1/6/19
Heading into Saturday’s Zephyr Duals at Whitehall High School, Thad Smith had a goal in place for his team.
“Our goal coming in was to go 3-1 on the day and at the very best 4-0,” said Emmaus’ first-year head coach.
The Hornets nearly did the latter.
If not for a stunning comeback by top-seed Muncy from District 4, which rallied from 30-6 deficit to beat Emmaus 39-34 in the semifinals, it could have been Smith’s team advancing to the championship round and winning its first team title.
Instead, the Hornets had to settle for the consolation round and a third-place finish after defeating East Stroudsburg South 46-27.
“We were a match away from winning it all,” said Smith by phone Sunday morning. “It was one of the most exciting matches I’ve ever been a part of. I was proud of my kids.
“We gave Muncy every thing they could handle and then some. Even their coaches afterwards were commenting that this was the best match they had wrestled all year. Each team won seven bouts, but the difference was they won all of theirs with bonus points. “
Despite falling to Muncy, which wound up handling Quakertown 46-18 in the finals, the Hornets still enjoyed a successful tournament as they went 3-1 with wins over the aforementioned East Stroudsburg South, Pocono Mountain East (53-21) and Somerville, NJ (36-27).
“I was very happy with how they wrestled and you can see that the kids are buying-in,” said Smith.
“We were worried how the boys would respond after the tough loss to Muncy in the semifinals, but we got them together and said ‘let’s forget it.’ They (ES South) were in the same boat we were in but our kids wrestled hard in that match and came away with the win.”
The Hornets also gained a bit of revenge on the Cavaliers who had defeated them 46-27 in the opening match at the same venue a year ago
Individually, Emmaus had eight of its wrestlers win at least three of their four matches.
Both sophomore Kordell Waiters (132) and junior Caden Wright (170) went undefeated on the day with 4-0 records.
Wright’s 3-1 win over Ryan Clarke clinched third-place for Emmaus. In the match, Wright suffered an injury, but was able to gut out the win. He’s expected to miss at least a week of action according to Smith.
Six other Hornets — senior James Bowie (106), freshman Nick Velde (120), senior Jackson Karrat (138), freshman Jared Groller (152), senior Luigi Mannino (220) and sophomore Gio Lainez (113) — all went 3-1 on the day, while senior Bryce Ebinger (285) saw his first action of the season and went 2-0 with a pair of pins.
Emmaus will back in action next week with home duals at 7 p.m. against Liberty on Wednesday and Pocono Mountain West on Thursday.
Follow Emmaus wrestling on facebook and @Emmaussports on twitter for continued updates on the team throughout the season.
Emmaus 46, ES South 27 (3rd place match)
106 – James Bowie (Em) pinned Nich Ruiz in 1:00, 6-0 Em
113 – Justin Tejeda (ES) pinned Gio Lainez in 3:21, 6-6
120 – Nick Velde (Em) pinned Omar Chellaoui in 1:19, 12-6
126 – Quin Scott (Em) pinned Sal Seccafico in 5:02, 18-6
132 – Kordell Waiters (Em) pinned Aaron Acosta in 1:52, 24-6
138 – Patrick Gould (ES) pinned Jack Ivankovits in 1:20, 24-12
145 – Jackson Karrat (Em) won by major dec. 10-0 Jaidon Garcia, 28-12
152 – Jared Groller (Em) won by dec. 4-2 Nich Alejandro, 31-12
160 – Joe Anello (ES) pinned Chris Tigar in 5:46, 31-18
170 – Conner Carter (Em) pinned Gary Welge in 3:08, 37-18
182- Caden Wright (Em) won by dec. 3-1 Ryan Clarke, 40-18
195 – Hunter Gill (ES) pinned Liam Dottery in 1:22, 40-24
220 – Luigi Mannino (Em) pinned Jacob Cacko (ES) in 1:36, 46-24
285 – Daniel Opong-Duah (ES) won by dec. 2-0 James Santichen, 46-27 Em
Muncy 39, Emmaus 34 (Semifinals)
285 – Bryce Ebinger (Em) pinned Gavin Hillman in 5:48, 6-0 Em
106 – James Bowie (Em) pinned Alex Maiorana in 1:22, 12-0 Em
113 – Gio Lainez (Em) won by dec. 10-7 Chase Crawley, 15-0 Em
120 – Nick Velde (Em) pinned Grady Oden in 1:51, 21-0 Em
126 – Kordell Waiters (Em) pinned Jacob Hill in :47, 27-0 Em
132 – Bryce Volman (Mu) pinned Quin Scott in 3:03, 27-6 Em
138 – Jackson Karrat (Em) won by dec. 3-1 Mario Barberio, 30-6 Em
145 – Christian Good (Mu) pinned Jack Brion in 1:51, 30-12 Em
152 – Coleman Good (Mu) pinned Jared Groller in :42, 30-18, Em
160 – Gavyn Eisenhower (Mu) won by dec. 9-5 Chris Tigar, 30-21, Em
170 – Caden Wright (Em) won by major dec. 8-0 Ty Nixon, 34-21 Em
182 – Ethan Gush (Mu) pinned Conner Carter, 34-27 Em
195 – Michael Kustanbauter (Mu) pinned Liam Dottery, 34-33 Em
220 – Cael Hembury (Mu) pinned Luigi Mannino, 39-34 Mu
Emmaus 36, Somerville 27 (Quarterfinals)
220 – Luigi Mannino (Em) won by dec. 2-0 Alex Blomquist, 3-0 Em
285 – Bryce Ebinger (Em) pinned Richard Hererra in 1:52, 9-0 Em
106 – Tanner Donato (So) pinned James Bowie in 2:20, 9-6 Em
113 – Gio Lainez (Em) pinned Evan Wooby in :42, 15-6 Em
120- Nick Chabrak (So) won by dec. 9-3 Nick Velde, 15-9 Em
126 – Kordell Waiters (Em) pinned Nigel Tucker in 1:23, 21-9 Em
132 – Jaimen Bryant (So) won by dec. 9-2 Quin Scott, 21-12 Em
138 – Jackson Karrat (Em) pinned Jack See (So) in :31, 27-12 Em
145 – Wellington Ardila (So) won by dec. Jack Brion 8-5, 27-15 Em
152 – Jared Groller (Em) won by dec. 9-5 Brendan Aldrich, 30-15 Em
160 – Jordan Malanga (So) won by dec. 10-9 Chris Tigar, 30-18 Em
170 – Caden Wright (Em) pinned Kevin Simpson in 1:40, 36-18 Em
182 – Gerard Zukowitz (So) won by dec. 6-0 Bryce Agostinelli, 36-21 Em
195 – Andrew Diodato (So) pinned Liam Dottery in 2:20, 36-27 Em
Emmaus 53, PM East 21
195 – Alex Brunetti (PM) won by dec. 6-3 Liam Dottery, 3-0 PM
220 – Luigi Mannino (Em) pinned Aaron Williams 1:19, 6-3 Em
285 – Brandon Prados (PM) pinned James Santichen in 5:25, 9-6 PM
106 – James Bowie (Em) won by forfeit, 12-9 Em
113 – Gio Lainez (Em) pinned Virgilio Rosa in :28, 18-9 Em
120 – Nick Velde (Em) pinned Justice Cruz in 1:12, 24-9 Em
126 – Kordell Waiters (Em) pinned Jadiel Muniz in 2:53, 30-9 Em
132 – Ian Hagan (PM) won by dec. 2-1 Quin Scott, 30-12 Em
138 – Steven Storm (PM) won by dec. 7-0 Jackson Karrat, 30-15 Em
145 – Gino Iannelli (PM) pinned Jack Brion in 3:27, 30-21 Em
152 – Jared Groller (Em) pinned Billy Koch in 3:59, 36-21 Em
160 – Chris Tigar (Em) pinned Nick Hinds in 1:29, 42-21 Em
170 – Caden Wright (Em) won by tech fall 15-0 Joe Evers, 47-21 Em
182 – Connor Carter (Em) won by forfeit, 53-21 Em