Brody Spindler, Dave Sudo and Oscar Ciriaco strung together three straight first-period pins to get Wednesday’s Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 wrestling opener started, sending Pittston Area on its way to a 49-18 romp over host Hazleton Area.
Spindler opened with a win at 215. After the pins at 285 and 107, the Patriots added a forfeit at 114 for an early 24-0 lead.
Dominic Innamorati and Julian Everitt had back-to-back, first-period pins at 145 and 152 to clinch the win early.
Gary Woodruff Duals
Pittston Area started its season with four straight wins at the Gary Woodruff Duals at Wyalusing Valley to advance to the championship match where the Patriots lost to Wallenpaupack, 42-36.
James Spindler (172) and Sudo (285) each pinned all five opponents on the day.
Everitt (145, 152) was 5-0 with four pins and a forfeit.
The Patriots reached the final by defeating Pocono Mountain East, 57-18; Valley View, 48-27; Montrose, 49-22; and Wyalusing Valley, 46-28.
James Spindler, Keegan Bucci, Brody Spindler and Sudo had consecutive first-period pins from 172 through 285, starting a stretch that turned a 6-6 tie into a 45-6 rout seven bouts later against Pocono Mountain East.
Consecutive pins by Brody Spindler, Sudo and Ciriaco in a total of 4:48 erased an early deficit against Valley View, setting up Pittston Area, which had four forfeit wins coming later in the match.
Keegan Bucci’s pin in 1:26 at 189 got Pittston Area started as it opened leads of 19-0, 31-6 and 43-10 against Montrose.
Sudo opened the win over Wyalusing Valley with a 14-second pin and Brody Spindler closed it with a win in 22 seconds. James Spindler’s first-period pin at 172 clinched the win with two bouts remaining.
Pittston Area rallied from 12 down to tie Wallenpaupack twice, then caught up to the Buckhorns a third time before falling in the championship match.
Benton 43, Pittston Area 16
Sudo improved to 7-0 with seven pins with Pittston Area’s only pin in Thursday’s non-league loss.
Season outlook
Pittston Area confirmed its status as a serious contender in WVC Division 1 when it handled defending champion Hazleton Area in the division’s opener Wednesday.
The Patriots were third in the division last season and 11-12 overall.
Everitt, who finished sixth in the state at 132 pounds, and James Spindler are defending district champions.
The Patriots return nine wrestlers, who won at least 13 times last season.
