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By JOE PETRUCCI jpetrucci@leader.net
Sunday, March 09, 2003 Page: 1C
HERSHEY – Greater Nanticoke Area senior Jason Mitkowski just doesn’t get
it.
He hasn’t wrestled since eighth grade. He shouldn’t be at the PIAA
Wrestling Championships.
He’s in the state final, and he might as well be at a yard sale. He
shouldn’t be this calm, dictating a match against a wrestler from the best
Class 2A team in the state.
Barely able to breathe with a nagging cold, a plug in his good nostril, and
a bloody tongue for the second day in a row, exhaustion was coming on strong
in the third period. He should be giving up.
That’s when the muscular 189-pounder got it – a double-leg takedown with 13
seconds to win what was arguably the best final of the afternoon at Giant
Center.
Mitkowski defeated Wilson Area’s Chad Iobst 11-9 to notch the first state
gold medal by a Wyoming Valley Conference wrestler since Pittston Area’s James
Woodall won the 152-pound title in 1999.
“I’m just going out and having fun and wrestling my match and I wanted it
more,” said Mitkowski, who finished his only varsity season 37-1.
The storybook run of Meyers’ Joe Rovelli (152) and Carlo Mercadante (160)
came to questionable, heartbreaking, silver-medal ends in the final. Rovelli
lost 6-2 to Northern Lehigh’s Ryan Hluschak, who stayed away from Rovelli most
of the bout. Mercadante was dominating West Branch’s Jared Ricotta when
Mercadante was caught and pinned, although two video replays on the scoreboard
seemed to prove otherwise.
Lake-Lehman’s Matt Dragon (130) bounced back from two losses and a shoulder
injury on Friday to place fifth, while GAR’s Ted Yelland (189) won a medal for
eighth place.
Mitkowski was the darling of the finals, with fans cheering wildly for the
first state champ from Nanticoke. But just as he was ambivalent to any hype or
pressure in his final bout, Mitkowski was still a bit oblivious to all the
post-win attention thrust upon him.
“(It will hit me) as soon as I can take a shower and catch my breath,” he
said.
Mitkowski scored the first takedown at 1:15 of the first period, but Iobst
built a 5-3 lead with just 38 seconds left in the second. Mitkowski, however,
escaped and notched a double-leg takedown with 15 seconds to go for a 6-5
lead.
Mitkowski started the third on bottom and escaped immediately. He staved
off two takedown attempts before Iobst finally hit one at the 1:10 mark. Ten
seconds later, Mitkowski escaped, only to be taken down again and he now
trailed 9-8. Iobst then let Mitkowski escape, which proved to be fatal, as
Mitkowski summoned the strength for another double, which he turned into a
takedown and the win.
“It’s the last match of my career,” said Mitkowski, who surprisingly had
enough energy to leap in the air and raise both arms in triumph. “It was now
or never. I just gave it my all.”
Rovelli, who lost about 14 pounds to get down to 152 pounds so his longtime
friend Mercadante could wrestle at 160 in the postseason, looked sharp in his
final, but was inexplicably hit with a first-period stalling caution that
should have been called on Hluschak. Rovelli, seventh here last year, could
not get close enough for a takedown and when the Mohawk junior tried a
desperation throw with 50 seconds left in the bout, Hluschak turned it into a
four-point move for the victory.
“We knew that (Hluschak) would try to avoid him and wrestle on the edge of
the mat and if the ref let him stay there we’d be in trouble,” said Meyers
coach Ron Swingle Jr. “Joe’s already asking when are we going to start
working toward next year.”
Mercadante led 2-1 against Ricotta midway through the first period when the
Meyers senior hit a frontside cradle for five points. But Ricotta quickly
changed his fortunes, grabbing a leg and an elbow and flipping Mercadante over
on his shoulders. The official, although late getting in position, then called
a pin. The video replay, which surprisingly was played twice, appeared to show
Ricotta’s shoulder preventing Mercadante’s left shoulder from hitting the mat.
“It’s a move I like to use,” Mercadante said of Ricotta’s pin. “I think
everybody in the arena knows who won that match. I never thought I was
pinned.”
While proud of the two silver medals, Swingle was understandably upset that
the bouts were basically taken out of the hands of his wrestlers.
“We won’t cry over spilled milk and I haven’t made any comments about the
officiating all year,” said the Meyers first-year coach, “but I hope they’re
comfortable with the calls they made.”
Dragon scored a takedown in overtime to defeat Wilson Area senior Ed
Labatch to take fifth place. Dragon scored three points in the final five
seconds of regulation to force overtime.
“You’re never out of a match until the last second,” said Dragon (43-2).
Yelland (33-10) could only score on an escape and a stalling point in the
third period and fell 6-2 to Newport senior Travis Young (37-7), the Southeast
fifth-place finisher. Yelland said he needs to work on his strength and
wrestle more in the off-season to earn a shinier medal next year.
“Starting Monday I’m going to lift,” said Yelland, the upstart junior who
missed the first few weeks of the season. “I saw how much potential I have
and it will help me in the long run.”
Class 2A
1st place – Jason Mitkowski (189), sr., Greater Nanticoke Area
2nd place – Joe Rovelli (152), jr., Meyers; Carlo Mercadante (160), sr.,
Meyers
5th – Matt Dragon (130), so., Lake-Lehman
8th – Ted Yelland (189), jr., GAR
Class 3A
5th-place – Jeremy Griffith (112), sr., Berwick; Nick Yalch (130), sr.,
Berwick; Ryan Kittrick (275), sr., Coughlin
7th-place – Mike Viti (215), jr., Berwick
8th-place – John Laboranti (189), jr., Pittston Area