From the Express-Times
Easton highly protective of home turf
Monday, January 10, 2005
By NICK FIERRO
The Express-Times
PALMER TWP. — There’s nothing like tuning up for the main event with a match against the 38th-ranked high school wrestling team in the nation.
No. 5 Easton did just that Saturday and walked away with a pair of extremely satisfying wins to cap the Easton Invitational at its cozy 25th Street gym.
First, the Red Rovers handed Caesar Rodney (Del.) a 36-25 setback, then sent neighboring rival Wilson to a 36-20 defeat in the final session to improve its dual-meet record to 7-0.
No. 38 Caesar Rodney, which nearly beat No. 37 Nazareth earlier in the day, lost all the close ones in the middle and up top — which is never the way to beat Easton.
“The close ones and the pins are the ones you usually have to have, “Easton coach Steve Powell said, “and we really didn’t get the pins tonight.”
Which meant the match-opening bout at 140 pounds proved to be as crucial as any in determining the outcome. In that matchup, Andrew Goldstein survived a furious third period on his feet to preserve a 4-4 deadlock against state champion Matt Cathell and then came through with the winning takedown in overtime.
Cathell, fifth at the Beast of the East, came into the match with a 16-2 record. But one of those losses was to another Lehigh Valley wrestler — Northampton’s John Paukovits — at the Beast.
“It goes to show that a Pennsylvania kid that doesn’t even go to states can beat a state champ from another state, “said Goldstein, who was fully aware of Cathell’s pedigree.
What Goldstein didn’t know was that his bout would end up being so crucial.
“I don’t think about that stuff, “he said. “I just go out every match and try to wrestle my hardest, and whatever happens.”
Actually, there was a little more to it than that. Caesar Rodney, like Easton, has many excellent riders throughout its lineup, including Cathell. So Goldstein, after taking a 4-1 lead with a pair of first-period takedowns, needed to stay off the bottom.
“I felt he was good on top with his legs, but I thought I could take him down a couple of times, “Goldstein said.
Two bouts later, at 152, Kyle Hershey gave Easton more crucial momentum by hitting a five-point move with a headlock on Matt Shelor with under 30 seconds remaining to score a 7-3 decision.
“That was a big match and a big win for Hershey, “Powell said. “I think Kyle was probably the underdog in that one.”
Similar excitement unfolded in the next bout, as Easton’s Sal Crivellaro came from behind in the third period to win an 8-6 decision over Dan Rigby at 160. Crivellaro gave up a takedown early in the third period to fall behind 5-4. But he was able to go back on top for good with a penalty point, escape and takedown.
The match also was a productive one for the Oliver family — brothers Jordan and Josh of Easton and cousin Alex Meade of Caesar Rodney.
Jordan Oliver won a 20-9 decision over Todd Koch at 103, Josh Oliver was a 9-4 winner in a surprisingly tight match against Chris Diaz at 130 and Meade overcame Brad Gentzle in what might have been the most exciting matchup of the evening at 119.
Meade, a freshman, was warned for stalling with 14 seconds remaining in a 2-2 deadlock, but was able to force overtime, where he succeeded after some spectacular flurries with a takedown to win the bout and give his Riders a 25-23 advantage with three bouts remaining.
But Easton won all the rest to put it away. Seth Ciasulli won a 9-0 major over Luis Burgoss, Josh Oliver beat Diaz and Alex Krom broke open a tight match by pinning Brian Ribolla with 27 seconds remaining in their bout at 135.
“It was a nice way to start and a nice way to finish the match, “Powell said. “It was a pleasant situation.”
Though Easton prevailed against Wilson, there were not as many pleasant moments in that one, especially when Wilson’s Ryan Holmes upset Braylin Williams with a five-point move just before the buzzer to pull out an 8-3 decision at 145 and when Kevin Iobst came from behind in a wild match to score a 15-14 decision over David Crowell at 189.
Crowell reversed Iobst to go up 14-12 with just 1:03 remaining. Iobst responded with an escape and then a takedown with 25 seconds to go. He clamped on legs and rode him the rest of the way to pull it out.
Gentzle, ranked No. 2 in The Express-Times region at 119, was in the middle of things again in the Wilson match against No. 1 Russell Souders. Gentzle won the match 7-5 with the help of a takedown with 10 seconds to go.
More importantly, his win broke a 20-all tie and put the Rovers on top for good.
“I was nervous just wrestling against him even before the match was like it was, “Gentzle said. “And then it turned out to be a real big match. I’m just glad I wrestled well and beat him.”
Gentzle’s strategy was a lot like Goldstein’s — stay off the bottom.
“I knew he was a good mat wrestler and I wanted to be on my feet as much as possible, “Gentzle said. “And then when he took top (to start the second period), I was like, ‘Oh, no.’ “
But Gentzle was able to shake Souders off him after getting away with a tripod in which a potentially dangerous stalemate is called 99 times out of a 100.
“I had my hands on the mat and I looked up and I thought they were going to call it, “Gentzle said.
When they didn’t, and he was able to escape, he responded with another takedown and wound up winning the takedown battle, 3-1.
As in the previous match, Ciasulli, Josh Oliver and Krom all won to close it out.
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