Locals look to earn state wrestling bids

Four wrestlers come to the PIAA Class AAA South East Regional undefeated. Two of them are from Plymouth Whitemarsh.

PW senior Paolo DiSanto and sophomore Mike Miller enter the tournament with matching 29-0 marks and look to leave Souderton

Area High School with tickets to Hershey and their perfect records intact.

Regional action begins 5:30 p.m. Friday with the championship first round and quarterfinals. The tournament resumes 9:30 a.m. Saturday and concludes with first, third and fifth-place finals at 6 p.m.

Top five wrestlers in each weight class qualify for the

PIAA Championships March 5-7 at the Giant Center in Hershey.

DiSanto is looking to reach states for a third consecutive season in his last opportunity to claim a regional title. He came up just short in 2019, taking second at 220 after getting pinned by Sun Valley’s Hunter Catka in the weight’s final.

DiSanto is the top seed in 220 after winning his second straight District 1-3A South title with a 13-5 major decision over Wissahickon’s Dan Keller.

At 285, Miller has Catka – who is 34-0 and ranked second in the nation in the weight by InterMat.com – on the opposite side of the bracket. Miller made regionals for the second time after earning his first district title, edging Upper Darby’s Ju

lien Laventure 3-2 in ultimate tiebreak in the South 285 final.

Freshman Ashton Wittenberg completes the PW contingent at regionals, making the tournament with a fourth place finish in 113 at South.

North Penn sophomore Will Morrow and Abington freshman Matt McCaughey come to Souderton off District 1-3A East titles. Methacton senior Kibwe McNair secured gold at the district North tournament while Wissahickon junior Alex Prieston won the district South title at 126.

Morrow reached regionals for the first time by taking gold at East with 12-7 decision over Central Bucks South’s Dominic Stoughton in the 138 East final.

“I got to be smart going into regionals,” said Morrow last Saturday at the East tournament. “Try not to wrestle the perfect match but try to just be me. And I think if I do that, the rest will follow.”

McCaughey earned Abington’s first district title

since 2009 with a 6-5 decision over Quakertown’s Todd McGann in the 113 final.

Both the Galloping Ghosts and North Penn have three at regionals. Joining McCaughey for Abington are Shane Kibler (145) and Robert Glemser (170) with Jarrett Niedosik (170) and Nolan Verespy competing along with Morrow for the Knights.

McNair is aiming for his trip consecutive trip to states after the Methacton senior won gold in 138 at the District 1-3A North tournament with a 6-4 decision over Spring-Ford’s Zach Needles. Warriors senior Roman Moser, a state qualifier in 2018, was second at North at 160 while senior Osvaldo Carbajal was third at 126.

Prieston, who pinned Strath Haven’s Kelton Brunner in the South 126 final, is one of four Wissahickon wrestlers at regionals. Junior Matt Fritz (132) and Keller (220) took silver at South while senior Kevin Salmon was fourth at 170.

GOING SOLO » Both Pennridge’s Logan Green and William Tennent’s TJ England are their teams’ lone regional qualifier but each

wrestler is set on making a return to states.

Green placed fourth in 195 at last year’s regionals and the senior comes to Souderton after his second place finish at the same weight at East, dropping a 2-1 decision to Pennsbury’s Davis Lee in the final.

England placed third in 132 at East with a 6-0 decision over Pennsbury’s Rocky Moretti. The Tennent senior took fourth in 120 at last season’s regionals.

TEAM TITLE RACE » Council Rock South has won the last three regional team titles but the Golden Hawks were bested by host Quakertown for first at District 1 East.

Spring-Ford, which took first at District 1 North, came in third at the 2019 South East Regional. The Rams have the most regional qualifiers at 11. NORTH EAST AAA REGIONAL

» The Philadelphia Catholic League’s Class 3A teams head to Liberty High School in Bethlehem for the North East Regional Friday and Saturday. Top four finishers earn spots at states.

La Salle has seven regional qualifiers. Senior Brad Vespe (160) and junior Ryan Willis (285) both place

third for the Explorers at the District 12 tournament.

Archbishop Wood and Archbishop Carroll each have two at Liberty. For Wood, Charley Mininger, who took second in 220 at District 12, and Tom Johnston (145) while for Carroll Kyle Comstock (132) and Spencer Skowronek (195) both qualified.

CLASS AA » District 1/12-AA Tournament team champ Faith Christian brings 10 wrestlers to the South East AA Regional, held Friday and Saturday at Freedom High School in Bethlehem. Top six finishers in each class advance to states.

Faith had seven district champs last week with three of those – sophomore Eric Alderfer at 120, senior Max Schultz at 152 and senior Damon Waltenbaugh at 170 – out to earn return trips to Hershey this weekend.

Lower Moreland, second in the team standings at District 1/12, also has 10 at regionals, including a pair of district champs in seniors Nick Bratpis (145) and Pat Whittle (220). SpringfieldMontco has seven wrestlers at Liberty while Pope John Paul II has three competing at regionals.