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Qualifying for the state tournament is a thrill for any wrestler. Qualifying with a teammate makes the trip much more enjoyable.
There will be five sets of teammates from the Wyoming Valley Conference heading to this week’s PIAA Championships together.
Leading the pack is a trio from Hazleton Area in Chris Lasecki (113 pounds), Jimmy Hoffman (120) and Derek Spachman at 182 in the Class 3A tournament. Also in 3A, Wyoming Valley West teammates James Wright (113) and Cody Cordes (160), both seniors, will be going together.
In Class 2A, GAR’s Zac Faust (195) and Saul Wilkins (285), Meyers’ Colin Pasone (106) and TJ Cistrunk (182), and Lake-Lehman’s RJ Driscoll (120) and Derek Dragon (170) all qualified.
The three state participants from Hazleton Area marks the first time that three teammates from the Wyoming Valley Conference will be going together since three Hazleton Area wrestlers qualified together in 2008. Like that 2008 team, there are two sophomores and a senior qualifying from the Cougars with Spachman being the senior.
“It’s nice going with a teammate especially because you feel better around them, more relaxed and comfortable,” Lasecki said.
“It’s a great feeling,” Cougars coach Keith Maurer said. “The kids worked hard all year long and it showed up I think.”
Wyoming Valley West may not have had the best season as a team, but Wright and Cordes have been on the same wrestling team since Wright started wrestling in second grade. Both seniors, Wright is moving onto states for the first time, while Cordes is now a two-time state qualifier. Both have more than 100 wins in their careers, with Cordes being the school’s all-time wins leader now with 142 victories.
“This is so special. It’s been a rough year and these guys, they’re an example. They work so hard,” Valley West coach Drew Feldman said. “Individually, they know what it takes so it means a lot. They’re hard workers and work together a lot and I’m so happy to see them go out like this because it’s been a long year.”
Not an easy road
Four of the eight state participants in Class 3A from the conference got there the hard way by having to win in the consolation rounds after losing a match earlier in the Class 3A Northeast Regional Tournament. They all had to win three matches on Saturday to complete the comeback, and that’s not an easy task to do.
Wright was in one of hardest weights in the event, Pittston Area’s Jake Vaxmonsky and Lasecki were in dramatic matches all the way through.
“After the (first) loss, I felt like I had a good chance. I don’t know, something in me said I have to fight back and go back through it and try to get on that streak,” Vaxmonsky said. “They were tough matches going back three matches right in a row but it worked out I guess.”
Spachman had to rebound after a loss in the semifinals, which can be very hard to do. In fact, 14 of the 28 wrestlers who lost in Saturday’s semifinals at Liberty High School in Bethlehem did not qualify for states.
Mountaineers showing promise
For the second season in a row, Dallas had a nice showing at the 3A regional tournament. Unlike last season, when the Mountaineers had two state participants, they only have one this season with heavyweight Ryan Monk.
However, underclassmen Xavier Barber, James Geiger and Cole Dixon turned heads combining for five wins and making a little run.
“We had a very good showing. I am very happy with my guys,” Dallas coach Mike Richards said. “Being that they came in kinda unheralded they wrestled exceptionally well. A couple guys were one step from being right there.”
Going streaking
When Lake-Lehman’s RJ Driscoll punched his ticket to Hershey on Saturday in the Class 2A regional, he made it seven straight seasons that the Black Knights will be represented at the PIAA Championships. That is currently the longest such streak for any WVC team. Driscoll’s teammate Derek Dragon qualified a little later after Driscoll.
The second-longest current streak belongs to a 2A squad as well. Wyoming Area’s Charlie Johnson made it four straight seasons for the Warriors.
GAR and Wyoming Valley West have a state qualifier for the third straight season. One of the most impressive streaks, which was snapped last season, is once again spectacular. That’s at Crestwood where Dan Ritz became the 15th state qualifier in 16 years from the school.
Earning their stripes?
On the flip side, a streak that no one wants to be a part of continued last weekend when Tunkhannock’s stretch of not having a state qualifier stretched to 22 seasons. The Tigers have not had a state participant at states since Bob Farber in 1993; it’s the longest drought in the WVC.
However, Tunkhannock did have a good showing at the 3A regional last weekend with its four participants winning 11 matches, tied with Hazleton Area for the most of all conference teams, and the second-most wins in all of District 2.