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Tommy Traver has been one of the best wrestlers in the Wyoming Valley Conference since bursting onto the scene as a freshman. Now a senior, he always seemed to be destined for greatness.
The 138-pounder can call himself the best ever at Tunkhannock, and the season has just begun.
Traver has started the campaign with 10 straight wins and is shattering the Tigers’ school record for career wins. After winning the Panther Holiday Classic on Saturday at Mount Aloysius College in Cresson, Traver now stands at 129 career victories surpassing the mark of 123 that was previously set by 2016 grad Bill Manley and Sam Rice (2018).
Traver pinned Clay Baker, of Spring Grove, in 2:33 to claim the gold at the event. Traver was one of just two Tigers to medal at the prestigious event on Saturday. Dave Evans placed third in the 120-pound weight.
Hazleton Area also wrestled in the tournament with 220-pounder Shane Noonan winning the title with a 6-5 win over Jamal Brandon from Dallastown. Noonan, a state qualifier last year, has also started off the season on a high note. He won last week’s Top Hat Invitational at Williamsport and has a 9-0 record to start the campaign.
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Wyoming Seminary’s tournament kicked off on Saturday with 24 teams competing at Wilkes University’s Marts Center.
The Blue Knights are controlling the top of the standings after the first day with 157 points and leading second-place Bergen Catholic by 33 points. Coughlin (eighth place) and Wyoming Valley West (ninth) are currently in the top 10 of one of the toughest tournaments in the country, while Lake-Lehman (12th) and Pittston Area (22nd) are also competing this weekend.
Sem leads the way with 15 semifinalists, including three at 170 pounds and two at 126 pounds.
The Blue Knights are represented by an athlete in the semis in every weight except 106 and 113. At 126, Zeke Escalera will face his teammate Drew Munch in this morning’s semis, while at 170, Jake Stefanowicz squares off against his fellow Blue Knight Mike Gallorenzi. In the other 170 semi, Sem’s Darwin Hall takes on Coughlin’s Tanner Smith.
The Crusaders are also represented in the semifinals by 220-pounder Conner Lee. He will face Sem’s Jake Kaminski in that semi.
Wyoming Valley West also has a semifinalist in 132-pounder David Krokowski as the team has a total of five wrestlers competing in the event’s second day. Coughlin also has five athletes wrestling today.
Lake-Lehman doesn’t have any semifinalists and has two remaining. Pittston Area only entered two wrestlers and both were eliminated on Saturday.
Sem’s other semifinalists are Corey Morabito (120 pounds), Beau Bartlett (132), Lincoln Heck (138), Connor Kievman (145), Benny Baker (152), Owen Davis (160), Darrien Roberts (182), Mike Doggett (195), Jake Kaminski (220) and Nate Miller (285).
There were no huge upsets on the first day of the tournament, but five No. 2 seeds were ousted from the championship. Krokowski took out one of them when he defeated Cameron Robinson from Landstown 2-0 in the quarterfinals.
At 160, Davis, a Hanover Township native, reaped the benefits of the No. 2 seed, his teammate Cole Rees falling in the round of 16 to Benton’s Nolan Lear. Davis then defeated Lear 7-3 in the quarters to advance to the semis.
The tournament is set to wrap up today with the semifinals set to begin at 9 a.m. Admission to the event is $10 for the day.