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Signs point toward Schuylkill success
by Bob Lipsky
Posted on January 20, 2007
12/23/2006
Email to a friendPrinter-friendlyDon’t get too excited just yet, but positive signs abound throughout the Schuylkill League.
After two down seasons, the tide looks like it’s beginning to turn.
Certainly, nobody’s on the level of an Easton or a Northwestern Lehigh, but positive strides are being made at many schools in the league.
It’s only December, so it’s important to temper any optimism with realism. The major rewards come in February and March, and if you don’t keep working hard now, you won’t be part of the big party in Hershey.
Nevertheless, here are a few observations on the upward trend through the first month of the season:
• Teams on the rise include Mount Carmel (1-0), Blue Mountain (6-0), Tamaqua (8-1), Upper Dauphin (8-0) and Hamburg (6-2). Those teams, the top five in the power poll, are a combined 29-3, and two of those losses were head to head (Blue Mountain beat Hamburg 36-20 and Mount Carmel topped Tamaqua 54-20).
That’s a good sign for even bigger things ahead.
• Pine Grove (3-1) and Shamokin (3-2), teams that finished below .500 last season, are turning things around with young lineups. These programs have been big-time winners in the past, and there’s no reason to think they can’t return to the top.
• The same thing’s happening at Tri-Valley (3-4), which has already surpassed last year’s win total. The Bulldogs also have seven wrestlers with winning records. Leading the way are 171-pounder Cody Troutman (7-0) and 160-pounder Andrew Oxenrider (6-1).
By the way, the Dawgs have had just one senior wrestle for them so far this season.
• The youth movement extends beyond Tri-Valley. For example, Blue Mountain has had just one senior (140-pounder Nat Hasara) in its regular starting lineup.
Tamaqua has just three seniors in its regular lineup, while Mount Carmel has three and Upper Dauphin starts four.
There are some tough, talented upperclassmen, but many of the top guys are freshmen or sophomores.
RANKINGS RETURN: The individual rankings accompany this notebook, and as usual several weight classes had too many strong guys for the spots allowed.
Nowhere was that more evident than at 160 pounds, where eight wrestlers are off to fast starts. The undefeateds at this weight (through Thursday’s matches): Pine Grove’s Chas Aungst (4-0), Halifax’s D.J. Simmons (9-0) and Schuylkill Haven’s Tucker Elliott (12-0).
Others who deserve consideration: Tamaqua’s Josh Zukus (10-2), North Schuylkill’s Dave Cress (9-3), Panther Valley’s Jarrett Stair (9-5), Blue Mountain’s Jake Dabashinsky (8-2) and Tri-Valley’s Oxenrider. If these guys stay where they are, that should be a terrific weight class at the Schuylkill League Tournament on Jan. 19-20.
A side note: These rankings are for entertainment and discussion purposes only. And since it’s so early in the season, there’s bound to be plenty of movement in the coming weeks. Wrestlers who win titles at the upcoming holiday tournaments and those who knock off guys ranked ahead of them when the league season gets rolling in January will climb quickly.
TOURNEY TIME: Also included in this notebook is a preview of the numerous holiday tournaments area teams will compete in. These events are a perfect opportunity for wrestlers to challenge themselves against top guys from throughout Pennsylvania and beyond.
The key is to see what you’ve learned and see what you need to work on. A loss in December won’t mean anything if you use these experiences to win an extra few matches in February and March.
Wrestlers of the Week Josh Kindig, Blue Mtn. Clint Rarick, Blue Mtn.
These Blue Mountain freshmen have burst onto the scene in December, each posting 11-0 records so far.
Both also won individual championships at the recent 37-team Keystone Games Invitational at Penn State’s Rec Hall. Their arrival has also helped Blue Mountain go 6-0 thus far in dual meets.
(Lipsky is the wrestling beat writer for The REPUBLICAN & Herald)
©The REPUBLICAN & Herald 2007
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