Idelson aims to erase sting of lone loss

To spectators, Garnet Valley's Matt Idelson likely scored the biggest upset of last weekend's PIAA Class AAA Southeast Regional wrestling tournament when he beat Souderton's heralded Joe Stolfi in the 215-pound final.

But to Idelson, a senior, it was plainly a necessary step.

Stolfi had been ranked No. 1 in Pennsylvania by the Pa. Power Rankings throughout the season. But Idelson's 8-7 decision at the regional hurdled him over Stolfi for the No. 1 rank.

It also gave Idelson (39-1) momentum heading into this weekend's state tournament, which runs Thursday through Saturday in Hershey. It will be his first appearance at states, but Idelson won't drop his stony outlook.

"If I lost [to Stolfi in the final], I would have been in a much more difficult position in the bracket," Idelson said. "That's really all I got out of that, because I'm not satisfied yet."

Idelson's lone loss this year came to Kyle Snyder of Our Lady of Good Counsel (Va.) in the championship round of the prestigious Beast of the East tournament, an event he won as a junior. He can't get past the loss. Self-deprecatingly, he maintains that the singular defeat outweighs the piling wins from the rest of the season.

Since then, he's vehemently focused on one thing: a state title, the only victory able to erase the sour loss at Beast.

Idelson, who is about 5-foot-8 and plans to wrestle at Columbia, hopes his unorthodox style will surprise first-time opponents this weekend. Shorter and stockier than most in his weight class, he's more active than others and uses his short stature to catch bigger wrestlers off guard with scrambles and unusual rolls.

"If you never wrestled him before, he's very hard to stop the first time," Garnet Valley coach Rocco Fantazzi said of Idelson, who can face only one wrestler he's previously wrestled in the main draw before the final.

More so, Idelson is intent on finally banishing his lone loss from his psyche.

"It's been building up," Fantazzi said of Idelson's determination since the Beast loss. "He's getting better and better each week. And more and more focused."

Calming effect. John Bolich has a way of remaining even-keeled. He found out the hard way last year that an overzealousness can hurt him. He tried to force the tempo and action.

Now, he said, he's more patient.

"Last year, I kind of got overexcited and overaggressive," he said. "This year, I've been pretty consistent by not being overaggressive."

That newfound Zen has the Upper Moreland senior scorching entering championship weekend, and he will use an unruffled demeanor to contend for a state title at 189 pounds a year after finishing seventh with an overly assertive style.

Last year at states, he figured it wasn't his year. He hoped for only a top-four finish.

"When you're limiting your goals, it's easy to fall short," Bolich said. "I really can't hold anything back like that this year."

Now, Bolich - 37-0, ranked No. 2 in the state (Pa. Power), and headed to Lehigh - has won three tournament championships (sectionals, districts, regionals) and as many Most Outstanding Wrestler awards in the past three weeks.

His primary competition is Central Dauphin's Kenny Courts, ranked No. 1, who won the state title at 171 a year ago. Bolich doesn't like to overextend himself and predict a win.

"I'm in the running, but I don't want to walk in cocky like, 'I'm the guy,' " he said. "I'm really not the favorite, but I know if I wrestle my best, I can win it. I won't be 100 percent satisfied if I don't win it."