Julian Everitt lost his opening match of the Class 3A Northeast Regional, before bouncing back with an impressive four-bout winning streak that carried the Pittston Area sophomore to third place at 132 pounds and a berth in this week’s state tournament.
Everitt suffered just his second loss of the season when he was beaten by Bethlehem Liberty’s Javien DeLeon, 5-0, in the quarterfinals.
The four Everitt wins that followed, along with four more wins by three other Patriots, helped Pittston Area wind up 17th out of 41 in the team standings.
Everitt put together a major decision and two straight pins before winning a rematch with DeLeon, 7-4, for third place.
Dominic Innamorati, who won twice at 145 pounds before being eliminated, was the only Pittston Area wrestler to win his opening bout of the March 4-5 tournament in Bethlehem.
Innamorati pinned Roman Catholic’s Francis Trivelli in 2:28.
Northampton’s Christian Fritz pinned Innamorati in 1:34 of the quarterfinals.
Innamorati then pinned Hazleton Area’s Devin Youncourt in 4:18 before losing by pin again to Austin Smith from Abington Heights.
Keegan Bucci, at 152, and James Spindler, at 160, each went 1-2 with the win coming by pin. Spindler’s season-ending loss came in a 1-0 decision to Hutch Lynott from Abington Heights.
Dave Sudo was pinned twice and eliminated at 285.
