RECAP — Facing the state’s No.1 ranked team in Class 3A, Emmaus trailed Liberty by just a 15-12 margin after the first five bouts, but after that it was all Hurricane as they won the final nine matches and rolled to a 60-12 win, spoiling the Hornets Senior Night on Wednesday at ‘The Hive.’
Sophomore Kordell Waiters (132) and freshman Jared Groller (152) recorded the lone two wins of the night for Emmaus with both recording pins.
Liberty, which knocked off rival and perennial state power Bethlehem Catholic last Friday, had five pins on the night and gained bonus points in 11 of the 14 bouts as they remained undefeated on the season (5-0 EPC, 10-0 overall) for head coach Jody Karam who picked up career win No. 400. Emmaus dropped to to 2-3 in the EPC and 6-4 overall with the loss.
“They are the real deal, they’re not ranked No.1 in the state for no reason,” said Emmaus head coach Thad Smith following the match. “I thought our kids showed up to wrestle tonight and that’s what we were looking for. We wanted our kids to go out and compete and give them a match and I think the Liberty kids appreciated that.”
The dual started at 132 with Liberty’s Mike Torres rolling up a 16-0 technical fall over Quinn Scott in 3:21.
Emmaus quickly responded as Waiters delighted the home crowd with a pin over Niazid Ansar. The match was tied at 2-2 in the second period when Waiters caught Ansar and put him on his back to give the Hornets their only lead of the night at 6-5.
“Kordell is wrestling tough right now. He’s on a roll,” said Smith. “He’s settling down now and not going all out. He’s picking his spots and he’s attacking when he needs to attack. Tonight he was so patient on the mat and he set it up and when it was there, he hit it.”
So too did Groller who needed just 1:49 to deck Nick Santiago and get the Hornets to within 15-12.
“Tough freshman,” said Smith of Groller. “He’s legit. Every match he’s getting more confident. There was a big maturity level difference there between Jared and Santiago (a senior) but he kept moving and that was the key to that match.”
Emmaus was without its top wrestler junior Caden Wright (170) who suffered an injury in last weekend’s Zephyr Duals.
Prior to the match, Emmaus honored its seven seniors for their contributions to the program: Jackson Karrat, James Bowie, Chris Tigar, Luigi Mannino, Liam Dottery, Bryce Ebinger along with Peyton Brown who has missed the entire season due to an injury.
The Hornets will be right back on the mat at 7 p.m. tomorrow as they host Pocono Mountain West.
Like Emmaus wrestling on facebook, follow @Emmaussports on twitter for continued updates on the team throughout the season.
Liberty 60, Emmaus 12
126 – Mike Torres (L) won by tech fall 16-0 Quin Scott (E), 5-0 L
132 – Kordell Waiters (E) pinned Niazid Ansar (L) in 3:37, 6-5 E
138 – Travis Brown (L) pinned Jack Brion (E) in 1:00, 11-6 L
145 – Jason Rezac (L) won by major dec. 10-1 Jackson Karrat (E), 15-6 L
152 – Jared Groller (E) pinned Nick Santiago (L) in 1:49, 15-12 L
160 – Alex Cruz (L) won by dec. 5-1 Chris Tigar (E), 18-12 L
170 – Joshua Talijan (L) won by major dec 15-7 Conner Carter (E), 22-12 L
182 – Kevin Hennessy (L) pinned Bryce Agostinelli (E) in 2:40, 28-12 L
195 – Dame Moyer (L) won by forfeit, 34-12 L
220 – Jake Ahmad (L) pinned Luigi Mannino (E) in 3:20, 40-12 L
285 – Jaden Freeman (L) won by dec. 7-4 James Santichen (E), 43-12 L
106 – Javian DeLeon (L) pinned James Bowie (E) in 1:57, 49-12 L
113 – Connor Werner (L) won by tech fall 19-4 Gio Lainez (E), 54-12 L
120 – Matt Maloney (L) pinned Nick Velde (E) in 4:41, 60-12 L
