Click here to subscribe today or Login.
LEHMAN TWP. — Jaden Swainbank entered the quarterfinals of the Wyoming Valley Conference Tournament just hoping to push his opponent to the limit as the No. 7 seed in the 182-pound bracket.
The Wyoming Valley West sophomore did more than that, as he scored the biggest win of his young career on Friday at Lake-Lehman High School.
Swainbank picked up the biggest upset of the first day of the tournament when he took down the No. 2 seed and reigning District 2 Class 2A champion Jeff Meader from Tunkhannock with a fall in 3:22.
“It was a pretty big win. I expected to go in there and just push the pace and it turned out I got it,” Swainbank said. “This is definitely the biggest win so far. It was definitely ecstatic coming off the mat. I was definitely hyped. My dad was there supporting me. And I’m so glad to prove that I’ve been working so hard in the offseason leading up to this tournament.”
Swainbank never trailed in the match. He got a takedown on a single-leg in the first period and back points. Meader flipped Swainbank over with a reversal. In the second period, Swainbank escaped then got a takedown and put Meader on his back for a fall before the second period ended to notch the upset.
Now Swainbank gets another tough match in the semifinals, which start at 9:30 a.m. today. He will face Nanticoke Area’s Adam Eckhart, a two-time district medalist and second-place finisher at the event last year. In a dual last month, Eckhart pinned Swainbank. But this time, the Spartan is gleaming with confidence after a huge win.
“I can definitely beat him,” Swainbank said. “I have high hopes coming into the match. I think I have to be more aggressive out there in neutral and take him down.”
Swainbank’s victory was the most notable upset of the tourney on Friday, but three No. 3 seeds went down as well. Pittston Area’s Keegan Bucci (106 pounds), Vinny Bowers (195) from Wyoming Area and Wilkes-Barre Area’s Noah Taylor (285) reached the semis as No. 6 seeds.
The loss to Meader can possibly come back to hurt Tunkhannock in the team standings. The Tigers are in a tight battle with Hazleton Area as both teams have eight semifinalists. The Tigers are in the lead after the first day of action with 86 points with the Cougars second with 77. Wilkes-Barre Area sits in third with 71 points and seven semifinalists.
A team title for Tunkhannock would be the first time a Class 2A team would win the tournament in its 11-year history.
“Winning (matches) is important, bonus points are important and hopefully kids can keep doing it,” Tunkhannock coach Gary Siegel said. “And we’re gonna have to beat some kids that maybe we’re not supposed to — that’s the key.”
Among the three teams, they have semifinalists in all but one of the brackets. The Wolfpack and Tigers can only meet in the finals. Wolfpack and Cougar grapplers will match up twice in the semis, while the Tigers and Cougars will go at it in just one semifinal.
That could make for a tight team race heading into the finals, which will take place in the early afternoon at approximately 2 p.m.
“Hazleton has been in a couple tournaments with us, at Penn Cambria they were fifth and we were 13,” Siegel said. “I figured this was Hazleton’s to win. So it’s nice to be up on them. It’s gonna be a dogfight (today).”
All 12 teams have at least two participants in the semis. Pittston Area follows the top three teams with six, while Dallas and Crestwood are next with five. Wyoming Valley West has four in the semis. Wyoming Area, Lake-Lehman and Nanticoke Area all have three, and Hanover Area and Berwick each have two.
Wyoming Valley Conference Tournament
Team Scores: 1. Tunkhannock (Tun) 86; 2. Hazleton Area (Haz) 77; 3. Wilkes-Barre Area (WBA) 71; 4. Wyoming Valley West (WVW) 58; 5. Dallas (Dal) 56.5; 6. Pittston Area (PA) 56; 7. Crestwood (Cre) 54; 8. Hanover Area (Han) 35; 9. Lake-Lehman (LL) 34; 10. Nanticoke Area (Nan) 32; 10. Wyoming Area (WA) 32; 12. Berwick (Ber) 28.5
Quarterfinals
106: Owen Woods (Tun) pinned Jack Andrews (Cre) 1:41; Jaden Pepe (WA) tech fall Dorian Hoffman (Haz) 16-1, 5:16; Keegan Bucci (PA) pinned Zach Capie (Nan) 1:15; Josh Warman (WBA) pinned Ryan Cooper (Dal) :53
113: Johnny Corra (Haz) pinned Isaiah Parker (WBA) 3:26; Joii Phillips (PA) pinned Joseph Sauera (Nan) 3:04; Mason Konigus (LL) dec Cael Davis (Han) 6-3; Ian Ratchford (WVW) pinned Hunter Greenberg (Cre) :52
120: Joey Rowley (Han) pinned Brandon Ritinski (LL) 1:35; Kevin Roby (PA) pinned Will Bogdon (Cre) 3:26; Justin Benscoter (Dal) pinned Zach Sheridan (WA) 1:12; Cadden Kucek (WVW) pinned Edo Rodriguez (Haz) 3:38
126: JJ White (WVW) bye; Justin Sterling (Cre) pinned Sawyer Christman (Dal) 2:22; Matt Rosentel (Tun) pinned Jacob Granahan (PA) 1:59; Jorven Rodriguez (Haz) pinned Ethan Dinoski (Han) :24
132: Dave Evans (Tun) pinned Jake Gizenski (LL) :42; Trey Zabroski (Cre) pinned Zach Murphy (Han) 1:23; Beck Hutchison (Haz) pinned Zander Remakus (WVW) 3:35; Nino Cinti (WBA) pinned John Guerriero (Ber) 2:39
138: Nick Yule (Ber) dec Joe Rivas (WVW) 6-1; Matthew Chase (WBA) pinned Rocco Pizano (WA) 2:56; Ben Yanchick (Dal) dec Baylie Butler (Nan) 9-2; Ethan Munley (Tun) dec Nick Solano (PA) 7-2
145: Gavin D’Amato (Tun) pinned Nick Ross (WA) 1:15; Jimmy Spindler (PA) dec Christian Kislan (Haz) 2-1, OT; Caleb Burns (WBA) pinned Christian Torres (Han) 5:38; Garrett Swank (Cre) tech fall Ryan Collins (Dal) 16-0, 2:28
152: Josh Bonomo (LL) pinned Hunter Thompson (Han) :48; CJ Demark (PA) dec Matt Giza (WVW) 5-2; Thaddeus Mead (Dal) pinned Aiden Jaskulski (Nan) 1:05; Jamie Pahler (WBA) dec Trystan English (Ber) 8-2
160: Charles Everdale (Haz) pinned Devon Butwin (Dal) :25; Michael Gavin (Cre) tech fall Rafael Olmedo (WBA) 15-0, 4:06; Luke Carpenter (Tun) pinned Matt Raczkowski (LL) 4:21; AJ Gorto (PA) pinned Usamah Alansari (WA) 1:50
170: Connor Wrobleski (WA) tech fall Sean Meder (Tun) 16-0, 3:00; Lenny Kelley (Dal) pinned Collin Kudrako-Kashatus (Nan) 1:40; Bryce Molinaro (Haz) pinned Warren Faust (WBA) 2:36; Nick Zaboski (LL) pinned Jason Pearson (WVW) :32
182: Jake Marnell (Haz) pinned Tyler Dezinski (Dal) 3:11; Hunter Karpovich (Han) pinned David Sudo (PA) 2:50; Adam Eckhart (Nan) pinned Carl Johnson (WBA) 4:35; Jaden Swainbank (WVW) pinned Jeff Meader (Tun) 3:22
195: Seth Hunsinger (Haz) pinned Stephen Youkoski (WBA) 1:51; Nick Heimbach (Ber) pinned Frankie Scranta (Tun) :53; Vinny Bowers (WA) pinned John Symons (PA) 2:59; Isaiah Johnson (Nan) pinned Luis Rivera (WVW) 2:11
220: Nick Marabell (Tun) pinned Gavyn Cunningham (Ber) 1:21; Jeremy Buzak (Cre) pinned Nasir Condry (WA) 3:00; Dante Matarella (Haz) pinned Jake Mercadante (Han) :37; Connor Lee (WBA) pinned Jeffrey Ultsh (Nan) :32
285: Seth Pelton (Nan) bye; Brett Sickler (Tun) dec Javon Hines (Han) 8-6; Noah Taylor (WBA) pinned Ethan Speece (WA) :50; Taylor Bolesta (Dal) pinned Richie Santos (Haz) :33