Contrary to its name, not everybody is trying to "Escape The Rock.'
A number of top-flight wrestling programs from Pennsylvania and neighboring states put this acclaimed individual tournament at Council Rock South on their winter itineraries. It will be the same story this weekend, with three programs from The Mercury's coverage area in the 42-team field for the tourney's 10th installment.
The Hill School and Owen J. Roberts will return to the "Rock' for the competition Saturday and Sunday. They will be joined by newcomer Boyertown, which added the tourney to its already-substantial schedule of high-level opponents.
"We don't wrestle cupcakes,' Boyertown head coach Pete Ventresca said at the start of the current season. "We go for the toughest schedule we can put together. We want to be pushed in our matches.'
The defending PAC-10, District 1-West and Southeast AAA Regional champs, to say the least, echo their coach's enthusiasm.
"We're really looking forward to it,' Gregg Harvey, the Bears' junior 182-pounder, added. "We're expecting good competition. We want to be able to compete with the best in the state.'
Owen J. placed 19th of the 32 teams that were part of the 2014 tourney. Individually, senior Derek Gulotta was fourth in the 113-pound bracket while junior Xavier Ferrizzi came in eighth at 160.
Demetri D'Orsaneo has the second seed at 138, with Gulotta a third seed at 120 and Dominick Petrucelli fourth at 132. Ferrizzi is seeded ninth at 195.
The Hill School, 23rd in the team standings last year, saw Kostya Golobokov place sixth at 285 and Dymir Davis-Carruth seventh at 182. Golobokov, for his part, has designs on improving on the sixth-place outings he had at the Rock the past two years.
"I want to get one of the (championship) belts they give out,' the Hill senior said following his first-place finish in the school's Bissell ' 33 Tournament this past weekend. "They're pretty nice.'
Golobokov is seeded second at 285, and Davis-Carruth seventh at 220.
The area contingent will be facing a field that includes ' 15 state or national prep champions, 76 state or national prep medalists and 121 state or national prep-championship qualifiers. ' There are also 11 former junior state champions scheduled to make their debuts as freshmen this year.
Teams that will compete at this year's ETR feature 11 teams that finished in the top 17 at the 2014 PIAA State Tournaments, including the AA State Champion; a New Jersey State Champion and two runners up; the Delaware State Champion; two Virginia State Champions and two more teams that finished top 3.
Among the teams making their first appearances at ETR will be PA powerhouses Cumberland Valley and Boyertown; two of New Jersey's best in High Point and Hanover Park; and first ever entries from New York (St. Anthony's) and West Virginia (Musselman). Adding to an already strong PA District 11 contingent are Stroudsburg and Bethlehem Liberty. Malvern Prep makes their return to ETR and heads up a good group of new preps making an appearance including Georgetown Prep (MD), St. Christopher's (VA), St. Paul's (MD) and the Phelps School (PA). Other first timers include Exeter (PA), Berlin Brothersvalley (PA), Oscar Smith (VA) and Queen of Peace (NJ). Returning to the field after previously competing are Battlefield (VA) and Mountain View (VA).
COLLISION COURSE
It's becoming a trend in the Pioneer Athletic Conference's regular-season championship chase.
Last season, Boyertown and Spring-Ford brought their unbeaten records out on the Rams' home mats on Jan. 29 in what was ultimately the circuit's title-decider. The Bears prevailed, 40-13, in prelude to a rematch at the District 1-AAA Duals Tournament's championship match three days later ... one that Boyertown claimed by a 31-21 margin.
It will be happening a bit earlier this year, but Boyertown and Spring-Ford will again meet in a clash that could go a long way toward deciding the PAC-10 regular-season champ. They will be back in the Spring-Ford gym Thursday, putting their respective perfect league and overall records on the line again.
While both teams currently have matching 4-0 marks atop the PAC standings, the Rams boast a 14-0 overall record to the Bears' 10-0. Spring-Ford has boasted an impressive 71-3 differential against league opponents - 64-7 on the winter - while Boyertown has outscored PAC adversaries by an average score of 54-14 (52-14 overall).
In prelude to the showdown, both teams will have league matches Wednesday. The Bears will host Pope John Paul II while the Rams take on Pottstown at home.
THE NEXT CENTURY-ON
Dustin Steffenino has become the latest wrestler from Upper Perkiomen - and The Mercury's coverage area - to surpass the 100-win mark for his scholastic career.
Steffenino achieved that feat this past weekend when UP took part in the Parkland Duals. The senior 120-pounder, coming in with 99 victories, covered the spread in fine fashion, going 5-0 with two pins and a major decision to his credit.
Steffenino joins the more than two dozen UP mat alumni who reached or surpassed the 100-win mark for their careers. He also joins brothers Dante and Dylan on the area chart. Dylan is tied for 71st place with 113 wins, and Dante's 104 ties him with his younger brother and others for 95th place.
LATE RETURNS
Daniel Boone placed sixth of the 15 teams participating in the Berks County Individual Tournament held this past weekend at Reading High. The Blazers scored 110.5 team points in a field headed by Gov. Mifflin (216.5), Exeter (197), Hamburg (141.5), the host Red Knights (116) and Wilson (115.5).
Christian Fernandez and Brenden Valverde were runners-up at 160 and 182, respectively. Fernandez dropped a 4-0 decision to Wilson's Keaton Eidle, and Valverde fell to Exeter's Scott Schaeffer 9-2.
Luke Genetti won the 220-pound weight class of the Church Farm School Invitational, highlighting Pope John Paul II's fifth-place finish in the 14-school field.
Genetti went to overtime to edge Ryan Kidwell of Archbishop Ryan, 5-4. Genetti was awarded a stall point with 1.1 seconds left in regulation, tying the match and sending it to OT.
Upper Perkiomen went 3-2 in the Parkland Duals. Its wins came against Downingtown West (49-19), Philadelphia Central (60-18) and Caesar Rodney (54-28); its losses, to host Parkland (50-19) and Mifflin County (51-12).
Dustin Steffenino was the Indians' star, going 5-0 at 120. Steffenino's winning run included the 100th victory of his scholastic career, putting his season record at 18-1 in the process.
Following Steffenino, UP got 4-1 outings from Eric Miller (138/145), Trevor Weeks (170/182) and Owen Leister (195), along with a 3-1 effort from Mahlon Schaffer.
