Falcons edge Council Rock South Set up rematch with Trinity in team state tournament
HERSHEY – What a difference a day makes.
Nearly 24 hours after dropping its first-round match in the PIAA Class AAA team dual meet championships, Connellsville defeated Council Rock South 31-28 on Friday night at the Giant Center to set-up another contest with WPIAL rival Trinity.
The Falcons (15-3) defeated the Hillers (13-2) in the WPIAL finals a week ago, and with Trinity downing LaSalle College 45-23 in the second round of consolations, the rematch will be contested Saturday morning at 9 in the third round of consolations.
“It’s going to be a heck of a match with Trinity,” Connellsville coach Bill Swink said. “Matchups and whoever wins the coin toss can really make a difference in these close matches. We had a tough first-round match yesterday, but the kids came back strong today by beating Cathedral Prep and Council Rock South.”
The winner faces Pennridge (20-5) in the fourth round of consolations at 11. The final and consolation final are scheduled for 1 p.m.
Connellsville had a 25-16 lead with three bouts to go, but the Golden Hawks (15-3) still had an opportunity to regain the advantage that had eluded them since holding a 7-3 lead after three bouts.
Freshman Tommy Gretz spoiled any chance of a comeback for Council Rock South with a fall in 3:56 at 107 and a 31-16 lead. Knowing victory was in hand, the Falcons forfeited to Connor Lenahan (114) and Luke Reitter (121).
Gretz’s first objective was to win the match, but once he had the opportunity for the fall, he continued to work before sticking Eddie Alverez.
“He was a really tough kid on bottom, and I kept trying to do whatever I could to turn him, but eventually I got the bar in and was able to turn him and get the pin for our team,” Gretz said. “Wrestling here (at the Giant Center) has been great. It is definitely one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. I am excited for our match with Trinity. We can’t win the state team title, but we will look to come back and place as high as we can.”
Nolan Rice has been Connellsville’s primary starter this season at 107, but an injury to Landon Lynn has forced Swink to juggle the lineup and bump Rice up to 114 while Gretz handles the duties at 107.
The Golden Hawks’ Christian Zimmerman got his team on the scoreboard early after edging Chase Sparks 2-0 at 127 for the 3-0 lead.
Kai Vielma scored a takedown with 13 seconds remaining to edge Pat Woloshyn, 3-2, at 133 for a 3-3 tie.
Ajay Bhatt’s 15-3 major decision provided Council Rock South with a 7-3 advantage over Parker Lembo at 139. The Falcons’ plan to bump up Julian Ruggieri (145) and Evan Petrovich (152) worked as both recorded second-period falls for a 15-7 lead.
Lonzy Vielma escaped with 44 seconds remaining and held on for a 4-3 decision over Gavin Cole at 160 to increase Connellsville’s advantage to 18-7.
“Lonzy has really stepped up this year in a leadership role,” Swink said.
Vielma, Petrovich and Tyler Gallis are the Falcons’ three captains.
The Golden Hawks’ Aidan Murray scored a 4-1 decision at 172 and teammate Bekhruz Sadriddinov won by fall in 3:30 at 189 to cut their deficit to 18-16.
Christopher Cook (215) and Gallis (285) came up big for Connellsville with Cook earning a 9-1 major decision and Gallis putting up a 3-0 decision for a 25-16 lead.