Stillings set on claiming gold

Rams senior took silver at states last season

Pennridge’s Josh Stillings didn’t think it was his time last year.

As a junior in 2017 he advanced to the state final at 160 pounds but had to settle for silver after Mifflin County’s Trent Hidlay bested him by a 5-3 decision.

But now, Stillings is ready to take his place at the top of the podium at 182 this weekend at the PIAA Class AAA Championships.

“Trent Hidlay kind of got in my head I guess, because I lost to him before. I didn’t feel like I was at his level yet,” he said. “Now I feel like I am ready to win.”

Stillings is one of 21 local wrestlers set to compete at the Giant Center in Hershey. The three-day tournament begins 4 p.m. Thursday with preliminaries followed by championship and consolation first rounds.

A four-time qualifier and twotime medalist — he took fourth at 160 as a sophomore — Stillings enter states after taking Most Outstanding Wrestler at South East Regionals, improving to 27-1 by pinning Boyertown’s Jacob Miller in 1:17 in the 182 final for a third consecutive

regional crown.

“It’s all I need to do, be confident in myself,” Stillings said. “I think I can beat anybody I wrestle.”

Pennridge’s last state champ was Dan Goetter in 2005 at 215 pounds, but the Rams have had wrestlers in the final three of the past four years — Scott Parker (120) in 2014, Matt Parker (113) in 2016 and Stillings last season.

“It’s time for us to win one,” Stillings said.

The Drexel commit, Stillings faces either Hampton freshman Justin Hart or Parkland senior Adam Lizak in the first round. Stillings is one of three returning medalists in the 182 and is the only one in his half of the bracket. Albert Gallatin’s Tim Wallace and Cathedral Prep’s Luigi Yates took third at eighth, respectively, at 170 last year. Wallace, a Kent State commit, is 14th in the Intermat national rankings at 182 while Stillings is 16th.

PAC sides Methacton and Spring-Ford both have four wrestlers in Hershey while North Penn qualified three,

including regional champs junior Patrick O’Neill at 160 and senior Ryan Cody at 285. Cody is making states for the second straight year, as is fellow Knight senior Owen Verespy, who made it with a fifth-place regional finish at 195.

O’Neill — 32-7 after beating Strath Haven’s John Crawford 6-0 in the regional final — begins PIAAs against Canon McMillan’s Gerrit Nijenhuis, who took state bronze at 152 last year.

“I’m just going in having fun looking to bring a medal home,” O’Neill said.

Cody went 0-2 as states in 2017 but is enters this time as a regional champ after his 6-3 win over Bensalem’s Nick Cooper. Cody takes on either Derek Devine of North Allegheny or Ryan Stewart of Warwick in the first round.

“As long as I just keep winning, stay on the path I am, hopefully I’ll get that medal,” Cody said.

Verespy also was bounced after two matches in 2017. He begins this tournament in the 220 prelims against Milton Hershey’s Dylan Byrd with the winner taking on South East Regional champ Hunter Catka of Sun Valley.

Joining Cody at 285 is La Salle senior Garret Zobel

and Plymouth Whitemarsh sophomore Paolo DiSanto. Zobel (33-5), the North East regional champ, took fifth at 220 in 2016 and opens against Meadville’s Nick Morelli. A first-time PIAA qualifier, DiSanto (26-9) takes on West Mifflin’s Gerald Brown in the first round.

Both Pennridge and Souderton have two state qualifiers. Joining Stillings in the Rams contingent is junior Evan Widing at 145 with Tyler Williams (132) and Bruno Stolfi (195) representing Big Red.

Widing (33-1) was fourth at regionals and in the preliminaries faces Moon’s Nick Acuna, the winner advancing to meet last year’s 138-pound state champ Sammy Sasso of Nazareth.

Williams (30-7) is a PIAA qualifier for the second time in three seasons. The junior looks for his first state victory after going 0-2 as a freshman at 106. Williams took regional silver at 132 last Saturday at Oxford and faces Seth Andrus of Central Mountain in the first round. Stolfi (33-7) made states by taking fifth at regionals and in the prelims meets Cathedral Prep’s Dorian Crosby.

For Methacton, both

Kibwe McNair at 132 and Michael Blakemore (160) open states in the preliminaries. McNair (34-4) faces Dallastown’s Dalton Daugherty with the winner taking on two-time state medalist Andrew Wert of Central Dauphin. Blakemore wrestles Angel Garcia of Mariana Bracetti Academy to advance and face 152 state runner-up Carter Starocci of Cathedral Prep.

Methacton’s Roman Moser (21-8) faces Penn Trafford’s Jobe Chishko in the 145 first round while the Warriors’ Tonee Ellis (29-10) meets Jake Slinger of Upper Saint Clair in the 220 first round.

Pope John Paul II has the Vulakh brothers competing in the Giant Center. Freshman Matt Vulakh (23-8) took second at 106 at regionals and starts states against Matt Mayer of Bethlehem Catholic. Junior Ryan Vulakh (27-4) was eighth at states at 132 as freshman at North Penn and this season took regional gold at 145 and will face Garrett Rigg of Bald Eagle Area.

Spring-Ford’s Brandon Meredith (120), Jack McGill (126), Ben D’Arcangelo (152) and Chase Smith (182) all begin states in the preliminary round.