RECAP >> Marco Albanese and Jake Gross both had impressive performances at the District XI Class 3A individual tournament held at Liberty High School’s Memorial Gymnasium on Friday and Saturday.
The two seniors registered their highest finishes ever and as a result, both will be headed to next week’s Northeast Regional Tournament back at Liberty.
Albanese, the No. 2 seed at 145, registered three pins and went 3-1 advancing all the way to his first-ever final before falling to Bethlehem Catholic sophomore Charlie Scanlan, the No.4 seed, 6-2.
A year ago, Albanese, now 28-7 on the season, just missed out on qualifying for regionals after finishing sixth.
“Marco continues to find ways to score points and win matches with a “never-say-die” style that has become a fan favorite in District XI,” said Emmaus first year head coach Jim Best. “Although he was disappointed over not winning a district title, he moves on with a bigger goal in mind and that is qualifying for the state tournament and placing in the top eight in his weight class.”
Gross, the No. 4 seed at 215, went 3-2 and finished fifth after defeating Whitehall freshman James Hopkins 8-2. It was the second time in the tournament and the third time this season that Gross (27-9) had defeated Hopkins.
“As an undersized 215 pound wrestler in post-season tournaments, Jake continues to compensate for the size difference by using his agility in the neutral position and his excellent technique skills in the top position,” said Best.
“After losing to a nationally-ranked and returning state champion in the semifinal round, Jake had a tough loss in the consolation round to an opponent he had beaten earlier in the season. Facing elimination from the post-season, he bounced back in his fifth/sixth place match by defeating a very talented wrestler from Whitehall for the third time this season. His grittiness in that match reflect the resiliency that he has displayed throughout this season and his high school career.”
While Albanese and Gross were the only two Hornets to qualify for regionals, two others just missed out.
Sophomores Jesse Scott (152) and Reilly Bechtel (172) both went 3-3 in the tournament and finished sixth in their respective weight classes. Scott finished the season 23-11, while Bechtel was 15-13.
“Both Jesse and Reilly are underclassmen and are very motivated to continue to improve,” said Best.
Freshman Xayden Sallit (139), sophomore Massimo Tranguch (189) and senior EJ Boney (285) all went 2-2.
As a team, Emmaus finished with 81 points good enough for 10th place amongst the 20 teams competing. Bethlehem Catholic won the team title with 315.5 points followed by Nazareth, second (273 points) and Easton, third (196.5).
“Overall, the team had a successful tournament,” said Best. “We entered with 12 wrestlers and six of those wrestled to or above their tournament seed. In several individual matches with opponents we had wrestled and lost to in the past, we were able to reverse the outcome and win or close the point gap by which we lost in the past. and that reflects improvement, which is what we focused on throughout the season.”
The tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestling Award went to Becahi’s Nathan Desmond (114) and the award for fastest/most pins went to Parkland’s Adrian Gacek (189).
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Emmaus wrestlers:
107 – Jackson Max (1-2)
lost to Hunter Brown (Sburg) by fall in 2:31
def. Manny Vicente (Allen) by fall in 1:16
lost to Eli Russ (Park) by major dec. 14-3
114 – Aiden Bayard (0-2)
lost to Zach Berwick (Sburg) by fall in 1:20
lost to Michael Pomilio (Pleasant Valley) by fall in 1:49
127 – Logan Armstrong (1-2)
lost to Nolan Schmeckenbecher (Whall) 3-1
def. Elden Hernandez (ES South) by fall in 1:44
lost to Jack Evans (Lib) by major dec. 12-2
133 – Chance Henry (1-2)
def. Elijah Williams (Allen) by fall in 5:20
lost to Cael McIntyre (BC) by fall in 2:32
lost to Michael Fuller (Bangor) by tech fall 23-6
139 – Xayden Sallit (2-2)
lost to Sean Steckert (Solehi) by dec. 5-4
def. Jean Rosa (Allen) by fall in 4:52
def. Keenan Ray (Free) by fall in 4:19
lost to Adrian DeLeon (Lib) by dec. 9-2
145 – Marco Albanese (3-1, 2nd place)
def. Edwin Sanchez (Dieruff) by fall in 1:07
def. Devlin Chevere (Northampton) by fall in 4:52
def. Dalton Monger (Potts) by fall in 4:31
lost to Charlie Scanlan (Becahi) by dec. 6-2
152 – Jesse Scott (3-3, 6th place)
def. Adim Ogbolu (Sburg) by dec. 9-4
lost to Dagen Condomitti (Nhampton) by tech fall 20-5
def. Miles Turner (Free) by major dec. 9-1
def. Juan Moya (Park) by dec. 7-4
lost to Parrish McFarland (Potts) by fall in 2:20
lost to James Geiger (Easton) by dec. 7-1
160 – Sam Rainford (0-1)
lost to Darryl Meeker (ES South) by fall in 5:40
172 – Reilly Bechtel (3-3, 6th place)
def. Cade Sawyer (Solehi) by major dec. 14-5
lost to Dom Wheatley (Naz) by fall in 1:53
def. Jack Kocher (Whall) by fall in 1:48
def. Christian London (Sburg) by dec. 8-5
lost to Jared Karabinus (Free) by fall in 4:45
lost to Jayden Hazzard (Easton) by fall in 4:32
189 – Massimo Tranguch (2-2)
lost to Adrian Gacek (Park) by fall in 1:03
def. Sam Woolverton (Bangor) by dec. 5-2
def. Ron Davis (PMW) by dec. 4-0
lost to James Deluise (BC) by fall in 3:56
215 – Jake Gross (3-2, 5th place)
def. Lukas Mcnamara (Potts) by fall in 1:25
def. James Hopkins (Whall) by dec. 5-3
lost to Sonny Sasso (Naz) by fall in 1:02
lost to Brandon Stiehler (PMW) by dec 5-3
def. James Hopkins (Whall) by dec. 8-2
285 – EJ Boney (2-2)
def. Drew Seaman (Potts) by major dec. 10-0
lost to Sean Kinney (Naz) by fall in 1:06
def. Dan Schiffert (Free) by dec. 7-5
lost to Anthony Embardino (Ea) by dec. 1-0