Escape The Rock: While Owen J. Roberts has the most wrestlers still in championship contention, Boyertown had the better team showing of the three area programs competing in the Escape The Rock Tournament at Council Rock South.
Roberts' Derek Gulotta 9120), Demetri D'Orsaneo (138) and Dominick Petrucelli (152) all qualified for Sunday's semifinal round in their respective brackets. Gulotta, a fourth-place finisher at the 2014 Rock tourney, had one pin in the two bouts he wrestled; D'Orsaneo had a technical fall and major decision in his three appearances; and Petrucelli prevailed in two close decisions: An ultimate tiebreaker in the second championship round, a one-point victory in the quarterfinals. It all helped Owen J. to eighth place with 65 points after the first day.
Boyertown, in the meantime, saw Jakob Campbell (106) and Gregg Harvey (182) win through the quarterfinals. Harvey scored a pin and technical fall in his bracket to help the Bears, with 76 points on the first day, take fourth place in a field led by Bethlehem Catholic (106.5).
The Hill School has one semifinalist in Kostya Golobokov, who scored two falls in as many contested bouts at 285. Golobokov, who recently announced his plan to attend the University of Michigan on a wrestling scholarship following his graduation from the Hill, was a sixth-place finisher at the Rock last year.
The Rock action continues Sunday with third- and fourth-round consolations at 8 a.m. Semifinals and fifth-round consolations are scheduled for 11:15 a.m., consolation semifinals at 1;15 p.m., and third, fifth and seventh-place bouts at 3:30 p.m. in prelude to the championship finals at 5:45 p.m.
Kennett Duals: An all-area championship match saw Daniel Boone rally from an early deficit to top Pottstown, 45-34, at the Kennett Duals.
Trailing by a 22-3 count after five weights - four of them contested - Boone went on a pinning tear with Shayne Bookwalter (170), Brendan Valverde (182), Mason Hoffman (195) and Jesse Enck (220) putting the Blazers up 27-22. The teams traded falls over the final five weights, but Boone's 2-1 edge in forfeited bouts secured the win.
Mason and Logan Pennypacker headed Pottstown's strong outing, which saw it go 4-1 with early victories over Ridley (37-36), Bristol (51-30), the host Blue Demons (51-23) and Academy Park (60-22).
Mason (145/152) and Logan (132/138) both went 5-0, with Mason scoring three pins en route to maintaining his unbeaten (19-0) record. Alex Caballero (113), Bryant Wise (138/145) and Alex Humma (195/220) all posted 4-1 marks.
Boone's early action featured a sweep of Academy Park (43-30), Glen Mills (54-18), Wissahickon (59-18) and Ridley (45-31).
Cavalier Duals: Methacton had a productive weekend south of the Mason-Dixon Line, going 4-2 in a duals tournament hosted by Archbishop Spalding (Md.).
The Warriors compiled a 4-2 record that included their first win of the season. They went 1-2 in Friday's Pool B action against Maryland schools, losses to Arundel (36-33) and Oakdale (44-24) preceding a 78-6 romp over Bishop McNamara.
Saturday, Methacton capped its visit by topping Loudon County (49-30), Woodbridge (39-34) and Oxford (48-28).
Lower Moreland Duals: Aaron Sturm dominated his weight class to head Perkiomen Valley's performance at the Lower Moreland Duals. The Vikings went 2-3 on the day, wins against George Washington (43-25) and Upper Merion (65-9) offset by losses to Conestoga (41-25), Whitehall (40-24) and the host Lions (51-16).
Sturm went 5-0 at 170, PV's lone wrestler to go unbeaten. Cody Jefferies (106) and Quinn Verbeke (145) were both 4-1.
Chichester Duals: The perfect runs of Max Shepherd and Trey Romance headed Phoenixville's showing at the Chichester Classic. The Phantoms went 3-2, topping Cardinal O'Hara (54-12), Franklin Towne Charter (33-30) and Olney Charter (36-31) while falling to the host Eagles (60-12) and Danville (39-38).
Shepherd went 5-0 exclusively at 106, and Romance did the same splitting time between the 152- and 160-pound weights. DuJuan Serrette-Davis was 4-1 at 113, as was Jason Miller at 120.
