WMC wins XCalibur bronze with 7 medalists including freshman Bohr

(Willkes-Barre, PA) West Morris Central placed third out of 28 teams at the prestigious XCalibur Tournament Saturday with seven wrestlers reaching the podium. Shane Metzler and Kade Loughney took silver; Marco Gaita bronze; Robby Bohr, Mike Caso and Justin LeMay placed fifth; and Christian Trimarchi took seventh place in extraordinarily tough brackets.

“I'm excited by our performance at Xcalibur and I'm hoping we can build on that as a foundation not as a ceiling,” said head coach Ken Rossi.

Nationally-ranked Wyoming Seminary dominated, and Bound Brook, ranked #10 in New Jersey (NJ.com) took second. WMC shocked the field by rising as high as second place, and ultimately taking bronze.

Rossi however was not shocked.

“I am not surprised by our finish because we, as a team, have put a lot of work in during the off season and in the practice room. The guys have worked at an extremely high level since the last whistle blew in March and we are seeing results because of it now.”

Freshman Bohr shined in his WMC debut, pinning his first three opponents. He went 4-2, capped by a 6-2 triumph over Benton’s Valye-rae Baker for the 106 lb. fifth place medal.

“Bohr had a great opening,” said Rossi. “He has been drilling hard and working on improving weaknesses and errors.”

Loughney (4-1) won his way to the 152 lb. finals to climb four podium stairs above last year’s sixth place finish. His finals loss was to Evan Barczak, ranked #6 in New York (NY Wrestling News). Rossi said the senior “wrestled very well all weekend yielding very few points and securing three falls on the way to the finals.”

Metzler (4-1) came close to his second consecutive XCalibur gold, facing the same nationally-ranked Seminary wrestler he topped 3-1 in last year’s finals. This time, Jack Davis triumphed 6-4, fending off the WMC captain’s torrid third period comeback attempt for the 126 title.

“The loss for Metzler was tough,” said Rossi. “But he will be back in the wrestling room working towards his goals.”

Gaita (5-1) dominated the 170 lb. consolation finals with a 9-1 major over Bound Brook’s Travis Hays for third. As a sophomore last year, Gaita lost the consolation finals.

LeMay (5-2) lost his opening match to Seminary’s Will Moss Friday. But the 145 lb. sophomore won five times in wrestle backs, including a come-from-behind 6-4 triumph over Moss Saturday to earn his way to the fifth place medal. LeMay did not place at XCalibur last year.

Caso (4-2) wrestled Nick Onea from Pottsville to his back in the second period, and held on for a 5-2 triumph for fifth place at 113. Rossi praised the junior’s “conditioning and offensive attacks in the neutral position.” Caso did not place last year.

Trimarchi (4-2) begins his senior year strong, topping Line Mountain’s Chris Koperna 6-4 to take seventh at 160.

LONG LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS

Luke Stefanelli (1-2) pinned Pottsville’s Daniel Farina, and lost to the second and fifth seeded wrestlers at 182.

Freshmen Colin Loughney (2-2) and Eli Shephard (1-2) made their varsity debuts at 106 and 120 respectively, both contributing wins for the team. Loughney’s losses were to eventual medalists.

Sophomore John DeVito (2-2) had strong starting debut at 138, highlighted by a pin over Charlie Minnich of LaSalle.

Juniors Jonathan Vazquez (1-2) and Billy Apostolico (1-2) also contributed to the team win total at 132 and 113 respectively. Vazquez topped Pinkerton’s Zach Vigroux 8-2, and Apostolico pinned The Hill School’s Charlie Kennedy.

Robert Rosen (0-2) at 195 and Chris Parisi (0-2) at 120 also wrestled tough for the Pack.

Metzler begins his senior year by climbing to fourth place in all-time victories for WMC with 109. He passes John Sickles (105) and David Migliaccio (107).

Last year WMC placed seventh at XCalibur, with five place winners, including third for Caleb Isemann and sixth for Alex Kaltenhauser.

“The season is long and there is a lot of growth that needs to take place for the big competitions,” concluded Rossi.

NEXT UP

WMC travels to Montville tomorrow (12/20), High Point 12/22, the John Goles Tournament 12/28 and Voorhees 12/30. Home opener is 1/4/17 vs. North 1 Group 4 champion Roxbury.

PHOTOS

Robby Bohr wrestles to fifth. Credit: Joanne Vazquez

Marco Gaita, Christian Trimarchi, Colin Loughney and Shane Metzler place at XCalibur. Credit: Kira Trimarchi.