue Mountain) vs. Marcus Newsom (Northampton); Tyler Greene (Easton) vs. Thomas Alcaro (Emmaus).

195: Troy Newhard (Emmaus) vs. Francis Slover (Easton); David Wilke (Nazareth) vs. Jovon Reyes (Dieruff).

220: Aaron Bradley (Nazareth) vs; Jacob Dolin (Whitehall); Evan Kauffman (Freedom) vs. Shaun Heist (Parkland).

285: Daulton Romano (Southern Lehigh) vs. Brandon Vigo (Allen); Mike Benner (Pleasant Valley) vs. Brandon Lance (Nazareth).

TEAM SCORES: 1. Easton 79.5; 2. Parkland 70; 3. Pleasant Valley 67; 4. Nazareth 63.5; 5. Blue Mountain 61.5; 6. (tie) Northampton, Stroudsburg 52; 8. Emmaus 39.5; 9. Liberty 39; 10. Dieruff 34; 11. (tie) Freedom, Pocono Mt. East 32; 13. Southern Lehigh 28; 14. (tie) East Stroudsburg South, Pottsville 26; 16. Whitehall 25.5; 17. Bangor 18; 18. Pocono Mt. West 11; 19. Allen 7; 20. East Stroudsburg North 4.

QUARTERFINALS

106: Ethan Lizak (Parkland) tech. fall Christian Farah (Bangor) 19-4 in 5:11; Anthony Parisi (Easton) dec. Shane Jones (Stroudsburg) 1-0; Tyrone Klump (Nazareth) dec. Christian Gosch (Blue Mountain) 12-2; Kenny Yanovich (Pleasant Valley) dec. John Ritter (Liberty) 12-1.

113: Sean Bianco (Pleasant Valley) tech. fall Tyler Tarsi (Nazareth) 21-6 in 5:41; Zach Valley (Northampton) pin Bailey Roos (Pottsville) 4-0; Bryant Penberth (Blue Mountain) pin Taylor Schaf (Emmaus) 4:15; Guesseppe Rea (Stroudsburg) dec. Daniel Derrara (P.M. East) 12-0.

120: Peter Stanley (Easton) dec. James Harris (Pottsville) 7-2; Colby Ems (E.S. South) dec. Paul Hetrick (Northampton) 13-9; Chase Zemenak (Nazareth) tech. fall Adam Ziegler (Southern Lehigh) 18-3 in 5:11; Grimaldi Gonzalez (Liberty) pin James Felipa (Pleasant Valley) 1:12.

126: Mike Dahlstrom (Pleasant Valley) dec. Cole DiGuiseppi (Freedom) 8-3; Jose Roche (Easton) dec. Mason Byrne (E.S. South) 13-3; Charles Sell (Bangor) dec. Billy Hoh (Parkland) 3-2; Corey Keener (Blue Mountain) tech. fall Joey Giordiano (Southern Lehigh) 17-0 in 2:38.

132: Devon Lotito (Liberty) pin Mike Cassano (Stroudsburg) 1:02; Robbie Rizzolino (Easton) dec. Cole Franklin (Emmaus) 18-7; DeMarquis Holley (Dieruff) dec. Ernest Klingel (Pleasant Valley) 11-1; Cody Kievman (Blue Mountain) dec. Tyler Galasso (P.M. East) 2-1.

138: Jason Stephen (Northampton) tech.fall Jansen Grabowski (Emmaus) 16-1 in 3:31; Josh Ortman (Parkland) dec. Josh Henninger (Whitehall) 7-3; Alex Gosch (Blue Mountain) dec. Gino Giunta (P.M. East) 2-1; Alex Yanovich (Pleasant Valley) tech. f all Chris Louszko (Bangor) 23-8 in 4:14.

145: Mitch Minotti (Easton) dec. Nick Musa (E.S. South) 8-6; Mike Marano (Parkland) dec. Keith Howie (Stroudsburg) 8-2; Ray Nicosia (P.M. East) dec. Bobby Fehr (Northampton) 17-6; Matt Mirth (Southern Lehigh) dec. David Gehr (Pleasant Valley) 1-0.

152: Cole Sheptock (Northampton) pin Adam Russek (Southern Lehigh) 1;13; Kevin Finn (E.S. South) dec. Jared Stevens (E.S. North) 8-2; Kyler Kilpatrick (Easton) dec. Gordon Daichendt (Emmaus) 3-1; Bryson Berard (Parkland) tech. fall Elias Borrero (P.M. West) 15-0 in 4:26.

160: Aaron Transue (Stroudsburg) dec. Richard Ruiz (Li berty) 6-1; Josh Young (Freedom) dec. Nick Martucci (Pleasant Valley) 10-0; Matt Bonshak (Whitehall) dec. Dyvon Gibson (Easton) 7-6; Joseph Fogle (P.M. East) dec. Joseph Porter (Dieruff) 6-0.

170: Mitch Myers (Blue Mountain) dec. Kyle Spina (Freedom) 2-1; Nazar Haddad (Parkland) dec. Keith Hird (Dieruff) 9-3; Ryan Barry (Stroudsburg) dec. Jagger Miller (Easton) 3-2; Shawn Cicero (Pottsville) dec. Andrew Dunn (Emmaus) 10-0.

182: Travis Moyer (Blue Mountain) pin Mario LaMonica (P.M. West) :24; Marcus Newsom (Northampton) dec. Robert Karstendiek (Stroudsburg) 11-5; Tyler Greene (Easton) pin Michael Swan (Southern Lehigh) 5:01; Thomas Alcaro (Emmaus) dec. Kyle Gill (E.S. South) 8-3.

195: Troy Newhard (Emmaus) tech. fall Zach Yackenchick (Blue Mountain) 16-1 in 3:40; Francis Slover (Easton) pin Keyautay Aulder (Stroudsburg) 4:20; David Wilke (Nazareth) dec. Dennis Atiyeh (Parkland) 9-2; Jovon Reyes (Dieruff) pin Kyle Gildner (Liberty) :27.

220: Aaron Bradley (Nazareth) pin Josh Santos (P.M. East) 1:45; Jacob Dolin (Whitehall) dec. Stanley Burke (Pottsville) 10-2; Evan Kauffman (Freedom) pin Jake Gunning (Liberty) 3:31; Shaun Heist (Parkland) pin Dominick Ammirato (Pleasant Valley) :38.

285: Daulton Romano (Southern Lehigh) dec. Brian Fang (Whitehall) 5-1; Brandon Vigo (Allen) dec. Cody Cooper (Stroudsburg) 8-3; Mike Benner (Pleasant Valley) dec. Jeremy Candelario (P.M. East) 4-3; Brandon Lance (Nazareth) dec. Tyler Peerson (Freedom) 3-2 OT.

FIRST ROUND

106: Ethan Lizak (Parkland) pin Omar Elsayed (Freedom) :53; Christian Farah (Bangor) pin Mark Jordan (Pocono Mt. East) 5:22; Shane Jones (Stroudsburg) pin Adel Sharif (Whitehall) :40; Anthony Parisi (Easton) tech. fall David Clowney (Pocono Mt. West) 24-9 in 4:55; Tyrone Klump (Nazareth) pin Nate Carabello (E.S. North) :46; Christian Gosch (Blue Mountain) 9-5; John Ritter (Liberty) dec. Travis Shoemaker (Allen) 4-2; Kenny Yanovich (Pleasant Valley) pin Robert Ward (Pottsville) :14.

113: Sean Bianco (Pleasant Valley) bye; Tyler Tarsi (Nazareth) dec. Michael Connelly (Liberty) 5-4; Zach Valley (Northampton) pin Tom Yankanich (Parkland) 1:25; Bailey Roos (Pottsville) pin Philip Nunes (E.S. South) :57; Taylor Schaf (Emmaus) pin Anthony Roche (Easton) 3:30; Bryant Penberth (Blue Mountain) pin Steven Matos (Dieruff) 3:11; Daniel Ferrara (P.M. East) dec. Daniel Streeter (P.M. West) 11-8; Guesseppe Rea (Stroudsburg) bye.

120: Preliminaries: Eric Ross (Blue Mountain) pin Jeremiah Brown (Allen) 3:53; Thomas Byrnes (Freedom) pin Mikey Gaudette (P.M. West) 3:44. Peter Stanley (Easton) pin Ross 4:46; James Harris (Pottsville) dec. Mackenzie Lawrence (Emmaus) 12-3; Paul Hetrick (Northampton) pin Edrick Jurado (Dieruff) 1:40; Colby Ems (E.S. South) dec. Nicholas Kauffman (Whitehall) 11-2; Chase Zemenak (Nazareth) by injury default over Dustin Dones (E.S. North) :13; Adam Ziegler (Southern Lehigh) dec. Daniel Johnson (P.M. East) 7-5 OT; James Felipa (Pleasant Valley) dec. Jeff Hernandez (Stroudsburg) 2-2; Grimaldi Gonzalez (Liberty) pin Byrnes 1:21.

126: Preliminaries: Carlos Colon (Liberty) pin Justin Tripoli (E.S. North) :57; Billy Hoh (Parkland) dec. Nick Miller (Nazareth) 11-0; Nate Derr (Northampton) pin Luis Rosa (Allen) :57. Mike Dahlstrom (Pleasant Valley) pin Colon 2:53; Cole DiGuiseppi (Freedom) dec. Brian Morales (Stroudsburg) 5-2; Jose Roche (Easton) dec. Kody Stencovage (Pottsville) 24-11; Hoh pin Jacob Younger (Emmaus) 5:49; Charles Sell (Bangor) dec. Kenneth Nguyen (Dieruff) 11-0; Joey Giordiano (Southern Lehigh) dec. Mohamed Moustafa (P.M. East) 14-4; Corey Keener (Blue Mountain) pin Nate Derr (Allen) :26.

132: Preliminaries: Erik Rodriguez (Allen) pin Jeremy Rigotti (E.S. North) 1:26; Victor Young (P.M. West) pin Steven Faris (Whitehall) 3:41; Alex Bonner (Northampton) tech. fall Clay Treible (E.S. South) 16-1 in 3:17. Devon Lotito (Liberty) pin Rodriguez :26; Mike Cassano (Stroudsburg) dec. Doug Giamoni (Nazareth) 9-6; Cole Franklin (Emmaus) dec. George Schaffer (Bangor) 12-4; Robbie Rizzolino (Easton) pin Lucas Anderson (Southern Lehigh) 2:56; DeMarquis Holley (Dieruff) pin Victor Young (P.M. West) :51; Ernest Klingel (Pleasant Valley) tech. fall Grady Millick (Parkland) 18-3 in 5:30; Tyler Galasso (Freedom) dec. James Palys (P.M. East) 3-1; Cody Kievman (Blue Mountain) pin Bonner 1:29.

138: Preliminaries: Jacob DelPriobe (Southern Lehigh) dec. Adam Evans (Freedom) 5-2; Javier Rivas (Dieruff) dec. Matt Seminack (Easton) 6-2; Amir Blair (P.M. West) pin Brett Ruben (E.S. South) 1:11; Jesus Bracero (Allen) pin Richard Johnson (E.S. North) 3:43. Jason Stephen (Northampton) tech. fall DelPriobe 16-1 in 3:13; Jansen Grabowski (Emmaus) dec. Isaac Kolman (Liberty) 14-4; Josh Henninger (Whitehall) dec. Sage Karam (Nazareth) 4-2; Josh Ortman (Parkland) tech. fall Javier Rivas (Dieruff) 15-0 in 4:57; Alex Gosch (Blue Mountain) dec. Blair 7-6; Gino Giunta (P.M. East) dec. Jayson Berger (Stroudsburg) 12-0; Chris Louszko (Bangor) pin Aaron Ditzler (Pottsville) 3:52; Alex Yanovich (Pleasant Valley) pin Bracero 1:49.

145: Preliminaries: Ardis Smith (Liberty) dec. Mathew Pizanie (E.S. North) 6-1; Ryuta Amaike (Whitehall) pin Angel Santiago (Allen) :53; Theodore Belle (P.M. West) pin Cody Dockry (Bangor) 3:51. Mitchell Minotti (Easton) pin Smith 3:59; Nick Musa (E.S. South) dec. Cody Gonzalez (Freedom) 4-3; Michael Marano (Parkland) dec. Colton Miller (Nazareth) 3-0; Keith Howie (Strudsburg) pin Matt Franco (Emmaus) 3:32; Ray Nicosia (P.M. East) pin Amaike 2:39; Bobby Fehr (Northampton) dec. Jeremy Allen (Dieruff) 5-0; David Gehr (Pleasant Valley) dec. Blake Uhler (Blue Mountain) 9-1; Matt Mirth (Southern Lehigh) dec. Theodore Belle (P.M. West) 7-3.

152: Preliminaries: Jordan Gray (Nazareth) dec. Brandon Allen (Dieruff) 11-2. Cole Sheptock (Northampton) pin Gray 1:44; Adam Russek (Southern Lehigh) dec. Jordan Kloiber 8-1; Jared Stevens (E.S. North) dec. Brad Schuler 10-4; Kevin Finn (E.S. South) pin William Weber (Blue Mountain) 5:12; Gordon Daichendt (Emmaus) dec. James Palmisano (Stroudsburg) 1-0; Kyler Kilpatrick (Easton) dec. Jake Young (Freedom) 6-4 OT; Elias Borrero (P.M. West) pin Joell Toledo (Pleasant Valley) 2:59; Bryson Berard (Parkland) tech. fall Malik Lovell (Liberty) 15-0 in 5:29.

160: Aaron Transue (Stroudsburg) bye; Richard Ruiz (Liberty) dec. Hunter Weidner (Nazareth) 7-2; Nick Martucci (Pleasant Valley) dec. William Hailey (Southern Lehigh) 8-5; Josh Young (Freedom) dec. Nathan Christman (Parkland) 7-1; Matt Bonshak (Whitehall) bye; Dyvon Gibson (Easton) pin Edward Attilano (E.S. South) 2:13; Joseph Porter (Dieruff) dec. Ben Forbes (Blue Mountain) 6-1; Joseph Fogle (P.M. East) bye.

170: Preliminaries: Michael O'Dell (Bangor) dec. Matthew Williams (P.M. East) 7-4; Tyler Derby (Southern Lehigh) pin Joey Knoell (P.M. West) 5:25; Noah Klingborg (Liberty) pin Tyler Bachman (Northampton) 5:18; Darquise Harper (Pleasant Valley) dec. Jace Wingerter (E.S. North) 10-8. Mitch Myers (Blue Mountain) pin O'Dell 2:55; Kyle Spina (Freedom) dec. Nicholas Conklin (E.S. South) 10-4; Keith Hird (Dieruff) dec. Nicolino (Nazareth) 6-4; Nezar Haddad (Parkland) dec. Derby 12-2; Ryan Barry (Stroudsburg) dec. Klingborg 9-1; Jagger Miller (Easton) dec. Abrahim Dawoad (Allen) 3-1; Andrew Dunn (Emmaus) pin Tyler Cruz (Whitehall) 3:31; Shawn Cicero (Pottsville) pin Harper 1:10.

182: Preliminaries. Sergio Ottaviano (Nazareth) pin Xavier Feliciano (E.S. North) 4:30; Orlando Miller (Liberty) pin Mounir Zerhouane (P.M. East) 1:03. Travis Moyer (Blue Mountain) pin Ottaviano 1:05; Mario LaMonica (P.M. West) injury default over Fouad Haddad (Whitehall) 1:26; Robert Karstendiek (Stroudsburg) pin John Callahan (Freedom) 3:27; Marcus Newsom (Northampton) pin James Long (Pottsville) 1:52; Tyler Greene (Easton) dec. Ryan Irwin (Parkland) 12-3; Michael Swan (Southern Lehigh) pin Mark Boudreau (Bangor) 4:26; Kyle Gill (E.S. South) dec. Hunter Diehl (Pleasant Valley) 3-2; Thomas Alcaro (Emmaus) dec. Miller 7-2.

195: Preliminaries. Branden Carter (E.S. South) dec. Tyler Bridgewood (Whitehall) 7-0. Troy Newhard (Emmaus) pin Carter 5:59; Zach Yackenchick (Blue Mountain) dec. Dominic Singleton (Allen) 11-9; Keyautay Aulder (Stroudsburg) dec. Andrew Tutrone (P.M. West) 17-6; Francis Slover (Easton) pin Craig Sinkovich (Pottsville) :53; David Wilke (Nazareth) pin Francisco Santiago (Freedom) 1:20; Dennis Atiyeh (Parkland) dec. Aaron Brewer (Pleasant Valley) 8-0; Kyle Gildner (Liberty) dec. Clifford Smith (Bangor) 9-2; Jovon Reyes (Dieruff) pin Trey Peterson (E.S. North) 1:28.

220: Aaron Bradley (Nazareth) bye; Josh Santos (P.M. East) dec. Tristen Coello (Blue Mountain) 9-8; Stanley Burke (Pottsville) pin Mark Imler (Northampton) :23; Jacob Dolin (Whitehall) pin Tishane Bates (E.S. South) :48; Evan Kauffman (Freedom) bye; Jake Gunning (Liberty) pin Dishon Springer (P.M. West) 3:52; Dominick Ammirato (Pleasant Valley) tech. fall Kyler Wagner (Easton) 18-2 in 4:00; Shaun Heist (Parkland) bye.

285: Daulton Romano (Southern Lehigh) pin Justin Weldon (Easton) 1:39; Brian Fang (Whitehall) dec. Joe Stephens (Parkland) 3-2; Brandon Vigo (Allen) pin John Borchick (Pottsville) 3:15; Cody Cooper (Stroudsburg) pin Jason Kocher (Northampton) 1:34; Jeremy Candelario (P.M. East) dec. Eziekel Gutierrez (P.M. West) 4-2; Mike Benner (Pleasant Valley) pin Louis Csaszar (Liberty) 2:50; Brandon Lance (Nazareth) pin Emilio Cordero (Dieruff) 4:47; Tyler Peerson (Freedom) pin Jordan Powell (E.S. South) :22.

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