Postseason never without surprises
Some of the biggest surprises every year come before the individual postseason begins: Scratches, weight descents (and ascents), injuries and wrestle-offs.
This season is no different. Here is a sampling:
Three absences and a notable wrestle-off:
Pocono Mountain East’s Cael Harmon is out at 139. He would have been the No. 7 seed after finishing sixth last season at districts. The junior hasn’t competed since getting hurt Jan. 21.
Nazareth’s Noah Okamoto is out at 189. He’s battled injuries throughout his varsity career. The senior was a district and regional runner-up as a sophomore, then missed last year’s postseason with a shoulder injury. He was 8-2 this season.
Freedom’s Noah MacIlroy (11-0) is not competing. He’s battled a shoulder injury all season.
Also, James DeLuise won a wrestle-off at 189 for Bethlehem Catholic against two-time district and regional runner-up and 2021 state medalist Landon Muth, who has been wrestling up some 25 pounds this year.
Low seeds, high expectations: Keanu Dillard is the latest Bethlehem Catholic standout to get a low seed because of a limited varsity resume. Two injuries kept the freshman to only five eligible matches, so the nation’s No. 1-ranked 107-pounder is seeded 13th in Class 3A.
Returning state champion and teammate Nate Desmond is seeded second at 114. He is ranked third nationally.
Seeding is based on a computer formula that considers matches except those in league tournaments (Colonial, Schuylkill), team postseason events, etc.
Three years ago, highly touted Golden Hawks freshman Tyler Kasak missed most of the regular season because of injury and was the last seed. He won district and regional titles and finished fifth in the state at 106 pounds.
Saucon Valley’s Travis Riefenstahl, a two-time district 2A third-place finisher who did not compete in the postseason last year and missed all of the 2022-23 regular season, is the 19th (last) seed at 145. The senior will have a preliminary-round match. He was 6-2 in the 2023 team postseason.
Palmerton’s Danny Lucykanish is seeded 17th of 18 at 152 after missing all but five matches this season because of injury. The 2022 district 2A runner-up also will have a preliminary-round match.
Two-time 2A state qualifier Joey LaPenna is seeded fourth at 160 after missing a chunk of the regular season because of injury.
Going down: Northampton’s line-up from 121 to 172 pounds dropped down for the postseason, including top seeds and returning state medalists Carson Wagner (114) and Dagen Condomitti (152) plus freshman Trey Wagner (121).
Easton’s Chris Kelly also dropped from 121 to 114.