After a slow start, Pittston Area’s Matteo Carabetta lifts his Crestwood opponent Logan Rolles off the mat. Carabetta took the match in three periods 11-6.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
At 114, the Patriots’ Tibor Toth (top) attempts to roll over Nicholas Webb from Crestwood. Toth took the match in overtime 5-3.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Pittston Area’s Oscar Ciriaco is in total control over Crestwood’s Dylan Bellas at 107lbs. Ciriaco won the decision 8-1 in three periods.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
WRIGHT TWP. — A clash of two of the Wyoming Valley Conference’s best wrestling squads lived up to the billing — and Pittston Area positioned itself firmly at the top of that list.
The Patriots broke their match with Crestwood open in the middle weights, winning five bout in a row from 139 to 172 and toppling the Comets 34-22 in a first-place battle at Crestwood High School on Wednesday night.
Heading into the match, Pittston Area and Crestwood were tied atop Division 1 with identical 2-0 league records.
The early action was tight and saw the momentum swing both ways, with Crestwood picking up a pin in the first bout (285 pounds) of the evening, courtesy of Kyle Draina.
The Patriots stormed ahead with decisions from Oscar Ciriaco and Tibor Toth, and a major decision victory by Jahiem Butler at 121.
Toth’s bout with Nicholas Webb went to an extra period before Toth was able to overcome his opponent and pick up the three points for the Patriots with a 5-3 victory.
“I went into overtime knowing I had to win, it’s just the mentality,” Toth said. “It was a pretty good win.”
Sam Jeckell stopped the early Pittston Area surge with a major decision win at 127 pounds and Anson Jumper pinned his opponent in just 37 seconds to put Crestwood back in front.
After Jumper’s pin at 133 pounds, the Comets were in front 16-10 and had scored the only two falls of the match to that point.
That changed in an instant, as Shawn Shimonis won via second-periord pin at 139 pounds to tie the match.
Shimonis’ win kicked off a match-clinching run for the Patriots, with three decision victories and a fall from Julian Everitt running the score out to 31-16.
It was a 21-point run for the Patriots, hammered home by a win from Matteo Carabetta at 172 pounds that saw the senior grappler fight from behind Crestwood’s Logan Rolles, dominating the final two periods to win an 11-6 decision.
“(Rolles) kinda had me in the first half, he’s a good wrestler,” Carabetta said. “In the second period, coming off a couple injuries, I just had to lock in.”
Dominic Innamorati, who won convincingly at 145, and Jake Aftewicz, who pulled out a 3-2 victory at 160, also had victories during the surge.
Carabetta’s win put the match out of reach, with two bouts left.
Brody Spindler put the finishing touches on the Pittston Area victory with a 9-8 decision in a hard-fought win over Crestwood’s Lincoln Bibla at 215.
The Patriots improve to 3-0 in league duals, while Crestwood falls to 2-1 with just two league matches left for each squad. The Patriots are alone in first place in the division and are 8-3 overall, ranked fifth in the 12-team race for eight spots in the District 2 Class 3A Dual Meet Championships.
Pittston Area was scheduled to compete in the Central Dauphin Duals Saturday. Results were not available at presstime.
The Patriots can clinch at least a tie for first place in the division Wednesday when they face Dallas.
