After sending four of its wrestlers to the Northeast Regional Tournament last season, the Emmaus wrestling team did one better this year as head coach Jim Best squad qualified five after a strong showing at this past weekend’s District XI AAA Tournament at Liberty High School.
Sophomore Emilio Albanese, senior Jesse Scott, juniors Xayden Sallit and Jackson Max along with sophomore Teagan Caciolo all advanced after top five finishes in their respective weight classes.
Eight others did not make the cut for Emmaus, which placed sixth as a team.
“All 13 of our wrestlers entered the tournament prepared to compete at peak performance levels, but so are many of the other wrestlers in each one of the brackets,” said Best, the Hornets second year coach. “Through past experience, many of our wrestlers knew that, and they were ready to compete at their best.
“The coaches have delivered a constant message throughout the season: focus on your preparation, your progression, compete hard and let the outcome take care of itself. Given our team placement, six wrestlers placing in the top six of their respective weight class and five wrestlers qualifying for regionals, there is plenty of evidence that the message was processed and implemented. The staff is very proud of the progress that all of our wrestlers have made throughout the season.”
Emmaus had three of its grapplers reach the finals and finish runner-up while two others battled their way through the consolation round to qualify for regionals.
One of the many highlights from the tournament was at 160 where Scott (28-12) reached his first ever district final before falling to top-seeded Charlie Scanlan of Bethlehem Catholic, 4-3.
Scott went 4-1 in the two-day event and also picked up career-win No. 100 on Friday. He’s also headed back to regionals for the second consecutive season after placing fifth a year ago.
“Being a senior and knowing that this will be your last shot at winning a district title, balancing the physical preparation with the self-imposed mental pressure can be very difficult to manage, ” said Best. “Jesse did a great job managing that balance as evidenced by his results.
“He wrestled aggressively and nearly flawlessly on his journey to the finals, which included securing his 100th career win in the quarterfinals.”
Albanese, the top seed at 114, also reached the finals but once again had to settle for a runner-up finish in a tight one-point loss (2-1) loss to Whitehall’s Wilmont Kai, the No. 2 seed.
“Runner-up was not the outcome Emilio was striving for, and the loss will fuel him to stay focused and locked in for regionals,” said Best.
“He entered this tournament as the top seed in his weight class and performed as he should with dominant wins to advance to the finals. He has faced Kai multiple times and the finals was wrestled somewhat conservatively by both.”
Albanese (31-6) now turns his attention towards regionals where he placed third a year ago and also qualified for states.
Sallit (31-9) also had his best showing at districts, placing second after falling to Becahi’s Shane McFillin by major decision, 8-0 at 172.
“Xayden wrestles with a relentlessly savvy approach to his opponent,” said Best. “On a consistent basis, he maintains good positioning in the neutral position and limits his mistakes. The results in his first three matches displayed that approach. He earned a hard-fought 4-3 decision over a top-quality opponent in the semifinal (Easton’s Justin Cosover) to earn his first appearance in a district final match.”
At a loaded 107 weight class, Max clinched his first ever trip to regionals after placing fourth.
“Jackson wrestled at his best up to this point in the season,’ said Best. “After a near flawless match in the quarterfinals, he wrestled a gritty and savvy match in the semifinal against top-seeded freshman Brayden Wenrich of Northampton.
“Just a few hours after that tough loss, he bounced back to get a solid win over a returning place finisher (Derek Fulmer of Nazareth) and advanced to the consolation final. In the that final, he battled his opponent (Notre Dame Green Pond freshman Cael Muller), a persistent nosebleed and some controversial officiating and lost a 3-2 ultimate tiebreaker. That loss will fuel his motivation and preparation leading into the regional tournament.”
Caciolo was the fifth Hornet to qualify for regionals after his fifth-place win over Notre Dame Green Pond’s Jacob Volpe 5-2. It’s the second time he has qualified for regionals.
“Despite a month-long absence from competition due to injury and competing in arguably the deepest weight class, talent-wise in the tournament, Teagan wrestled great,” said Best of his 121-pounder.
“In the quarterfinals, he lost a one-point overtime decision to a returning state qualifier (Remy Trach of Nazareth) which dropped him into a very tough consolation bracket. He battled his way through the bracket. Being the warrior that he is, he collected himself and earned a hard-fought decision to advance to regionals.”
One Hornet who just missed out on qualifying for regionals by one spot was Xyler Sallit who lost to Freedom’s Nicholas Lyden 7-3 in the fifth-place match. The freshman wrapped up an outstanding first season on the varsity finishing with a 22-15 mark.
The other Emmaus wrestlers that competed in the tournament but did not qualify for regionals included seniors Chance Henry, Massimo Tranguch and Ashir Choudhry, juniors Logan Roth and Logan Armstrong along with sophomores Tommy Fallstich and Lexi Max.
Best was also recognized at the tournament being named District XI 3A Coach of the Year.
Nazareth wound up winning the team race with 233 points followed by Notre Dame Green Pond (2nd/219.5 pts), Becahi (3rd/197), Northampton (4th/179.5) and Easton (5th/169).
Up next will be the AAA Northeast Regional Tournament back at Liberty High School. Action gets underway on Friday. The top four will advance to the PIAA State Tournament in Hershey on March 6-8.
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