Strath Haven’s Holbert wins Delco bout to get to states

OXFORD » There was no rest Sunday for 24 wrestlers still alive in the PIAA Class 3A Southeast Regional tournament at Oxford.

The foul-weather Friday that pushed regionals back one day forced them to work overtime to reach the state tournament

The good news for Delco wrestlers is that 285-pounder Lee Holbert of Strath Haven became the fourth county product to qualify for the Class AAA state championships to be held this week in Hershey.

The not-so-good news is that it came at the expense of Tommy Bramwell of Ridley in a fifth-place bout.

Holbert pinned Bramwell in 3 minutes, 45 seconds to secure his first trip to Hersey. The early morning victory gave Holbert a 31-7 record.

After a scoreless first period, Holbert escaped in the last minute of the second and put the pressure on in the final frame.

“The third period, I eventually turned him to his back,” Holbert said. “About 15 seconds later, it was a pin.”

It’s the first time the Panthers have ever qualified two wrestlers for states, teammate John Crawford finishing second at 160 pounds.

“It’s been a long time coming,” Holbert said. “I’ve only been wrestling since eighth grade. Freshman year I had five wins. To go from five wins to a state qualifier is a pretty extraordinary feeling.”

Holbert’s teammate, Brett Burns, narrowly missed making it three qualifiers. He was beaten by Nik Korbich of Council Rock South, 5-3, Sunday.

Holbert (31-7) and Crawford join Hunter Catka of Sun Valley and Tommy Mahoney of Garnet Valley as the Delco state qualifiers.

Strath Haven topped Delco teams with 42 points on the strength of Holbert’s work and the second by Crawford (30-10).

“It was our best team score ever at regions,” Holbert said. “It was our first time ever with three regional placers and two state qualifiers. John Crawford got the highest finish ever at a regional in Strath Haven history. We’re really headed in the right direction.”

Burns (31-9) was regional qualifier.

Catka (37-1) was the only gold medalist at regions from Delco. It was puzzling that he wasn’t named the outstanding wrestler, although typically the honor is given to seniors, not sophomores. Catka got the Vanguards 36.5 points.

Mahoney (26-7), of Garnet Valley, qualified for states with a fourth-place finish at 285, bringing the Jaguars 24 points. the third