Jan 23, 2003 By Jim Kriek For The 4 min read

YORK RUN – All season long Duane Dupont has been stressing aggression to his wrestlers, and Wednesday night they reaped the rewards of listening to their coach. With the first bout-opening peep of the referee’s whistle, Albert Gallatin turned into Mr. Hyde of the mats and coined a whole new meaning of the word “aggressive” while literally “pinning” a 62-15 Section 2-AAA defeat on Laurel Highlands.

Albert Gallatin (6-1 section, 10-2 overall) won 11 of the 14 bouts – eight with pins plus two technical falls and a major decision.

Laurel Highlands (6-3, 5-2) had three individual wins, as Nick Sible (135) got a decision, Mike Kopacko (171) won via fall and Kevin Morris (112) won by forfeit.

Both teams have qualified – along with section champion Connellsville – for the WPIAL team wrestleoffs, which get underway this weekend with pairings and sites being announced later today. For Laurel Highlands, this will be the Mustangs first appearance in the team competition.

Dupont said, “All season long we (coaches) have been stressing to the wrestlers about being aggressive. Tonight they responded with what we have been telling them to do, they did what we have been wanting them to do all season.

“We have come a long way since the start of the season. Our conditioning is excellent, and we have worked on correcting our mistakes. We still make some, but now we are moving in the right direction. We are in the team wrestleoffs, and I congratulate Chris for making it for the first time.”

By the luck of the draw, competition opened at 275, and Ryan Martelli got the Colonials started with a 2:53 pinning of Bob Urban, winging him over from the right side for the clamp.

John Bittinger (103) followed with the fastest pin of the night, taking Chris Belch down and over from the right in :44.

Morris followed with his forfeit win for LH, then the Colonials took off again.

Jeff Lawrence (119) had Greg Hogan cradled in 1:26, and Jerrod Chapman (125) followed with a 14-4 major over Earl Moore, starting with two takedowns in the first and clinching with a pair of cradled near falls in the third.

Dupont said, “I was pleased to see how Chapman wrestled. He came back from his accident last month and he has been working very hard. Tonight his conditioning kicked in.”

Sible and Jason Williams had a real battle for three quarters. Sible escaped to start the third and put Williams down with 1:03 to go for the clinching points. Sible had a first-period takedown, the first time that LH had held the individual lead to that point, and then Williams escaped and took him down. Williams escaped to start the second, took Sible down with the latter reversing, and added back points, before Williams escaped for a 7-6 lead going into the third.

Albert Gallatin then strung four wins together. Brandon Radicic (140) started the run with a 3:25 stacking of Jarrett Bond, and Ryan Howell (145) followed with a 1:58 tilting of Buster Langeri. Jared Hirtz (152) picked up nine back points on Del Simpson for a 13-0 lead into the third. He was down to start and 16-seconds later reversed to complete the technical fall.

John Ptak (160) had two takedowns and five back points for a 9-1 lead over Levi Harris, then escaped to start the second, got three takedowns around two escapes, and added three more backs to clinch a 16-3 technical fall at 3:59.

The last Mustang winner was Kopacko, who put Charlie Belch down and into a headlock in :54, for the second-fastest win of the night. Tom Karpency (189) took Mike Capan down and into a clamp in 1:47, and Marc Berry wrapped up the night, getting Blake Faust in a headlock at 3:22.

Laurel Highlands coach Chris Pegg said, “They came out wrestling and they proved they are in top shape and ready to go with anybody. I’m happy with the good bout Mike Sible had, and we lost a couple other good close ones.

“Our wrestlers saw tonight what I have been trying to tell them all season of what I expect from them, and this is their future objective. It was a good test for us and a good experience for the team.”

Albert Gallatin will be at Peters Township on Jan, 29, hosts Norwin on Feb. 5 and enter the Sharon Duals Feb. 8. LH hosts Jefferson-Morgan Jan. 31 (at the Junior High), then visits Fort Cherry on Feb. 12.