OXFORD>>It was a weekend filled with strong emotions for the southeastern PA wrestlers who traveled to Oxford aiming to finish in the top five at the PIAA Southeast Regional and qualify for the PIAA championships next weekend at the Giant Center in Hershey.
However, the Kennett Blue Demons experienced particularly strong emotions, as they faced the loss of family member Josh Jaffe, father of Demon wrestlers Zack and Haylie Jaffe, who passed away unexpectedly in the early hours of Friday morning, just before Zack had to compete.
The Demons reacted as best as they could, with all six of their athletes competing at regionals securing spots in Hershey. Zack managed to secure a fourth place finish at 127 to join his sister Haylie, who had already qualified for the girls tournament with a win at the girls’ regional last weekend.
“They all remained focused and approached their time on the mat with determination,” said Kennett coach Kevin Reigel. “They all really dug deep, especially Zack. This is the second year in a row that we’re taking six to Hershey. Now we’ve got to bring home some medals.”
The Blue Demons' sole finalist, Blake Boyer at 139, suffered a tough loss when Central Bucks West’s Patrick Kelly was awarded a controversial takedown at the end of regulation, securing a 3-1 victory. Also advancing for Kennett are Bryce Boyer (5th at 107); Kane Lengel (5th, 145); Michael Pepe (5th, 160) and John Pardo (3rd, 285)
Other Chester Country wrestlers securing spots are Oxford’s Jon Smith, who was forced to injury default in his 170-pound final, Coateville’s Andrij Szczesniuk (5th, 121); Conestoga’s Miles Warkentine (3rd, 127); Avon Grove’s Christian Ford (4th, 133) and Jagger Vitelli (5th, 189); Downingtown West’s Jordan Barry (4th, 145) and Troy Mack (5th, 215); Unionville’s Brady Kelly 4th, 215); and Downingtown East’s Adham Abouraya (4th, 285) and Felix Mason (2nd, 215).
The Bechtold brothers from Owen J. Roberts led the way for PAC-10 wrestlers securing spots in the states, with Dillon swiftly defeating Downingtown East’s Mason, getting the pin in 1:32 to claim the 215 pound title, followed by younger brother Dean scoring a third period takedown and controlling Quakertown’s Calvin Lachman for a 3-1 victory to close out the night of action at 285.
“Everyone in the room, coaches, wrestlers, all of us, are just so supportive of one another, and keep pushing each other to get better,” said Dean Bechtold. “I’m always confident on my feet, and once I got that takedown, I knew I needed to ride him out. I just worked to make sure I could get the boots in, and once time started running down and I had no stall calls, I just focused on running out the clock.”
The Wildcat’s Sam Gautreau had to settle for a runner-up finish at 172, losing a 1-0 decision to Bek Savariddinov of Council Rock South. Midway through the third period, Gautrea was in deep on a single leg, and looked like he might secure the go-ahead takedown, but Savariddinov called for the first of two injury time-outs for shoulder issues.
Perkiomen Valley had two wrestlers in the final round: Max Tancini at 107 and Carter Euker at 189, but both ended up with second place. Tancini was defeated 2-0 in sudden victory by Hatboro-Horsham’s Dominick Morrison. Morrison received recognition as the tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler for his performance.
The PAC-team secured its first champion at 133 when Branden Rozanski secured an overtime takedown against Boyertown’s Gavin Sheridan for the title.
“(Sheridan) defeated me 1-0 last week at districts,” said Rozanski. “But I knew I was at the same level as him and just needed to take the next step. It’s great to be challenged like this before Hershey, where all the matches will be equally tough.”
Delaware County crowned a champion at 189, as Strath Haven’s Michael Spielman managed to maintain a lead from two takedowns for a 4-1 victory over Perk Valley’s Euker.
“Last year, I only had a 1-2 record here, so it feels incredible not only to advance to states, but to win the region,” said Spielman. “My coach (Anthony Gilliano) has had a streak of sending at least one person to states, and it was up to me to continue the streak. Now we’ll have to see if I can return with a medal.”
Also advancing from Delco are Radnor’s Jayden Lee (2nd, 114); Ridley’s Curtis Nelson (3rd, 114); Sun Valley’s Brecken Strickland (5th, 133) Hunter Delaney (3rd, 139) and Brandon Carr (3rd, 172); Cheltenham’s Corey Bradley (5th, 172), and Harriton’s Nadav Nafshi (3rd, 152) .
Pennridge claimed the team title, earning 143.5 points, with Quakertown finishing second at 123.5.
Colby Martinelli was the sole champion for the Rams. Competing against Radnor’s Lee, Martinelli quickly scored a takedown, then added three points with a tilt before securing a pin in just 49 seconds.
Joining Martinelli in Hershey are fellow Rams Cole Coffin (3rd, 121); Quinn McBride (2nd, 127); Sam Kuhns (2nd, 152); Ryan Gallagher (3rd, 160) and Tallan Hogan, fresh off his 100th career win Friday night, capped the weekend with a fourth-place finish at 172.
The Panthers had a trio of champions, all of whom had dominant wins in the finals. Mason Ziegler kicked things off for Quakertown with a 16-6 major decision over Council Rock South’s Luke Reiter at 121. Up next was Gavin Carroll, who kept Hatboro-Horsham’s Christopher Staub scoreless with a 13-0 victory at 145. Collin Gaj followed at 152 with the Panthers’ third title, showcasing a takedown clinic in a 21-6 tech fall against Pennridge’s Kuhns.
Also advancing for Quakertown are Isaac Williams (5th, 127) and Lachman (2nd, 285). Other SOL athletes earning their spots in Hershey include Chris Dennis of Central Bucks West (3rd, 133); Upper Dublin’s Dominick Powell (4th, 107); Ty Borkowski of Plymouth-Whitemarsh (5th, 152); and Souderton’s Kole Lester (4th, 189).
Championship Finals
107 Dominick Morrison, Hatboro-Horsham, defeated Max Tancini, Perkiomen Valley, in sudden victory 2-0
114 Colby Martinelli from Pennridge pinned Jayden Lee from Radnor in 0:41
121 Mason Ziegler from Quakertown won by a major decision over Luke Reitter from Council Rock South with a score of 16-6
127 Eren Sement from Council Rock North won by technical fall against Quinn McBride from Pennridge in 3:05 with a score of 17-0
133 Branden Rozanski from Upper Perkiomen defeated Gavin Sheridan from Boyertown in sudden victory round 1 with a score of 4-2
139 Patrick Kelly from Central Bucks West defeated Blake Boyer from Kennett with a score of 3-1
145 Gavin Carroll from Quakertown won by a major decision over Christopher Staub from Hatboro-Horsham with a score of 13-0
152 Collin Gaj from Quakertown won by technical fall against Sam Kuhns from Pennridge in 5:30 with a score of 21-6
160 Gavin Cole from Council Rock South won by injury default over Jon Smith from Oxford Area in 1:09
172 Bekhruz Sadriddinov from Council Rock South defeated Sam Gautreau from Owen J. Roberts with a score of 1-0
189 Michael Spielman from Strath Haven defeated Carter Euker from Perkiomen Valley with a score of 4-2
215 Dillon Bechtold from Owen J. Roberts pinned Felix Mason from Downingtown East in 1:32
285 Dean Bechtold from Owen J. Roberts defeated Calvin Lachman from Quakertown with a score of 3-2
Third Place
107 Alexander Diaz from Council Rock North won by technical fall over Dominick Powell from Upper Dublin in 4:55 with a score of 18-3
114 Curtis Nelson from Ridley won by injury default over Kyle Von Schmidt from Pennsbury in 1:34
121 Cole Coffin from Pennridge defeated Pierce Kane from Council Rock North with a score of 4-0
127 Miles Warkentine from Conestoga defeated Zack Jaffe from Kennett with a score of 5-2
133 Chris Dennis from Central Bucks West won by a major decision over Christian Ford from Avon Grove with a score of 14-1
139 Hunter Delaney from Sun Valley pinned Ajay Bhatt from Council Rock South in 4:34
145 Ben Brillhart from Council Rock South defeated Jordan Barry from Downingtown West with a score of 5-1
152 Nadav Nafshi from Harriton defeated Beknazar Baiyshbekov from Neshaminy with a score of 7-5
160 Ryan Gallagher from Pennridge defeated Ernazar Baiyshbekov from Neshaminy with a score of 6-3
172 Brandon Carr from Sun Valley defeated Talan Hogan from Pennridge with a score of 12-7
189 Mason Richards from Spring-Ford pinned Kole Lester from Souderton in 0:57
215 Reagan McCullough from Central Bucks East pinned Brady Kelly from Unionville in 4:04
285 John Pardo from Kennett pinned Adham Abouraya from Downingtown East in 0:46
Fifth Place
107 Bryce Boyer from Kennett defeated Kevin McFadden from Pennridge in sudden victory round 1 with a score of 4-2
114 Connor Lenahan from Council Rock South won by a major decision over Chase Sigle from Downingtown West with a score of 9-0
121 Andrij Szczesniuk from Coatesville defeated Brody Coleman from Boyertown with a score of 8-5
127 Isaac Williams from Quakertown defeated Sean Murray from Upper Perkiomen with a score of 7-3
133 Brecken Strickland from Sun Valley defeated Levi Richmond from Downingtown West with a score of 8-3
139 Luke Knox from Perkiomen Valley defeated Jonny O’Brien from North Penn with a score of 5-4
145 Kane Lengel from Kennett defeated Jamie Silva from Spring-Ford with a score of 3-0
152 Ty Borkowski from Plymouth Whitemarsh pinned Owen Dykie from Boyertown in 4:27
160 Michael Pepe from Kennett defeated Paxton Hunt from Garnet Valley with a score of 8-1
172 Corey Bradley from Cheltenham defeated Joshua Larrimore from Boyertown with a score of 10-4
189 Jagger Vitelli from Avon Grove defeated Dylan Kiesling from Abington in sudden victory round 1 with a score of 4-2
215 Troy Mack from Downingtown West won by a major decision over John Wright from Abington with a score of 11-2
285 Joe Collins from Central Bucks East defeated Dylan Bledsoe from Garnet Valley with a score of 3-2
