TIMES NEWS MAT RANKINGS
(Through Feb. 20)
(at least 15 matches and .500 record)
106 - 1. Kenny Yanovich, Pleasant Valley, So. (33-3); 2. Jacob Hoats, Lehighton, Sr. (22-6); 3. Lenny Ogozalek, Panther Valley, So. (31-6).
Honorable Mention - Ryan Rubio, Northern Lehigh, Fr. (15-9).
Notes - Yanovich was the only wrestler among the names listed that saw action. He gained a pin in the Northampton match against freshman Michael Sheetz (7-7). Yanovich remains 7th in the state according to Pennsylvania Wrestling Rankings. His three losses are to Green Valley's Sean Cannon (Nevada's 4A state champion), Parkland's Ethan Lizak (ranked first in PA and 13th in the nation by Intermat) and Nazareth's Tyrone Klump (ranked sixth in PA). His loss to Cannon was 5-4, the one to Klump was 3-0, while Lizak gained a 9-1 major. He has 30 wins on the mat (three are forfeits) and his career mark is now 69-14. Hoats' record has benefitted from eight forfeit wins. He does have eight wins on the mat against wrestlers with winning records. In fact, those eight have a winning percentage of .713. Ogozalek also has been given eight forfeit wins, including his last three wins. His last actual mat action was Jan. 28 at PV's Coal Cracker Tournament, where he went 5-0.
113 - 1. Sean Bianco, Pleasant Valley, Jr. (34-2); 2, Colin Mashack, Tamaqua, So. (30-1); 3. Josh Evans, Palmerton, So. (25-4).
Notes - Two of the three wrestlers ranked here suffered losses this past week, but the trio has combined for an outstanding 88-7 record the best mark (.926 winning percentage) of any of the 14 weight classes. Bianco (ranked 7th in the state) dropped a narrow 8-5 decision to Northampton's Zach Valley (24-4 and ranked 17th in the state).The loss snapped a string of 26 straight wins by the Bears' junior. Bianco's only other loss came early in the season to Morgan Hill's (California) Isaiah Locson, who is ranked third in the country. Mashack (ranked No. 10 at 106 pounds) won twice last week to push his win total to 30. He majored Blue Mountain's Christia Gosch (16-6) and gained a decision over Coughlin's Bill Poray (26-8). His only loss of the season came to Sullivan County's Shawn Nitcznski, who is ranked 11th in the state and carries an undefeated record of 25-0. Mashack, who has 28 wins in a row, has posted 14 pins in his 24 victories on the mat (having gained six forfeits). Of the 14 falls, 13 have come in the opening period including eight in under a minute. Evans went 2-1 in his action and is now ranked 23rd in the state. The Bomber earned wins over Liberty's Michael Connelly and Palisades' Nick Sanders (both of whom have winning records) but dropped his third bout of the year to Pen Argyl's Matt Williams (23-4), who is ranked fourth in the state. Evans has now reached at least 25 wins in both his varisty seasons and has a career mark of 54-11.
120 - 1. Sam Oberlander, Palmerton, Sr. (29-2); 2. James Felipa, Pleasant Valley, Jr. (27-9).
Notes - Oberlander suffered just his second loss of the season this past week dropping a decision to Liberty's Grimaldi Gonzalez (26-3), who is ranked 10th in AAA. The Palmerton wrestler did manage two wins, including a second decision victory this season over Pen Argyl's Tyler Knapik. Oberlander (ranked 19th in the state) has received eight forfeits this season, but of his 21 wins on the mat 15 have come by fall. Felipa suffered a loss to Northampton's Paul Hetrick (17-10) in his only action of the week. Eleven of his wins this season have come against wrestlers with winning records while eight have come against opponents who have 20-or-more wins.
126 - 1. Michael Dahlstrom, Pleasant Valley, Sr. (35-3); 2. Dillon Masington, Palmerton, Jr. (21-9); 3. Brian Ohl, Jim Thorpe, Jr. (23-16).
Honorable Mention - Zachary Glassic, Panther Valley, Fr. (15-14).
Notes - Dahlstrom, with a pin in the Bears' victory over Northampton, became the first TN area wrestler to reach 35 wins this season. The PV senior is also the area's highest ranked wrestler fifth in AAA. He has only lost to a couple of Coreys Blue Mountain's Keener (twice), who is 36-1 and ranked No. 1 in AAA, and Ridgeway's Bush, who is 28-1 and ranked No. 5 in AA. Dahlstrom has posted 22 pins and five tech falls this season. Masington dropped two of his three matches this past week, including both his bouts during the Colonial League playoffs. Against CL competition, the Bomber junior is just 7-5 but outside the league he is 14-4. He also has a 6-0 mark against wrestlers outside of District 11. Ohl lost in his only action of the week, coming up on the short end of a 7-2 decision against Pottsville's Kody Stencovage (24-11). Of his 20 wins wrestled on the mat, 13 have come by fall.
132 - 1. Ernie Klingel, Pleasant Valley, Sr. (25-3); 2. Dylan Rynkiewicz, Tamaqua, Fr. (21-12); 3. Kyle Baumann, Northern Lehigh, Sr. (14-9).
Honorable Mention - Zack Christman, Fr. (16-8).
Notes - Klingel earned his 13th pin of the season by posting a win in his only bout of the week. He is the sixth Bear to reach 25 victories this season. His only in-state loss came to Delaware Valley's CJ Palmer, who is ranked No. 3 in the state at 126. His other losses came to Union's (Oklahoma) Brian Crutchmar, a 6A regional champ, and Nevada Union's Julian Purdy. Klingel is 18-0 in 2012 and is 12-0 against wrestlers from District 11. Rynkiewicz is fourth on the Blue Raiders with 21 wins. He recorded his ninth pin of the season, five of which have come in the past month. He did lose once this week, but the loss came at the hands of Blue Mountain's Cody Kievman (36-3). Baumann didn't see action this week. He is 7-2 in his last nine decisions. On the year, he has six falls and six decisions including one over Zack Christman to keep him ahead of the Blue Bomber in the rankings. Christman, meanwhile, had a pair of win in the league playoffs this past weekend.
138 - 1. Alex Yanovich, Pleasant Valley, Sr. (31-8); 2. Ethan Keichel, Northwestern, Sr. (20-9); 3. Joey Bubble, Palmerton, Jr. (11-11).
Notes - Yanovich lost his only decision of the week, falling to Northampton's Bobby Fehr (16-7) who has won nine straight matches. Yanovich is fourth on the Bears with 31 wins and is 22-5 in 2012. He has posted 17 wins against wrestlers with .500 or better wrestlers. Keichel received his second forfeit win of the season this past week to become the third Tiger to reach 20 victories. Sixteen of his 27 matches on the mat have gone the distance and he is 10-6 in those instances. One of those wins was a 7-4 deciscion over Bubble, who had a tough week dropping all three of his bouts. He stays in the rankings, however, with a .500 record. Despite the losses, he hasn't been pinned this season and hasn't given up a technical fall.
145 - 1. Ty Herzog, Northern Lehigh, Jr. (23-5); 2. Anthony Farole, Lehighton, Sr. (27-7); 3. David Gehr, Pleasant Valley, Sr. (23-14).
Honorable Mention - Zach Graver, Palmerton, Fr. (18-15); Nick Toth, Tamaqua, Sr. (13-9).
Notes - Herzog and Farole didn't wrestle this week while Gehr dropped his only match, falling to Northampton's Cole Sheptock (ranked No. 4 in the state at 152). Herzog is the top ranked District 11 wrestler in the class since Pen Argyl's Mike Racciato moved down to 138. Herzog is ranked No. 9 in the state with Farole No. 10. The only other D-11 wrestler ranked in the top 20 is Pine Grove's Eli Brill at No. 20. Of Herzog's 20 wins on the mat, 11 have come against opponents with winning records. Farole, who didn't wrestle at 145 in his first 13 bouts, has now answered the call at 145 10 straight times and is 9-1 in those matches. He is 20-2 in the year 2012 with 14 pins. His seven losses have come against opponents whose combined winning percentage is .821. Farole also owns a 9-3 win over Gehr, who has 10 pins and 10 decision wins this season. The Bear senior has only been pinned twice this season, once against Sheptock and the other against 13th ranked Leo Wortman of Bellefonte.
152 - 1. Cody Grohotolski, Palmerton, Sr. (24-4); 2. Dylan Hofmann, Northern Lehigh, Sr. (22-6); 3. Evan Mashack, Tamaqua, Sr. (22-10).
Honorable Mention - Joell Toledo, Pleasant Valley, Jr. (21-15).
Notes - Grohotolski posted three wins, two of them falls and the other a major decision. His four losses are all to quality wrestlers (each one has at least 27 victories this season and their combined record is 120-24 for an. 833 winning percentage). Unfortunately for the Bomber, three of the four are from District 11. On the plus side, there's a chance all three will be in a different weight class at districts. Hofmann didn't see action this week, but is now ranked No. 17 in the state (up three spots). Hofmann is 10-1 since Jan. 13. Of his six losses, four are to state-ranked wrestlers including three from AAA. Of his 27 matches wrestled, 18 of them have gone the distance. Mashack posted a fall in his only action of the week. That's not surprising since 14 of his 15 wins on the mat (he has seven forfeit victories) have come via the pin. Of his 10 losses, seven have come against wrestlers who have posted at least 20 wins this season.
160 - 1. Michael Ortiz, Northwestern, Jr. (21-6); 2. Zach Coleman, Lehighton, Sr. (20-6); 3. Brandon Silkowski, Tamaqua, Sr. (23-8).
Honorable Mention - Cody Bowman, Northern Lehigh, Jr. (9-6).
Notes - Ortiz is currently ranked 12th in the state, although his ranking comes at 152. He'll probably wrestle at 152 in the postseason but is 15-4 at 160 and just 2-2 at 152. Only three of his bouts have ended with a pin. He is 10-1 in 2012 and his 21 are second on the Tiger squad. His six losses have come to five different wrestlers, four of which are state-ranked. The five have a combined record of 151-22 (.873 winning percentage. Coleman hasn't wrestled since Feb. 9 and his last win on the mat came on Feb. 1. Of his six losses, five have come to state-ranked wrestlers two of them Northwestern's Ortiz and Northern Lehigh's Hofmann. Three of his defeats have come at the hands of AAA competition. Silkowski earned two wins against a pair of wrestlers with winning records. He now has 16 pins on the season and 21 of his 23 wins have been six-pointers.
170 - 1. Mike Balliet, Lehighton, Sr. (25-4); 2. Kyle Greenawald, Northern Lehigh, Sr. (20-4); 3. Mitch Evans, Northwestern, Jr. (15-12).
Honorable Mention - Stephen Snyder, Panther Valley, Sr. (15-15).
Notes - Balliet, who didn't see any action, this past week, remains No. 15 in the state. His 25 wins rank second on the team and he has the Indians' highest winning percentage at .862. He has lost to four opponents who each have at least 24 wins this season. The losses have been be two points twice, three points and five points. Of his 25 wins, 15 have come against opponents with .500 or better records. Greenawald, who lost to Balliet earlier this season, also didn't see any action this week. The Bulldog senior is 11-2 against District 11 opponents, with other defeat coming to Saucon Valley's Sam Dickey. Greenawald has posted 12 first-period falls, including six in under a minute. Evans earned a major decision, his first of the season, in his only match of the week. He defeated Schuylkill Haven's Jack Hower, who also has 15 wins on the year. Against District 11 foes, Evans has a 14-7 record.
182 - 1. Levi Veppert, Northwestern, Sr. (28-2); 2. Richard Nase, Panther Valley, So. (18-9); 3. Joseph Smith, Lehighton, Jr. (14-9).
Notes - Veppert was the only one of the three to see action, sort of, as he was handed his second consecutive forfeit win. He is still ranked No. 7 in the state and is one of four District 11 wrestlers ranked in the top 20 at 182. Fifteen of his wins have come against opponents with winning records and he is 8-0 against District 11 AAA teams. Nase last wrestled in the Schuylkill League Tournament, where he placed third. Eleven of his wins were six-pointers with seven of them being pins. Of his nine losses, six were decisions by three or less points. Smith is 10-5 in 2012 and has posted seven of his 13 wins (on the mat) against opponents with .500 or better records.
195 - 1. David Tirpak, Northwestern, Sr. (13-2); 2. Hunter Deihl, Pleasant Valley, Jr. (20-17); 3. John Horvath, Panther Valley, Sr. (18-15).
Notes - Tirpak has five wins against opponents with winning records. His only losses have come to Council Rock South's PJ Steinmetz (32-3) and Saucon Valley's Justin Blobe (26-8). The Tiger has posted seven pins and a pair of tech falls. Deihl lost his only match of the week, dropping a major decision to Northampton's Marcus Newsom. The Bears' record hovers near the .500 mark but every one of his losses has come to a wrestler with a winning record. In fact, 14 of the 17 losses have come to wrestlers at .667 or better and those 14 have a combined winning percentage of .792. Seven of his wins are against opponents at .500 or better. Horvath didn't see action this past week. The Panther has six-point wins in 14 of his 18 wins with 11 of them being pins.
220 - 1. Kane Kralik, Palmerton, Sr. (28-1); 2. Dominick Ammirato, Pleasant Valley, Jr. (18-15); 3. Kyle Schomp, Northern Lehigh, Sr. (16-11);
Honorable Mention - Rian Shubeck, Panther Valley, Fr. (18-14).
Notes - Kralik earned three wins this past week, including his third straight one-point decision over Pen Argyl's Brady Mutton (28-10). Kralik is ranked 10th in the state and four of his last six wins on the mat are one-point victories. The Bombers' only defeat (a 5-4 loss) came in December against Palisades' Mike Roszkowski, who ironically earned a one-point win over Kralik's teammate Skyler Rosenberry this past weekend. Half of Ammirato's win have been by fall. He won his only match of the past week and since Jan. 18 he has posted a record of 11-6. Schomp didn't see action this past week. Nine of his 11 losses are to opponents with winning records, and four of them are to ones who have lost just once this season.
285 - 1. Mike Benner, Pleasant Valley, Jr. (22-11); 2. Luke Matsago, Tamaqua, Jr. (15-10); 3. Skyler Rosenberry, Palmerton, Jr. (16-11).
Honorable Mention - Ryan Ruberto, Jim Thorpe, Jr. (14-11).
Notes - Benner registered a pin in his only match of the week and now has 15 on the season. All 11 of his losses have come to wrestlers with .500 or better records and seven of the defeats are against opponents with 30-plus wins. Matsago has recorded seven falls this season and all 10 of his losses have come to wrestlers with winning records. The opponents defeating the Raider junior have a combined winning percentage of .754. Rosenberry went 1-2 this past week, falling twice in the Colonial League playoffs. After a 5-5 start to the season, he is 11-6 in the new year. Fifteen of his16 wins have been six-pointers with 10 of them being pins.
(Compiled by Rod Heckman)
