It's Official: Western Wayne Wrestlers Are Headed for States!

Western Wayne’s varsity wrestling team re-wrote the local sports history book this weekend.

On Friday and Saturday, the Wildcats traveled to Pittston Area to compete in this year’s District Two team duals tournament.

Coach Dante Terenzio’s lads arrived on the scene as the #1 seed in Class AA and wasted no time at all in proving that distinction was well-deserved.

The ‘Cats rolled to three straight lopsided wins...defeating Wyoming Area (51-24), Dallas (57-18) and Hanover (45-27)...en route to the 2009-’10 Class AA championship.

“It’s an incredible feeling,” Coach Terenzio told TWI Sports just moments after the final bout. “I’m so proud of these kids. They worked their butts off to get to this point. “We’ve had two main goals right from the start of the season: to win the Lackawanna League and to win at districts.”

This will be the very first Western Wayne wrestling team to represent District Two at the PIAA Championships. The Wildcats are slated to compete at Hershey this weekend.

Domination
Western Wayne opened its Class AA gold medal quest Friday night against Wyoming Area.

These two teams went toe-to-toe in the early going before the Wildcats took control of the match. Western Wayne reeled off six straight wins to build an insurmountable lead.

Casey Fuller ignited this run with a pin at 145. The talented junior clamped Nick Mazzone at the 2:44 mark, giving the ‘Cats a 15-12 advantage.

Fuller enjoyed another outstanding tournament. Casey recorded three falls in three matches, raising his unblemished record to 27-0 on the season.

Josh Harrison added with a lightning-quick :22 pin at 152.

Garrett Enslin (160) and Michael Koch (171) followed suit, pushing the Wildcat lead to 33-12.
After Kadiem Wheatle accepted a forfeit at 189, Matt Rosensweet needed just 13 seconds to clamp Mitch Payne at 215.

In the Class AA semifinals, Western Wayne used the same formula to eliminate Dallas.

The ‘Cats were clinging to a razor-thin 3-point lead when Fuller strode to the mat at 145. Casey came through in the clutch yet again. He pinned the Mountaineers’ Andrew Murray in a time of :49.

Harrison, Wheatle, Koch and Connor Rosensweet put the match away with consecutive pins from 160 to 215.

Showdown
Western Wayne met a familiar foe in Saturday’s championship match.

The Wildcats squared off with Hanover Area in the title tilt...a team they’d already seen once before this season.

Back in December at the Towanda Duals, the local lads hammered out a 48-26 decision over the Hawkeyes. This time around, Western Wayne raced out to a big early lead before having to hold off a furious Hanover Area rally.

Matt Rosensweet opened the match with a grueling win at 189. Rosensweet powered his way to a 7-5 decision over Andrew Kaufer.

After accepting a pair of forfeits at 215 and 285, Evan Decker gave Wildcat fans a thrill with the evening’s most memorable win.

A battle-tested junior, Decker dealt Shane Elick a stunning 11-10 loss at 103.

“Shane Elick’s having an outstanding season, but he’s just a freshman and Evan really made him feel the pressure,” Coach Terenzio said. “Evan stepped up and got us a huge win.”

Zachary Clookey lost a heartbreaking 13-12 decision at 112, but he was picked up immediately by his teammate.

Zach Jones pinned  Jim Lukachinsky at 119 (1:34), giving the ‘Cats what appeared to be a comfortable 24-3 bulge.

Raphael Ingaglio added another fall at 130, but then Hanover staged a wild rally. The Hawks recorded back-to-back pins at 135 and 140, closing the gap to just nine points at 30-21.

Then...for a third time in just two days...Fuller rode to the rescue.

Casey posted his third straight pin, this one at the expense of Kurt Pericci. The fall came at 1:19  and gave the ‘Cats some much-needed breathing room.

“Casey really stepped it up for us,” said Coach Terenzio. “He’s one of the best wrestlers in the region and he proved that this weekend.”

When Harrison pinned at 152 and Enslin followed with a hard-fought 11-6 decision at 160, Western Wayne fans began celebrating.

Although the ‘Cats were forced to forfeit the final bout due to a weigh-in error, they still closed out a dominating victory.

“Anything we accomplish from here on out is a bonus,” said Coach Terenzio. “This is a brand new experience for Western Wayne, so we’re just going to savor the experience a little bit.”