Jan. 19, 2007 High School Blog
Down 10 with three matches left, Easton slips past Upper Perkiomen
By Rob Sherrill
Junior state champion Jordan Oliver, the newest addition to Easton (Pa.) High’s Wall of Fame, showed why he belongs by scoring a pin in the meet’s final match at 119, helping host Easton overtake Pennsburg Upper Perkiomen High, 32-28, in a battle of eastern Pennsylvania’s top teams, Jan. 13.
Both teams are part of W.I.N.’s Top 25.
Defending Class 3A state champion Upper Perkiomen breezed to an early 12-0 lead and led 19-3 after taking five of the first six matches.
State champion Chris Sheetz, bumped up a weight to 125, pinned freshman Mark Hartenstine to open a 6-0 Indians lead. Shane Smith (130) and Ryan Kemmerer (135) added victories to make it 12-0, though Smith, holding a seemingly comfortable 8-2 lead, gave up a five-point reversal late in the third period but managed to hang on, 8-7, against JuJu Drummond.
At 140, Eric Burgey was one of a pair of sophomores to pick up key wins for Easton. With the score tied 2-2, Burgey rode out senior Dustin Kern in the third period to force overtime, then won it 4-2 with an overtime takedown, narrowing the gap to 12-3.
Up a weight at 145, Upper Perkiomen state champion Zack Kemmerer managed only a decision against Colin Dailey, recently down from 152. Kemmerer scored a takedown in the second period and two more in the third for a 7-3 decision. At 152, Anthony Uhrik racked up six takedowns in a 15-4 major decision over Jeremy Snyder.
That’s when Easton’s savvy on top took over.
At 160, senior Jules Knighton, trailed 3-2 after the first period, scored three near-falls over the final two periods for a 9-3 victory over Hoyt Emmons. Back-to-back pins by sophomore Joe Piro (171) and junior Cory Rutt (189) left the Red Rovers trailing by a single point, 19-18.
Brian Keyser won at 215 and Bruce Augustine scored a pin at 285 to pad the lead to 28-18. At this point, Upper Perkiomen held a 20-7 edge in takedowns.
That margin disappeared in the final three matches. Senior Desmond Moore (103), junior Kegan Handlovic (112) and Oliver combined for 17 unanswered takedowns to complete the comeback.
Moore scored four takedowns in a 9-3 decision, Handlovic five more and a pair of late nearfalls to cap a technical fall at the final buzzer and Oliver put on a clinic against sophomore Michael McStravick, racking up eight before finally ending the match with a second-period pin.
Easton also had 10 near-falls in the match.
Shorthanded Sunnyside holds off Safford, wins Flowing Wells Tournament
Defending Class 5A, Division 2 champion Tucson Sunnyside got titles from Paul Garza (119), brothers Steven (125) and Ritchie Moreno (145) and Arizona State recruit Kyle DeBerry (152) to hold off 3A power Safford High 235-219 in one of Arizona’s most prestigious tournaments, the Tucson Flowing Wells Tournament, Jan. 12-13.
DeBerry improved to 32-1 – his only loss in the Reno (Nev.) Tournament of Champions semifinals – with a technical fall over Tyrell Andrews of Safford. Garza beat Class 4A Division 2 two-time state champion Josh Chang of Cottonwood Mingus High 10-8.
Senior state champion Justin Gaethje of Safford, 39-0 this season with 33 pins, was voted the meet’s Outstanding Wrestler after pinning Sunnyside’s Jerry Ochoa in the final. Another 3A state champion, junior Michael Guerrero of Eloy Santa Cruz High, improved to 30-0 by winning at 189.
Liquori beats Gomez in probable Section 11 final
Two state championship-caliber wrestlers, Wantagh (N.Y.) sophomore Paul Liquori and Brentwood (N.Y.) High junior Ricardo Gomez, met in the 112-pound final of the 20th annual Rocky Gilmore Classic Jan. 13 at East Islip (N.Y.) High.
Both nearly pulled off the feat last year. Liquori finished 39-0 and won the 96-pound Division 1 state title a year ago. Gomez, competing at 103, finished 34-2 and third in the state meet. That won’t happen this year. Since the two are at the same weight class, only one will advance to the state meet March 2-3 at Albany, since only the section champion advances in New York.
Liquori, who advanced to the finals with three pins, wound up the winner, using a third-period takedown to seal a 7-4 decision to improve to 17-0.
Though Liquori won the battle, Brentwood won the war, nipping Hauppage High, 289-288, for the team title.
Poway’s balance wins Five Counties
You know it’s been quite an eventful week in high school wrestling when the top event on the California high school calendar, the Five Counties Tournament at Fountain Valley High, has to wait its turn until Friday for coverage and analysis.
Poway High placed nine wrestlers in the top eight and breezed to the team title, scoring 226 points. Vacaville High parlayed a strong finish at The Clash National Duals into second place with 166.5 points. Defending state champion Clovis Buchanan High held a 7-6 edge over Vacaville in placewinners, but had to hold off Temecula Valley High for third place, 147-143.5. Oviedo (Fla.) High (123) and Bakersfield High (114.5) also surpassed the 100-point barrier.
What could have been a great 171-pound field was cut in half as Hunter Collins of Gilroy High and Arizona State recruit Jesse Robbins of Oviedo were scratches. That left Justin Danz of Shingle Springs Ponderosa High to win the upper-weight Outstanding Wrestler award, pinning two-time state champion Louis Bland of Modesto Central Catholic High just before the first-period buzzer.
The other OWs went to Ohio State signee Nikko Triggas (119) of Moraga Campolindo High, who breezed to the lower-weight award with four pins and a 14-3 major decision in the final over Bakersfield’s Frank Lomas, and Jordan Abed (152) of Alhambra High, who prevailed in the most upset-laden weight of the tournament.
At No. 6, middle-weight OW Abed was the lowest seed to win a title. After beating third-seeded Anthony Meza of Vista High (10-6) and second-seeded state champion Kyle Barrett (5-3) of Las Vegas (Nev.) Palo Verde High to reach the finals, Abed, an unranked senior, edged Joey Wilson of Half Moon Bay High 5-4 for the title. Wilson, the No. 8 seed, had edged top-seeded Ted Bristol of Temecula Valley 6-5 in the quarterfinals.
Also making bids for OW honors were senior state placewinners Bobby Scofield (130) of Dana Point Dana Hills High and Kyle Bergstedt (189) of Paradise High.
The third-seeded Scofield bounced second-seeded Dominic Valencia of Hesperia Sultana High, a two-time New Mexico state champion, 6-4 in the semifinals and top-seeded Joe Boone of Poway 5-2 for the title. Bergstedt pounded top-seeded Ryan Smith of Temecula Valley 9-3 in the final after scoring two pins and two technical falls.
Oviedo placed five, led by senior Brandon Hatchett’s title at 160.
Roth, teammates could see their season wiped out
Cadet National freestyle place-winner Joe Roth of Dixon (Ill.) High was a state qualifier last season at 103. He didn’t place in the state meet, but at least he made it there.
Based on his stellar season so far, Roth could do even better this season. But whether he makes it there may be beyond his control – as well as the control of all of his teammates.
On Jan. 12, the Dixon Education Association (DEA), which represents the 189 school teachers in the Dixon Public Schools, filed an intent to strike, paving the way for a walkout to take place as soon as Tuesday.
The filing is a follow-up to action taken at a Dec. 13 general meeting at which teachers voted to give the DEA authority to issue the intent to strike. A full vote to strike must take place before a strike actually could occur.
The DEA, which has operated the entire school year without a contract, is demanding increases in sick days, reimbursement for obtaining master’s degrees and other additional education, retirement benefits and family insurance coverage in addition to salary, the Dixon Telegraph reported.
If the DEA elects to go on strike, the state tournament regional date of Feb. 4 – just 11 days after the earliest authorized strike date – becomes problematic. As is the case in most school districts, a striking school’s athletic teams must forfeit any contests that take place during a strike.
Here’s hoping it doesn’t come to that.
Would Pearman’s return make Great Bridge even better? It’s debatable
That’s the question being asked in the Hampton Roads these days. Three-time state champion Junior Pearman hasn’t yet wrestled a match this season, primarily due to a shoulder injury.
That could change sometime in the near future, with Pearman likely wrestling off against incumbent sophomore Alan Clamp for the 145-pound spot. Given the way Clamp has performed so far this season, a Pearman victory seems far from a sure thing.
Clamp was an integral part of Great Bridge’s finishes of eighth place at the Walsh Jesuit Ironman Invitational and fifth place at the Beast of the East. He went 5-4 at the two meets, with three of his four losses coming against nationally-ranked opponents, and earlier this month split with Christiansburg High’s rugged Andrew Clement.
Ostensibly, the Wildcats would be better with Pearman back in the fold – or, at least, have additional lineup flexibility. But how much? Another Group 3A team title appears to be a certainty regardless of who takes the mat at 145.
“It’s real tough to sit on the sidelines and watch something you love,” Pearman told the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot while watching from the stands at the Virginia Duals. “But every time I watch that team wrestle, I remember why I want to be a Wildcat.”