Palmerton rolls to important CL victory

Palmerton needed a win over Bangor to stay in position for a spot in the Colonial League Duals. And the Bombers got it, rolling up a 35-point lead before winning 38-15 on senior night in Palmerton.

"I looked at this match and saw very similar match ups record-wise," said Blue Bomber head coach Dave Lavin. "And we won all those swing matches. It could have been close, but they just separated themselves.

"This solidifies a spot in district duals. We should be good for the league tournament as well."

After the Slaters forfeited the opening bout to 220-pounder Kane Kralik, Skyler Roseberry won the first of those swing matches. The junior 285-pounder beat Andrew Lumsden in a bout that saw six lead changes.

Trailing by one point most of the third period, Roseberry got an escape with 46 seconds left to tie the bout. He scored a 5-point move in the final 15 seconds, nearly pinning Lumdsen as time expired to earn the 12-7 decision and give his team a 9-0 lead.

"We started out excellent," said Lavin. "Lumsden was 12-2. They thought that was a favorable match up and Skyler did an excellent job. That was a huge momentum swing, even though it was early."

"I just did what I had to do," said Roseberry. "We have a couple tough matches this week. I just came out and wrestled hard."

Dan Russo (106) dropped a 6-0 decision to Christian Farrah, but avoided giving the Slaters bonus points at 106. After that, the Bombers won the next eight contested bouts to build a 38-3 lead.

Palmerton's Josh Evans scored a 9-0 major over Robert Lindsay at 113 and senior Sam Oberlander put Palmerton ahead 19-3 when he pinned Nicholas Patti in 3:30.

"There were a few swing matches that could have gone either way," said Oberlander. "Our guys stepped up and got the wins for us."

Dillon Masington kept the momentum rolling with a 7-3 decision over Charles Sell at 126.

Palmerton's Zack Christman (132) pinned Ramadan Krasniqi in 3:20 to push the lead to 28-3.

Joey Bubble (138) earned a 9-2 decision over Christopher Lousko. Zach Graver (145) edged Cody Dockry 5-4 to give Palmerton a 34-3 lead.

After and double forfeit at 152, senior Cody Grohotolski picked up a major decision over Austin Gold at 160.

Bangor's Michael O'Dell ended the Bombers run with a 7-2 decision over Jake Christman at 170.

The Slaters won the final two matches as Clifford Smith pinned Matthew Wolfe in 2:20 and Mark Bourdreau won a 7-3 decision over Andrew Strauss.

The win puts the Palmerton at 6-1 in Colonial League matches with only Pen Argyl (6-0) and Northern Lehigh (1-5) remaining on the league schedule.

The Bombers are one win ahead of Catasauqua (5-2), a team they beat 44-29 on January 11, and Palisades (5-2) for one of the league's two wild card spots in the league's first ever four-team championship tournament.

The Pen Argyl match is tonight at Pen Argyl. The Northern Lehigh match is slated for Tuesday.

Palmerton 38, Bangor 15

220 - Kane Kralik (P) won by forfeit

285 - Skyler Rosenberry (P) dec Andrew Lumsden, 12-7

106 - Christian Farrah (B) dec. Daniel Russo, 6-0

113 - Josh Evans (P) maj. dec. Robert Lindsay, 9-0

120 - Sam Oberlander (P) pinned Nick Patti in 3:30

126 - Dillon Masington (P) dec. Charlie Sell, 7-3

132 - Zack Christman (P) pinned Ramadan Krasniqi in 3:20

138 - Joey Bubble (P) dec. Chris Lousko, 9-2

145 - Zach Graver (P) dec. Cody Dockry, 5-4

152 - Double forfeit

160 - Cody Grohotolski (P) maj. dec. Austin Gold, 15-4

170 - Michael O'Dell (B) dec. Jake Christman, 7-2

182 - Clifford Smith (B) pinned Matt Wolfe in 2:20

195 - Mark Boudreau (B) dec. Andrew Strauss, 6-5