By Tom Robinson and Ben Magnotta, NEPASportsNation.com
District 2 Dual Meet wrestling champions Abington Heights and Lackawanna Trail each have the most wrestlers seeded high, putting them in position to try to add team scoring titles Friday and Saturday when the district’s individual championships are conducted at Wilkes-Barre Area High School.
The seeds and brackets were released by the district wrestling committee Monday.
In each case, the two Lackawanna League championship teams have the most number-one seeds, the most wrestlers seeded to reach the finals (top two) and the most seeded in the top four.
Abington Heights, the Lackawanna Division 1 champion, leads the Class 3A field with four top seeds, two wrestlers seeded second and another third.
Unbeaten Luke Sirianni, at 106 pounds is a top seed, along with the 138-145-152 combination of Brian Heard, Austin Smith and Sal Schiavone.
The Comets are coming off a tie for seventh in the state at the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Dual Meet Championships in Hershey.
“We have some very good individuals; some kids that are very seasoned even though they are underclassmen,” Abington Heights coach Greg Theony said. “We have some senior leadership. I think we surprised a few people last year with who won.
“Hopefully, if we can get those guys to repeat and a couple more, it will be pretty nice.”
Sirianni, Smith, Schiavone and Sam Stevens all won titles last season when Abington Heights finished second in the team standings behind Delaware Valley, the team it has already beaten out for division and district honors this season.
Pittston Area is the only other Class 3A team with more than one top seed. Julian Everitt is first at 132 and Jimmy Spindler at 160.
West Scranton has five wrestlers projected as finalists, based on their seeds, one fewer than Abington Heights.
The Comets have seven wrestlers seeded to place in the top four while Scranton has six.
Lackawanna Trail, the Lackawanna Division 2 champ, has five top seeds and three second seeds in Class 2A as it aims for a repeat championship.
Cole Henry (113), Michael Bluhm (145), Deegan Ross (152), Robbie Schneider (160) and Jonah Houser (215).
Henry, Ross and Max Bluhm are back to attempt to defend individual championships.
Wyoming Area, led by defending state champion Jaden Pepe, and Blue Ridge each have two top seeds.
The Warriors have four wrestlers seeded to reach the finals, second-best to Lackawanna Trail’s eight.
The Lions have 10 wrestlers projected for the top four while Honesdale has 9, but fewer championship contenders.
The tournament is scheduled to begin Friday at 4 p.m. Wrestling resumes Saturday at 9 a.m. and continues to the finals and consolation finals to run concurrently, beginning at 1 p.m.
The top four wrestlers in each weight class advance to Northeast Regionals the following weekend, with Class 3A in Bethlehem and Class 2A in Williamsport.
The top four seeds in each district weight class, listed in order and with team records.
CLASS AAA
106 – 1, Luke Sirianni, Abington Heights (33-0). 2, Tyson Cook, West Scranton (21-2). 3, Dorian Hoffman, Wyoming Valley West (29-4). 4, Landon Machado, Delaware Valley (19-13).
113 – 1, Zachary Jacaruso, Delaware Valley (30-1). 2, Jason Williams, West Scranton (17-3). 3, Sam Jeckell, Crestwood (20-10). 4, Camden Labukas, Scranton (6-11)
120 – 1, Jaden Colwell, Wallenpaupack (31-5). 2, Dominic Moyer, Delaware Valley (26-7). 3, Lucas Tirpak, Dallas (19-8). 4, Zander Remakus, Wyoming Valley West (26-7).
126 – 1, Gunnar Myers, Wallenpaupack (34-1). 2, Ian Ratchford, Wyoming Valley West (29-4). 3, Jacob Leonori, Scranton (15-8). 4, Kevin Roby, Pittston Area (8-7).
132 – 1, Julian Everitt, Pittston Area (27-1). 2, Owen Woods, Tunkhannock (23-4). 3, Sam Stevens, Abington Heights (25-10). 4, Mohammad Nadir, Scranton (15-7).
138 – 1, Brian Heard, Abington Heights (27-6). 2, M.J. Turi, West Scranton (24-2). 3, Michael Zipay, Valley View (17-12). 4, Edo Rodriguez, Hazleton Area (10-8).
145 – 1, Austin Smith, Abington Heights (28-6). 2, Devin Youngcourt, Hazleton Area (19-9). 3, A.J. Dierksen, Delaware Valley (11-14). 4, Dominic Innamorati, Pittston Area (13-9).
152 – 1, Sal Schiavone, Abington Heights (27-7). 2, C.J. Walton, Delaware Valley (19-10). 3, Keegan Bucci, Pittston Area (9-4). 4, Patrick Munley, Tunkhannock (12-9).
160 – 1, Jimmy Spindler, Pittston Area (28-2). 2, Hutch Lynott, Abington Heights (27-9). 3, Mariano Monacelli, Scranton (13-8). 4, Camryn Higgins, Valley View (13-13).
172 – 1, Jayden Pahler, Wilkes-Barre Area (23-4). 2, Caleb Marzolino, Abington Heights (26-1). 3, Xaiden Schock, Wallenpaupack (20-10). 4, Mason Sgarlat, Wyoming Valley West (19-13).
189 – 1, Bryce Molinaro, Hazleton Area (26-2). 2, Joe Rivas, Wyoming Valley West (22-7). 3, Frankie Scranta, Tunkhannock (15-7). 4, Lincoln Bibla, Crestwood (19-15).
215 – 1, Magnus Bibla, Crestwood (31-4). 2, Henry Baronowski, Wallenpaupack (29-4). 3, Nick Marabell, Tunkhannock (19-6). 4, Sean Cordaro, Scranton (9-3).
285 – 1, Shannon Core, West Scranton (24-2). 2, Javon James, Scranton (19-8). 3, Jaden Kozlowski, Tunkhannock (19-1). 4, Aiden Black, Delaware Valley (22-8).
CLASS AA
106 – 1, Lex Schechterly, Lake-Lehman (14-2). 2, Brayden Clark, Lackawanna Trail (11-3). 3, Alex Cordts, Montrose (13-12). 4, Connor Novakowski, Wyoming Area (13-13).
113 – 1, Cole Henry, Lackawanna Trail (25-4). 2, Adam Shotwell, Nanticoke (23-3). 3, L.J. Morgan, Lake-Lehman (11-5). 4, James David, Honesdale (19-10).
120 – 1, Jaden Pepe, Wyoming Area (30-1). 2, Kyle Winter, Berwick (18-12). 3, Josh Young, Honesdale (23-6). 4, Memphis Collins, Blue Ridge (8-9).
126 – 1, Jackson Maby, Blue Ridge (29-4). 2, Nick Harder, Montrose (22-11). 3, Jonathan Stone, Wyoming Area (14-15). 4, Liam Farley, Western Wayne (19-10).
132 – 1, Dylan Geertgens, Montrose (31-3). 2, Ethan Lee, Lackawanna Trail (27-6). 3, Drew Howell, Honesdale (27-5). 4, Jason Yanul, Scranton Prep (8-12).
138 – 1, Anthony Evanitsky, Wyoming Area (28-3). 2, Max Bluhm, Lackawanna Trail (21-7). 3, T.J. Martin, Honesdale (25-5). 4, Joseph Merschen, Elk Lake (15-12).
145 – 1, Michael Bluhm, Lackawanna Trail (23-5). 2, Ayden Berndt, Scranton Prep (18-3). 3, Aiden Jaskulski, Nanticoke (22-6). 4, Mason Avery, Honesdale (27-8).
152 – 1, Deegan Ross, Lackawanna Trail (25-4). 2, Cooper Price, Wyoming Area (27-1). 3, Joey Giannetti, Honesdale (20-10). 4, Aidan Shamaski, Hanover Area (13-7).
160 – 1, Robbie Schneider, Lackawanna Trail (29-3). 2, J.J. Kus, Nanticoke (20-6). 3, Mason Konigus, Lake-Lehman (15-6). 4, Bennett Fritz, Honesdale (19-10).
172 – 1, Jordan Williams, Blue Ridge (20-7). 2, Nathan Ofalt, Mountain View (13-1). 3, Ben Frederick, Scranton Prep (17-3). 4, Tyler Rozanski, Lackawanna Trail (22-6).
189 – 1, Paul Renner, Honesdale (18-5). 2, Connor Wrobleski, Wyoming Area (28-3). 3, Seth Ross, Lackawanna Trail (26-4). 4, John Tyler, Elk Lake (20-5).
215 – 1, Jonah Houser, Lackawanna Trail (25-6). 2, Zack Wilken, Honesdale (30-7). 3, Richie Hizynski, Wyoming Area (21-8). 4, Gavyn Cunningham, Berwick (11-8).
285 – 1, Max Shnipes, Scranton Prep (20-2). 2, Thomas Flood, Western Wayne (21-6). 3, Derrick DeMann, Montrose (29-6). 4, Bruce Hartman, Berwick (25-6).
