Okamoto, Parkins look to come back stronger
Noah Okamoto’s physical pain first resonated from his separated shoulder during the Beast of the East tournament in mid-December.
The Nazareth wrestler’s emotional stress overtook his heart and mind when he tried to return for the District 11 Class 3A team final in early February when the shoulder separated again.
“When I went to the doctor, he told me there was a 95% chance it was going to pop out again,” Okamoto recalled. “I went out of bounds 30 second in against [Bethlehem Catholic’s Luke Thomas in the decisive bout] and I felt it pop out and pop back in like it did the first time. I went in on a shot and it completely went out. It was out for like two hours.
“I thought I could have finished it for the team, win that district [team] title. I was just really bummed about that,” he said.
Tahir Parkins left Hershey’s Giant Center after the PIAA team final and the state individual tournament a month apart with the same feeling — one of missed opportunities.
Then a naturally gifted freshman, Parkins struggled to find the right combination of training and weight control.
It cost him competition opportunities at December’s Bethlehem Holiday Wrestling Classic, January’s dual meet with rival Northampton.
He then came up short against the state’s best in the team and individual state events.
“The jump from middle school to high school is a lot,” Parkins said. “The kids are a lot stronger. Weight cutting is a lot different. My weight cut wasn’t the best last year. Taking those two losses at states and not playing was pretty rough. It hurt for a while.”
Okamoto and Parkins are determined
to not let history repeat itself.
Okamoto had shoulder surgery and spent the rest of the offseason rehabbing it so that he would be 100% when his senior season began.
Parkins trained hard and competed against some of the nation’s best in the offseason. He also mapped out a better plan for managing his body during his sophomore season.
They will be integral parts of coach Dave Crowell’s Blue Eagles team, which won the team title at last year’s PIAA individual tournament without Okamoto competing and Parkins and Dominic Wheatley losing in the blood round.
Okamoto and Parkins will be there for their teammates again this year and lean on them whenever necessary. There were times when they felt separated for different reasons.
“I’m motivated with the team this year,” Parkins said. “I’m going to be asking if I need something. Last year, I was doing everything on my own. I have a whole team to help me out, so I’m going to use it.”
They will be better as individuals and the Blue Eagles will be stronger because of that mantra.
1. Sidelined state champion: Senior 189-pound state champion Sonny Sasso had hand surgery this month after being hurt during football season. He could be out three months.
“Could he be back sooner?” Crowell said. “Maybe. You’re looking at the beginning February now, so we’ll just have to see.”
Sasso was 46-0 last season on his way to PIAA gold, including 33 pins. He captured Cumberland Valley Kickoff Classic, Beast of the East and Bethlehem Holiday Wrestling Classic championships along the way.
Senior Marco Malerba, who has had a career riddled with injuries, could be among those competing at 215 pounds in Sasso’s absence.
2. Blue Eagles lineup: They will be young at the first two weight classes, including first-year varsity competitor Remy Trach, a sophomore, at 114.
Junior Dominic Rizzotto starts a list of familiar names for Nazareth — though freshmen twins Jack and Cade Campbell and fellow freshman Braydn Zuercher will work their way in somewhere at some point.
Seniors Charlie Bunting (PIAA third last year), Jake Doone (PIAA seventh), Okamoto, Dom Wheatley (Northeast Regional third) plus state champions Sasso and junior Sean Kinney and Parkins, a sophomore, give Nazareth a formidable lineup in the middle and upper weights.
“We have three really good freshmen,” Crowell said. “Zuercher looks like a college kid. He’s really loves to lift weights. The challenge for him is that he weighs too much. We need him at 160. He’s got no body fat.”