West Scranton’s Tommy Schechterly, top, wrestles Parkland’s Jorge Moya in the 160-pound quarterfinals at the Class 3A Northeast Regional on Friday at Liberty High School. BOB GAETANO / CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Abington Heights’ Lucas Drake, top, wrestles Freedom’s Nicholas Lyden in the 152-pound quarterfinals at the Class 3A Northeast Regional on Friday at Liberty High School. BOB GAETANO / CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
West Scranton’s Santino Aniska has his hand raised after winning his 121-pound Round of 16 match Friday at the Class 3A Northeast Regional at Liberty High School. BOB GAETANO / CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
West Scranton’s Santino Aniska, top, wrestles Cardinal O’Hara’s Matt McCarthy in the Class 3A Northeast Regional Round of 16 on Friday at Liberty High School. BOB GAETANO / CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Wallenpaupack’s Tristan Braxton, back, wrestles Williamsport’s Austin Dunlap in the 160-pound Round of 16 at the Class 3A Northeast Regional on Friday at Liberty High School. BOB GAETANO / CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Show Caption
1 of 5
West Scranton’s Tommy Schechterly, top, wrestles Parkland’s Jorge Moya in the 160-pound quarterfinals at the Class 3A Northeast Regional on Friday at Liberty High School. BOB GAETANO / CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
BETHLEHEM — When Gabe Caufield won his quarterfinal match, boos rained down from the stands inside Liberty High School’s gym.
As Caufield walked off the mat, Wallenpaupack coach Steve Krushnowski told his senior wrestler, “When they’re booing you, you’re doing something right.”
Caufield rallied from a five-point, third-period deficit to secure a 10-9 victory over Nazareth’s Elijah Simak in the 172-pound quarterfinals of the Class 3A Northeast Regional. He was one of three Lackawanna Leaguers, including West Scranton’s Tommy Schechterly (160) and Abington Heights’ Lucas Drake (152) to advance to Saturday’s semifinals, which are scheduled for 11 a.m.
“To see the whole Nazareth section booing, I like it,” Krushnowski said. “That’s a good thing, because we’ve been taking it on the chin all night, and Gabe’s worked hard and he deserves it. He doesn’t quit, so I’m really proud of Gabe. He did a good job.”
Simak, ranked 10th in the state at 172 pounds according to PA Power Wrestling, secured an escape and a takedown in the second period for a 4-0 advantage. Caufield (19th in state) responded with an escape in the second period and another escape in the third period to cut the deficit to 4-2. However, Simak added another takedown with 1:37 left for a 7-2 lead.
Then, Caufield escaped, secured a takedown and tacked on four backs points in 18 seconds to take a 10-7 advantage.
Simak escaped and Caufield was hit with a stall point to cut his lead to 10-9, but Simak ran out of time.
“It was awesome,” Krushnowski said. “The Nazareth kid is super tough. We know him, and Gabe just didn’t quit. We knew we had a few stalls to give. He gave the stall late, and he did everything he could. That’s Gabe. He’s giving it everything. It’s a senior leaving it on the mat.”
He’ll face Emmaus’ Xayden Sallit (11th in state) in the semifinals.
Rolling along
West Scranton’s Tommy Schechterly and Abington Heights’ Lucas Drake didn’t have much trouble in their first two regional matches, as both secured a pin and a technical fall to advance to the semifinals.
“I felt great,” Schechterly (fourth in state) said. “It felt like I was prepared with everything I did in my training, eating right, losing weight right. It was a good weight cut.”
In the Round of 16, Schechterly pinned Southern Lehigh’s Keith Barker (22nd in state) in the second period.
Then, he cruised to a 17-2, second-period tech fall over Parkland’s Jorge Moya (10th in state) in the quarterfinals.
“I treat it like every other match, get in there and just get right to your offense,” said Schechterly of his mentality headed into the quarterfinals. “No waiting around, just get straight to it.”
The West Scranton sophomore will face Emmaus’ Xyler Sallit (eighth in state) in the semifinals.
Drake (24th in state) didn’t waste much time either, pinning Williamsport’s Jahki Burget in 1:33 in the Round of 16.
In the quarterfinals, he tacked on a 19-2, third-period tech fall over Freedom’s Nicholas Lyden (18th in state).
“I feel like I wrestled how I work,” Drake said. “I put a lot of work into this, so that’s how I’m supposed to perform out there.”
He’ll return to the mat in the morning to face Northampton’s Gabriel Ballard (first in state) in the semifinals.
“(I’ll) make sure my weight’s good, and just keep the same mentality,” Drake said. “I’ll try to eat well, get good sleep and try to stay focused.”
Wyoming Valley Conference
Pittston Area’s Brody Spindler (215), and Hazleton Area’s Gabe (114) and Jake Benyo (121) also advanced to the semifinals, giving District 2 six wrestlers still in the hunt for regional gold.
The top five finishers in each weight class advance to states.
PIAA Class 3A Northeast Regional
Friday’s District 2 results
Quarterfinals
114: Elijah Heimbach (Liberty-Bethlehem) dec. Dakota Sandy (Abington Heights), 10-4. Gabe Benyo (Hazleton Area) dec. Cael Muller (Notre Dame – Green Pond), 4-0.
121: Nico Emili (Bethlehem Catholic) tech fall Santino Aniska (West Scranton), 17-2 1:06. Jake Benyo (Hazleton Area) dec. Teagan Caciolo (Emmaus), 4-1.
127: Emilio Albanese (Emmaus) tech fall Carlo Salinas (Wilkes Barre Area), 20-3 2:44. Anthony Colantuono (St. Joseph’s Prep) dec. Ayden Blaut (Wallenpaupack), 4-2. Nicholas Salamone (Easton Area) dec. Brady Full (Abington Heights), 4-1.
133: Keanu Dillard (Bethlehem Catholic) pinned Giovanni Lomonaco (Wallenpaupack), 1:21. Carter Smith (Bangor Area) dec. Jude Salko (Hazleton Area), 2-1. Caleb Kosko (Nazareth Area) dec. Mason Whitney (Abington Heights), 2-1 TB2.
145: Jack Campbell (Nazareth Area) pinned Chace Berry (Abington Heights), 1:40. Gavyn Kelton (Notre Dame – Green Pond) dec. Micah Engelman (Crestwood), 7-2.
152: Lucas Drake (Abington Heights) tech fall Nicholas Lyden (Freedom), 19-2 4:31. Cade Campbell (Nazareth Area) dec. Ethan Aftewicz (Pittston Area), 4-1.
160: Dominick Tunison (Nazareth Area) maj. dec. Tristan Braxton (Wallenpaupack), 13-4. Carter Chlebove (Northampton Area) dec. Liam Evanko (Wilkes-Barre Area), 5-4. Tommy Schechterly (West Scranton) tech fall Jorge Moya (Parkland), 17-2 3:31.
172: Gabriel Caufield (Wallenpaupack) dec. Elijah Simak (Nazareth Area), 10-9. Brock Frable (Southern Lehigh) tech fall Gene Ardo (Wilkes Barre Area), 22-6 3:55. Connor Davidson (Athens) pinned Jaxson Johnson (Hazleton Area), 0:30.
189: Dominic Sumpolec (Notre Dame – Green Pond) pinned JJ Segal (Delaware Valley), 1:42. Justin Cosover (Easton Area) tech fall Mariusz Bibla (Crestwood), 17-1 4:59. Terrell Mcfarland (Pottsville Area) dec. Mason Marolo (Hazleton Area), 6-4.
215: Brody Spindler (Pittston Area) dec. Jackson Raker (Williamsport), 4-1 TB2.
Round of 16
107: Luis Moya (Parkland) pinned Greg Nalesnik (Wallenpaupack), 1:17. Michael Nicosia (Bethlehem Catholic) dec. James McKeown (Wilkes Barre Area), 8-3. Jack Jasionowicz (Stroudsburg) dec. David Krantz (Pittston Area), 10-4.
114: Max Hallman (Shikellamy) dec. Zion Colon (Delaware Valley), 4-3. Dakota Sandy (Abington Heights) tech fall Landen Hess (Columbia Montour Vo-Tech), 15-0 0:59. Gabe Benyo (Hazleton Area) tech fall Derek Fulmer (Nazareth Area), 17-2 2:30.
121: Santino Aniska (West Scranton) dec. Matt McCarthy (Cardinal O’Hara), 13-10. Dillon Carr (Archbishop Ryan) maj. dec. Declan Brown (Wallenpaupack), 8-0. Jake Benyo (Hazleton Area) tech fall Aiden Shaw (Academy at Palumbo), 15-0 1:48.
127: Carlo Salinas (Wilkes-Barre Area) dec. Collin Nasdeo (Williamsport), 8-5 SV. Ayden Blaut (Wallenpaupack) pinned Braylon Chestnut (Shikellamy), 3:02. Brady Full (Abington Heights) dec. Michael Good (Nazareth Area), 4-0.
133: Giovanni Lomonaco (Wallenpaupack) dec. Keatin Lattimore (Shikellamy), 11-6. Jude Salko (Hazleton Area) pinned Steven Bott (Williamsport), 2:36. Mason Whitney (Abington Heights) pinned Frankie Warshaw (Archbishop Wood), 0:44.
139: Trey Wagner (Northampton Area) pinned Drew Churchill (Delaware Valley), 4:50. Noah Fenner (Easton Area) pinned Kyle Scartelli (Wallenpaupack), 1:30. Kiovanny Hamlin (Louis E Dieruff) tech fall Drew Leonori (Scranton), 20-2 5:52.
145: Chace Berry (Abington Heights) dec. Isardor Madorifov (George Washington), 13-9. Omar Morales (Central) pinned Teagen Butler (Wilkes-Barre Area), 0:25. Micah Engelman (Crestwood) pinned Ayden Garcia (Father Judge), 1:29.
152: Gabe Paradis (Selinsgrove) maj. dec. Logan Pop (Hazleton Area), 14-3. Lucas Drake (Abington Heights) pinned Jahki Burget (Williamsport), 1:33. Ethan Aftewicz (Pittston Area) maj. dec. Mason Hopkins (Whitehall), 8-0.
160: Tristan Braxton (Wallenpaupack) pinned Austin Dunlap (Williamsport), 3:23. Liam Evanko (Wilkes-Barre Area) pinned Ryan Howard (Athens), 0:25. Tommy Schechterly (West Scranton) pinned Keith Barker (Southern Lehigh), 3:32.
172: Gabriel Caufield (Wallenpaupack) tech fall Donte Bazemore (Central), 15-0 2:35. Gene Ardo (Wilkes-Barre Area) dec. Zach Russell (Roman Catholic), 8-4. Jaxson Johnson (Hazleton Area) dec. Francis Kitching (St. Joseph’s Prep), 13-10.
189: JJ Segal (Delaware Valley) tech fall Riley Kanski (Jersey Shore), 17-2 4:35. Mariusz Bibla (Crestwood) pinned Alex Modawar (Selinsgrove), 2:58. Mason Marolo (Hazleton Area) pinned Khalif Wardlaw (St. Joseph’s Prep), 1:17.
215: Connor Smalley (Notre Dame – Green Pond) pinned Frank Scialpi (Abington Heights), 1:06. Zion Essington (Stroudsburg) pinned Tyler Gallo (Wallenpaupack), 2:41. Brody Spindler (Pittston Area) pinned Johnathan Adjin-Tetty (East Stroudsburg Area South), 1:10.
285: Noah Knorp (Notre Dame – Green Pond) pinned Altamir Terry (Wilkes-Barre Area), 5:59. Josiah Rodriguez (East Stroudsburg Area South) pinned Noah Gruber (Pittston Area), 0:48. Kurtis Crossman (Easton Area) pinned Mikey Seltzer (Delaware Valley), 5:20.
Consolation first round
107: Brandon Briddes (Cardinal O’Hara) pinned Greg Nalesnik (Wallenpaupack), 3:26. David Krantz (Pittston Area) dec. Joey Devlin (Father Judge), 6-1. James McKeown (Wilkes-Barre Area) tech fall Gabe Spagnuolo (Williamsport), 18-3 1:51.
114: Zion Colon (Delaware Valley) pinned Vinny Buonanno (Archbishop Wood), 3:32.
121: Cole Schwartz (Notre Dame – Green Pond) tech fall Declan Brown (Wallenpaupack), 16-0 3:16.
133: Keatin Lattimore (Shikellamy) tech fall Xavier Resto (Abraham Lincoln), 16-0 3:26.
139: Matt Gerz (Father Judge) dec. Drew Churchill (Delaware Valley), 4-2. Jackson Max (Emmaus) maj. dec. Kyle Scartelli (Wallenpaupack), 12-0. Mehki Hill (Martin Luther King) maj. dec. Drew Leonori (Scranton), 10-1.
145: Ryan Harpster (Selinsgrove) tech fall Teagen Butler (Wilkes-Barre Area), 16-0 1:25.
152: Logan Pop (Hazleton Area) tech fall Daniel Cunningham (Father Judge), 20-2 3:31.
215: Frank Scialpi (Abington Heights) pinned Joell Small (Northampton Area), 2:42. Tyler Gallo (Wallenpaupack) tech fall Jeremy Manon-Peralta (Mariana Bracetti Academy), 16-1 3:14.
285: Justin Walker (Father Judge) pinned Altamir Terry (Wilkes-Barre Area), 4:12. Myles Lysek (Parkland) dec. Mikey Seltzer (Delaware Valley), 4-2. Noah Gruber (Pittston Area) maj. dec. Kyree Mitchell (La Salle College), 13-1.