HS Boys’ Wrestling: Tri-Valley rallies past North Schuylkill
Tri-Valley's Jaxson Bruso (139) pins North Schuylkill's Brock Holmes with a spladle during Tuesday's non-league dual meet in Hegins. Making the call at left is referee Sam Julian. (Photo by Bob Lipsky)
HEGINS — Behind in individual bouts, behind as a team on the scoreboard, Tri-Valley never gave up.
That determination shown through Tuesday night, especially down the stretch as the Bulldogs rallied past North Schuylkill 36-30 in the annual non-league battle between two of the Schuylkill League’s traditional powers.
“I thought we wrestled with a lot of heart,” Tri-Valley coach Dave Boltz said. “The guys didn’t quit. They kept wrestling, and that showed in some of the swing matches.”
Trailing 30-21 with three bouts to go, Parker Hatter (160), Hunter Updegrave (172) and Max Masser (189) reeled off three straight victories to put Tri-Valley over the top.
Hatter started the comeback by racking up six takedowns in a 19-4 technical fall in 2:51 over Bryce Kile.
“I’ve been on him for weeks to do what he did tonight,” Boltz said. “I said, ‘You don’t need to touch anybody (lock up). You’re the fastest kid on the mat.’ … He did what he was supposed to do tonight. He’s so fast. That was awesome.”
Updegrave then got locked up in a tight one against Ben Carr. Scoreless into the second period, Updegrave scored an escape and a takedown before lacing Carr’s arm and turning him for the fall in 3:30. That put the Dawgs (6-0) up 32-30 with one match left.
North Schuylkill’s Connor Dower pushed Masser into a scoreless second period before the Tri-Valley standout got his offense going. Masser escaped, then executed a sharp snap-and-spin takedown for a 4-0 lead after two periods. Masser added two more takedowns in the third period for a 10-1 major decision that clinched the dual.
Tri-Valley won eight of the 13 weights. North Schuylkill (5-2) won just five bouts, but all of them came by fall.
Cadyn McGraw (215) started the Spartans on the right foot by with a quick takedown and a 29-second fall over Kyle Bowman.
Tri-Valley, though, kept chipping away, taking most of the toss-up bouts to give the Dawgs the edge at the end.
Giving up at least 30 pounds at 285, Tri-Valley’s Donovan Keeth fended off William Wysoski’s throw attempts in a 6-3 decision. A trip at the edge of the mat for a takedown with 1:05 left in the bout gave Keeth a 6-1 lead.
North Schuylkill then bumped away from Tri-Valley standout Owen Wolfgang, forfeiting to him at 107. The Spartans did that to gain favorable matchups in the next three weights, and it worked out pretty well as Gaige Mentusky (114) and Stanley Padakowski (127) scored falls to give North Schuylkill an 18-12 lead after six matches. Padakowski relentlessly went after a cradle and eventually stacked Easton Moore for the pin in 46 seconds.
In between, though, the Dawgs punched a hole in North Schuylkill’s plans. At 121, Garett Leitzel led 6-0 after two periods, then trailed 7-6 after Evan Miernicki threw Leitzel to his back for a takedown and near-fall points. Leitzel fought off his back, reversed Miernicki to his back for two and two, then added a late takedown for a 13-9 decision.
Tri-Valley got two more comeback wins in the middleweights.
At 133, the Dawgs’ Kian Gill trailed Noah Leib 8-4 after Leib scored a reversal with one second left in the second period. Gill kept pressing the action in the third period, escaping, getting a point for Leib stalling, then finishing a takedown at the edge of the mat with two seconds left in the bout for a 9-8 decision that brought the Tri-Valley fans to their feet.
“That really pumped everyone up,” Boltz said. “That was huge. He’s been wrestling really well. He doesn’t stop. He doesn’t quit. He’s that kind of a kid.”
Added Gill: “I had to give it everything I had. Awesome. That was amazing, the amount of energy in this gym. Great crowd tonight. It gave everybody a little bit of momentum, and I think it pushed us (to win) against a harder team.”
Tri-Valley’s Jaxson Bruso (139) found himself in some early trouble when Brock Holmes scored the bout’s first takedown and led 3-0 after the first period. Bruso, a senior who has wrestled more than 125 varsity matches in his career, maintained his poise against the Spartans’ talented freshman. Tangled in a scramble at the edge of the mat, Bruso trapped both of Holmes’ arms and legs in a spladle, stacking him for the fall in 2:48.
Back came the Spartans as Bode Gates (145) and Kaden Tavares (152) notched consecutive pins to put North Schuylkill back on top 30-21. Then Parker Hatter, Updegrave and Masser did their jobs to pull out the win for Tri-Valley.
