This is the most wide open year for District 11 Duals that I can remember. While this event is always one of my favorites, most years there is either a heavy favorite (2000 and 2009 Northampton, 2001, 2002, 2005 Easton, 2006 Nazareth, 2014 and 2015 Bethlehem Catholic) or a massively anticipated final between two elite teams (1996 Easton-Nazareth, 2003/2004 Easton-Northampton, 2007 Nazareth-Easton, 2013 Easton-Parkland, 2017/2018 Nazareth-Bethlehem Catholic). This year, there are 4 teams who could all win the District and make it out to Hershey. Frankly, I think the state champ is going to come from D11 and there is a pretty high likelihood that the finals will be an all D11 affair.
Bethlehem Catholic was a preseason top 10 team, but has had the rockiest year of their dynasty. Of course, rockiest means they lost one dual meet and were top 10 rather than top 5 at some of the biggest tournaments in the country. But they feel more vulnerable than at any point in the last ten years.
Northampton has been building this team for years – this group was hyped coming through the midget and junior high program as the kid who were going to bring the KKids back to national prominence. They’ve been in and out of national rankings this year and are one of the most dangerous tournament teams in the state based on their star power, though not quite the same in duals and especially not without recent Rutgers commit Devon Britton.
Nazareth has won the last two state titles, but graduated a ton of talent from last year’s group. But in typical Dave Crowell fashion, their underclassmen have really jumped levels and they are in the mix again, maybe with their most balanced lineup this decade. And we haven’t even gotten to conference champ Liberty.
The Hurricanes are Jody Karam’s best team in nearly 30 years at the helm in Bethlehem, and feature 10 seniors, all of whom are classic, tough, scrappy Karam wrestlers. They’re the most balanced lineup year, with a couple state finalist types sprinkled in to give them some real hammers. During the season, Liberty beat Becahi who beat Northampton who beat Nazareth who beat Liberty – so it is a very rock-paper-scissors situation.
District 11 wrestles a “true 2nd” meaning that the loser of the D11 final will have to wrestle a match against the third place team (if they have not wrestled already in the tournament) for the second ticket to Hershey. So while the final (at 5:30 Saturday) will get a lot of the attention, the best match might be that true 2nd match at 8:00 on Saturday night.
#1 Liberty
106: #20 Connor Werner (So. 19-7)
113: #3 Tal-Reese Flemming (Sr., 22-0; S3)
120: #5 Matt Maloney (Sr. 25-1; S5; Lock Haven)
126: #6 Michael Torres (Sr.23-6)
132: #25 (at 138) Travis Brown (Sr. 19-6)
138: Christian Reid (Fr., 2-4)/Ansar Niazi (Jr. 8-15)
145: Daniel Damon (Sr. 0-2)
152: Jason Rezac (Jr. 23-7)
160: Alex Cruz (Sr. 10-17)
170: #16 Josh Talijan (Sr., 19-5)
182: #17 Kevin Hennessy (Jr. 22-7)
195: #22 Damen Moyer (Sr. 24-2, SQ, SQ)
220: #21 Jake Ahmad (Sr. 20-7)
285: #9 Jaden Freeman (Sr. 26-2)
Background
The Hurricanes enter District Duals the favorite after winning their first conference championship since winning the East Penn Conference crown 1986. They are looking for their first District 11 title of any kind since winning the D11 Tournament in 1982. Liberty has never won D11 Duals Tournament and has never appeared in state duals since the tournament started in 1998. The Hurricanes are led by a 10 senior starting lineup that has been building to this for years. Head coach Jody Karam won his 300th career dual meet this season and is as beloved as any coach in the state by his peers (you saw an outpouring form around Pennsylvania on Twitter when the Canes beat Becahi early in the year). His seniors are looking to give the longtime coach a championship.
Hammers
Liberty has a dumbbell-esque lineup, with real strengths at the top and bottom. Tal-Reese Flemming and Matt Maloney give them two potential state finalists at the bottom of the lineup and are as good as any lightweights in the Valley. Up top, Damen Moyer is a two-time state qualifier, who has been ranked as high as #5 in the state and is a heavy favorite to win D11 and NE Regional titles. And Jaden Freeman gives the Hurricanes a hammer at heavyweight. He missed all of the 2018 postseason with a broken ankle (he was a big favorite to win D11 and owned two wins over the eventual champ) and came in to the season a little under the radar. But he’s a good bet to medal in Hershey next month.
Movement
Talijan and Hennessy are on their way down to 160 and 170, respectively, for the individual postseason, and we may see both wrestlers down a weight class as early as this weekend. Rezac also may wrestle 145 in March, but they will use him anywhere they can to hold the middle for match up purposes. Travis Brown also will be flexed between 132 (his postseason weight) and 138, where he has wrestled most of the season.
Keys to Victory
Liberty is a tough match up because they have really good upper weights, where bonus points can come in droves with the disparity between the haves and have-nots. They need Talijan through Freeman to win a lot to punch a ticket to Hershey. And in two of their biggest duals, they’ll need Matt Maloney to get big wins over Matt Mayer (Bethlehem Catholic) and Sean Pierson (Nazareth).
How to Beat Them
Teams need to really capitalize on the “soft middle” of the Hurricane lineup, then pick off at least one of the Liberty stars. That 138-160 stretch certainly doesn’t have stars, and Rezac is the only one who could realistically make it out of individual districts. Becahi is built to get a ton of bonus there, as is Northampton. But Nazareth might be the toughest match because in addition to getting points out of the middle, they have Andrew Smith and Sean Pierson now on Tal-Reese Flemming and Matt Maloney, and knocking off at least one of them changes the whole match.
#2 Bethlehem Catholic
106: #8 Dante Frinzi (Fr.21-6 )
113: Trey Miletics (So., 14-11)
120: #8 Matt Mayer (So., 9-3, S4)
126: #25 Dillon Murphy (Sr. 18-8; Harvard)
132: #3 Kenny Hermann (Jr., 17-5; S4, S7)
138: #5 Matt Lackman (Jr. 18-6)
145: #1 Ryan Anderson (Sr. 25-0; S1, S3; Iowa State)
152: #2 Cole Handlovic (Jr., 26-5; S6)
160: #1 Luca Frinzi (Sr., 23-6; S7, SQ; Lehigh)
170: #19 Jaden Youwakim (Jr. 13-5)
182: Henry Pavis (Sr. 10-14)
195: #8 Joey Kurtz (Sr. 21-8)
220: Jarius Rosado (Sr. 11-13)
285: #11 Jase Crouse (Sr., 21-8)
Background
The Golden Hawks are the defending State Dual champions and have been in the finals in 2017 and winning a title in 2018. After winning last season, head coach Jeff Karam stepped down after 10 very successful years at Bethlehem Catholic in order to have the chance to watch his sons wrestle in college (Cole at NYU and Luke at Lehigh). Karam was replaced by Rick Thompson, who won eight state titles in three different stints at Phillipsburg. However, Thompson and the administration did not gel, and after Liberty beat Becahi in January (the Hawks first regular season conference loss since 2011) Thompson was shown the door. Karam is back as the interim coach (both of his sons are done for the year with injuries). The Hawks are loaded with stars, but don’t quite have the lineup depth as they have during their incredible 2010-2018 run.
Hammers
Ryan Anderson is the top ranked wrestler in the country at 145 and one of the best pound-for-pound wrestlers in the country. He’ll earn bonus against anybody he wrestler for the rest of the season (he beat national #3 Jaden Abas 11-1, so yeah, nobody is coming close here). Luca Frinzi is also ranked #1 in the state after beating the #1 in AAA and AA in back-to-back matches at Escape the Rock. Cole Handlovic is a Beast of the East and ETR Finalist and will be a coin flip with Dan Mancini in state finals at 152. Kenny Hermann would be a favorite for a state championship just about anywhere in the country at 132, but will have to settle for 3rd behind Julian Chlebove and Sammy Hillegas (both in the national top 5). Oh yeah, Matt Mayer, Matt Lackman, and Dante Frinzi are all also going to win state medals. Like I said, lots of stars here.
Movement
Jamier Jimenez would start at a lot of other programs (he’s 8-0 on the year) and they can plug him at 145 and bump Anderson through Youwakim up. Joey Kurtz also can swing between 195 and 220 based on match ups.
Keys to Victory
Besides getting big points out of their big guns, Becahi needs to hold the fort from 170 up. Youwakim will be a key – he’s in a lot of toss ups against the other three teams, and if he can win coin flips, Becahi will be in pretty good shape. Dante Frinzi is a favorite in all three potential match ups, but has tough opponent against Liberty and Northampton, where he’ll win but bonus may be tough to come by. And like everybody, Mayer at 120 will have huge match ups.
How to Beat Them
Liberty is a tough match up for Becahi, because while the Hawks are loaded in the middle – they don’t neautralize any of Liberty’s best wrestlers with their stars. While Northampton losses the thump of Chlebove (against Hermann), Condomitti (hits Anderson) and a healthy Britton (Lackman), Liberty is likely giving up a lot of bonus from 132-160 no matter who wrestles. Where they hurt the Hawks is at the top and bottom, where there are toss ups galore.
#3 Northampton
106: #22 Ryan Silgenbauer (Sr., 16-9)
113: #16 Alex Hanley (Fr. 22-8)
120: #24 Sam Hanley (Sr., 14-5; SQ)
126: Noah Reichelderfer (So. 13-9)/Ethan Szerencsits (Jr. 8-2)
132: #2 Julian Chlebove (Sr. 25-3; S1, S1; Arizona State)
138: #1 Devon Britton (Sr., 17-3; S3, SQ, SQ) – INJURED
145: #5 Jagger Condomitti (So., 26-5; SQ)
152: #8 Michael Kistler (Sr. 27-8; SQ; Penn)
160: Traisach Roland (Jr. 6-3)/Jared Russell (Jr. 5-9)
170: Jacob Flood (Sr. 7-6)
182: Riley Gallagher (Jr. 15-10)
195: Jayden Bortz (Sr. 18-8)
220: Blake Lambert (Jr. 21-8)
285: Hunter Werkheiser (Sr. 15-9)
Background
Despite having five top 10 teams in the country this century, the Konkrete Kids have unbelievably not won a state dual title since 2000, when they dump trucked Connellsville, and have only been to the tournament twice since that title (a finals loss in 2008 to Central Dauphin and a semis loss to the Rams in 2009 in the de facto final). Consider it the curse of sending their JV team to the initial tournament in 1999. This year’s squad is led by Seth Lisa, the 125 pounder on the 2000 state champions. Northampton beat Nazareth for the first time since 2009 during the opening week of the season, announcing their presence as a major contender. They finished 8th at Beast of the East, the highest finish by a public school in one of the nation’s toughest tournaments and were runner ups to Liberty at the Hurricane Classic. They were also 5th at Escape the Rock, wrestling without Devon Britton, who has been out since January 5th with an injury. Britton was the top ranked wrestler in the state at 138 and ranked #9 nationally before the injury. His health will go a long way to determining how for the KKids go as a team.
Hammers
It starts with Julian Chlebove, the two-time state champion who is back on the mats after missing the entire 2018 season with disciplinary issues. Chlebove definitely took some time to shake the rust off, compounded by time missed after dislocating his elbow at the Super 32 in October. The rust showed at Beast of the East, where Chlebove took 6th, losing more matches on Sunday than he lost in the entirety of his high school career to that point. But he looks like years better (and in better shape) in the last few weeks, and when he’s going, he’s as good as any wrestler ever from Northampton (depending on how you feel about Jeff Ecklof). Devon Britton’s status is up in the air (my guess is he’s being saved for the individual postseason) but he was wrestling as good as anybody in PA before his injury. He was a 3rd in the state at 132 last year, and had really jumped levels and was the favorite to win 138. Jagger Condomitti is one of the best sophomores in America, and had a 3rd period lead on Ryan Anderson in their dual (he lost 7-5). He’s probably a year away from being a national caliber kid, but he’ll be a very high medalist at 145 next month. Michael Kistler is a mutli-time state qualifier who is a good bet to win a medal at 152 this year.
Movement
The KKids can move Kistler up and down depending on match ups at 152 and 160. Sam Hanely can swing between 120 and 126, decent options available to Northampton in Noah Reichelderfer and Ethan Szerencits at either weight (Reichelderfer has been the 120 all year before Hanley dropped). Chlebove also has been moving up to wrestle better opponents at 138 with Britton out.
Keys to Victory
Northampton, without Britton, probably has the longest odds of the four teams to win this weekend. They need to win toss ups at the top and bottom of their lineup in order to knock teams off this weekend. Jayden Bortz at 195, Blake Lambert at 220, and Hunter Werkheiser at heavyweight are veteran guys who have wrestled tough schedules their entire careers. They’ll need to win toss ups and pull an upset or two to overthrow one of the other three contenders. They’ll also need freshman Alex Hanley, who has wrestled like a vet all year, to continue his growth and help solidify the bottom of that lineup.
How to Beat Them
You can beat the KKids by racking up bonus points where they have weak spots in the lineup. If teams can score 18 points in that 160-182 stretch, plus tack points on down below where Hanley and Chlebove aren’t, that is tough to overcome, even with the bonus that Northampton can get in the middle weights.
#5 Nazareth
106: Andreo Ferraina (So. 15-11)
113: #6 (at 120) Andrew Smith (Jr., 20-6, S6)
120: #1 (at 126) Sean Pierson (Sr., 21-2; S3, S4; Princeton)
126: #20 (at 132) Blaine Wilson (Jr., 10-7)
132: #24 (at 138) Drew Clearie (So., 22-8)
138: #7 (at 145) DeShawn Farber (Jr., 22-6; GA1, GA1)
145: #3 (at 152 pre-injury) Nathan Stefanik (Jr. 5-1, S6)
152: Joseph Ferraina (Sr. 12-9)
160: #20 Jake Dressler (Jr., 20-6)
170: #15 Connor Herceg (Jr., 24-3)
182: Tommy Manos (Sr. 13-14)
195: Chase Levey (Fr. 12-13)
220: #11 Stephen Schott (Jr., 28-4)
285: Justyce Searock (Sr. 11-15)
Background
Nazareth is the two-time defending champion in the individual tournament and placed 3rd at duals last year after winning the title in 2017. The Blue Eagles are coached by Dave Crowell, arguably the best coach in the history of the state of Pennsylvania. He’s won multiple state titles at three difference schools (1981 and 1983 at Easton, 2001, 2002, and 2003 at Wilson, 2006, 2007, 2017, and 2018 at Nazareth), and won team championships 37 years apart. He’s also had a wrestler in state finals every year since 2005, the longest streak in state history. This year, he has a young lineup, without the superstars he’s had the past few seasons but it is a solid lineup that is really peaking around the postseason.
Hammers
Sean Pierson was the favorite to win states at 126 and wil likely move to #1 down at his postseason weight of 120. The Princeton commit really should be going to his 4th state medal (4th as a sophomore, 3rd as a junior), but was bumped out of the lineup by state champ Tyson Klump after a 30 win regular season as a freshman. Andrew Smith has really jumped levels after a surprising run to a state medal as a sophomore. DeShawn Farber, who grew up in East Stroudsburg but moved to Georgia (where he won 2 state titles) for the beginning of high school, moved back to the Lehigh Valley last summer. He’s been one of the elite 145s in the state this year, and is now down at 138. Nathan Stefanik broke his ankle in December and just came back last night for District Duals. Stefanik looked like a monster before the injury, and appears to be on a similar developmental curve to his brother (who went form state qualifier as a sophomore to state 3rd as a junior, to #2 in the country and state champ as a senior).
Movement
The Blue Eagles traditionally drop their lineup for the posteason and this year was no exception. Every wrestler from 113-152 went down a class last night, completely changing all of their potential match ups for the weekend. Obviously guys can move up and down, which will be most likely in the 145-182 range. Joe Capobianco can flex in to the lineup from 152-170 if Nazareth wants to play match ups, and they also have Connor Herceg on his way down to 160 (he may be able to weigh in there already, not sure of his descent plan or weighs ins, other than he was at 163 for the EPC Championship match). That gives Nazareth more up/down flexibility than any other team in the tournament.
Keys to Victory
Nazareth is a tough match up for just about everybody at this point, with strength really from 106 through 170, plus an excellent wrestler in Stephen Schott at 220. If they win the flip, they can really dictate match ups. They match up well with Liberty after the weight drops, with Andrew Smith and Sean Pierson on Flemming and Maloney. I also will be interested to see Andreo Ferraina at 106 pounds.
How to Beat Them
Nazareth does not have a ton of bonus potential in their lineup – they are really balanced but don’t have a ton of out in out studs. If Pierson and Smith can be held to decisions, they likely have to win 8 or 9 bouts to win a dual. And if a team like Becahi can get bonus out of Anderson, Handlovic and Frinzi, they can reall put pressure on the Blue Eagles.
Bethlehem Catholic was a preseason top 10 team, but has had the rockiest year of their dynasty. Of course, rockiest means they lost one dual meet and were top 10 rather than top 5 at some of the biggest tournaments in the country. But they feel more vulnerable than at any point in the last ten years.
Northampton has been building this team for years – this group was hyped coming through the midget and junior high program as the kid who were going to bring the KKids back to national prominence. They’ve been in and out of national rankings this year and are one of the most dangerous tournament teams in the state based on their star power, though not quite the same in duals and especially not without recent Rutgers commit Devon Britton.
Nazareth has won the last two state titles, but graduated a ton of talent from last year’s group. But in typical Dave Crowell fashion, their underclassmen have really jumped levels and they are in the mix again, maybe with their most balanced lineup this decade. And we haven’t even gotten to conference champ Liberty.
The Hurricanes are Jody Karam’s best team in nearly 30 years at the helm in Bethlehem, and feature 10 seniors, all of whom are classic, tough, scrappy Karam wrestlers. They’re the most balanced lineup year, with a couple state finalist types sprinkled in to give them some real hammers. During the season, Liberty beat Becahi who beat Northampton who beat Nazareth who beat Liberty – so it is a very rock-paper-scissors situation.
District 11 wrestles a “true 2nd” meaning that the loser of the D11 final will have to wrestle a match against the third place team (if they have not wrestled already in the tournament) for the second ticket to Hershey. So while the final (at 5:30 Saturday) will get a lot of the attention, the best match might be that true 2nd match at 8:00 on Saturday night.
#1 Liberty
106: #20 Connor Werner (So. 19-7)
113: #3 Tal-Reese Flemming (Sr., 22-0; S3)
120: #5 Matt Maloney (Sr. 25-1; S5; Lock Haven)
126: #6 Michael Torres (Sr.23-6)
132: #25 (at 138) Travis Brown (Sr. 19-6)
138: Christian Reid (Fr., 2-4)/Ansar Niazi (Jr. 8-15)
145: Daniel Damon (Sr. 0-2)
152: Jason Rezac (Jr. 23-7)
160: Alex Cruz (Sr. 10-17)
170: #16 Josh Talijan (Sr., 19-5)
182: #17 Kevin Hennessy (Jr. 22-7)
195: #22 Damen Moyer (Sr. 24-2, SQ, SQ)
220: #21 Jake Ahmad (Sr. 20-7)
285: #9 Jaden Freeman (Sr. 26-2)
Background
The Hurricanes enter District Duals the favorite after winning their first conference championship since winning the East Penn Conference crown 1986. They are looking for their first District 11 title of any kind since winning the D11 Tournament in 1982. Liberty has never won D11 Duals Tournament and has never appeared in state duals since the tournament started in 1998. The Hurricanes are led by a 10 senior starting lineup that has been building to this for years. Head coach Jody Karam won his 300th career dual meet this season and is as beloved as any coach in the state by his peers (you saw an outpouring form around Pennsylvania on Twitter when the Canes beat Becahi early in the year). His seniors are looking to give the longtime coach a championship.
Hammers
Liberty has a dumbbell-esque lineup, with real strengths at the top and bottom. Tal-Reese Flemming and Matt Maloney give them two potential state finalists at the bottom of the lineup and are as good as any lightweights in the Valley. Up top, Damen Moyer is a two-time state qualifier, who has been ranked as high as #5 in the state and is a heavy favorite to win D11 and NE Regional titles. And Jaden Freeman gives the Hurricanes a hammer at heavyweight. He missed all of the 2018 postseason with a broken ankle (he was a big favorite to win D11 and owned two wins over the eventual champ) and came in to the season a little under the radar. But he’s a good bet to medal in Hershey next month.
Movement
Talijan and Hennessy are on their way down to 160 and 170, respectively, for the individual postseason, and we may see both wrestlers down a weight class as early as this weekend. Rezac also may wrestle 145 in March, but they will use him anywhere they can to hold the middle for match up purposes. Travis Brown also will be flexed between 132 (his postseason weight) and 138, where he has wrestled most of the season.
Keys to Victory
Liberty is a tough match up because they have really good upper weights, where bonus points can come in droves with the disparity between the haves and have-nots. They need Talijan through Freeman to win a lot to punch a ticket to Hershey. And in two of their biggest duals, they’ll need Matt Maloney to get big wins over Matt Mayer (Bethlehem Catholic) and Sean Pierson (Nazareth).
How to Beat Them
Teams need to really capitalize on the “soft middle” of the Hurricane lineup, then pick off at least one of the Liberty stars. That 138-160 stretch certainly doesn’t have stars, and Rezac is the only one who could realistically make it out of individual districts. Becahi is built to get a ton of bonus there, as is Northampton. But Nazareth might be the toughest match because in addition to getting points out of the middle, they have Andrew Smith and Sean Pierson now on Tal-Reese Flemming and Matt Maloney, and knocking off at least one of them changes the whole match.
#2 Bethlehem Catholic
106: #8 Dante Frinzi (Fr.21-6 )
113: Trey Miletics (So., 14-11)
120: #8 Matt Mayer (So., 9-3, S4)
126: #25 Dillon Murphy (Sr. 18-8; Harvard)
132: #3 Kenny Hermann (Jr., 17-5; S4, S7)
138: #5 Matt Lackman (Jr. 18-6)
145: #1 Ryan Anderson (Sr. 25-0; S1, S3; Iowa State)
152: #2 Cole Handlovic (Jr., 26-5; S6)
160: #1 Luca Frinzi (Sr., 23-6; S7, SQ; Lehigh)
170: #19 Jaden Youwakim (Jr. 13-5)
182: Henry Pavis (Sr. 10-14)
195: #8 Joey Kurtz (Sr. 21-8)
220: Jarius Rosado (Sr. 11-13)
285: #11 Jase Crouse (Sr., 21-8)
Background
The Golden Hawks are the defending State Dual champions and have been in the finals in 2017 and winning a title in 2018. After winning last season, head coach Jeff Karam stepped down after 10 very successful years at Bethlehem Catholic in order to have the chance to watch his sons wrestle in college (Cole at NYU and Luke at Lehigh). Karam was replaced by Rick Thompson, who won eight state titles in three different stints at Phillipsburg. However, Thompson and the administration did not gel, and after Liberty beat Becahi in January (the Hawks first regular season conference loss since 2011) Thompson was shown the door. Karam is back as the interim coach (both of his sons are done for the year with injuries). The Hawks are loaded with stars, but don’t quite have the lineup depth as they have during their incredible 2010-2018 run.
Hammers
Ryan Anderson is the top ranked wrestler in the country at 145 and one of the best pound-for-pound wrestlers in the country. He’ll earn bonus against anybody he wrestler for the rest of the season (he beat national #3 Jaden Abas 11-1, so yeah, nobody is coming close here). Luca Frinzi is also ranked #1 in the state after beating the #1 in AAA and AA in back-to-back matches at Escape the Rock. Cole Handlovic is a Beast of the East and ETR Finalist and will be a coin flip with Dan Mancini in state finals at 152. Kenny Hermann would be a favorite for a state championship just about anywhere in the country at 132, but will have to settle for 3rd behind Julian Chlebove and Sammy Hillegas (both in the national top 5). Oh yeah, Matt Mayer, Matt Lackman, and Dante Frinzi are all also going to win state medals. Like I said, lots of stars here.
Movement
Jamier Jimenez would start at a lot of other programs (he’s 8-0 on the year) and they can plug him at 145 and bump Anderson through Youwakim up. Joey Kurtz also can swing between 195 and 220 based on match ups.
Keys to Victory
Besides getting big points out of their big guns, Becahi needs to hold the fort from 170 up. Youwakim will be a key – he’s in a lot of toss ups against the other three teams, and if he can win coin flips, Becahi will be in pretty good shape. Dante Frinzi is a favorite in all three potential match ups, but has tough opponent against Liberty and Northampton, where he’ll win but bonus may be tough to come by. And like everybody, Mayer at 120 will have huge match ups.
How to Beat Them
Liberty is a tough match up for Becahi, because while the Hawks are loaded in the middle – they don’t neautralize any of Liberty’s best wrestlers with their stars. While Northampton losses the thump of Chlebove (against Hermann), Condomitti (hits Anderson) and a healthy Britton (Lackman), Liberty is likely giving up a lot of bonus from 132-160 no matter who wrestles. Where they hurt the Hawks is at the top and bottom, where there are toss ups galore.
#3 Northampton
106: #22 Ryan Silgenbauer (Sr., 16-9)
113: #16 Alex Hanley (Fr. 22-8)
120: #24 Sam Hanley (Sr., 14-5; SQ)
126: Noah Reichelderfer (So. 13-9)/Ethan Szerencsits (Jr. 8-2)
132: #2 Julian Chlebove (Sr. 25-3; S1, S1; Arizona State)
138: #1 Devon Britton (Sr., 17-3; S3, SQ, SQ) – INJURED
145: #5 Jagger Condomitti (So., 26-5; SQ)
152: #8 Michael Kistler (Sr. 27-8; SQ; Penn)
160: Traisach Roland (Jr. 6-3)/Jared Russell (Jr. 5-9)
170: Jacob Flood (Sr. 7-6)
182: Riley Gallagher (Jr. 15-10)
195: Jayden Bortz (Sr. 18-8)
220: Blake Lambert (Jr. 21-8)
285: Hunter Werkheiser (Sr. 15-9)
Background
Despite having five top 10 teams in the country this century, the Konkrete Kids have unbelievably not won a state dual title since 2000, when they dump trucked Connellsville, and have only been to the tournament twice since that title (a finals loss in 2008 to Central Dauphin and a semis loss to the Rams in 2009 in the de facto final). Consider it the curse of sending their JV team to the initial tournament in 1999. This year’s squad is led by Seth Lisa, the 125 pounder on the 2000 state champions. Northampton beat Nazareth for the first time since 2009 during the opening week of the season, announcing their presence as a major contender. They finished 8th at Beast of the East, the highest finish by a public school in one of the nation’s toughest tournaments and were runner ups to Liberty at the Hurricane Classic. They were also 5th at Escape the Rock, wrestling without Devon Britton, who has been out since January 5th with an injury. Britton was the top ranked wrestler in the state at 138 and ranked #9 nationally before the injury. His health will go a long way to determining how for the KKids go as a team.
Hammers
It starts with Julian Chlebove, the two-time state champion who is back on the mats after missing the entire 2018 season with disciplinary issues. Chlebove definitely took some time to shake the rust off, compounded by time missed after dislocating his elbow at the Super 32 in October. The rust showed at Beast of the East, where Chlebove took 6th, losing more matches on Sunday than he lost in the entirety of his high school career to that point. But he looks like years better (and in better shape) in the last few weeks, and when he’s going, he’s as good as any wrestler ever from Northampton (depending on how you feel about Jeff Ecklof). Devon Britton’s status is up in the air (my guess is he’s being saved for the individual postseason) but he was wrestling as good as anybody in PA before his injury. He was a 3rd in the state at 132 last year, and had really jumped levels and was the favorite to win 138. Jagger Condomitti is one of the best sophomores in America, and had a 3rd period lead on Ryan Anderson in their dual (he lost 7-5). He’s probably a year away from being a national caliber kid, but he’ll be a very high medalist at 145 next month. Michael Kistler is a mutli-time state qualifier who is a good bet to win a medal at 152 this year.
Movement
The KKids can move Kistler up and down depending on match ups at 152 and 160. Sam Hanely can swing between 120 and 126, decent options available to Northampton in Noah Reichelderfer and Ethan Szerencits at either weight (Reichelderfer has been the 120 all year before Hanley dropped). Chlebove also has been moving up to wrestle better opponents at 138 with Britton out.
Keys to Victory
Northampton, without Britton, probably has the longest odds of the four teams to win this weekend. They need to win toss ups at the top and bottom of their lineup in order to knock teams off this weekend. Jayden Bortz at 195, Blake Lambert at 220, and Hunter Werkheiser at heavyweight are veteran guys who have wrestled tough schedules their entire careers. They’ll need to win toss ups and pull an upset or two to overthrow one of the other three contenders. They’ll also need freshman Alex Hanley, who has wrestled like a vet all year, to continue his growth and help solidify the bottom of that lineup.
How to Beat Them
You can beat the KKids by racking up bonus points where they have weak spots in the lineup. If teams can score 18 points in that 160-182 stretch, plus tack points on down below where Hanley and Chlebove aren’t, that is tough to overcome, even with the bonus that Northampton can get in the middle weights.
#5 Nazareth
106: Andreo Ferraina (So. 15-11)
113: #6 (at 120) Andrew Smith (Jr., 20-6, S6)
120: #1 (at 126) Sean Pierson (Sr., 21-2; S3, S4; Princeton)
126: #20 (at 132) Blaine Wilson (Jr., 10-7)
132: #24 (at 138) Drew Clearie (So., 22-8)
138: #7 (at 145) DeShawn Farber (Jr., 22-6; GA1, GA1)
145: #3 (at 152 pre-injury) Nathan Stefanik (Jr. 5-1, S6)
152: Joseph Ferraina (Sr. 12-9)
160: #20 Jake Dressler (Jr., 20-6)
170: #15 Connor Herceg (Jr., 24-3)
182: Tommy Manos (Sr. 13-14)
195: Chase Levey (Fr. 12-13)
220: #11 Stephen Schott (Jr., 28-4)
285: Justyce Searock (Sr. 11-15)
Background
Nazareth is the two-time defending champion in the individual tournament and placed 3rd at duals last year after winning the title in 2017. The Blue Eagles are coached by Dave Crowell, arguably the best coach in the history of the state of Pennsylvania. He’s won multiple state titles at three difference schools (1981 and 1983 at Easton, 2001, 2002, and 2003 at Wilson, 2006, 2007, 2017, and 2018 at Nazareth), and won team championships 37 years apart. He’s also had a wrestler in state finals every year since 2005, the longest streak in state history. This year, he has a young lineup, without the superstars he’s had the past few seasons but it is a solid lineup that is really peaking around the postseason.
Hammers
Sean Pierson was the favorite to win states at 126 and wil likely move to #1 down at his postseason weight of 120. The Princeton commit really should be going to his 4th state medal (4th as a sophomore, 3rd as a junior), but was bumped out of the lineup by state champ Tyson Klump after a 30 win regular season as a freshman. Andrew Smith has really jumped levels after a surprising run to a state medal as a sophomore. DeShawn Farber, who grew up in East Stroudsburg but moved to Georgia (where he won 2 state titles) for the beginning of high school, moved back to the Lehigh Valley last summer. He’s been one of the elite 145s in the state this year, and is now down at 138. Nathan Stefanik broke his ankle in December and just came back last night for District Duals. Stefanik looked like a monster before the injury, and appears to be on a similar developmental curve to his brother (who went form state qualifier as a sophomore to state 3rd as a junior, to #2 in the country and state champ as a senior).
Movement
The Blue Eagles traditionally drop their lineup for the posteason and this year was no exception. Every wrestler from 113-152 went down a class last night, completely changing all of their potential match ups for the weekend. Obviously guys can move up and down, which will be most likely in the 145-182 range. Joe Capobianco can flex in to the lineup from 152-170 if Nazareth wants to play match ups, and they also have Connor Herceg on his way down to 160 (he may be able to weigh in there already, not sure of his descent plan or weighs ins, other than he was at 163 for the EPC Championship match). That gives Nazareth more up/down flexibility than any other team in the tournament.
Keys to Victory
Nazareth is a tough match up for just about everybody at this point, with strength really from 106 through 170, plus an excellent wrestler in Stephen Schott at 220. If they win the flip, they can really dictate match ups. They match up well with Liberty after the weight drops, with Andrew Smith and Sean Pierson on Flemming and Maloney. I also will be interested to see Andreo Ferraina at 106 pounds.
How to Beat Them
Nazareth does not have a ton of bonus potential in their lineup – they are really balanced but don’t have a ton of out in out studs. If Pierson and Smith can be held to decisions, they likely have to win 8 or 9 bouts to win a dual. And if a team like Becahi can get bonus out of Anderson, Handlovic and Frinzi, they can reall put pressure on the Blue Eagles.
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