Panthers pair’s painful prep for PIAA gold rush
Mason Ziegler was told at the family dinner table when he was 5 years old that he was going to try wrestling.
“My parents told me I was making a commitment,” Ziegler said. “I was 5, so I was not sure what commitment meant.
“I wanted to quit the first few years in, then I was only going to wrestle until middle school. Now, I’m here.”
Quakertown teammate Collin Gaj started wrestling at 6. He showed up for the first open workout in jeans and sneakers. He was a novice exhibition competitor his first season, then won an 8U state title the next.
The two Panthers combined for 86 victories last season, but left Hershey’s Giant Center much like they did that first season in the sport.
“I was young, had a lot to learn,” said Gaj of his freshman season. “I came in thinking I was pretty good at this wrestling thing. I was wrong. I had a lot to learn.”
Gaj finished fourth, twice losing to fellow first-year varsity standout Kollin Rath of Bethlehem Catholic. Ziegler didn’t get any medal after falling in overtime to State College’s Asher Cunningham, who didn’t take one shot attempt in regulation.
The Quakertown duo left knowing they had to change.
“It lit a fire under me,” Ziegler said. “I don’t want to feel that way again. I’m not going to feel that way again.”
So, the two embarked on an offseason wrestling odyssey.
They went to Black Sheep and other clubs. They went to Fargo, Ultimate Club Duals in State College, Waterway Duals at Spooky Nook and Super 32.
There was no down time in the offseason.
“It takes a special breed to not shut down and grind all year and hold your weight,” Quakertown coach Kurt Handel said. “The way the state tournament ended gave them that drive to put in the time in the offseason.”
It allowed Gaj time to fix things he didn’t in the regular season because he was so successful as a freshman.
It allowed Ziegler to adjust his technique so that six quality shot attempts were better than 12 shot attempts.
“You can wrestle smarter and go harder,” Handel said. “That’s why when I tell [Ziegler] to take a day off from wrestling, he says, ‘OK, I’ll go lift and run five miles.’
“He’s learning how to bring that mentality of going 100 mph into his technique, not just go shoot, shoot, shoot. He’s gotten a lot more technical in the offseason.”
Gaj and Ziegler are ready to test their offseason learning experiences. They expect a different feeling come March.
Time will tell. Wrestling can be cruel. One thing is for sure: They won’t be outworked.
1. Explosion
Calvin Lachman went from a 14-match winner as a soft, undersized 152-pound freshman to a 38-match winner who reached the state tournament at 172 as a sophomore.
But now he’s taken it to a whole new level.
Lachman found the weight room in the offseason and apparently never left it. He is now all of 215 pounds and almost all muscle.
“He went from a boy to a man,” Handel said. “He fell in love with weightlifting, nutrition, how to eat healthy, eating the proper proteins, what shakes to drink. He’s thinking about majoring in sports nutrition.
“He makes all his own food, monitors his calorie intake. He became obsessed and it paid off.”
Now Lachman has to adjust his wrestling style because competing at 215 is not the same as 172.
“We’ve had a lot of conversations,” Handel said. “You’ve got to slow down a little bit, pick your shots. You can’t just go under people.”
Fortunately Lachman attended Chance Marsteller clinics, where he worked out with highly skilled wrestlers and experienced what it was like to have all that weight on top of him.
Marsteller, who became the state’s fifth undefeated four-time state champion while at KennardDale, worked with Lachman to make those style adjustments.
Lachman also was fortunate to have Gaj and Ziegler take him to all the summer tournaments and workouts.
2. Panthers’ lineup
There are a few spots of concern because of injuries and the growth of the returning wrestlers.
Freshman Ashley Stank, a firstyear wrestler with a gymnastics background, could start the season at 107 until freshman Waylen Strzelski gets healthy and down to this weight.
Junior Isaac Williams, who won 25 matches last season, will be at 114. Freshman Logan Pfistner and Ziegler could flip-flop between 121 and 127 depending on the matchups in a dual meet.
Senior Cody Stank, Ashley’s older brother, is at 133. Junior Josh Camacho, who returned after a few years off, is at 139.
Gaj will start the season at 145. Sophomore Max Hibsman is at 152 until sophomore Gavin Carroll returns from finger surgery. Senior
Zach Borzio, who was regional sixth last season, is at 160. Sophomore Dylan Fenstermacher is at 172.
Freshman Carolina Hattala could start the year at 189. Her uncle, Tommy Petko, was a state runner-up in 1997 for Quakertown. Her mother, Becky Petko, was a Division I field hockey player.
“She’s one of the strongest freshman girls I’ve ever met,” Handel said. “She’s going to medal at the girls state tournament this year.”
Lachman is at 215 and senior Drew Tibbets and junior Keon Lopez are at 285. Lopez took off the previous two years.
“Our lineup down low really changed with the kids growing up,” Handel said. “Our lineup just exploded.
“We’ll be competitive. All the kids have talked about is getting back to team states and making it to Saturday. We got the monkey off our back last year by winning a dual out there. If our .500 guys make those strides and everyone gets back healthy come January, we should be where we can get back out there.
“But we’re one injury away from not being a great dual meet team because we don’t have any depth.”
Quakertown is 16 wins shy of 600 in program history.
3. Quakertown’s 2022-23 schedule
(at 7 p.m. unless noted)
Dec. 14: Council Rock South
Dec. 16-17: X-Calibur at Wilkes University
Dec. 21: at Pennridge
Dec. 28-29: Bethlehem Holiday Wrestling Classic at Liberty
Jan. 4: at Abington
Jan. 7: Parkland Duals, 10 a.m.
Jan. 11: at Upper Dublin
Jan. 14: Escape the Rock at Council Rock South, 10 a.m.
Jan. 15: Escape the Rock at Council Rock South, 9 a.m.
Jan. 18: Plymouth Whitemarsh Jan. 21: Quakertown Duals
Jan. 25: Wissahickon
Jan. 26: District 1 Class 3A duals Feb. 1: at Hatboro-Horsham