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By JOE PETRUCCI
jpetrucci@leader.net
Friday, March 07, 2003 Page: 1C
HERSHEY – Suffering losses in the district and regional finals the past two
weeks has done nothing to harm Willie Weber’s confidence.
The Lake-Lehman senior 160-pounder looked nothing like a wounded lion in
his preliminary-round pin of Northern Lehigh’s Zack Gill in Class 2A
competition at the PIAA Wrestling Championships at Giant Center. In fact, he
appears more confident than ever.
“If I wrestle my game and go at them, anyone’s beatable,” said Weber.
The rest of the Wyoming Valley Conference 2A qualifiers are also feeling
good. All eight WVC 2A representatives here will come back to wrestle today.
Meyers’ Wally Geiger (103), Joe Rovelli (152) and Carlo Mercadante (160),
Lake-Lehman’s Matt Dragon (130) and Willie Weber (160) and Greater Nanticoke
Area’s Jason Mitkowski (189) won their preliminary-round bouts Thursday
morning and advanced to this morning’s quarterfinals.
Lehman’s Andy Josuweit (125) and GAR’s Ted Yelland (189) both lost in the
preliminaries, but stayed alive with victories in the first round of
consolations.
Quarterfinals begin today at 9 a.m., followed by second-round consolations
at 10:30. Semifinals and third-round consolations are slated for 7 p.m., with
fourth-round consolations at 8:30.
Weber (34-5) said he was in the right frame of the mind heading into his
second visit to Hershey.
“I wasn’t nervous, just natural nerves,” said Weber, who lost his first
two matches here last year.
Those natural nerves resulted in a first-period takedown of Gill (29-12),
the third-place finisher from the Southeast. Weber slipped in a half-nelson,
which he stuck with in the second period, starting on top. Weber recorded the
fall in 3:37.
“Getting the first match out of the way is huge,” said Weber. “I got the
butterflies out of my stomach.”
Weber will need plenty of confidence today as he faces the undefeated
Southwest champ, senior Jared Ricotta (34-0) of West Branch, in the quarters.
Rovelli (24-1) led a trio of Mohawks regional champs into the quarters. He
went after Northern Bedford senior Dustin Swindell (29-6), fourth in the
Southwest, and saw an opening for a cradle – something Rovelli said he usually
doesn’t go for. Good thing for the Mohawk junior three-time state qualifier
and seventh-place finisher last year, as Rovelli recorded the pin after 40
seconds of rocking in 1:03.
“I just went out and wrestled my best,” said Rovelli, a district and
regional champ who faces Smethport senior Mike Mitchell, the Northwest
runner-up, in the quarters. “Once I had him on his back, I wanted the pin to
get the match over with.”
Mercadante (33-0) was a bit tentative in his first state bout, but a late
escape helped insure a 7-5 decision over South Side Beaver’s Corey Checkan
(35-11), the Southwest fifth-place finisher. Mercadante takes on Shady Side
Academy senior Damian Johnson (36-1), the Southwest champ, in the quarters.
“Carlo needed that first match, it was his first time down here,” said
Meyers coach Ron Swingle Jr. “He’ll open up more (today).”
In the first bout of the tournament, Geiger (32-3) struggled offensively.
But Geiger countered two shots from Avella sophomore Jeff Kusich (30-12) by
spinning around the Southwest fifth-place finisher and recording takedowns for
a 4-2 victory. Geiger moves into the quarterfinals and will face Hyndman
freshman Josh Snyder (30-3), the Southwest runner-up.
“We’re happy, but we don’t want to be too happy,” said Swingle, whose
team stood tied for eighth place in the team standings along with Delone
Catholic (eight points). Reynolds led with 18 points, followed by Wilson (17),
Brockway (15), Juniata (13), Bloomsburg (12), Brandywine Heights (11),
Loyalsock (10).
Dragon said he didn’t wrestle as well as he would have liked, but stayed
undefeated with an 11-4 major decision of Juniata junior Greg Jensen, the
Southeast’s fifth-place finisher. The Black Knight sophomore beat Jensen
earlier in the year via technical fall.
“I’m happy I moved on,” said Dragon, who will meet Ligonier Valley senior
Mike Krisfalusi (30-5), the Southwest bronze medalist. “I said to myself, if
I go overtime, I go overtime. If I pin the kid, I pin the kid. A win’s a win
down here.
Mitkowski (34-1) was in control the entire way in his 12-9 decision over
Penns Valley senior Kendall Ridenour (31-11), the Southwest fourth-place
finisher.
Yelland hung tough in the preliminaries against Southmoreland junior Shane
Datz (35-1), the Southwest champ, and trailed just 4-3 in the second period.
But Datz scored an escape and takedown in the first 21 seconds of the third
for a 7-3 win. Yelland bounced back in his consolation bout against
Westmont-Hilltop senior Grant Stetz (28-9), the Southwest fifth-place
finisher.
Yelland, who wrestled all the way back from a quarterfinal loss last
weekend at regionals to take third, pinned Stetz in 3:18.
Josuweit, meanwhile, had a more difficult time in the consolations. After a
4-0 loss to Juniata senior Tyler Gilson (43-7), who was beaten by the Lehman
sophomore in January, Josuweit edged James Buchanan junior Chad Witmer
(24-11), the Southeast fifth-place finisher, 3-2.