Welcome to the
Easton P'Burg National
High School Wrestling
Duals.
 Easton, Blair swat all challengers
01/06/02 By NICK FIERO
EASTON - The outcomes of their meets never in doubt, teams like Easton and Blair Academy focused primarily on individual matchups Saturday at the Express-Times Easton-Phillipsburg Wrestling Classic. The opposite was true for squads such as Freedom and Phillipsburg, whose nighttime clash was among the best of the marathon dual-meet event. By the end of the 34-match, 14-hour competition, the Red Rovers and Buccaneers thrived, Freedom survived at Connellsvilles expense, and Delaware Valley had a much clearer idea of just how good it is, thanks to a hard-earned 31-29 victory over Saucon Valley. And even though Bethlehem Catholic lost all three of its matches, leaving coach Tony Iasiello stuck on career victory No. 399, he was more than satisfied with what he saw as some of his wrestlers scored impressive individual victories in losses to Kittatinny (N.J.), Neshaminy (Pa.) and Archbishop Moeller (Ohio). "I cant complain," he said. "Thats the only way you learn, by wrestling teams like that." Eastons 63-6 demolition of Randolph (N.J.) in the second round was marked by a sweep of Randolphs talented Dattalo brothers -- Pat, Al and Mario. Pat, a state champion, suffered a 9-7 loss at the hands of Chad Sportelli at 112 pounds. "I saw him before here at this tournament, but I never wrestled him," Sportelli said. "After the first period, I felt pretty good. Hes a state champ. Its always good to beat a state champ. Thats what I needed for my confidence." In the first round, Easton routed North Penn 61-6, but lost the highlight bout when the Knights Zac Fryling held on for an 8-6 decision over Matt Lear at 160. Delaware Valley also enjoyed a productive day that began with its victory over Saucon Valley in a matchup of two of the best small schools in the region. The middleweights were especially huge as Jim Rosinski (145) and Roy Kerr (160) sandwiched decisions around a nine-second pin by Dan Hutchins at 152. The Terriers locked it up when Adam Schumacher pinned Stewart Shank with seven seconds to go in the second period of their bout at 189. Delaware Valley followed that with a 46-21 conquest of Philipsburg-Osceola in the third round. Bethlehem Catholic has some holes that hurts the team in dual meets, but it still managed to score some decisive wins. The Golden Hawks put up 15 points against powerful Kittatinny (50-15) and 17 against Neshaminy (48-17) before suffering a 44-23 setback to Moeller. "I was real proud of them," Iasiello said. "We won five bouts (against Moeller) - which is good. And we had three kids (Drew DeHaut at 135, Dan Dazet at 189 and Greg Petrillo at 145) who won all three times. Im just real proud of them." Dazet trailed Moellers Ryan Lukens 2-1 before flattening him with a headlock for a 59-second pin. Freedom came in with a lineup in which many individuals are dealing
with major injuries. Yet the Patriots found a way to get past Pennsylvania
power Connellsville on a tie-breaker that settled a 27-all deadlock in
the first round.
|
Freedoms latest setback is the broken hand of Anthony Innarella. Teammates
Mike Cleffi, John Steiner and Josh Kelly also are injured.
But Kelly, the heavyweight, was spared when Steiner mathematically locked up the win with a technical fall - Freedoms seventh win of the match - at 189. That enabled Freedom to forfeit at 275 and still limp away a winner from a tie match. Which set the stage for a fabulous nightcap against Phillipsburg, which was coming off a 48-15 romp over Neshaminy in the third round. The teams were still wrestling as this edition went to press Saturday night. Belvidere wasnt as successful early in the event. The County Seaters began their day with a 57-5 loss to up-and-coming Pennsylvania power Pleasant Valley in the first round, then were was overpowered by another big Pennsylvania school, Council Rock, 42-24. Belvideres third loss was a 40-27 decision at the hands of Mendham. "We improved every match throughout the day," Belvidere coach Ken Kane said. "We mightve been in over our heads against Pleasant Valley. Theyre definitely a good team. But we were a little better against Council Rock and a lot stronger (against Mendham)." Individually, Justin Lutz (130) was the only County Seaters wrestler to win three bouts. "I have to tip my hat to Justin Lutz," Kane said. "He had two tough kids (Justin Micklos of Pleasant Valley and Nick Didio of Council Rock) in the afternoon and another tough one tonight. He won them all." While tiny Belvideres chances of qualifying for its Group 1 sectional tournament were hurt by the losses to the two massive Pennsylvania schools, Kanes focus was on the future. "We have four kids this year who are first-year wrestlers - the first time they ever stepped on the mat," he said, "but we have all of our kids her back next year, so were in a nice spot. When I first took over as coach, I said I wanted to be in the Easton-Phillipsburg Duals. Most of our kids have never been in an environment like this. I think this keeps them interested in the sport." Blair put on its usual dominant showing, beating Moeller 54-16, St. Marks (Del.) 47-17 and Connellsville 46-10. The St. Marks bout featured the possibility of Blair senior Zack Esposito meeting St. Marks Andrew Donofrio for the ninth time in four seasons of high school wrestling. Donofrio, one of the few wrestlers in the country who can go the distance with Esposito without giving up bonus points, moved up to 160 and met Matt Veres instead. Veres gave him all he could handle, but eventually succumbed, 8-6. Because Blair has no holes, its big news when one of its regulars loses rather than wins. Such was the case when Max Meltzer suffered a rare defeat, 3-2, at the hands of Connellsvilles Jarrod King at 135. Easton finished its day with a 66-0 blasting of Council Rock, which came on the heels of a 52-13 romp over Bald Eagle Area. Notre Dame wrestled twice in the morning rounds, first falling to Bergen Catholic, 36-22, then dropping a 55-6 verdict to Kittatinny. Wilson didnt take long to dispatch its one and only opponent of the tournament, Bergen Catholic. The Warriors needed a little over an hour to produce a 63-5 victory. Skyland Conference teams North Hunterdon and Voorhees wrestled both night rounds only, with mixed results. North Hunterdon was a 36-27 winner over Mifflinburg (Pa.) in its first match. On the other side of the gym, Voorhees was falling, 35-24, to Northern Lehigh |
|
Sokoloski: Classic walk in the park for Ciasulli 01/06/02 From the beginning, Matt Ciasullis opponent had no chance. Which one? Pick one. Jake Hortman of North Penn High School went down to a 10-0 defeat Saturday morning. Mario Dattalo of Randolph (N.J.) had to be helped up after Ciasulli twisted him into a first-period technical fall as the clock at Lafayette College approached noon. Then Ciasulli flat-out mauled Tyler Parsons of Bald Eagle Area in what may have been his best performance of the all-day dual meets, when Ciasulli stormed to an easy 6-0 lead and then pinned his opponent 89 seconds into the match. The kid who has become so automatic for Easton Area High School finished his dominant day of wrestling by dropping Nick Didio of Council Rock, needing only 97 seconds for his second straight pin in a night match. Those four victories in the prestigious Express-Times Easton-Phillipsburg Classic - which attracted a packed house, including former Philadelphia mayor Ed Rendell, to Kirby Sports Center - raised Ciasullis senior record to 18-0. "Right now, Im having a problem with kids just keeping the match close, not caring if they win or lose," Ciasulli said. "Its easier to wrestle a decent kid or a hard kid than it is to wrestle a kid thats not as good because they dont react to my moves - which help me get other moves. You have to push yourself more." Right now, Ciasulli is having a hard time finding an opponent who will give him much of a push. After all, he suddenly has a national name as a top gun. And everyone knows hes got the game to go with it. It came to the forefront last month in the Reno Tournament of Champions, where Ciasulli beat the nations top-ranked 125-pounder, Darrell Vasquez, a three-time state champion from Bakersfield High School in California. Although Ciasulli is a two-time defending Pennsylvania state champion, he avoids freestyle events like the nationally-renowned summer classic held annually in Fargo, N.D. So Ciasulli appeared to fall under the radar when it came to national rankings. |
Then he upended Vasquez in Reno, and suddenly found himself ranked
as the No. 1 high school wrestler in the country at 125 pounds.
"In some polls," Ciasulli said. The victory seemed to inspire him. "It probably helped me out and actually drives me more," Ciasulli said. "To stay at the top is a lot harder than getting there. Ive been working that much harder." Hes been winning that much easier. Saturdays Express-Times Easton-Phillipsburg showcase only highlighted how Ciasulli reacts to wearing the target as one of the nations big high school names. Pressure? What pressure? "Not for a 17-year-old kid," Easton coach Steve Powell said. "Hes very comfortable in that setting - like all of our kids. They have fun out there. Its almost like performers. They like performing for the crowd. They thrive on competition." About the biggest battles Ciasulli is getting these days come in the form of college recruiters. He was reportedly leaning toward taking a partial package from Lehigh at one point, but other top college wrestling programs like Penn State, Oklahoma and Cal-Bakersfield suddenly expressed interest after Ciasulli hit the jackpot in Reno. "Nothings confirmed yet," Ciasulli said. "Nothing so far. Id like to make the right decision and not (based on) what other people say." Not that the added burden of choosing a college has distracted Ciasulli from his expert leg-riding techniques or his aggressive approach. "He was worried about it. He wanted to sign early," said his father, Mike Ciasulli, who runs the widely-known Red Hawk youth wrestling program in Phillipsburg, "because he was worried about it becoming a distraction. But it hasnt been. Its enhanced his success. This year, he seems like hes a lot more aggressive. It seems like hes more serious. Hes maturing more." That became painfully obvious to four kids who were fed into the human salad shooter Saturday. Matt Ciasulli chewed them up and spit them out. Each walked away knowing he was broken by the best. Paul Sokoloski is a sports columnist for The Express-Times. He welcomes your letters at PO Box 391, Easton, PA 18044-0391. |
Easton thrives at E-P Duals
By BETH HUDSON
January 6, 2002
When Steve Powell and Chad Sportelli mention reasons behind the Easton wrestling team's dominance, they go beyond the obvious one. It's common knowledge that the Red Rovers have a very talented collection of athletes. But that's not the beginning and end of why they're so successful. "They have fun out there," said Powell, Easton's head coach. "They enjoy performing for the crowd. They thrive on competition." Sportelli, one of Easton's top seniors, agrees. But he takes it a step farther. He sees a unique unity of purpose on this Easton squad. "We're all shooting for the same goals a national title and a state title," Sportelli said. "If everything goes according to plan, we'll see." That's still a couple of months away. So far, however, this group of wrestlers with skill, spirit and drive has proved to be a lethal combination in every competition it's entered. That list of triumphs now includes the Easton-Phillipsburg Duals, which were held Saturday at Lafayette College's Kirby Field House. The Red Rovers opened the morning session with a 61-6 victory over North Penn and followed with a 63-3 win over Randolph (N.J.). Then there was the "close" match: Easton defeated Bald Eagle Area, 52-13, before finishing the night with a 66-0 victory over Council Rock. "We were expecting to win heavily," Sportelli said, "but I didn't expect to beat Bald Eagle Area by that much." Even the scores don't fully illustrate how strong the Rovers were. That's because North Penn, Randolph and Council Rock are traditionally solid teams, and Bald Eagle Area won the Class 3A state dual-meet title just three years ago. |
"We know how good Bald Eagle Area is and what they're capable of doing,"
Powell said.
This season, though, even most of the good teams don't have a realistic chance to beat the Red Rovers. Only a fortunate few individuals win their bouts against Easton. North Penn's Mike Dimotsis (145) and Zac Fryling (160), Randolph's Matt Kaplan (130), and Bald Eagle Area's Mark Fisher (130), Brandon Guenot (145) and Joel Yoder (275) were the only wrestlers to post victories over Easton wrestlers on Saturday. Meanwhile, Easton was overflowing with standout performances. In fact, the Red Rovers recorded seven falls in each of their matches against North Penn, Randolph and Council Rock, and six against Bald Eagle Area. Sophomore 189-pounder Marcus Millen posted three falls on Saturday, including one in 59 seconds and another in 22. Alex Krom pinned all three of his opponents, including North Penn's Joey Radicioni, the runner-up at the Bethlehem Holiday Wrestling Classic. Senior Matt Ciasulli, who wrestled twice at 125 and twice at 130, finished the day with a major decision, a technical fall and two first-period pins. Dan Brown (140) and Matt Pizarro (171) each added three pins and a technical fall. Sportelli's statistics one fall, two decisions and a victory by forfeit weren't as flashy. Even so, his 9-7 decision over Randolph's Pat Dattalo, a New Jersey state champion, was significant. "I pretty much knew nothing about him," Sportelli said. "I just went in there hoping to get the first takedown, which I did. The kid's tough. That was a good confidence boost right there." It was also that kind of day for his team. "Certainly, any time you can get 3,000 people watching a high school wrestling match, you've got a great event," Powell said. "It's great to see wrestling get on center stage." Having already won the Reno Tournament of Champions and the Manheim Holiday Tournament, the Rovers are accustomed to prestigious events and quality competition. "We enjoy this a lot," Sportelli said. It gets you ready for state
competition. It's good for us."
|
2000 Results2000 Photos