WVW trio earns All-American honors

For just the second time in Steve Barber's six years as head coach, Wyoming Valley West didn't qualify any wrestlers for the PIAA Championships earlier this month.

The Spartans made up for that the past few days.

A trio from Wyoming Valley West – Cody Cordes, Travis Roper and Kyle Krasavage – earned All-American status at the National High School Wrestling Championships at the Virginia Beach Convention Center in Virginia Beach. Hanover Area's Dominic Vitale also earned a medal on Friday.

Cordes, a 145-pounder, took fourth during the freshman tournament, picking up four wins over the three-day event. Vitale, also participating in the freshman event, took sixth at 138 and also won four matches. Cordes didn't make it past the Northeast Regional Tournament during the regular season, while Vitale didn't qualify for regionals, placing fourth at the District 2 Class 2A Championships.

Roper won four bouts in the sophomore event and placed eighth on Friday in the 126-pound class. Earlier in the week, Roper knocked out Pittston Area's Tyler Lutecki from competition for one of his wins.

Krasavage, who was a state qualifier for the Spartans in 2010 as a freshman but missed the event this season because of a stacked weight class at regionals, took fifth at the junior national event. Along the way, Krasavage picked up five wins, including a defeat of a two-time state champion from South Dakota.

A total of 28 Wyoming Valley Conference wrestlers made the nearly seven-hour trip to Virginia Beach for the tournament. The freshman, sophomore and junior events ended Friday, while the senior tourney was just beginning.

Three wrestlers from Meyers -- Vito Pasone (113 pounds), Jeff Nealon (132) and Darren Stucker (145) -- are participating in the senior competition. Stucker, who was a state qualifier for the Mohawks, won his first two bouts Friday, then lost his third to drop into the consolations. Pasone, a state runner-up, won his first match, while Nealon lost his.