After a disappointing and unexpected early exit from the District XI Class 3A team tournament nearly three weeks ago, you might think it would tough for Jim Best to keep his wrestlers motivated for the rest of the season.
Not a chance.
In fact, it’s actually fueled them for what lies ahead.
“It hasn’t been tough at all,” said the Hornets third year coach following practice on Thursday. “The guys that are wrestling today in the individual tournament have remain motivated.
“I think that early exit from the team district tournament left a sour enough taste in our mouths and that was all the motivation we really needed to come back in the room and regroup and say ‘Okay, nothing we can do about that now, we can’t reverse that outcome but when we can do is really stayed locked in and focused for next two to three weeks and trust the process. Trust the plan the coaches have in place and get ready and prove to ourselves that we shouldn’t have exited that district tournament that early. We are a better team than what we showed on that Saturday morning.”
With a number of its wrestlers earning high seeds, Emmaus is hoping to prove that indeed they are one of the top teams in the area as the 75th Annual PIAA District XI Class 3A Individual Championships get underway on Friday afternoon at Liberty High School.
Action gets underway at 4 p.m. with pigtail and first round matches. Quarterfinals begin at 6:30 p.m. followed by consolation round matches at 8 p.m.
The tournament will resume at 9 a.m. on Saturday with second round consolation matches followed by the semifinals at 10:15 a.m. The consolation finals will start at 3 p.m. with the finals scheduled for 5:15 p.m.
The top five in each weight class will then move on to the Northeast Regional Tournament, which will be held back at Liberty on February 27 and 28.
“Obviously, the ideal goal is to always get all your wrestlers to regionals,” said Best. “Last year we took five and I think realistically we can take a greater number and maybe even get into double digits if everybody is ready to compete. Of course, you have to get some breaks along the way to make that happen. I think the coaches and even the wrestlers included our looking at this weekend as a chance to improve on that number of five advancing to the regional tournament.”
Before that, Emmaus is also hoping to do something that hasn’t been done in a number of years — crown an individual champion.
Caden Wright was the last Hornet to stand atop the podium at districts when he won gold back in the 2017-18 season.
“I like to think that changes this year because we could have several district champions,” said Best. “Seeds are seeds but I think if you look at the brackets there are a number of weight classes where we can potentially and legitimately have a champion.
“We’re feeling not just one but multiple district champions this year.”
Emilio Albanese, who at times this season has been ranked No. 1 in the state according to Pa. Power Wrestling, is the Hornets best chance as the top seed at 127. The Hornets junior (29-2) is certainly motivated after finishing runner-up the past two seasons.
Albanese fell to Whitehall’s Wilmont Kai in the finals (2-1) but then regrouped and defeated Kai a week later (3-2) to win his first-ever regional title. Albanese went on to finish third at the PIAA State Tournament with Kai capturing the state title.
Senior Xayden Sallit (25-9) is also motivated in his final go around.
Like Albanese, Sallit was a runner-up finisher a year ago after falling to Becahi’s Shane McFillin in the finals. Sallit, the No. 2 seed at 172, also missed out an opportunity to qualify for states after finishing fifth at regionals.
As the No. 3 seed at 121, junior Teagan Caciolo also has a chance at winning an individual title after an outstanding 25-4 season. Caciolo, who dealt with injuries a year ago, took fifth at districts a year ago, but a week later earned third at regionals and made his first-ever trip to states where he went 2-2.
His teammate, senior Jackson Max, did have a taste at states a year ago as he finished in eighth place. Max, the No. 3 seed at 139, finished fourth at both districts and regionals a year ago.
Sophomore Xyler Sallit (20-7) is also someone to keep an eye on and could be a dark horse as the No. 4 seed at 160. Sallit just missed on qualifying for regionals last year in his freshman year after finishing sixth at districts.
Junior Lexi Max, the No. 5 seed, could also surprise at 114.
The other Emmaus wrestlers competing in the tournament include: freshman Andrew Gerken (107), junior Logan Maher (133), junior Tommy Fallstich (145), senior Aiden Bayard (152), senior Logan Armstrong (189), junior Chase DeCesare (215) and senior Logan Roth (285).
A year ago, Emmaus finished sixth in the team race. Nazareth is the defending champ.
Follow @Emmaussports.com on ‘X’ for updates on the tournament and Emmaus Wrestling on facebook.
Emmaus lineup (1st Round matchups):
107 – #20 seed Andrew Gerken vs #13 Frank Lucarello (PV)
114 – #5 Levi Max vs #12 Gino Bozzi (BC)
121 – #3 Teagan Caciolo vs #14 Tyshawn Stegall (Sburg)
127 – #1 Emilio Albanese (BYE)
133 – #19 Logan Maher vs #14 Anthony DePasqua (PMW)
139 – #3 Jackson Max vs winner #19. J. Cemelli (NDGP)/#14 J. Mantilla (Jim Thorpe)
145 – #9 Tommy Fallstich vs #8. Colton Christian (Sburg)
152 – #8 Aiden Bayard vs #9 Micah Alicea (ESN)
160 – #4 Xyler Sallit vs winner No. 20. B. Tokinitz (Potts)/#13 C. Zurawa (Jim Thorpe)
172 – #2 Xayden Sallit vs winner No. 18. D. Zheng (Bangor)/#15 M. Correll (Allen)
189 – #7 Logan Armstrong vs #10 Ben Jebran-Cruz (Liberty)
215 – #10 Chase DeCesare vs #7 Kody Ward (Bangor)
285 – #15 Logan Roth vs #18 Yousef Khalfaoui (Whitehall)