Mancini, Petrucelli medal in Fargo
It was a chance for them to refine their wrestling skills against top-flight competition.
And for three area high-school grapplers — Daniel Mancini and Antonio Petrucelli of Owen J. Roberts, Evan Mortimer of Boyertown — it was a chance to gain themselves some notice on the national mat scene.
The three Pioneer Athletic Conference standouts competed in the recent Marines Cadet & Junior National Championships in Fargo, N.D. Petrucelli and Mancini came away with medals while Mortimer made a respectable 2-2 showing.
Petrucelli did the best, the OJR junior placing fourth in the Cadet division’s 145-pound weight class and receiving All-American designation. Mancini, who scored a fourth-place medal at 152 in the PIAA Class AAA tournament this past winter, scored a seventh in the Junior classification.
Mortimer competed at 160 in the Cadet division, factoring in the Pennsylvania team winning the Cadet championship.
Petrucelli scored two major decisions off an opening-round bye, then rebounded from a major loss to Georgia’s Nicholas Stonecheck with five decisions. The capper was a 10-7 verdict over Stonecheck at the end of that run.
He fell to Calfornia’s Cael Valencia to finish with a 7-2 record in contested bouts.
Mancini’s 6-2 run through the 152-pound bracket culminated with a 9-8 decision of Minnesota’s Tyler Eischens. He had five major decisions to his credit.
Mortimer’s best bout was a 15-4 major decision of Ohio’s Anthony Rizzo.