Getting the ‘green light’
Trojans boys, girls seize opportunities to sweep Liberty
Jakob Peterson saw an opportunity.
The Parkland sophomore, in a 5-0 hole in his 133-pound match with Liberty’s Derek Cruz, seized the moment.
Peterson hit the big move that turned a potential loss into a six-pointer for the Trojans.
It was indicative of how Parkland’s younger, inexperienced wrestlers approached Wednesday’s EPC dual meet, a 39-15 victory.
“Our guys stepped up and wrestled a full six minutes,” Trojans coach Eddie Keichel said. “Just competing in every position and looking to score. A lot of the matchups on paper looked to me like they were going to be pretty even.
“One thing we preach is that if
you see something, go for it. We give them the green light.”
Liberty coach Brandon Hall saw similar opportunities for his varsity newcomers, but they instead chose the red light.
In addition to the big flip at 133, the Hurricanes didn’t get max
points where they hoped at 114, 139 and 145.
It all may not have added up to a Liberty victory, but it should not have been a 24-point spread.
“I thought we needed those three [at 133, 139 and 145],” Hall said. “That’s why I put [Cruz] in there. He was around all offseason and improved greatly. I felt when they made the move and bumped up [Eli] Russ to 121, I felt we needed them.
“Everybody needs that fivepoint move in their back pocket. We’re working on it with some guys. We saw it from our JV guys. Our varsity guys, not all of them want to pull the trigger. Got to get out of your comfort zone.”
Liberty was within 13-12 after Kam Abboud’s major decision at 145, but Parkland won six of the last seven to pull away.
It started with Faisal Amodu winning a battle of varsity newcomers at 152. The junior scored on two early shot attempts to build a lead before hanging to claim his first varsity victory, 6-4.
Freshman C.J. Toth won 8-3 at 160 and sophomore Jorge Moya followed with a pin in 5 minutes, 24 seconds at 172. It was Moya’s persistence to push for the extra bonus points after generating four takedowns and two sets of back
points.
Moya talked of better conditioning and a little more strength being what left him one win shy of a medal at last weekend’s King of the Mountain. He made sure Wednesday that he was still on the attack throughout the match.
Michael Gavrilesku got Parkland’s third pin in 1:13 at 285 before freshman Matt Velez got his first on-the-mat victory at 107 to finish it off.
“Velez is fun to watch,” Keichel said. “It’s great to get him back in the lineup. He didn’t make weight against Easton. Part of the punishment is to sit out the next competition, which was King of the Mountain. Nice to get him on the mat.
“He’s a goer. He never gets tired. He’s fun to coach because he asks questions and he’s very receptive. Even on the mat in this match, we told him on his go-behind that he had to drop to a leg. Next one, whoop, he’s right there. It’s nice when they listen that well on the fly.”
Liberty got a win at 215 from Dante Morrison thanks to a fleeing the mat technical violation with three seconds left against Parkland’s Gavin Edwards, but Hall thought that was another example of missed opportunities.
“Mat awareness is where I thought we needed to pick it up,” he said. “When you’re lacking experience, that tends to be where it shines through, on the mat. We’ve got to work to do. Bottom work for sure.”
Girls match
Parkland girls beat Liberty 54-24, thanks to seven pins including a 36-second decking by Sylvyn Parham at 112. Liberty got falls from Luisyana Ortiz and Doniya Anwari at 136 and 142, respectively.
Getting healthy
Liberty’s Adriaan DeLeon, a 24-match winner a year ago, is expected to return in early January from knee surgery. Hall doesn’t see any value in rushing a return for the sophomore in time for the Bethlehem Holiday Wrestling Classic.
“He’s improving and workout out,” Hall said. “I just don’t the value in throwing him out at the holiday tournament as his first match back would be wise. We are looking long term here, not something immediate.”
Up next
Parkland and Liberty boys are off until the Bethlehem Holiday Wrestling Classic on Dec. 28-29, at Liberty’s Memorial Gym. They are part of a stellar, 34-team field.
Morning Call reporter Tom Housenick can be reached at 610-820-6651 or at thousenick@mcall.com
Boys
PARKLAND 39, LIBERTY 15 114: Jasiah Pagan (L) maj. dec. Luis Moya, 15-6
121: Eli Russ (P) maj. dec. Sergio Laracuente, 12-2
127: Blake Dergham (P) dec. Davian Carasquillo, 9-2
133: Jakob Peterson (P) pinned Derek Cruz, 3:30
139: Jack Evans (L) maj. dec. Leo Kern (P), 11-3
145: Kam Abboud (L) maj. dec. Liam Spang, 17-6
152: Jibreel Fairoz (P) dec. Yani Condoulis, 6-4
160: C.J. Toth (P) dec. Wesley Koch, 8-3
172: Jorge Moya (P) pinned Daniel Rivera, 5:24 189: Julius Reyes (P) maj. dec. Gionni Rosado, 16-7
215: Dante Morrison (L) dec. Gavin Edwards, 3-2
285: Michael Gavrilesku (P) pinned Seth Kolb, 1:13
107: Matt Velez (P) maj. dec. Elijah Heimbach, 12-4 Referee: C.J.Grammes
Girls
PARKLAND 54, LIBERTY 24 148: Breanna Hann (P) pinned Symarah Drey, 1:17 155: Kelsey Gelb (P) pinned Destiny Rios, 0:55
170: Shannon Fratus (P) pinned Gracie Haflich, 4:51
Ellie Rumbalski (L) by forfeit
235: Addyson Munro (L) by forfeit
100: Lily Snook (P) pinned Stephanie Flores, 1:21
106: Ella Hesener (P) by forfeit
112: Sylvyn Parham (P) pinned Sadie Sedlock, 0:36 118: Saige Rittenhouse (P) by forfeit
124: Danica Butch (P) pinned Kasiah Dickenson, 2:35
130: Abigail Taylor (P) pinned Kierha Castillo, 1:40
136: Luisyana Ortiz (L) pinned Victoria Lasagna, 1:39 142: Doniya Anwari (L) pinned Emerson Slaughenhoupt, 0:25
Referee: Larry Deiter