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BETHLEHEM — Cody Cordes has accomplished a lot in his storied career with Wyoming Valley West.
One thing that has always eluded the senior is a regional championship.
Not anymore.
Cordes grabbed the elusive Class 3A Northeast Regional 160-pound title on Saturday night and did so with a fall, one of just two in the 14 championship finals.
“It was definitely a goal this year to come down here and be a regional champ,” Cordes said. “Two-time district champ, one-time regional, it’s a good title to get. I get my name on the wall in the room. It’s good to get a regional title.”
Cordes, who is one of eight in Class 3A from the Wyoming Valley Conference to qualify for the PIAA Championships which start Thursday at Hershey’s Giant Center, was holding a big lead on his finals opponent, Adam Soldridge from Bethlehem Catholic when he ran the difficult crab half move that he’s been using a lot of lately and recorded the fall in 5:42. The risky move paid off as Cordes stuck Soldridge on his shoulders.
“It takes some strength. When I roll back it has to be at the right time and stick him there because if you don’t they’ll probably roll around and roll on top of you,” said Cordes, who was one of four regional finalists and one champion from the Wyoming Valley Conference. “I’ve been hitting it a lot so it’s been working for me.”
Hazleton Area’s Jimmy Hoffman (126 pounds), Crestwood’s Dan Ritz (138) and Dallas’ Ryan Monk (285) all finished as runner-up. Hoffman and Monk are in the state tournament for consecutive seasons along with Cordes, while Ritz is a first-time qualifier.
They are joined at states by Hoffman’s teammates Chris Lasecki (113 pounds) and Derek Spachman (182), Cordes’ teammate James Wright (120), and Pittston Area’s Jake Vaxmonsky at 220.
All four finalists secured a berth to states with wins in Saturday morning’s semifinals. While Cordes won by major decision and Monk won by four points in the semis, Ritz and Hoffman needed some dramatics to reach states.
Ritz used a five-point move, the foot half, for a takedown and three back points to pull out a 6-1 win to punch his first ticket to Hershey.
Hoffman, a sophomore, got to Hershey for the second straight season by pulling off a reversal with less than 40 seconds left in his semi and defeat Parkland’s Jacob Lizak 3-2.
“My ultimate goal was accomplished,” Ritz said. “It would’ve been nice to win, but it just wasn’t there for me today.
“It was extremely exciting (after semifinal match). That’s what I’ve been waiting for my whole life. To see it finally come to fruition like that is something I’ll never forget.”
Speaking of dramatics, the WVC wrestlers who reached the state tournament by wrestling back through the consolations, all seemed to be about the late, close wins. And all are first time state qualifiers like Ritz.
First, Lasecki pulled off a five-point move of his own in the third period for a 5-4 victory and reach got two points for a takedown for a 4-2 win to advance somewhere he’s never been before as a sophomore.
Next up on the same mat was Cordes’ teammate James Wright, who used a takedown with about 10 seconds left to win 5-4 and get to states for the first time as a senior. Wright did so in one of the toughest brackets in the tournament with two returning state medalists from a year ago and four ranked in the top 10 in the state.
“I really wanted it this year and when it went to the extra fourth qualifier I knew it would be reachable, but when I saw my bracket I was like ‘damn,’” said Wright, who then jumped into the arms of coach Drew Feldman after the exciting win.
Spachman, a Hazleton Area senior, didn’t need much drama as he won 10-6 to reach the PIAA Championships for the first time. The 182-pounder then won the third-place match in more convincing fashion, 5-0.
“I’m speechless. It’s something I’ve wanted since elementary. I’m glad I finally got it even though it’s only my last year,” Spachman said. “By far, this is a completely different level I’ve picked it up to.”
Meanwhile, Vaxmonsky was in a strange match in his state qualifying bout when his opponent, Josh Newhart from Freedom was called for stalling twice accounting for two of the Patriot’s points in a 3-1 win.
But, for his first trip to Hershey, the senior will take it.
“The chocolate bar, mmmm, I’m on the road to Hershey,” Vaxmonsky said. “After three years it’s incredible. So much work put into it and you finally get it. It’s an inexplainable feeling to be able to get this far and finally get it after this many years. It’s incredible.”
Six wrestlers from the Lackawanna League also reached states to round out the 14 state qualifiers from the district. West Scranton’s Kazim Bakhriyev and Delaware Valley’s Matt Wagner joined Cordes as a champ from the district, while Wallenpaupack’s Chase Gallik and Jared Wehrmann were runners-up. Scranton’s Niyaz Bakradze was third, and West Scranton’s Stefhen Caple finished fourth,
Class 3A Northeast Regional Tournament
Team Scores: 1. Bethlehem Catholic (BC) 226; 2. Nazareth (Naz) 121; 3. Liberty (Lib) 93; 4. Freedom (Free) 89.5; 5. Parkland (Park) 88; 6. Northampton (North) 69; 7. Scranton (Scr) 67; 8. Easton (East) 66; 9. Hazleton Area (Haz) 51; 10. Wallenpaupack (Wall) 47; 11. Emmaus (Emm) 45; 12. Southern Lehigh (SL) 41; 13. Stroudsburg (Str) 39.5; 14. Father Judge (FJ) 39; 15. Delaware Valley (DV) 38; 16. Wyoming Valley West (WVW) 36.5; 17. West Scranton (WS) 33; 18. Tunkhannock (Tun), Dallas (Dal) 30; 20. Dieruff (Dier), St. Joseph’s (SJ) 28; 22. Pleasant Valley (PV) 27; 23. Archbishop Wood (AW), Whitehall (White) 26; 25. Bangor (Bang) 25; 26. Pocono Mountain East (PME) 19; 27. Crestwood (Cre) 18; 28. Pottsville (Potts) 15; 29. Pittston Area (PA) 14; 30. Blue Mountain (BM) 13; 31. George Washington (GW) 12; 32. Coughlin (Cou), LaSalle (Las) 11; 34. Berwick (Ber) 8; 35. Mariana Bracetti (MB) 7; 36. Abington Heights (AH) 6; 37. Frankford (Frank), Martin Luther King (MLK), Pocono Mountain West (PMW) 3; 40. Central (Cent), Roman Catholic (RC) 2.5; 42. Abraham Lincoln (AH), Archbishop Ryan (AR), Cardinal O’Hara (COH), Franklin Towne (FT), Northeast (NE), Olney Charter (OC), South Philadelphia (SP), St. Joseph’s Prep (SJ) 0
Finals
106 — Tyson Klump (Naz) pinned Luke Werner (Lib) 3:20
113 — KJ Fenstenmacher (Lib) dec Dan Moran (North) 8-5
120 — Sammy Sasso (Naz) tech fall Michael Scheetz (North) 15-0, 5:48
126 — Luke Karam (BC) dec Jimmy Hoffman (Haz) 6-0
132 — Evan Fidelibus (East) forfeit Chad Haegele (AW)
138 — Stephen Maloney (BC) dec Dan Ritz (Cre) 4-2
145 — James Saylor (East) maj dec Chase Gallik (Wall) 10-1
152 — Kazim Bakhriyev (Scr) dec Michael Labriola (BC) 7-6
160 — Cody Cordes (WVW) pinned Adam Soldridge (BC) 5:42
170 — Matt Mirth (SL) dec Frank Guida (Park) 6-1
182 — John Jakobsen (Str) dec Jared Wehrman (Wall) 5-0
195 — Matt Wagner (DV) dec John Callahan (Free) 8-4
220 — Omar Haddad (Park) dec Andrew Gunning (Lib) 3-2
285 — Andrew Dunn (BC) dec Ryan Monk (Dal) 5-2
Third Place
106 — Sean Redington (BC) dec Stefhen Caple (WS) 7-6
113 — Luke Carty (BC) dec Chris Lasekci (Haz) 13-2
120 — Jake Reigel (BC) maj dec James Wright (WVW) 13-3
126 — Jacob Lizak (Park) dec Travis Smith (Naz) 4-2
132 — Joey Gould (BC) d. Lucas Schaf (Emm)
138 — Travis Stefanik (Naz) dec Kyle Mallon (FJ) 6-5
145 — Cole Karam (BC) medical forfeit Adam Evans (Free)
152 — Shane Jones (Str) dec Robert Endy (SJ) 6-5
160 — Richard Frable (SL) dec Dallas LaBar (Bang) 5-2
170 — Niyaz Bakradze (Scr) dec Idris White (FJ) 7-3
182 — Derek Spachman (Haz) dec Jayden Reyes (Dier) 5-0
195 — Thomas Alcaro (Emm) pinned Brandon Blobe (BC) 2:41
220 — Jason Kocher (North) dec Jake Vaxmonsky (PA) 5-2
285 — Jeremy Candelario (PME) dec Kyle Gildner (Lib) 3-2
Fifth Place
106 — Nick Dolak (Park) maj dec Casin Corallo (East) 11-1
113 — Dylan Brown (Free) dec Zach Ortman (Park) 10-5
120 — Sean Lyons (SJ) forfeit Luke Gardner (Potts)
126 — Dakota Quick (Tun) dec Jonah Zych (Free) 7-5
132 — Rui Evanitsky (Scr) dec Brock Wilson (Naz) 9-7
138 — John Ritter (Lib) forfeit Jacob Montes (East)
145 — Ronald Nguyen (Dier) dec Mike Manley (Tun) 6-4, OT
152 — Charles Sell (Bang) dec Ricky Fornaciari (Naz) 4-1
160 — Cole Franklin (Emm) dec Andrew Burgette (Scr) 10-3
170 — Devon Krammes (BM) forfeit Jake Young (Free)
182 — Brad Schuler (White) maj dec Jody Crouse (BC) 12-0
195 — Joey Gladish (White) dec Trent Thomas (PV) 5-1
220 — Walter Ortiz (Naz) dec Josh Newhart (Free) 5-1
285 — Ahmad Curtis (PV) dec Cordell Cotto (Free) 3-2
Semifinals
106 — Werner (Lib) dec Corallo (East) 7-3; Klump (Naz) tech fall Redington (BC) 16-1, 2:37
113 — Moran (North) dec Brown (Free) 8-3; Fenstenmacher (Lib) dec Carty (BC) 4-1
120 — Scheetz (North) dec Lyons (SJ) 5-2; Sasso (Naz) dec Gardner (Potts) 5-2
126 — Karam (BC) maj dec Smith (Naz) 10-1; Hoffman (Haz) dec Lizak (Park) 3-2
132 — Fidelibus (East) dec Gould (BC) 6-1; Haegele (AW) dec Evanitsky (Scr) 4-2, OT
138 — Maloney (BC) dec Ritter (Lib) 5-2; Ritz (Cre) dec Montes (East) 6-1
145 — Saylor (East) dec Evans (Free) 5-0; Gallik (Wall) maj dec Karam (BC) 9-1
152 — Labriola (BC) pinned Jones (Str) 2:21; Bakhriyev (Scr) dec Endy (SJ) 6-5, OT;
160 — Cordes (WVW) maj dec Franklin (Emm) 14-2; Soldridge (BC) dec Burgette (Scr) 9-4
170 — Guida (Park) dec Young (Free) 2-1, UTB; Mirth (SL) dec Krammes (BM) 5-1
182 — Jakobsen (Str) dec Spachman (Haz) 5-0; Wehrmann (Wall) maj dec Reyes (Dier) 18-5
195 —Wagner (DV) dec Alcaro (Emm) 8-2; Callahan (Free) pinned Gladish (White) 2:33
220 — Haddad (Park) pinned Newhart (Free) 5:21; Gunning (Lib) dec Kocher (North) 1-0
285 —Dunn (BC) pinned Gildner (Lib) 2:47; Monk (Dal) dec Curtis (PV) 6-2
Second Round Consolations
106 — Caple (WS) dec Clarke (Cou) 5-0; Evanitsky (Scr) dec McCall (FJ) 6-4; Dolak (Park) pinned Palermo (SJ) :46; McLaren (Las) maj dec Veneziale (AW) 8-0
113 — McLaren (Las) maj dec Metzger (FJ) 10-1; Lasecki (Haz) tech fall Shaffer (AW) 18-2, 5:00; Ortman (PArk) pinned Wulfen (Frank) 1:58; Conner (Ber) dec Smith (WVW) 9-2
120 — Wright (WVW) dec Yankoski (Cou) 1-0; Forsette (WS) dec Martoccio (Haz) 6-2; Jacobi (PV) forfeit Guervara (Cent); Reigel (BC) tech fall Wallace (AR) 17-2, 4:06
126 — Zych (Free) pinned DeSouza (NE) 2:34; Elfvin (FJ) dec Fayocavitz (AH) 4-3; Bentz (Potts) dec Brown (Cou) 4-2; Quick (Tun) maj dec Pires (SJ) 10-1
132 — Hetrick (North) pinned Bravo (Cent) 2:00; Wilson (Naz) pinned Hawkins (Cou) 2:21; Schaf (Emm) pinned Guinan (SJ) :28; Testino (DV) dec Novak (WS) 4-3
138 — Stefanik (Naz) dec McLaren (Las) 8-3; Kloiber (PME) maj dec Pearn (DV) 13-1; Mallon (FJ) dec Palmer (MB) 6-5; B. Manley (Tun) forfeit Lewis (Cent)
145 — Nguyen (Dier) pinned Roscioli (Cent) 4:09; Barber (Dal) dec Martinez (PMW) 3-2; M. Manley (Tun) dec Ricco (RC) 6-4; Mitchell (WS) pinned Fuller (SP) 1:59
152 — Fornaciari (Naz) forfeit Roscioli (Cent); Kroptavich (WS) pinned Moisey (North) 4:08; Sell (Bang) maj dec Corpening (AW) 12-0; Carr (AH) dec Cole (Cou) 5-4
160 — Ray (Tun) maj dec Ratchford (Las) 12-4; LaBar (Bang) pinned Dallipaj (GW) 1:29; Butry (Cou) maj dec Morales (MB) 19-11; Frable (SL) dec Reidy (FJ) 7-3
170 — Maczuga (Ber) pinned Frick (Wall) 1:57; Bakradze (Scr) pinned Duren (MLK) 3:08; Keefe (PV) dec Dixon (Dal) 7-2; White (FJ) pinned Howard (Cent) :35
182 — Schuler (White) pinned Leyland (RC) :47; Khavinson (GW) dec Burger (FJ) 5-2; Crouse (BC) dec Burgette (Scr) 11-; Duncan (DV) tech fall Garcia (MB) 16-0, 1:56
195 — Geiger (Dal) dec Temirov (GW) 7-3 Thomas (PV) dec Sylvester (AH) 10-5; Piscopo ( Las) dec Santos (MB) 2-1; Blobe (BC) forfeit Armstrong (FJ)
220 — Vaxmonsky (PA) maj dec Sieber (DV) 13-5; Pelusi (Las) dec Hartman 3-2; Ortiz (Naz) pinned Ubera (Scr) 2:36; Ebanoidze (GW) pinned Rodriguez (AL) 2:26
285 —Cotto (Free) pinned Tootle (AL) 1:49; VanWert (WS) pinned Eugene (GW) 1:22; Candelario (PME) dec Goodlavage (PA) 2-1; McCarthy (DV) dec Barish (AW) 7-5
Consolation Semifinals
106 — Caple (WS) dec Evanitsky (Scr) 7-6; Dolak (Park) dec McLaren (Las) 17-3
113 — Lasecki (Haz) dec McLaren (Las) 4-2; Ortman (Park) dec Conner (Ber) 4-0
120 — Wright (WVW) dec Forsette (WS) 8-6; Reigel (BC) dec Jacobi (PV) 5-2
126 — Zych (Free) dec Elfvin (FJ) 4-3; Quick (Tun) pinned Bentz (Potts) 3:46
132 — Wilson (Naz) dec Hetrick (North) 4-1; Schaf (Emm) maj dec Testino (DV) 9-0
138 — Stefanik (Naz) maj dec Kloiber (PME) 12-2; Mallon (FJ) dec B. Manley (Tun) 5-2
145 — Nguyen (Dier) dec Barber (Dal) 5-2; M. Manley (Tun) dec Mitchell (WS) 6-4
152 — Fornaciari (Naz) dec Kroptavich (WS) 5-3; Sell (Bang) maj dec Carr (AH) 9-0
160 — LaBar (Bang) dec Ray (Tun) 7-2; Frable (SL) dec Butry (Cou) 7-0
170 — Bakradze (Scr) maj dec Maczuga (Ber) 15-3; White (FJ) pinned Keefe (PV) :28
182 — Schuler (White) dec Khavinson (GW) 3-2; Crouse (BC) pinned Duncan (DV) 2:29
195 — Thomas (PV) dec Geiger (Dal) 7-2; Blobe (BC) dec Piscopo (Las) 1-0
220 — Vaxmonsky (PA) dec Pelusi (Las) 3-1, OT; Ortiz (Naz) dec Ebanoidze (GW) 4-3, UTB
285 — Cotto (Free) pinned VanWert (WS) :20; Candelario (PME) pinned McCarthy (DV) 1:59
Consolation Finals
106 — Caple (WS) dec Corallo (East) 3-2, OT; Redington (BC) dec Dolak (Park) 6-3
113 — Lasecki (Haz) dec Brown (Free) 5-4; Carty (BC) dec Ortman (Park) 2-1
120 — Wright (WVW) dec Lyons (SJ) 5-4; Reigel (BC) dec Gardner (Potts) 5-
126 — Smith (Naz) maj dec Zych (Free) 13-2; Lizak (Park) pinned Quick (Tun) 1:51
132 — Gould (BC) dec Wilson (Naz) 2-0; Schaf (Emm) dec Evanitsky (Scr) 4-3
138 — Stefanik (Naz) pinned Ritter (Lib) 3:46; Mallon (FJ) pinned Montes (East) 2:35
145 — Evans (Free) DQ Nguyen (Dier); Karam (BC) pinned M. Manley (Tun) 2:16
152 — Jones (Str) dec Fornaciari (Naz) 11-10; Endy (SJ) dec Sell (Bang) 3-2
160 — LaBar (Bang) dec Franklin (Emm) 9-5; Frable (SL) maj dec Burgette (Scr) 15-3
170 — Bakradze (Scr) dec Young (Free) 4-3, UTB; White (FJ) dec Krammes (BM) 2-0
182 — Spachman (Haz) dec Schuler (White) 10-6; Reyes (Dier) dec Crouse (BC) 5-1
195 — Alcaro (Emm) dec Thomas (PV) 3-2; Blobe (BC) dec Gladish (White) 3-2
220 — Vaxmonsky (PA) dec Newhart (Free) 3-1; Kocher (North) dec Ortiz (Naz) 6-1
285 — Gildner (Lib) pinned Cotto (Free) 1:31; Candelario (PME) dec Curtis (PV) 8-3