Emmaus’ quest for its first-ever District XI Class 3A Team Championship ended surprisingly early on Saturday morning as they fell to Whitehall 33-29 at Freedom High School.
The Hornets, the No. 2 seed and ranked second in the state according to Pa. Power Wrestling, dropped just its second dual of the season (15-2) as the seventh-seeded Zephyrs pulled off the first round upset.
“The outcome obviously wasn’t what we have been working towards, but it doesn’t negate the progress and past achievements that the team accomplished during December and January,” said head coach Jim Best.
“Now we reflect and learn from the experience and use that knowledge to fully prepare for the upcoming individual tournament season.”
Whitehall, which picked up its first-ever win at the district duals, won seven of the 13 bouts, including scoring bonus points in five of those. The Zephyrs won four of the final six bouts to rally for the victory.
Freshman Dionte Wheeler scored a 6-5 victory with a last-second takedown over Levi Max at the buzzer at 114 to clinch the win.
The loss marked the second straight year that Emmaus has dropped its opening-round match at districts. The Hornets were seeking their first win since defeating the Zephyrs 33-23 back in the 2021-22 season.
Junior Emilio Albanese, the state’s No. 1 ranked wrestler at 127, got the dual started for the Hornets with his team-leading 29th win of the season with a first period pin over Joshia Wright. Senior Jackson Max (139) and sophomore Xyler Sallit (160) also registered falls.
In the final and featured bout between two state-ranked wrestlers, Emmaus junior Teagan Caciolo edged Kade Pascoe 3-2 in the ultimate tie breaker. Caciolo improved to 25-4 on the season.
Top-seeded Nazareth knocked off the five-time defending champs Bethlehem Catholic 36-26 in the finals. It was the first team title for the Blue Eagles since 2020. Both teams will now advance to the PIAA State Tournament, which gets underway on Tuesday, February 3.
For Emmaus, they will now prepare for the upcoming District XI Individual Tournament on February 20 at Liberty High School.
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Whitehall 33, Emmaus 29
127 – Emilio Albanese (Em) pinned Josiah Wright in 1:45
133 – Wilmont Kai (W) pinned Logan Maher in 1:13
139 – Jackson Max (Em) pinned Omar Omar in 3:27
145 – Tyler Hoff (W) dec. Tommy Fallstich 6-2
152 – Mason Hopkins (W) pinned Aiden Bayard in 3:38
160 – Xyler Sallit (E) pinned Rocco Fonzone in 4:49
172 – Xayden Sallit (E) tech. fall Jacob Figueroa 19-3
189 – James Hopkins (W) pinned Logan Armstrong in 4:37
215 – Aiden Hannis (W) major dec. Chase DeCesare 11-2
285 – Logan Roth (Em) dec. Yousef Khalfaoui 4-0
107 -Semaj Weatherspoon (W) tech. fall Andrew Gerken 19-3
114 – Dionte Wheeler (W) dec. Levi Max 6-5
121 – Teagan Caciolo (Em) dec. Kade Pascoe 3-2 UTB