East Stroudsburg North’s McIntyre chasing history one match at a time
Football powerhouses have eyes set on hoops success
Wayne McIntyre was hit with the reality last Sunday morning that his road to school history is a difficult one.
The East Stroudsburg North junior then received a critical message a moment after losing to Nazareth’s Sonny Sasso in the District 11 Class 3A 172-pound semifinal.
“I told him, ‘That match is over,’” Timberwolves coach Matt Hogan said. “‘We’ll work on it later, but now this [consolation semifinal] is the biggest match of the year.’”
One of McIntyre’s goals is to become the school’s first state qualifier. In order to do that, he had to get out of districts by finishing in the top three.
Wins over Parkland’s Adrian Gacek and Bethlehem Catholic’s Justus Bozzi secured McIntyre’s spot in Saturday’s Northeast Regional tournament at Charles Chrin Community Center in Palmer Township.
“After he won his next match [last Sunday against Gacek] to get into the third-place match,” Hogan said, “I told him, ‘Now, this is the biggest match.’
“It was a very intense weekend.”
Saturday will not be any easier for McIntyre, who must finish in the top four to reach next weekend’s East Super Regional. He faces Dallas unbeaten Thaddeus Mead in the quarterfinals, then a likely semifinal rematch with Sasso.
But McIntyre’s mantra throughout his wrestling career has been about what is right in front of him.
He first walked onto a mat as a 6-year-old first grader looking to belong to a team. He never strayed from the sport, though he tried others.
In seventh grade, he was the only member of his team to place at junior high districts.
“That was a big deal to me,” he said. “I thought maybe this could turn into something special.”
McIntyre set high goals for his varsity career: 100 wins, state qualifier, state medalist, state champion.
He won 16 matches as a freshman 132-pounder, with many of his losses to state-level talents such as Julian Chlebove, Kenny Herrmann, Patrick Noonan and Elijah Bundro.
Last season as a 152-pound sophomore, McIntyre lost 10-8 to Archbishop Ryan’s Liam O’Toole in the round before the medal round at the Northeast Regional.
The son of Wayne and Cheryl McIntyre was hurting as he walked off the mat at Liberty’s Memorial Gym after falling short of states. He left the building that day determined to keep working toward that goal.
“I don’t remember who I wrestled, but I found out what I needed to work on,” McIntyre said. “My weaknesses were exposed. I knew what I had to go back into the room and work on.”
In the offseason, McIntyre worked with Carmen Mercadante at Signature Wrestling Club in Stroudsburg and worked out with his dad at Retro Fitness to gain technique and strength.
He won the overflow tournament at the 2020 Journeymen Fall Classic and made the second day of the main event loaded with nationally ranked competitors.
He entered this abbreviated season up 20 pounds from 2020 and better prepared to reach his goals.
McIntyre’s dad gives immediate feedback after matches. Mercadante breaks down video of his matches and Hogan, who has been McIntyre’s coach since first grade, helps him maintain perspective and focus.
“He was really little, 40 or 50 pounds little, when he started,” Hogan said. “He had the technique. Now he has the strength to go with it to be able to move guys around.
“He can beat anybody. In order to be that good, you have to think you can beat anybody.”
McIntyre received a text from high school principal Ben Brenneman after last week’s district tournament that congratulated him on tying the school record for highest district finish (Brian Caiazzo also was third in 2006).
McIntyre had no idea about that. He already was focused on preparation for Saturday’s regional tournament.
McIntyre also is locked in on his future. Ranked in the top five in his class, the junior is considering majoring in electrical engineering. But he is sure he wants to wrestle in college.
Until then, it is next match up on the way to his goals.
“School is going pretty well, but it doesn’t come easy,” he said. “I’m up late at night with calculus. It’s gets to be grueling at times, especially during wrestling season, but it’s worth it.”
Breaking down the 3A Southeast
Quakertown has six qualifiers, Pennridge has three and Upper Perkiomen two. The event is Saturday at Council Rock North and South.
At 106, Pennridge freshman Cole Coffin will need to beat District 1 North champ Cavan Kinne of Council Rock South and Spring-Ford’s Cole Smith to grab the top spot. Kinne beat Coffin last week 3-1 for the North title.
Three locals are here, topped by standout freshman Mason Ziegler, Quakertown’s unbeaten North champ, and Pennridge’s Sam Kuhns, who lost 5-0 to Ziegler in last week’s final. Spring-Ford’s Dominic Ortlip stands in Kuhns’ way for a rematch with Ziegler. Upper Perkiomen’s Matt Milkowich also is in the bottom half of the bracket with Kuhns and Ortlip.
Quakertown unbeaten Todd McGann will have to beat returning state qualifiers in Downingtown East’s Keanu Manuel and Boyertown’s Jay Maldonado to claim gold at 120.
Sophomore Zach Borzio, another Quakertown unbeaten, could have a finals date with Downingtown West unbeaten Dominic Findora, a returning state qualifier, at 126. Upper Perkiomen’s Joey Carpenter gets Findora in the quarterfinals.
At 138, Quakertown threetime state qualifier Dom DeFalco will have to beat returning state qualifiers Chance Babb of Boyertown’s Trent Kochersperger to get a second shot at Council Rock North’s Kyle Hauserman. The CR-North senior, a 2020 fourth-place finisher and 2021 state-ranked No. 1 by PA Power Wrestling, beat him 10-0 in last week’s North final.
At 145, Quakertown senior Patrick McCoy took the hard road to third place in last week’s North tournament by winning three consecutive consolation matches. His path this week is not any easier. He could see state No. 6 Connor Eck of Bensalem in the semis and West Chester Henderson unbeaten Sam McMonagle in the final. McMonagle is ranked fourth in the state.
Pennridge freshman Ryan Gallagher is gaining valuable postseason experience with at least two more matches this week at 152, including a quarterfinal against Strath Haven unbeaten Chase Barlow, who is ranked seventh in the state. Neshaminy unbeaten Zac Martin, ranked sixth, is in the other half of the bracket.
Ohio State and Alabama competing for a national championship is hardly an unusual occurrence for either school. It just tends to happen in football.
Six weeks after the Crimson Tide’s national championship game win over the Buckeyes, it just so happens that the two schools have a pair of the nation’s best basketball teams.
No. 4 Ohio State and No. 6 Alabama are hardly playing the part of sidekicks to football. Both are vying for high NCAA Tournament seed s and the Tide is trying to win its first Southeastern Conference title since 2002.
Alabama coach Nate Oats finds it “kind of absurd and ridiculous” when opposing coaches try to use that gridiron prowess as a negative against the Tide for hoops recruits.
“Yeah, football’s great here. They win national championships frequently,” said Oats, ‘Bama’s second-year head coach. “It also brings in a lot of money. It also shows that the athletic department as a whole is real healthy. There’s a lot of positives that come with having a great football program. I think you see it here, you see it at Ohio State.” In some ways, it’s a symbiotic relationship. Football recruits get to see top hoops teams play on their visits, at least where there is not a pandemic. Basketball and other programs benefit from the resources generated by a football program raking in many millions. Both get loads of free publicity for recruits.
Ohio State basketball coach Chris Holtmann said the football team’s success definitely raises the profile of the brand, but he’s not sure how much it means to elite basketball players shopping for a school.
“You know, there have been some ebbs and flows in terms of our program and in overall highlevel achievement or success,” Holtmann said. “I don’t know if that’s really reflected or coincided in any way with the football program here and their sustained excellence.”
The Buckeyes had their hopes for a No. 1 NCAA seed damaged with back to back losses to No. 3 Michigan and Michigan State. But they are still in the mix for a high seed.
Ohio State has had a strong basketball program well before this season, making the NCAA Tournament every year from 2009-2015. Ohio State made Final Four appearances in 2007 and 2012, a step Alabama has yet to take.
Alabama has only been to two NCAA Tournaments since 2006, but this has been a special year for Oats and his program. Alabama, which visits Mississippi State on Saturday night, is trying to close out its first SEC men’s basketball championship since 2002. A high seed in the NCAA Tournament awaits; the Tide has never been higher than a No. 2 seed (1987 and 2002) and is projected to potentially match it.
Both teams have had strong seasons even after losing stars to the NBA, Ohio State All-American Kaleb Wesson and Alabama point guard Kira Lewis Jr.
This season, Tide football coach Nick Saban has been able to watch more games than usual, if only on TV, with coronavirus-related recruiting restrictions limiting his usual January and February travel. He thinks success from any other program, whether it’s basketball or softball, benefits the others.
“I think there’s a lot of exposure lost if you don’t have good programs,” Saban said in a phone interview Thursday. “Just like for the basketball team to be doing well, be on ESPN, getting to March Madness and getting the exposure
“When you’re good at things it creates a lot of positive image and exposure for the university, and it’s a reflection on the athletic department’s commitment to a standard of excellence.”
His program has been notable for both a wealth of titles and talent, and a hefty support staff. Oats has built out his own support staff to an extent, with the budget increasing more than $100,000 in the last fiscal year from Avery Johnson’s final season in 2018-19, up to $575,000. He’s doubled the number of graduate assistants to four. It’s nothing like the behemoth football staff, but Oats does have everything from a special assistant to the head coach to a director of operations and an operations coordinator.
On the court, Alabama forward Alex Reese is enjoying the ride.
“We’ve been playing really well. It’s been fun,” Reese said. “Hopefully we’ll be able to go out there and compete for national championships and stuff like that like the football team did. Hopefully we’ll be able to get on their level pretty soon.”
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Santino Ferrucci spent four hours in the simulator Friday, picked up some Bojangles french fries and headed to the team shop for last-minute preparations for his NASCAR debut.
Ferrucci is hitting a reset for the third time in his short career, moving from IndyCar to NASCAR for what he hopes will be a firm landing spot. He will drive for Sam Hunt Racing in the Xfinity Series and when he’s given the command to start the engines Saturday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, it will be the first time Ferrucci has even started his new race car.
He’s set to drive the next five Xfinity Series races and hopes to push his calendar to as many as 20 events this year. Ferrucci is in the process of relocating to North Carolina — hence his new affinity for the Charlotte-based Bojangles chicken chain — and adjusting to stock cars after so many years driving in open-wheel series.
“I’m fortunate that I am still young enough to be able to roll with it,” Ferrucci said Friday. “NASCAR the Xfinity Series particularly, the drivers are my generation. I’m not old for Xfinity. I think what’s cool is that I’ve driven everything and I’m kind of proven, I think that’s helped and everyone seems to be excited to see what I can do in a stock car.”
Ferrucci spent the last two seasons in IndyCar, where he turned after flaming out in Europe. He spent his childhood hoping to be the next American driver in Formula One and his journey took him from go-karting in Connecticut to European junior racing in Italy and finally a development deal with the Haas F1 team.
It fell apart in 2018 when Ferrucci, then 20, purposely crashed into his teammate at the end of an F2 race. He refused to appear before race stewards to discuss his actions and was later reprimanded for driving with a gloveless hand holding a cellphone.
He was fined almost $80,000, suspended for four races and dropped by his team and returned to the United States looking for new work. Ferrucci landed with Dale Coyne Racing for a successful two-year stint — he finished fourth in last year’s Indianapolis 500 and was the 2019 rookie of the year — but sponsorship challenges forced him to look outside of IndyCar this year. It led him to NASCAR team owner Sam Hunt, who is building a program with aid from Toyota.
Hunt gets its cars and engines from Joe Gibbs Racing, but its a small budget team that requires Ferrucci to take a hands-on role.
“I’m doing my own interior work, installing my own steering wheel, doing my own seat and making sure the pedals are correct,” Ferrucci said. “I really like working on it and the stock car is very simplistic when it comes to the interior stuff. It all makes sense for me.”
That’s about all Ferrucci has been able to do ahead of his Saturday debut. COVID-19 restrictions have cut all testing and practice,
so he’s never actually driven the No. 26 Toyota. His only experience in a full-bodied car was a super late model test last year.
He’s practiced pit stops in a garage, and earlier this week put on his full uniform and helmet and sat inside the cockpit of his car just to get acclimated.
“I just wanted to make sure I felt comfortable,” Ferrucci said. “Normally when you make a seat you go out, you test to see if there’s something you need to adjust, and then go back out. I don’t have that luxury, so
I just sat in the seat for two hours and waited for something to get sore.”
As Ferrucci works on a NASCAR schedule he remains hopeful he’ll also make some IndyCar starts. He said he’s had early talks with two IndyCar teams about the Indy 500 and noted there’s a vacancy for the ovals at Coyne, where former Formula One driver Romain Grosjean has opted to only run the street and road courses.
But his focus right now is on NASCAR and Ferrucci said he’d like to build a full season with Hunt. The first step is Saturday at Homestead, a track he will see for the first time before the race begins.
“I don’t want to wreck it. The first priority is to bring the car back in one piece,” Ferrucci said. “The problem with Homestead is you have to rip the wall, so keeping it in one piece, maybe not so much. A few scrapes I’d be OK with. I hope to learn through the first two stages and hopefully by the third stage know enough where I can kind of open it up and have some fun.”