No. 1 Wyoming Seminary wrestling edged by No. 2 Blair Academy
The top two wrestling teams in the country squared off on Friday night in Blairstown, N.J. and the match lived up to its billing.
Unfortunately for top-ranked Wyoming Seminary, the team fell to rival Blair Academy 31-24 in a dual that was decided in the last bout of the night.
Blair won eight of the 14 bouts and picked up four bonus-point victories to pull out the victory for the fourth time in the last six meetings between the teams.
Blair took an early 3-0 lead, but the Blue Knights’ Brenden Cernus gave the team a 6-3 lead after two bouts with a fall at 113 pounds. After that, the Buccaneers reeled off three straight wins to go up 17-6 entering the 138-pound match.
That’s where Sem’s Beau Bartlett, a Penn State recruit, continued to dominate in the team’s dual against the Bucs. Bartlett secured a pin for the fourth straight year in the meet. Bartlett, the No. 1-ranked 138-pounder, pinned Louis Colaiocco with a pancake in the second period that pulled the Blue Knights within 17-12 after six matches.
The pin gave the Blue Knights some momentum as they won the next four bouts. Lachlan McNeil, also ranked No. 1 in the country, followed Bartlett’s pin with a win by decision over tenth-ranked Cody Chittum. Sem’s Connor Kievman, a two-time National Prep champion, tacked on a win by decision at 152 to put the Knights in front 18-17. The lead was extended to 21-17 after freshman Gabe Arnold won a thrilling overtime match over Travis Mastrogiovanni at 160. Arnold escaped in overtime then got a takedown. In the next OT session, Mastrogiovanni escaped, but then Arnold put the match away with another takedown for the win over the third-ranked wrestler in the country.
A big 3-0 win for Blair’s Rylan Rogers over Cole Rees at 182 was the second of three straight victories for the Buccaneers after Arnold’s win to go in front 28-21. The Blue Knights needed to win the last two matches, with one being a bonus-point win to at least force criiteria.
They got a win from Kolby Franklin at 220 to trim the deficit to 28-24, but Blair’s Elijah Anthony solidified the team win with a 5-0 win at heavyweight.
Sem was without Nick Bouzakis, the top-ranked 126-pounder in the country, as he missed the dual due to an illness.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Wilkes-Barre Area 73, Hazleton Area 63
Cole Walker fired in 21 points and the Wolfpack handed Hazleton Area its first division loss of the season, dropping the Cougars into a three-way tie with Crestwood and Pittston Area for first place in the Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1.
The Wolfpack had 55 of their points scored by Walker, Brandon Hall and Blake Masker. While Walker had the team high, Hall and Masker each had 17 points apiece in the upset.
The Cougars were led by Andrew Vayda, who knocked down three 3-pointers and had a game-high 24 points. Scott Campbell and Dewin Concepcion each added 13 points for Hazleton Area, which fell to 5-1 in the division.
Dallas 55, Nanticoke Area 45
The pair of Jack Farrell and Nick Nocito led the Mountaineers in points with 16 and 10. Austin Finarelli and Luke DelGaudio also added eight points each.
Colby Butczynski leading the Trojans with 16 points.
Wyoming Seminary 72, Northwest 24
Ethan Meuser scored 13 points and Alex Meuser scored 12 in a balanced attack that put four Sem players in double figures and had the Blue Knights ahead by 42 points at halftime.
Wyoming Valley West 56, Berwick 44
Cole Gorham scored all six of his points in a big finish that helped the Spartans pull away from the Bulldogs.
Jordan Redguard scored 12 of his game-high 13 points in the first half as Valley West stayed on the heels of the Bulldogs and Tyler Gillespie finished with 10 points in the victory.
Miles Doll led Berwick with 12 points, Eric Montes added 11 and Sean Murphy scored 10.
Holy Redeemer 66, MMI Prep 30
Justice Shoats poured in 24 of his 26 points in the opening half as the Royals rolled to a 25-point halftime lead and cruised to victory.
R.J. Jordan led the Preppers with 10 points.
Tunkhannock 65, Lake-Lehman 53
The Tigers rode Ryan Harder’s 26-point night and sealed the win by out-scoring the Black Knights 22-12 in the fourth quarter.
Hayden Klopp led the Black Knights with 15 points, while Josh Kane and Max Paczewski both scored 13 for Lehman.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Wyoming Area 35, Tunkhannock 32
Nicole Silinskie got the Warriors off to a strong start with seven points in the opening quarter and Wyoming Area rallied past the Tigers in a battle between two teams fighting for the eighth and final spot in the District 2 Class 4A standings.
Cassidy Orzel scored the final five of her game-high 16 points over the final eight minutes as the Warriors turned a one-point deficit entering the last period into a three-point win.
Alaina Ritz led Tunkhannock with 14 points, whiole Lexi Corby added 13.
Wyoming Area evened its overall record at 7-7, while Tunkhannock fell to 5-9. Both are behind 6-8 Honesdale for eighth place in the district standings.
Wyoming Seminary 48, Northwest 47
Alex Wesneski hit the winning layup with four seconds remaining and the Blue Knights pulled out a WVC Division 3 thriller in a game played Thursday.
Ally Vezendy converted 10 of her 12 free throws and scored 11 points in the first half as Sem took a 29-20 halftime lead. Northwest rallied back behind 10 points from Morgan Hermanofski in the second half and seven more from Charleigh Miner.
Vezendy finished with a game-high 16 points for Sem and Wesneski was right behind with 15.
Hermanofski led the Rangers with 15 points and Miner wound up with 13.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Eastern 67, Wilkes 62
Sean Coller lead the Colonels with 15 points and three steals. Rob Pecorelli was held to just nine points and Mark Mullins was held to seven points, playing just 25 minutes because of foul trouble.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Eastern 65, Wilkes 48
Maddie Kelley scored 12 points and led the Colonels with seven boards. Macy Berryman stayed hot from beyond the arc, making 3-6 three-pointers and finishing with 11 points.
WOMEN’S ICE HOCKEY
Manhattanville 4, Wilkes 0
Alexa Rango tied her career high with 57 saves for the Colonels on 61 shots.
PREP WRESTLING
No. 2 Blair Academy 31, No. 1 Wyoming Seminary 24
Marc Anthony McGowan (Blair) dec. Brandon Cannon 8-5; Brenden Cernus (Sem) pinned Mason Steffanelli, 5:19; Ryan Miller (Blair) maj. dec. Gregor McNeil, 11-3; — Trevor Mastrogiovanni (Blair) pinned Mark Bottello, 3:53; Shayne Van Ness (Blair) maj. dec. Drew Munch, 19-5; Beau Bartlett (Sem) pinned Louis Colaiocco, 2:34; Lachlan McNeil (Sem) dec. Cody Chittum, 5-3; Connor Kievman (Sem) dec. Lorenzo Norman, 8-4; Gabe Arnold (Sem) dec. Travis Mastrogiovanni, 6-2, OT; TJ Stewart (Blair) dec. Andrew Donahue, 5-4; Rylan Rogers (Blair) dec. Cole Rees, 3-0; Peyton Craft (Blair) tech. fall Wolfgang Frable, 16-1; Kolby Franklin (Sem) dec. Noah Pettigrew, 6-4; Elijah Anthony (Blair) dec. Nate Miller, 5-0.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Wilkes-Barre Area 73, Hazleton Area 63
WILKES-BARRE AREA (73) — Cole Walker 8 5-6 21, Brandon Hall 7 3-5 17, Blake Masker 8 1-2 17, Saquan Portee 3 3-4 9, Matt Egidio 1 3-4 6, Jack Gilgallon 1 1-2 3, Shawn Valenzuela 0 0-0 0. Totals 28 16-23 73.
HAZLETON AREA (63) — Andrew Vayda 10 1-2 24, Dewin Concepcion 4 3-4 13, Scott Campbell 2 7-9 13, Chris Garcia 1 1-2 4, Angel Cruz 2 0-0 4, Brett Antolick 1 1-2 3, Kevin Gil 0 2-2 2, Ryan Fisher 0 0-0 0, Jawarst Nieves 0 0-0 0, Josian Guerra Figuero 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 15-21 63.
Wilkes-Barre Area`16`17`15`25 — 73
Hazleton Area`16`10`13`24 — 63
Three-point goals — WB 1 (Egidio); HAZ 8 (Vayda 3, Campbell 2, Concepcion 2, Garcia).
Dallas 55, Nanticoke Area 45
DALLAS (55) — Jack Farrell 6 4-4 16, Nick Nocito 4 1-2 10, Austin Finarelli 3 2-5 8, Luke DelGaudio 2 4-4 8, Dylan Schuster 2 3-4 7, Logan Evansoky 2 0-0 4, Sam Nocito 1 0-0 2, Darius Wallace 0 0-0 0, Michael Bufalino 0 0-0 0, Angelo Zarola 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 14-19 55.
NANTICOKE AREA (45) — Colby Butczynski 6 2-3 16, Jake Krupinski 4 3-4 12, JJ Bielecki 3 0-0 8, Sincere Shiloh 1 3-5 5, Andrew Kozlofski 1 0-0 2, Colin Mackewicz 1 0-1 2, Justin Spencer 0 0-0 0, Ethan Egenski 0 0-0 0, Joe Fox 0 0-0 0, Tyler Rushton 0 0-0 0, John Chernowsky 0 0-0 0, Collin Brown 0 0-0 0, Luke Myers 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 8-12 45.
Dallas`14`6`17`18 — 55
Nanticoke Area`10`7`16`12 — 45
Three-point goals — DAL 1 (Nick Nocito); NAN 5 (Butczynski 2, Beilecki 2, Krupinski).
Wyoming Seminary 72, Northwest 24
WYOMING SEM (72) — Jake Koretz 4 2-2 10, Alex Meuser 4 1-2 12, Todd Phillips 2 2-2 7, Jeremy Callahan 3 0-0 8, Ethan Meuser 4 4-6 13, John Coates 1 0-0 3, Andrew Maddock 0 0-0 0, Gavin Flanley 1 0-0 2, Aiden Murphy 4 1-2 10, Thomas Iskra 0 0-0 0, Phil Evan 0 0-0 0, Dylan Ostrowski 0 0-2 0, Tomo Chikon 0 0-0 0, Angelo Lombardo 1 0-0 3, Eric Berley 1 0-0 3. Totals 26 10-16 72.
NORTHWEST (24) — Walker Yaple 0 2-2 2, Matt Saxe 1 0-0 2, Matt Pierontoni 0 0-0 0, Chase Biller 0 0-0 0, Landon Hufford 1 0-0 2, Gary McLendon 2 0-1 4, John Savakinus 0 0-0 0, John Karam 1 0-0 2, Mike Crawford 0 0-0 0, Alex Kopco 1 0-0 2, Carter Hontz 1 0-0 2, Tayler Yaple 1 1-2 4, Derek Pierontoni 0 1-2 1, Rhiley Bridal 1 0-0 3, Jake Piestrak 0 0-0 0. Totals 9 4-5 24.
Wyoming Sem`22`28`15`7 — 72
Northwest`6`2`4`12 — 24
Three-point goals — SEM 10 (A. Meuser 3, Callahan 2, E. Meuser, Phillips, Coates, Murphy, Lombardo); NW 2 (T. Yaple, Bridal).
Valley West 56, Berwick 44
VALLEY WEST (56) — Justus Simpson 0 0-1 0, Christian Michak 1 2-3 4, Joey Lombardo 2 0-1 4, Jordan Redguard 5 3-8 13, Jumir Johnson 1 0-0 2, Roland Hamed 3 1-2 7, Sam McNeill 3 0-0 7, Tyler Gillespie 5 0-2 10, Cole Gorham 2 2-2 6. Totals 23 8-19 56.
BERWICK (44) — Brayden Boone 0 0-0 0, Sean Murphy 4 0-1 10, Devon Smith 0 0-0 0, Miles Doll 4 3-4 12, Peyton Williams 1 3-4 5, Tahsjee Taylor 0 0-0 0, Blane Cleaver 3 0-0 6, Eric Montes 3 4-8 11. Totals 15 10-17 44.
Valley West`14`15`12`15 — 56
Berwick`15`15`11`3 — 44
Three-point goals — WVW 2 (Michak, McNeill); BER 4 (Murphy 2, Montes, Doll).
Holy Redeemer 66, MMI Prep 30
HOLY REDEEMER (66) — Mason Mendygral 4 0-0 10, Zach Perta 1 0-0 3, Zev Kornfeld 1 0-0 2, Justice Shoats 12 2-3 27, Darryl Wright 0 0-0 0, Matt Carty 1 0-0 2, Alex Hijowski 1 0-0 2, Jared Piontkowski 6 0-0 12, Alex Rymar 0 0-0 0, Prince Allan 2 0-1 4, Jake Pizzolato 2 1-1 5, Patrick DelBalso 0 0-0 0, Peter Khoudary 0 0-0 0. Totals 30 3-5 66.
MMI PREP (30) — Harry Kress 0 0-0 0, Drew Sechler 2 1-2 5, Josue Rodriguez 1 0-0 2, AJ Jordan 1 7-10 10, Alex Homyack 0 0-0 0, Chance Eyerly 2 0-0 5, Robert Rinaldi 0 2-2 2, Thomas Mayrenik 0 0-0 0, Marcus Kassick 1 0-0 2, Ryan McNelis 0 0-0 0, Leith Abdulrahamn 2 0-0 4, Pete Walko 0 0-0 0. Totals 9 10-14 30.
Holy Redeemer`18`21`10`17 — 66
MMI Prep`5`9`12`4 — 30
Three-point goals — HR 3 (Mendygral 2, Perta); MMI 2 (Eyerly, Jordan).
Tunkhannock 65, Lake-Lehman 53
TUNKHANNOCK (65) — Ryan Harder 10 5-8 26, Mike Kuzma 0 0-0 0, Ben Chilson Chris Trochak 0 0-0 0, David Baltrusaitis 2 0-0 6, Jack Chilson 3 7-8 13, Jake Frisco 1 2-2 4, Shane Macko 1 0-0 2, Trejan Turner 0 0-0 0, Jaren Robinson 2 0-2 2, Coby Gilpin 0 0-0 0, Dylan Mateus 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 15-22 64.
LAKE-LEHMAN (53) — Josh Kane 5 3-3 13, Max Paczewski 4 1-2 13, Hayden Klopp 4 1-2 13, Neil Dougherty 4 2-2 10, Cole Mario 1 0-0 2, Ethan Adams 0 0-0 0, Brayden Spencer 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 7-9 53.
Tunkhannock`12`14`17`22 — 65
Lake-Lehman`16`16`9`12 — 53
Three-point goals — TUN 5 (B. Chilson 2, Baltrusaitis 2, Harder); LL 6 (Paczewski 4, Klopp 2).
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Wyoming Area 35, Tunkhannock 32
TUNKHANNOCK (32) — Rani Shrivastava 1 0-0 2, Courtney Yuhas 1 0-0 2, Anna Brown 1 0-0 2, Anna Williams 2 0-2 7, Lexi Corby 5 3-4 13, Sable Stephens 0 0-0 0, Alaina Ritz 1 2-3 4, Hailey Long 1 0-2 2. Totals 13 5-11 32.
WYOMING AREA (35) — Mackenzie Nocchi 0 0-0 0, Kaitlyn Slusser 0 0-0 0, Nicole Silinskie 3 2-3 9, Halle Kranson 0 0-0 0, Maria Amato 2 1-4 5, Cassidy Orzel 7 2-5 16, Morgan Janeski 2 1-4 5, Alana Aufiere 0 0-0 0, Anna Wisnewski 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 6-16 35.
Tunkhannock`10`6`10`6 — 32
Wyoming Area`12`7`6`10 — 35
Three-point goals — TUN 1 (Williams); WA 1 (Silinskie).
Wyoming Seminary 48, Northwest 47
NORTHWEST (47) — Maddie McLendon 2 0-0 4, Morgan Hermanofski 7 0-0 15, Charleigh Miner 5 0-0 13, Reagan Harrison 2 0-0 5, Cassidy Crawford 2 0-0 4, Megan Harry 0 0-2 0, DeShawanna Jones 0 0-0 0, Tess Edwards 3 0-2 6. Totals 21 0-4 47.
WYOMING SEM (48) — Maddie Olshemski 1 0-0 3, Abby McDonald 2 0-0 4, Alex Wesneski 6 2-7 15, Margaret Mihalick 2 0-0 5, Ally Vezendy 3 10-12 16, Rita Duelt 0 0-0 0, Kate Getz 2 0-0 5. Totals 16 12-19 48.
Northwest`13`7`15`12 — 47
Wyoming Sem`17`12`12`7 — 48
Three-point goals — NW 5 (Miner 3, Harrison, Hermanofski); SEM 4 (Olshemski, Mihalick, Getz, Wesneski).
