Parker learns lesson, wins region crown

If Scott Parker was going to win a Southeast Regional wrestling championship, he was going to have to be patient.

The Pennridge sophomore learned that much a week earlier, when facing Norristown's Zach Fuentes in the North district championship.

Parker fell to Fuentes by forcing the action, and not taking his time. The result was a hasty leg shot, which Fuentes swiftly ducked and leveraged for a takedown of his own to best Parker.

Seven days later, Parker demonstrated he had grown from his mistakes, eking past Fuentes with a 2-1 overtime victory for his first Class AAA regional title Saturday at Oxford.

"This week, he took it a little more controlled and basically wrestled to Fuentes' match and slowed it down," Pennridge coach Dan Goetter said.

This time, Parker was more methodical in taking on the defensive-minded Fuentes, who holds a 2-1 series advantage against Parker. They grappled long, and points were hard to come by. Ultimately, Parker scored a big-time win, garnering a championship-clinching escape point in the third overtime period.

"He's always been one of the best [area] wrestlers in the light weight classes," Parker said. "It feels good to put myself in that category."

Parker's title capped a weekend of redemption, in which he not only avenged his district loss to Fuentes, but also beat West Chester Henderson's Jim Long, 12-1, in the semifinals. Long last year defeated Parker in the consolation semifinals at regionals to keep him from advancing to the state tournament.

"That's all I've been thinking about all year," Parker said, "getting back at Jim Long for what he did to me last year."

Parker advances to his first state tournament, joining 55 other District 1 and 12 wrestlers at next weekend's PIAA individual championships at the Giant Center in Hershey.

The top four finishers from each of the 14 weight divisions advanced Saturday.

Norristown claimed its second straight team title, and fifth overall, with 109.5 points. Brett Harner (160) and Shane Springer (170) won gold for the Eagles. Council Rock South placed second with 74.5.

La Salle secured a couple of titles for District 12, with Matt Cimato (138) and Casey Kent (152) winning their first regional championships. Heavyweight Paul Johnson became the first St. Joseph's Prep wrestler to win at regionals.

C.R. South's reigning PIAA state champ, Billy Rappo, secured his second straight regional crown with a 3-1 overtime win over Garnet Valley's Michael Marino at 113 pounds.

Central Bucks West 182-pounder Chris Jastrzebski remained undefeated (34-0) by pinning West Chester Rustin's Tyler Wood in 3 minutes, 12 seconds. Jastrzebski was named the tournament's Outstanding Wrestler, winning each of his three matches by pin or technical fall.

A handful of local grapplers will be in the mix for state championships come Thursday, when the tourney kicks off. Count Pennridge's Parker among them.

"I'm on a roll right now," Parker said. "If everything goes as planned, nothing's going to stop me."

The results

CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS

Team scoring: Norristown 109.5, Council Rock South 74.5, Owen J. Roberts 73, West Chester Rustin 70, Marple Newtown 64.5, La Salle 59.5, Pennsbury 55, Council Rock North 44.5, Central Bucks South 44, Upper Perkiomen 44, Central Bucks West 43.5, Father Judge 39, Spring-Ford 37.5, Garnet Valley 33, Interboro 32, Boyertown 30.5, Pennridge 30.5, Octorara 28.5, Bensalem 28, W.C. Henderson 28.

106: Scott Parker, Pennridge, dec. Zach Fuentes, Norristown, 2-1 (OT). 113: Billy Rappo, Council Rock South, dec. Mike Marino, Garnet Valley, 3-1. 120: Corey McQuiston, West Chester Rustin, pinned Anthony DiEmidio, Pennsbury, 5:30. 126: Josh DiSanto, Pennsbury, dec. Evan Harkins, West Chester Rustin, 10-1. 132: John Dutrow, Council Rock North, dec. Joe Galasso, Father Judge, 5-1. 138: Matt Cimato, La Salle, dec. Wayne Armstrong, Interboro, 11-4. 145: Brandon Arnsberger, Octorara, dec. Andrew Kinney, Owen J. Roberts, 14-4. 152: Casey Kent, La Salle, dec. Seth Ehlo, Central Bucks West, 6-2. 160: Brett Harner, Norristown, dec. Danny Michaels, Pottsgrove, 11-2. 170: Shane Springer, Norristown, dec. Dominic Rigous, Central Bucks South, 7-5. 182: Chris Jastrzebski, Central Bucks West, pinned Tyler Wood, West Chester Rustin, 3:12. 195: P.J. Steinmetz, Council Rock South, dec. Devon Dhoble, Upper Dublin, 6-0. 220: Mike Boykin, Coatesville, dec. Tyler Callender, Council Rock North, 3-2. 285: Paul Johnson, St. Joseph's Prep, pinned Andrew VanBuskirk, William Tennent, 5:25.

THIRD-PLACE CONSOLATIONS

106: Dan Martoccio, Council Rock South, dec. Jim Long, W.C. Henderson, 4-0. 113: Derek Gulotta, Owen J. Roberts, dec. Jason Bing, Pennsbury, 4-1. 120: Tom Stokes, Bensalem, dec. Kolton Veit, Souderton, 5-3. 126: Tyler Clapp, Strath Haven, dec. Fred Alderman, Garnet Valley, 10-6. 132: Wolfgang McStravick, Upper Perkiomen, pinned Steve Quinn, West Chester Rustin, 2:03. 138: Mike Springer, Norristown, dec. Adam Moser, Owen J. Roberts, 5-2. 145: Justin Staudenmayer, Plymouth Whitemarsh, tech. Jason Dombrosky, Spring-Ford, 15-0, 4:58. 152: Jon Neiman, Boyertown, dec. Ryan Montgomery, Oxford, 5-3. 160: Charlie Grab, W.C. Henderson, dec. Joe Gartland, Penncrest, 3-2. 170: Gordon Bolig, Owen J. Roberts, dec. Chris Kurkian, Marple Newtown, 7-3. 182: Tyler Letrinko, Norristown, dec. Dalton Fleming, Upper Perkiomen, 3-2. 195: Larry Gordon, Norristown, pinned George Shipp, North Penn, 1:44. 220: Jake Cooper, Archbishop Wood, dec. Matt Jorgensen, Quakertown, 3-1; 285: Tom Trampe, Council Rock South, dec. Matt Gould, Interboro, 7-1.