Mordaunt earns top seed for districts

Few things are as exciting as wrestling’s postseason.

The lights shine a little brighter.

The crowds roar a little louder.

And the victories are unquestionably a little sweeter.

These are the moments that define seasons - and sometimes careers.

It all kicks off Friday when wrestlers converge on Freedom and Liberty for the District 11 Class 2A and 3A tournaments.

Jim Thorpe, Lehighton, Northern Lehigh, Northwestern, Palmerton, Panther Valley and Tamaqua will be competing in the 2A event at Freedom, while Pleasant Valley will be the lone representative at Liberty taking part in 3A action.

A district runner-up a year ago, the Olympians’ Ethan Mordaunt is the area’s lone top seed at 220 pounds. Mordaunt owns victories over his closest competition - No. 2 seed Jonah Niesenbaum (Salisbury); No. 3 Kolby Flank (Wilson) and No. 4 Michael Ansbach (Mahanoy Area). Mordaunt has topped Nisenbaum twice - 3-0 at the Jim Thorpe Christmas Tournament and 15-4 at the Coal Cracker.

The senior pinned Ansbach in the first period at the Schuylkill League Tournament, and earned a 3-1 win over Flank in sudden victory overtime at district duals. Mordaunt, who also earned his first league title this season, has been a wrecking ball all season, and he looks primed to put another stamp on his stellar campaign this weekend.

Mordaunt’s teammate, Austin Williams, is the No. 2 seed at 182 pounds. Palisades’ Adam Marsh, the top seed, pinned Williams in 1:03 at the Coal Cracker Tournament.

Lehighton’s Logan Pagotto is the second seed at 152 pounds. A potential rematch with top seed Chett Pesta of Williams Valley is one of the most intriguing matchups on the slate this weekend.

Pesta edged Pagotto 4-3 in the 152-pound final at the Schuylkill League Tournament, a match that very easily could have gone the other way. A victory over Pesta in the final would surely be satisfying for Pagotto.

Tamaqua’s Nate Wickersham is the No. 3 seed at 170 pounds behind top seed Kolt Schaeffer of Tri-Valley and No. 2 seed Isaiah DeJesus of Notre Dame-GP. Wickersham lost 10-3 to Schaeffer in the Schuylkill League semis, and dropped a 7-2 decision to DeJesus at the Coal Cracker Tournament,

Northern Lehigh’s Damion Rodriguez is the fourth seed at 170.

Lehighton’s Richard Fronheiser could be a dark horse here. The sophomore has split his matches with Rodriguez and Wickersham this season. In their most recent bouts, Fronheiser pinned Wickersham at the Schuylkill League Tournament, but lost a 3-1 decision to Rodriguez on Dec. 11.

Fronheiser also dropped a 6-5 decision to No. 6 seed Alexis Perez of Mahanoy Area, and a 10-5 decision to Saucon Valley’s Matthew Arciuolo, the top seed at 160, at district duals.

A pair of district runners-up are seeded fourth, Palmerton’s Lucas Christman (138) and Tamaqua’s Bronson Strouse (285). Both placed second a year ago.

Jim Thorpe’s Derek Hunter is the third seed at 285. The sophomore has dropped close decisions to the top seeds, 7-3 to North Schuylkill’s Ryan Weitz (No. 2 seed) on Dec. 12, and 3-1 to top seed Nickolas Warnke on Jan. 31.

Another result to keep in mind is that Strouse topped Hunter 2-1 on Feb. 6.

Lehighton has three wrestlers seeded fourth - Lucas Sangiuliano (126), Chris Whiteman (145) and Alex Zeigenfuss (195). Sangiuliano was a district runner-up two years ago as a freshman, while Whiteman, a back-to-back Schuylkill League champion, has enjoyed a stellar senior season.

Tamaqua’s Aaron Coccio is seeded fourth at 132 pounds.

In Class 3A, Pleasant Valley’s Anthony Mazzella leads the way as the No. 6 seed at 195 pounds. Alex Womack is seeded seventh at 160 pounds, and Chris Frable is eighth at 182

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LET’S GET READY TO RUMBLE ... Below is the schedule and information for this weekend’s District 11 wrestling tournament:

FRIDAY

(Class 2A at Freedom, 3A at Liberty)

Session I

Pigtails and Preliminary Round 4 - 6:30 p.m.

Session II

Quarterfinals 6 – 8 p.m.

First Round Consolation 8 – 9:30 p.m.

SATURDAY

Session III

Second Round Consolation 9 – 10:15 a.m.

Semifinals and Third Round Consolation 10:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Fourth Round Consolation 1 – 2 p.m.

Session IV

Consolation Finals (third, fifth) 4 - 5:15 p.m.

Parade of Champions 5:30 p.m.

Finals 5:45 p.m. (2A/3A Finals, two mats at Liberty High School).

Five wrestlers will advance to regionals from the Class 3A tournament. The Northeast Regionals will be 14 wrestlers per weight class. Four wrestlers will advance to regionals from the Class 2A tournament. The Southeast Regionals will be 12 wrestlers per weight class.

Six wrestlers will receive medals in 3A at districts. The winning school will receive the team trophy. Five wrestlers will receive medals in 2A at districts, and the winning school will also receive the team trophy.

Ticket prices are as follows:

Friday

Adults - $7, students/senior citizens $4

Saturday

Semifinals

Adults - $7, students/senior citizens $4

Consolation finals and championship finals

All tickets $7

A special ticket package for all sessions will also be available, and will cost $20 for adults and $!4 for students and senior citizens.

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JV TOURNAMENT … The Ray Nunamaker Memorial District 11 JV Tournament was held this past Saturday at East Stroudsburg South. Panther Valley and Tamaqua both had two wrestlers place at the event, which featured 33 teams and 233 wrestlers. Sincere Flamer’s runner-up finish at 285 pounds led the way for the Panthers, while De’Antay Alston placed third at 195. Joey Minehan was third at 132 pounds for the Raiders, and AJ Jones sixth at 145. Northern Lehigh’s Ian Molina placed fifth at 113 pounds. Northampton won the Class 3A team title, while Wilson captured the 2A crown. Tamaqua was tied for 10th in the team standings with 43 points. Panther Valley was 12th with 42 points, while Northern Lehigh was tied for 16th (30), Northwestern tied for 24th (8) and Pleasant Valley and Palmerton were both tied for 28th (5).

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RISING STARS ... Several area wrestlers also did well at the recent Tony Iasiello District 11 Junior High Championships. Pleasant Valley’s Ben Fanelli was first at 82 pounds, whilel Panther Valley’s Liam Scrivanich (124) was second. Pleasant Valley’s Dominic DeLuzio (third, 157) and RJ Dominick (167), along with Palmerton’s Kadin German (140) and Tamaqua’s Donavin Albert (212) also placed in the top-four. Nazareth beat Northampton, 277.5-275, for the Class 3A team title. Saucon Valley won the 2A crown.

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LAST TIME ... Northwestern’s Caleb Clymer won his third District 11 title. The senior defeated Panther Valley’s Tanner Kennedy 3-2 in the 160-pound final.

Clymer’s triumph highlighted a stellar tournament for the Tigers, who also had Matt Peters (132) and Jackson Bernhard (152) in the finals.

Northwestern placed second in the team standings with 166 points, just behind Saucon Valley (166.5). Tigers mentor Jim Moll was also named Class 2A Coach of the Year.

Jim Thorpe’s John Newhall (113) and Ethan Mordaunt (195), Panther Valley’s Hunter Kennedy (170) and Derrick Beckham (182), Palmerton’s Lucas Christman (145) and Tamaqua’s Bronson Strouse (220) all had runner-up finishes in the Class 2A tournament.

A total of 18 area wrestlers advanced to next week’s Southeast Regional tournament at Wilson West Lawn High School.

Northwestern’s Jake Dellicker (3rd, 106), Colin Rex (3rd, 138), Harrison Bernhard (4th, 126) and Quin Moyer (4th, 220), Lehighton’s Chris Whiteman (4th, 145) and Cody Scherer (4th, 170), Jim Thorpe’s Austin Williams (4th, 182), and Tamaqua’s Pierce Demetriades (4th, 132) all qualified for the regional tournament with top-four finishes.

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ALL-STARS ... The Eastern Pennsylvania Conference recently released its all-star teams. Bethlehem Catholic’s Ryan Anderson was named MVP.

Pleasant Valley, the only area team in the EPC, did not have any representatives in the first, second or third team.

This season’s selections are listed below.

First team

106 - Dante Frinzi, Bethlehem Catholic; 113 - Tal-Reese Flemming, Liberty; 120 - Cam Enriquez, Stroudsburg; 126 - Sean Pierson, Nazareth; 132 - Julian Chlebove, Northampton; 138 - Patrick Gould, East Stroudsburg South; 145 - Ryan Anderson, Bethlehem Catholic; 152 - Cole Handlovic, Bethlehem Catholic; 160 - Luca Frinzi, Bethlehem Catholic; 170 - Lenny Pinto, Stroudsburg; 182 - Dom Falcone, Easton; 195 - Damen Moyer, Liberty; 220 - Stephen Schott, Nazareth; 285 - Sami Khamis, Stroudsburg.

Second team

106 - Connor Werner, Liberty; 113 - David Kreidler, Central Catholic; 120 - Matt Maloney, Liberty; 126 - Mike Torres, Liberty; 132 - Kenny Herrmann, Bethlehem Catholic; 138 - Devon Britton, Northampton; 145 - Jagger Condomitti, Northampton; 152 - Jake Koerwitz, Easton; 160 - Michael Kistler, Northampton; 170 - Connor Herceg, Nazareth; 182 - Kevin Hennessy, Liberty; 195 - Joe Kurtz, Bethlehem Catholic; 220 - Andrew Balukas, Easton; 285 - Jaden Freeman, Liberty

Third team

106 - Braxton Appello, Easton; 113 - Alex Hanley, Northampton; 120 - Andrew Smith, Nazareth; 126 - Dillon Murphy, Bethlehem Catholic; 132 - Bryan Diaz, Parkland; 138 - Matt Lackman, Bethlehem Catholic; 145 - Dashawn Farber, Nazareth

152 - Andrew Schneider, Stroudsburg; 160 - Gaven Krazer, Easton; 170 - Caden Wright, Emmaus; 182 - Riley Gallagher, Northampton; 195 - Jayden Bortz, Northampton; 220 - Jake Ahmad, Liberty; 285 - Jase Crouse, Bethlehem Catholic

MVP - Ryan Anderson, Bethlehem Catholic