YATESVILLE – Robin Wrobleski and C.J. DeMark know each other well as they are workout partners at Mat Assassins Wrestling Club in Avoca.
Friday night, they took that familiarity to the mat under the spotlight of the late stages of a Wyoming Area/Pittston Area match.
Wrobleski managed a 7-4 win at 138 pounds in the most competitive bout of the night to lead the Warriors to a come-from-behind, 39-28 victory over the rival Patriots in a non-league match to wrap up the regular season.
“They know each other so well that it made for a very close match,” Wyoming Area coach Jason Prokopchak said.
Pittston Area led, 28-24, before Wrobleski and Charlie Banashefski put together the consecutive wins that combined with a match-closing forfeit to give the Warriors the victory.
The familiarity did not do much to change the approach for Wrobleski.
The junior is the team leader in wins with a 24-9 record. DeMark, a freshman, is second in wins on the Patriots team at 16-14.
“We knew where (Robin’s) strengths are and where his weaknesses are,” Prokopchak said. “It was very similar to his game plan with other opponents.”
After a scoreless first period, Wrobleski went ahead 7-1 in the second period. He held on from there, avoiding his back after DeMark scored an escape and takedown in the third period.
“Robin’s been doing excellent,” Prokopchak said of Wrobeleski, who finished fifth in District 2 as a freshman, but got hurt right before districts last season when he was 17-10.
Wrobleski’s win brought the Warriors within a point.
With the forfeit coming, Banashefski needed only to avoid losing by fall in his bout at 145 pounds. He did better than that, pinning Preston Olecki with 19 seconds left in the first period to clinch the team victory for Wyoming Area (9-6).
Pittston Area fell to 4-16.
Cory Mruk got Wyoming Area off to a good start by pinning Alex Anastasia in 1:51 at 160 pounds.
Pittston Area’s A.J. Gordo posted an 11-0 major decision over Jaryn Polit-Moran at 170.
After a no contest and a Wyoming Area forfeit win, Damon Barhight gave the Warriors an 18-4 advantage by pinning Jake Rutkowski in 1:50 at 285 pounds.
Before and after three straight weight classes resulted in forfeits, Brandon Lopez (106) and Ryan Lombardo (132) had pins for Pittston Area, creating the 28-24 lead.
Lopez defeated Kyle Emsley in 1:47. Lombardo beat Sydni Johnson in 2:17.
“They wrestled a very tough match with the small numbers that they have tonight,” Prokopchak said.
The rivalry match helped get each team ready for the individual competition, which is all that remains to the wrestling season.
“The same as last year, at this point in getting everybody ready to go and getting everybody moving in a positive direction with the district tournament coming up next Friday and Saturday,” Prokopchak said.
