Saucon Valley top Northwestern for CL wrestling crown

NORTHAMPTON – Northwestern gave Saucon Valley a battle, but the Tigers couldn’t deny the Panthers their sixth straight Colonial League title.

Saucon Valley won nine bouts en route to a 37-24 win Monday night at Catasauqua High School.

“If you would have told me six years ago that we were going to win six in a row, I would have laughed,” said Saucon Valley head coach Chad Shirk. “We have great kids that work really hard, and it’s nice to see them fulfill one of their goals for this season.”

The Tigers (7-1 regular season) stayed off their backs for the most part, giving up just one pin and one tech fall, while allowing bonus points in five matches. They came closer than the 47-22 result in a dual meet against the Panthers (8-0 regular season) a few weeks ago.

“We wrestled 1,000 percent better than we did in the dual meet against them earlier in the year,” said Northwestern head coach Jim Moll.

The Tigers were in position to challenge for the upset. After dropping the opening bout at 285, pins from Jake Dellicker and Colin Rex helped put the Tigers ahead 15-13 through five bouts.

Rex was trailing most of his match before reversing Justin Kyra for a pin with eight seconds left in the third period.

Northwestern dropped the next bout, but Jackson Bernhard pulled out an overtime win at 152 to keep the match square at 18-18.

Caleb Clymer (160) was out to a 9-3 second-period lead over Thomas Spirk when he was called for an unnecessary roughness penalty. Spirk was awarded one point, but he was also injured during the exchange and trainers determined he couldn’t continue. Because of the penalty, Spirk was awarded the win, and six points went on the board for the Panthers as Clymer suffered his first loss of the season.

“He’s wrestling hard,” said Moll. “The kid underhooks him and he cranks out of the underhook a little too hard and popped the kid’s elbow out. They called it unnecessary roughness.

“It’s a nine-point swing, so we’re closer, but that’s not enough to get a win. We need one more win in there.”

Neither team wanted one of the night’s best matches to end that way or for it to impact the outcome.

“It’s unfortunate,” said Shirk. “Our kid got slammed in the previous match tonight. The trainers are the ones that called it. It’s an unfortunate event.”

Saucon Valley took the next two bouts, before giving up a forfeit at 220.

Moll was pleased with the way his team battled, and looks forward to trying to earn a rematch with the Panthers in the district final.

“We want another shot, but we have a lot of teams to get through first,” said Moll. “If we wrestle like this, it will be a fun match to watch.”

The championship match featured several close bouts. The Panthers took the first one when Nick Warnke (285) edged Hayden Bobbyn, 1-0. Ben Griffith (120) picked up a 16-13 win for the Tigers, holding off Kevin Dyer. Saucon Valley’s Nicholas Rosengrat earned a 1-0 win over Matt Peters at 138 with a third-period escape.

Rex was down just one point, 5-4, when he got his late pin. And Bernhard used a third-period escape and an overtime takedown to get his win.

“They came out ready to go,” said Shirk. “They gave us everything we wanted plus some.”

SEMIFINAL

Northwestern-Wilson

Northwestern opened the night with a 42-24 win over No. 3 seed Wilson.

Tied 9-9 after five matches, the Tigers got three consecutive pins from Harrison Bernhard (126), Matt Peters (132) and Colin Rex for a 27-9 lead.

A forfeit win for Ryan Havercamp, and Caleb Clymer`s win by technical fall pushed the lead to 41-12 before the No. 3 seed Warriors won the last two bouts.

The Tigers also got a pin from Hayden Bobbyn (285) and a decision win from Jake Dellicker (113).

SEMIFINAL ACTION ... Saucon Valley beat No. 4 seed Bangor 35-27 in the semifinals.

MILESTONE ... Saucon Valley’s Jason Jones won his 150th career bout at the league finals.

REMATCHES ... The Tigers are the No. 3 seed in the upcoming district tournament, with Wilson at No. 2 and Saucon Valley in the top spot. A first-round win would get the Tigers another matchup with Wilson. Another win over the Warriors would likely put Northwestern in the title bout where the Panthers expect to be waiting.

Saucon Vy. 37, Northwestern 24

285 - Nick Warnke (SV) dec. Hayden Bobbyn, 1-0; 106 - Jake Dellicker (NW) pinned Ermal Duka in :26; 113 - Dane Druckenmiller (SV) dec Blake Brunner 6-1; 120 - Ben Griffith (NW) dec Kevin Dyer, 16-13; 126 - Joshua Jones (SV) major dec. Harrison Bernhard, 13-2; 132 - Nick Rosengrant (SV) dec. Matt Peters,1-0; 138 - Colin Rex (NW) pinned Justin Kyra in 5:52; 145 - Jason Jones (SV) tech. fall Will Dellicker, 15-0; 152 - Jackson Bernhard (NW) dec. Angelo Mahafey 3-1 (OT); 160 - Thomas Spirk (SV) won by injury DQ over Caleb Clymer; 170 - Brayden Lugardo (SV) dec. Ryan Havercamp, 10-4; 182 - Dane Csenesits (SV) major dec. Tyler Watson, 16-5; 195 - Jarrett Hirschbeck (SV) pinned Isaac Bredbenner in 1:25; 220 - Quin Moyer won by forfeit.

Northwestern 41, Wilson 24

220 - Kolby Flank (W) dec. Quin Moyer, 6-3; 285 - Hayden Bobbyn (NW) pinned Roger Russell in 3:08; 106 - Double forfeit; 113 - Jake Dellicker (NW) dec. Cameron King, 12-5; 120 - Jon Consorti (W) pinned Ben Griffith in 5:41; 126 - Harrison Bernhard (NW) pinned Zach Poff in 2:41; 132 - Matt Peters (NW) pinned Owen Polenero in 3:55; 138 - Colin Rex (NW) pinned Dustin Hunara in 4:29; 145 - Zavery Lesher (W) dec. Will Dellicker, 7-4; 152 - Jackson Bernhard (NW) dec. Anthony Micci, 9-4; 160 - Ryan Havercamp (NW) won by forfeit; 170 - Caleb Clymer (NW) tech. fall Jon Fischer, 16-1; 182 - Alec Snyder (W) pinned Isaac Bredbenner in 1:24; 195 - Austin Wickman (W) pinned Peter Yablanski in 3:42.