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By JOE PETRUCCI jpetrucci@leader.net
Thursday, March 06, 2003 Page: 1B
To Jason Reilly, being down doesn’t necessarily mean being out.
The Crestwood senior 171-pounder was down 4-1 to Northampton’s Ryan Nowicki
in the second period of a semifinal bout at the Class 3A Northeast Regional on
Saturday.
But Reilly, the sixth seed, started the period on top and soon hooked up a
cradle and pinned the second-seeded Konkrete Kid in 3:31. In the final later
that evening, Reilly gave up an early five-point move, but clawed back and
lost by just two points, 9-7, to Parkland’s Nick Guida.
That experience and unwillingness to give up should serve Reilly well at
the PIAA Wrestling Championships, which begin today at the Giant Center in
Hershey.
“I always try to keep my cool,” said Reilly, who is making his first trip
to states. “I’ve been down three or four times this year and got the victory
or clamped a kid. I showed it at regionals.”
Reilly lost to Honesdale’s Josh Arnone in the District 2 final just three
weeks after handing the Hornet PIAA seventh-place finisher his first loss in
the district duals. But his “it ain’t over ’til it’s over” attitude came in
handy at regionals. While Reilly kept his cool, Arnone wound up losing in the
consolation semifinals and did not qualify for states.
“I’m just calm and confident and ready to wrestle,” said Reilly. “I just
have to wrestle one period at a time.”
Reilly faces Penn Trafford senior Charlie Pienaar (30-4), the Southwest
runner-up, in the preliminary round and stands a good chance of making it to
the semifinals and guaranteeing a medal. The strength of the bracket appears
to be evenly distributed, but largely unknown to Reilly. He said on Monday
that he and coach Darren Testa were trying to find out more on potential
opponents in his bracket.
“I’m going in kind of blind,” said Reilly.
Here’s a look at the other five Wyoming Valley Conference wrestlers
competing in Class 3A at states:
112 – Jeremy Griffith (33-3), sr., Berwick
Griffith, who placed eighth at states last year, beat defending district
and Northeast Regional champ Joe Kemmerer of Crestwood for the first time in
three tries this season in the third-place final at regionals on Saturday, 2-2
in a dramatic overtime rideout. But Griffith, ranked sixth in the state, is in
one of the toughest brackets of the tournament. He opens with Norristown
junior Tim Harner (36-3), the fourth-ranked 112-pounder in the state. Also in
Griffith’s half of the bracket is top-ranked and returning state champ Coleman
Scott (33-1), a junior out of Waynesburg, and Easton’s Alex Krom (36-3), the
Northeast Regional champ.
130 – Nick Yalch (36-2) sr., Berwick
A four-time D-2 champ, Yalch wrestled back tough on Saturday to win four
bouts, take third and qualify for states for the first time. He’ll likely need
similar toughness this weekend as he faces undefeated Cocalico junior Mark
Fittery (33-0), ranked fifth in the state among 130-pounders. Yalch appears to
be at his best right now, and he’ll need it if he has to fight through
consolations.
189 – John Laboranti (33-1), jr., Pittston Area
Laboranti talked about being more aggressive in big matches prior to
regionals last week, but still looked a little tentative in two two-point
victories as well as his 8-1 loss in the finals to Northampton’s Josh Haines.
Laboranti’s half of the bracket is not overly daunting, but the reigning D-2
champ must look to shoot early and often. He has the experience – 80 matches
in the off-season – and the conditioning. Now he needs the right mental
attitude.
215 – Mike Viti (32-4), jr., Berwick
Like teammate Griffith, Viti has a remarkably tough bracket – including two
undefeated wrestlers and three with just one loss. Viti’s shining moment at
regionals came against Easton’s Marcus Millen in the semifinals, when he
scored a late takedown and three back points to earn a 7-1 victory. In the
final, he was tied with Northampton top seed Jon Oplinger heading into the
third period, but gave up two takedowns. Viti feels he’s already seen some of
the best.
“At the Northeast Regionals, they were the top kids in the state,” Viti
said. “Every match is going to be a war. I’m looking forward to it.”
Viti has been in his share of battles this year, winning two close bouts
against Wyoming Valley West’s Jim Martin and also losing a pair of one-point
bouts – one to Martin and another to Council Rock North’s Ryan Collins. Viti
thinks he’s learned from the good and the bad.
“I feel I’m peaking,” Viti said. “Even in the (regional) final, I was
pleased up until the third period. I messed up some things and pulled back a
little. But that wasn’t important, states is.”
275 – Ryan Kittrick (32-3), sr., Coughlin
Much like Reilly, Kittrick has shown explosive ability in that he is always
a threat to pin. That’s exactly what he did in the third-place final on
Saturday at regionals, clamping Selinsgrove’s Jay O’Hora in dramatic fashion
in 38 seconds. While this will be Kittrick’s first state tournament
appearance, the Crusader doesn’t scare easily. He avenged a loss in last
year’s regional tournament against Nazareth’s Rocky Schoenenberger in a
third-round consolation bout, 14-2. Kittrick won his other three wrestleback
bouts by fall. Look for Kittrick to attack early.