RECAP — Senior Chris Tigar’s sudden death victory in the final bout proved to be the difference as Emmaus edged East Stroudsburg South 37-30 to claim ninth-place at Saturday’s Eastern Pennsylvania Conference (EPC) Tournament held at the Easton Area Middle School.
Tigar defeated Joseph Anello 9-7 at 160 to clinch the win for the Hornets who won for the third straight year at the tournament. Tigar also gained a bit of revenge after being pinned by Anello in 5:46 at the Zephyr Duals held earlier this month.
“He wrestled smart, he stayed within himself and he stayed in great position,” said Emmaus coach Thad Smith of Tigar. “He knew the situation and all he had to do was not give up bonus points and we win. In the overtime he came right out and took him down. He wrestled a great match.”
Emmaus defeated the Cavaliers for the second time this season (46-27 at the Zephyr Duals) and for the second time in the last three years at the EPC Tournament (35-30 in 2016-17).
“They (ES South) had a totally different lineup than we thought they would,” said Smith. “We came in thinking it was going to be tight and it was. “
Both teams each won seven bouts with the Hornets picking up bonus points in six of those matches.
Sophomore Conner Carter (170), junior Caden Wright (182), senior James Bowie (106) and sophomore Kordell Waiters (126) all picked up falls, while freshman Nick Velde (120) and senior Jackson Karrat (145) both picked up five-point victories with technical falls.
Wright improved to 17-2 on the season, Waiters and Velde both picked up their 18th wins, while Karrat won his team-leading 20th match of the season.
Up next for Emmaus will be the District XI Class 3A Team Tournament which will be held on Thursday. The Hornets will be the No. 9 seed and face eighth-seeded Freedom at 6 p.m. at Liberty’s Memorial Gymnasium. The winner will take on top-seed and EPC champ Liberty later that night at 7:30 p.m. The Hurricane defeated Nazareth 33-26 in last night’s championship match.
Emmaus 37, ES South 30
170 – Conner Carter (E) pinned Dylan Osorio (ES) in :51, 6-0 E
182 – Caden Wright (E) pinned Gary Welge (ES) in :34, 12-0 E
195 – Ryan Clarke (ES) won by dec. 7-2 Bryce Ebinger (E), 12-3 E
220 – Hunter Gill (ES) pinned Luigi Mannino (E) in 4:45, 12-9 E
285 – Daniel Opung-Duah (ES) pinned James Santichen (E), 15-12 ES
106 – James Bowie (E) pinned Nick Ruiz (ES) in :55, 18-15 E
113 – Justin Tejada (ES) won by dec. 8-7 Gio Lainez (E), 18-18
120 – Nick Velde (E) won by tech fall 16-1 Omar Chellaoui (ES), 23-18 E
126 – Kordell Waiters (E) pinned Dawson Miller (ES) in :57, 29-18 E
132 – Aaron Acosta (ES) dec. Quin Scott (E) 9-4, 29-21 E
138 – Patrick Gould (ES) pinned Jack Brion (E) in 1:03, 29-27 E
145 – Jackson Karrat (E) won by tech fall 16-0 Jaidan Garcia (ES), 34-27 E
152 – Nicholas Alejandro (ES) won by dec. 3-1 Jared Groller, 34-30 E
160 – Chris Tigar (E) won by sudden victory 9-7 Joseph Anello, 37-30 E