Escape The Rock Seeds, Preview, and Brackets
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Northampton Area sophomore Dan Moran is the #1 seed at 113 lbs.
The Escape The Rock Tournament (ETR) is becoming not only one of the top Tournaments in Pennsylvania but the Nation. A total of ten teams ranked in the Top 25 State Dual Team Rankings will be competing at the ETR with #1 Bethlehem Catholic leading the charge. Below is a preview of each weight.
At 106 lbs. six of the top ten ranked wrestlers in the State will be competing this weekend at the ETR. The State’s top ranked wrestler #1 Riley Palmer (Council Rock South) is in search of his first ETR Championship in his home gym. Palemr placed sixth last season at 106 lbs. but has this season he is on fire. Undefeated this season Palmer may face #2 Matt Parker (Pennridge) in a showdown of the State’s top ranked wrestlers. #3 Jakob Campbell (Boyertown Area) is seeded fourth and Cumberland Valley’s William Kalades recently made the drop to 106 lbs. and is seeded sixth. Sophomore #14 Luke Werner (Bethlehem liberty) is a PIAA State Medalist who is seeded fifth. The dark horse of the group is #5 Tim McCall (Father Judge) who is undefeated at (21-0) in his junior season and comes in as the ninth seed. The ETR is a strong test for McCall to establish himself among the top 106 lbs. wrestlers in the State.
At 113 lbs. #4 Dan Moran (Northampton Area) is the top seed after finishing as the runner-up last season at 106 lbs. in both the Escape The Rock and the PIAA State Tournament. Moran enters ranked #4 in the State after falling to Devin Schnupp (Warwick) in the Hurrican Classic last month. #2 Kordell Rush is seeded third a year after finishing fourth at the ETR. The wrestler to watch at 113 lbs. is Bethlehem Liberty sophomore K.J. Fenstermacher who is the fourth seed after making the drop from 120 lbs. where he has had a successful season. Fenstermacher is ranked #3 in the State at 120 lbs. and could make noise at 113 lbs. against the top competition. Adding to the mix is yet another super sophomore in Exeter Township’s Austin DeSanto who enters as the #5 seed and ranked #5 in the State. DeSanto carries a (23-1) season record and has been nothing short of impressive against the State’s top wrestlers. The State’s #9 and #10 ranked wrestlers are two sophomores competing in their second ETR. Aaron Rump (Chambersburg Area) is ranked #9 in the State and comes in seeded #7. Last season Rump placed seventh at 106 lbs. in his first ETR Tournament. Council Rock North’s Aiden Burke, ranked #10 in the State, is the #14 seed and will in search of his first ETR medal.
Returning Escape The Rock Champion and PIAA State Champion Jake Riegel (Bethlehem Catholic) is the #1 seed at 120 lbs. and will look to repeat as an ETR Champion winning the 106 lbs. bracket in 2014. Riegel is ranked #5 in the State at 120 lbs. moving up two two weights in addition to Bethlehem Catholic moving up to Class AAA. Riegel will have stiff competition with Exeter Township junior Brett Kulp who is ranked #7 in the State and is undefeated at (24-0). Kulp was a 2014 PIAA State Medalist last season and will be the second seed. One spot behind Kulp at #3 seed is Derek Gulotta (Owen J. Roberts). The senior placed fourth a season ago at the ETR and owns three PIAA State Medals to his name. Three other State Ranked wrestlers are seeded with #16 Keenan Bottorf (Central Mountain) seeded sixth, #20 Garrett Mauger (Boyertown Area) seeded eighth, and #21 Wyatt Long (Cumberland Valley) seeded seventh.
Another returning ETR and PIAA State Champion from Bethlehem Catholic will occupy the top seed at 126 lbs. with junior Luke Karam. The 2014 PIAA State Champion enters ranked #4 in the State but has been solid since finishing third at the King of the Mountain last month. The #1 ranked wrestler in the State occupies the third seeded spot with sophomore Zack Trampe (Council Rock North). Trampe is undefeated at (20-0) and won the King of the Mountain Tournament last month but did not face Karam head-to-head. Trampe is hoping to improve on his eighth place finish at the ETR last season. A pair of State ranked wrestlers from District 11 round out the top eight seeds with PIAA State Medalist #5 Jacob Lizak (Parkland) seeded in seventh and #6 Michael Scheetz (Northampton Area) seeded eighth. Both Lizak and Scheetz were PIAA State Medalist last season and both have ETR Medals from 2014. Scheetz was an ETR runner-up last season at 113 lbs. falling to Luke Karam in the finals (5-1). Lizak finished in third place at the 2014 ETR at 113 lbs. State ranked wrestler #15 Lucas Miller (Boyertown Area) is seeded in eleventh.
At 132 lbs. while not competing for a Pennsylvania program, Eric Hong (Georgetown Prep, MD) is a Pittsburgh native who won five (5) career Pennsylvania Junior Wrestling State Championships. Hong is seeded #1 as a sophomore in his first ETR Tournament. The second seed is Bethlehem Catholic junior #6 Joey Gould who was PIAA State fourth place medalist and a seventh place finish at the Escape The Rock Tournament. Gould recently returned to the line-up for the Golden Hawks after sitting out with an injury. Four additional State Ranked wrestlers will be competing at 132 lbs. including #13 Todd Hetrick (Northampton Area) who is seeded fifth who is in search of his first ETR medal after finishing one win shy of a medal in 2014. Chambersburg Area junior Garrett Kyner, ranked #6 in the State at 138 lbs., recently dropped from 138 lbs. and is the sixth seed. Kyner was a 2014 PIAA State Qualifier but fell one win shy of earning a medal at the ETR Tournament. Fellow District 3 wrestler Wyatt Jennings (Solanco) has also made the drop from 138 lbs. and will be in search of his second straight ETR Tournament Medal after finishing seventh in 2014. #14 Victor Kenderdine (Manhiem Township) holds the thirteenth seeded spot after going (0-2) in 2014 at the ETR. #25 Tyler Bagloy (Exeter Township) enters his first ETR Tournament as the fifteenth seed. Keep an eye on freshman Josh Stillings (Pennridge) who was one of PA Power Wrestling’s Top Incoming Freshman and could pull some upsets along the way.
138 lbs. is another weight-class chalked full of Pennsylvania talent with Bethlehem Catholic junior #7 Stephen Maloney taking the #1 seed. Last season Maloney placed seventh at the ETR and was a PIAA State Medalist. The second seed is #4 Dimitri D’Orsaneo (Owen J. Roberts) who is (14-2) this season and was a PIAA State Medalist in 2014. D’Orsaneo fell one match short of earning a medal at the 2014 ETR Tournament at 138 lbs. Yet another wrestler making the drop in weight is Chambersburg Area senior David Rump who moved down from 145 lbs. where he is ranked #6 in the State. Rump, a 2014 PIAA State Qualifier, is the third seed at 138 lbs. where like D’Orsaneo he fell one win shy of earning a ETR Medal. Joining Rump is fellow District 3 wrestler Felix Belga (Cumberland Valley) who also made the jump down from 145 lbs. where he is ranked #19 in the State. Belga enters as the number seventh seed in his first ETR Tournament. 2014 PIAA State Qualifier John Ritter (Bethlehem Liberty) is ranked #19 in the State at 138 lbs. and the senior is the sixth seed. One of PA Power Wrestling’s Top Incoming Freshman Chris Hissey (Malvern Prep) is seeded ninth in his first ETR. #21 at 138 lbs. is Boyertown Area’s sophomore Chris Berry who is seeded twelfth. Two other Pennsylvania wrestlers who could find their way onto the medal stand are Parkland’s Lee Todora and Solanco junior Kody Hart who enter seeded ninth and ten respectively.
Another #1 State ranked wrestler will be returning to the ETR as #1 Kent Lane (Southern Columbia Area) will attempt to improve on his runner-up finish from a season ago. Lane is the #1 ranked wrestler in the State at 145 lbs. having an undefeated record in his senior season. The number four seed is Malvern Prep junior Matt Lattanze who is a 2x National Prep Medalist. There are only four other Keystone State wrestlers seeded in the top 16 including Quentin Milliken (Cumberland Valley), one of PA Power Wrestling’s 2015 Top Incoming Freshman, who will be making his varsity tournament debut at 145 lbs. Milliken, seeded in ninth, has been used in dual meets for the Eagles and it should be exciting to see him compete in the ETR. Council Rock South wrestler Lucas Martoccio placed eighth at the 2014 ETR and enters as the seventh seed. Martoccio has been in the State’s Top 25 several times this season an is currently ranked #4 in the South East Regional. The tenth seed is Bethlehem Catholic junior #20 Cole Karam who is competing in his first ETR Tournament. Solanco senior Dalton Groff made the drop from 152 lbs. where he was ranked #20 in the State and will be the eleventh seed at 145 lbs. Last season Groff fell one win short of earning a medal being defeated by Lucas Martoccio in the consolation round.
The second straight Southern Columbia Area wrestler ranked #1 in the State and seeded number one is 152 lbs. wrestler #1 Billy Barnes. The 2014 PIAA State Runner-up is competing in his first ETR Tournament after competing for Hughesville the previous three seasons. The second seed is Bethlehem Catholic sophomore #4 Mikey Labriola who was a PIAA State Medalist in 2014 but is in search of his first career ETR medal. Five straight Pennsylvania wrestlers are seeded four through eight, led by 2014 State Qualifiers Dominic Petrucelli (Owen J. Roberts) and Ethan Stever (Exeter Township). The pair are seeded fourth and fifth respectively with Stever ranked #7 in the State while Petrucelli enters ranked #10 in the State at 152 lbs. The sixth seed is #15 Dylan Schwartz (Council Rock South) a junior who is having an impressive season thus far. Schwartz placed eighth last season at the ETR and in the consolation round he defeated Mikey Labriola (3-2) to advance into the medal round. One spot behind Schwartz is Northampton Area sophomore Cade Moisey who went (3-2) at the ETR last season. Moisey, the seventh seed, is making his season debut down a weight from 160 lbs. where he is ranked #20 in the State. Fellow District 11 wrestler Shane Jones (Storudsburg) is joining Moisey making the drop down to 152 lbs., where he is ranked #6 in the North East Regional, and is the ETR’s eighth seed. Former Garnet Valley wrestler and current Malvern Prep junior Ben Touhey is the eleventh seed.
In a curious move Cumberland Valley senior Patrick Duggan, ranked #2 in the State at 152 lbs., will be competing up a weight at 160 lbs. for the ETR. Duggan is the second seed behind Hanover, VA senior Corbin Allen who is ranked #19 in the Nation by InterMat. Malvern Prep’s Mike Beard, one of PA Power Wrestling’s Top Incoming Freshman, is the fourth seed and should continue his stellar rookie season. Bethlehem Catholic junior Adam Soldridge is the fifth seed at 160 lbs. after dropping from 170 lbs. where he is ranked #12 in the State. Soldridge fell one win shy of earning a ETR medal last season but was a PIAA State Qualifier for the Golden Eagles. #9 Demetri Probst (Central Mountain) is also a PIAA State Qualifier who placed fifth at the ETR last season and is seeded seventh. Adding to the weights depth is the ninth seed, Bryce Fochtman (Berlin Brothersvalley), ranked #5 in the State in Class AA and is a 2x PIAA State Qualifier. Other Keystone State wrestlers seeded at 160 lbs. include Council Rock North junior Josh Shalinsky seeded tenth, Britain Shields (Big Spring) seeded eleventh, and Anthony Emig (Bethlehem Liberty) seeded twelfth.
The fifth #1 State ranked wrestler at the ETR is 170 lbs. wrestler Idris White (Father Judge). The senior enters ranked #1 in the State and holds an undefeated record at (22-0). White is a PIAA State Medalist who placed third in the 2014 ETR Tournament. Standing in his way are a handful of talented Pennsylvania wrestlers. The second seed is Pennridge junior Kyle Gentile who enters ranked #3 in the State and placed fourth as a sophomore at the 2014 ETR Tournament. The PIAA State Qualifier will be joined by Berlin Brothersvalley senior Taylor Cahill who is the third seed. Cahill is ranked #6 in the State and is a 2x PIAA State Qualifier. Sophomore Drew Peck (Chambersburg Area), seeded fourth at 170 lbs., enters ranked #10 in the State and was a seventh place finisher last season as a freshman at the ETR. Another District 3 wrestler seeded at 170 lbs. is Cumberland Valley’s Trent Cook ranked #25 in the State and seeded sixth. Sophomore #17 Frank Guida (Parkland) fell one win short of earning a medal at the ETR last season and is the eighth seed.
At 182 lbs. Stroudsburg junior John Jakobson (Stroudsburg) enters as the number one seed and ranked #3 in the State. Jakobson, a PIAA State Qualifier, won a KOM Championship earlier this season and is (18-1) on the season. Fellow junior Gregg Harvey (Boyertown Area) is the third seed and is ranked one spot behind Jakobson at #4 in the State. The fourth and fifth seeds are both juniors and former PIAA wrestlers who now compete for Prep Schools with Rashon Lusane (Malvern Prep) and Hakim Coles (The Hill School). Lusane competed for Norristown Area in 2014 and placed sixth at the ETR. Hakim Coles, a 2x Regional Qualifier for Northeast High wrestler, is the fifth seed in his first ETR Tournament. The sixth seed in Big Spring freshman Blake Barrick who is ranked #8 in the State. Barrick, one of PA Power Wrestling’s Top Incoming Freshmen, could surprise some upperclassmen in his first ETR Tournament. Other seeded wrestlers from PA include Steve Toczylousky (Southern Columbia Area) seeded ninth, Scott Schaeffer (Exeter Township) seeded tenth, and Jody Crouse (Bethlehem Catholic) seeded eleventh.
Big Spring senior Tommy Rahart, a former PIAA State Medalist, placed fourth at the 2014 ETR Tournament and is seeded second. Rayhart is ranked #5 in the State and may have to get through #4 Matt Wagner (Delaware Valley). Wagner is the third seed having placed seventh last season at the ETR. Sophomore Toby Cahill (Berlin Brothersvalley) is ranked #15 in the State and is seeded fourth. A total of six additional Pennsylvania wrestlers are seeded in the top 12 at 195 lbs. including three ranked in the State. Cumberland Valley freshman Francis Duggan, ranked #8 in the State, is the tenth seed and had a narrow defeat to Matt Wagner early in December. The ninth seed is Owen J. Roberts junior Xavier Ferizzi who enters ranked #11 in the State. Ferizzi placed eighth last season at the ETR. Fellow District 1 grappler Ben Kenis (Council Rock South) is the twelfth seed and ranked #17 in the State. The senior will be in search of his first ETR medal in his home gym a year after going (2-2) at the ETR. Rounding out 195 lbs. are wrestlers Brandon Blobe (Bethlehem Catholic) seeded thirteenth, senior Loc Long (Central Mountain) seeded fourteenth, and Manheim Township’s Griffin Shultz seeded sixteenth.
Undefeated senior Andrew Dunn (Bethlehem Catholic) is ranked #1 in the State at 220 lbs. and was a 2014 Escape The Rock Champion. The number one seed has captured Championships this season at both the King of the Mountain and the Beast of the East. Dunn is a 2x PIAA State Medalist and may face the same opponent in the 2015 finals. Parkland senior Omar Haddad is the second seed and is ranked #4 in the State. The PIAA State Medalist was a ETR runner-up last season falling to Dunn in tiebreaker (4-3 TB). Last week the two faced off with Dunn coming out on top (3-1). The third District 11 wrestler seeded at 220 lbs. is Bethlehem Liberty’s Andrew Gunning ranked #9 in the State and seeded fifth. Pennridge senior Ezra Outlaw enters ranked #11 in the State and seeded eighth. Three additional District 1 wrestlers encompass the top 12 seeds with Boyertown Area junior Brady O’Connell seeded ninth, Council Rock South’s Thaison Nguyen seeded eleventh, and Kyle Thorpe (Council Rock North) seeded twelfth. Stroudsburg junior Kevin Hughes is the tenth seed.
The seventh Pennsylvania wrestler entering the Escape The Rock Tournament as the #1 ranked wrestler in the State is heavyweight Bo Spiller (Solanco). Spiller is a PIAA State Medalist who is undefeated at (21-0) this season earning him a #1 State Rankings and the number one seed. Last season Spiller competed at 220 lbs. where he finished in third place behind Andrew Dunn and Omar Haddad. Spiller has dominated his competition this year earning a Championship title at the Beast of the East. Five additional State ranked wrestlers make up the 285 lbs. weight with #9 Joe Kracz (Pennridge) seeded third, #13 Jackson Standford (Cumberland Valley) seeded fifth, #22 Tommy Killoran (Boyertown Area) seeded sixth, #16 Bryce Hanley (Central Mountain) seeded eighth, and #21 Kyle Gildner (Bethlehem Liberty) seeded tenth.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]