La Salle, Norristown shine at wrestling regional

The upper portion of his right eyelid was bruised and cut and appeared ready to swell. But La Salle's Joe Mazzi said it was of no concern Saturday night as he won the 130-pound class at the PIAA Class AAA Southeast Region wrestling championships.

Trailing by one point in the final period, Mazzi scored a takedown on Quakertown's Scott Wolfinger with eight seconds left to win. The senior observed his opponent growing tired as the match wound down, and reached for Wolfinger's exposed far leg for a quick takedown.

"That was awesome, showed how well conditioned Joe is. He was as fresh at the end of the match as he was at the start of the match," La Salle coach Vic Stanley said.

Mazzi advances to the state tournament, which will begin Thursday in Hershey. The top four finishers from each weight class advance to states, and the Explorers will be well represented with six wrestlers, the most they've had since they joined the PIAA in 2008.

Mazzi received his bruised eye during his semifinal Saturday on a head butt from North Penn's Tyler Romano. As soon as the impact was felt, Mazzi knew it would become swollen.

"He's so aggressive, he's always getting bumps and bruises," teammate Matt Cimato said of Mazzi.

It will be the third straight year that Mazzi ends his season in Hershey. Last year, he finished seventh at 135 pounds.

"I'm expecting the best, hoping to get the gold medal," said Mazzi, who is looking to wrestle at Rider or Bloomsburg.

In somewhat of an upset, Norristown captured the team title by a point over La Salle. Brett Harner and Brandon Parker won championships for the Eagles, as all four of their state-tournament qualifiers participated in title matches Saturday.

Parker won the 145 title with a forfeit over La Salle's Casey Kent, a match that cement their lead over the Explorers. Harner earned his first place with a 3-2 decision over Thomas Demetrio of Pottsgrove.

At heavyweight, Norristown's Gavin Queenan was pinned for the second time this year on a thundering takedown by Father Judge's Jeremy Reith in 2 minutes, 15 seconds.

As the clock ticked down in the third period of Mazzi's bout, Cimato entered through the gym's back entrance wearing a gray sweatsuit. He began running in place and walking in circles beyond the corner of the mat and cheered wildly for Mazzi.

"I was cheering [Mazzi] on and telling him to keep attacking," the junior said. The two have been friends since they were five years old.

This season, the Explorers rolled to a 20-3 overall record and clinched both the Catholic League and District 12 championships.

In one of the night's tightest matches, Cimato fell, 2-1, in triple overtime to Council Rock South's Matt Martoccio. Cimato was charged with a stalling penalty as time expired in the last overtime, after he had benefited from the same call a period earlier.

"I believe I was stalling," Cimato said. "It's over now. I'll train even harder now for Hershey."

Entering the match, Cimatto was ranked No. 1 in the state, and Martoccio was No. 2.

"He's a great wrestler. I respect him a lot," said Cimatto, who added that he hoped the two would clash again at the state championships.

CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS

Team scoring: Norristown 111, La Salle 110, Council Rock South 99.5, Upper Perkiomen 61.5, Garnet Valley 56, Boyertown 55, West Chester Rustin 53, W.C. Henderson 47, Pennridge 45, Plymouth Whitemarsh 45, Methacton 43.5, Marple Newtown 41, Owen J. Roberts 40, Pennsbury 40, Neshaminy 37, Quakertown 33, Council Rock North 29.5, Conestoga 28, Pottsgrove 28, Souderton 28, Upper Moreland 27, Father Judge 24, Spring-Ford 23, Hatboro-Horsham 21.

103: Billy Rappo, Council Rock South, dec. Zach Fuentes, Norristown, 3-1. 112: Corey McQuiston, West Chester Rustin, dec. Aaron Moldoff, Marple Newtown, 11-2. 119: Matt Harkins, Hatboro-Horsham, dec. Josh DiSanto, Pennsbury, 14-6. 125: Jeremy Minich, Boyertown, dec. Justin Staudenmayer, Plymouth Whitemarsh, 9-6. 130: Joe Mazzi, La Salle, dec. Scott Wolfinger, Quakertown, 4-3. 135: Matt Rappo, Council Rock South, dec. Mason Popham, Unionville, 5-3. 140: Matt Martoccio, Council Rock South, dec. Matt Cimato, La Salle, 2-1 (OT). 145: Brandon Parker, Norristown, def. Casey Kent, La Salle, medical forfeit. 152: Brett Harner, Norristown, dec. T.J. Demetrio, Pottsgrove, 3-2. 160: Rich Jasinski, Pennridge, dec. Nick Russell, Neshaminy, 3-2. 171: John Staudenmayer, Plymouth Whitemarsh, dec. Tyler Mauger, Boyertown, 17-4. 189: John Bolich, Upper Moreland, pinned Haddon Corbett, Harriton, 0:20. 215: Matt Idelson, Garnet Valley, dec. Joe Stolfi, Souderton, 8-7. Hwt.: Jeremy Reith, Father Judge, pinned Gavin Queenan, Norristown, 2:15.

THIRD-PLACE CONSOLATIONS

103: Jim Long, W.C. Henderson, dec. Jason Bing, Pennsbury, 8-1. 112: Rob D'Annunzio, Methacton, dec. Dylan Steffenino, Upper Perkiomen, 7-3. 119: James Dutrow, Council Rock North, dec. Ryan Flynn, Newtown, 12-1. 125: Wolfgang McStravick, Upper Perkiomen, dec. Shane Longstreth, Council Rock North, 5-1. 130: Ben Hartshorn, Conestoga, dec. Tyler Romano, North Penn, 6-4. 135: Mike Mathis, Central Bucks South, dec. Steve Quinn, West Chester Rustin, 4-1. 140: Wayne Armstrong, Interboro, dec. Kyle Duffy, Spring-Ford, 4-2. 145: Connor Moore, Council Rock South, dec. Ryan Montgomery, Oxford, 8-3. 152: Jordan Moser, Owen J. Roberts, dec. on Neiman, Boyertown, 7-2. 160: Shane Springer, La. . . Salle, dec. Matt Krueger, Spring-Ford, 5-2. 171: Shane Gilmore, Council Rock South, dec. Nick Burns, La Salle, 3-1. 189: Nick Beccatini, Conestoga, dec. Seth Snyder, Sun Valley, 7-0. 215: Brandan Clark, Methacton, dec. Matt Muscari, W.C. Henderson, 9-3. Hwt.: Brendan Walsh, Garnet Valley, pinned Ryan Geiger, La Salle, 1:43.

FIFTH-PLACE CONSOLATIONS

103: Scott Parker, Pennridge, pinned Dante Steffenino, Upper Perkiomen, 4:51. 112: Mike Pritchard, Bensalem, won by forfeit. 119: Evan Harkins, West Chester Rustin, dec. Ryan O'Connor, Neshaminy, 4-2. 125: Kyle Loeb, Garnet Valley, dec. Shane Hughes, Bensalem, 14-4. 130: Eric Lee, Haverford High, dec. Adam Moser, Owen J. Roberts, 12-4. 135: Mike Springer, Norristown, won by forfeit. 140: Briar Malischewski, Quakertown, pinned Luke Wisniewski, Plymouth Whitemarsh, 4:41. 145: Charlie Grab, W.C. Henderson, won by forfeit. 152: Jake Pickett, Upper Darby, pinned Greg Thurston, West Chester Rustin, 1:43. 160: Bob Scheivert, Chichester, won by forfeit. 171: Cody Ambrose, Upper Perkiomen, pinned Tyler Wood, West Chester Rustin, 2:15. 189: Larry Gordon, Norristown, dec. P.J. Steinmetz, La Salle, 4-1. 215: Bryan Osei, Abington, pinned Tyler Wysochanski, Pottsgrove, 2:40. Hwt.: Mark Muscari, W.C. Henderson, dec. Shawn Stewart, Kennett, 1-0.

Championship Finals

Team scoring: Bethlehem Catholic 172.5, Pen Argyl 123.5, Schuylkill Valley 100.5, Bermudian Springs 81, Northern Lehigh 80.5.

103: B. Cruz, Bethlehem Catholic, dec. Byers, Boiling Springs, 16-3. 112: Moisey, Bethlehem Catholic, dec. Farley, 8-4. 119: R. Cruz, Bethlehem Catholic, dec. Giorgio, Schuylkill Valley, 2-1. 125: Heller, Northern Lehigh, dec. Rice, Bethlehem Catholic, 16-3. 130: Gardner, Big Spring, dec. Walsh, Schuylkill Valley, 5-3. 135: Racciato, Pen Argyl, dec. Renda,Brandywine Heights, 7-3. 140: Todora, Bethlehem Catholic, dec. Burriesci, Pen Argyl, 1-0. 145: Hodgkins, Wyomissing, dec. Caloiero, Schuylkill Valley, 6-1. 152: Sponseller, Bermudian Springs, dec. Killian, Annville-Cleona, 5-3. 160: Riddick, Bethlehem Catholic, tech. 20-5, 5:19. 171: Hedash, Northern Lehigh, dec. Geiger, Trinity, 4-2. 189: Gimbar, Saucon Valley, dec. Evans, Pen Argyl, 7-1. 215: Lakitsky, Tamaqua, dec. Rank, Wyomissing, 12-3. 285: Ancheff, Williams Valley, dec. Unger, Boiling Spring, 2-1 (OT).