Methacton goes worst-to-first, wins first-ever Manheim Holiday wrestling tournament title
Updated on 06/10/2022 | DAVE BYRNE
Worst to first.
That was the jump taken by Methacton in the 47th Manheim Lions Holiday wrestling tournament.
The Warriors medaled at nine weight classes and out-paced runner-up Shikellamy by nine points and third-place J.W. Robinson by 10.5.
Placing 15th — and last — in the 2015 tournament, with three placewinners and 42.5 points, the Warriors were still a young bunch.
No more.
“We’ve only graduated two kids in the last two years,” coach A.J. Maida said.
“We really looked to this group of seniors when they were sophomores. They’re pretty talented and they have this great leadership ability.”
Foremost among those seniors is Bryce Reddington, who locked up the team title for the Warriors with a fall at 152 pounds.
“He’s a special kid,” Maida said. “Bryce is front-and-center in that group.
“We’ve looked to him for a long time and he’s performed for a long time.
Trailing the Warriors by 21.5 points coming into the finals, J.W. Robinson made a run at both Methacton and Shik, winning four of five individual finals.
Including head-to-heads with Methacton at 106, where Aaron Howell topped Corey Morabito, 6-4, and 120, where Nik Gerard beat Kibwe McNair 6-3.
“It didn’t go for us at 106 and 120 the way we hoped,” Maida said. “And we lost a close one at 138.”
That drew the Rams to within 8.5 points with two finalists to go — and a point-and-a-half from Shik.
But, up 6-2, Reddington pancaked Shik’s Dominic Parker midway through the second period, sealing the fate of the Rams.
“It’s always nice to have your ace-in-the-hole (who is) a returning regional champ and a senior,” Maida said.
Then Shik’s Pierson White out-lasted JWR’s Hayden Rockman 11-8 at 160 to nail down second for the Braves, who had vaulted there on the basis of a 58.5-point consolation morning.
While the finals drama unfolded, seven local lads enjoyed the status of earning medals in the consi finals.
Manheim’s Zack Zeamer placed third at 138, edging Shik’s Bryce Burgess 3-1. He improved from a sixth-place finish last year.
“I was a little tight in the semis,” Zeamer said. “Coach worked with me on wrestling loose, and I got it done.”
Solanco’s Ben Root claimed his second-straight bronze at 170, topping Methacton’s Brendan Marion 6-3.
“I wasn’t too pleased with how I did this weekend,” said Root, who also placed sixth here as a freshman.
“But I’m not distraught or feeling terrible about it. There’s definitely a lot of things I have to work on, things I have to be sharper about.
“I’d rather have stuff show up now than later in the season, when it really starts to count.”
Golden Mule teammate Kaleb Tucker shook off a semifinal loss to eventual champion Thomas Mukai of JW Robinson, pinning McDowell’s Quentin Cook for third at 220.
On the cusp of being teched out in the consi semis at 113, trailing 13-0, Baron freshman Connor Zeamer hit Council Rock North’s Luke Lucerne with a “Midge” pinning him in 3:20 to advance to the third-place finals.
There he lost to Bald Eagle’s Aleck Nyman.
“We call it ‘the Midge’, ” offered his brother Zack, “that’s his nickname. It’s basically a flying cement mixer.”
The pin also earned Zeamer the most falls/least time award, with four in 7:36.
Also claiming medals were Solanco’s Josh Weder fourth at 195; Manheim’s Cade Zeamer, fifth at 120, and the Barons’ Connor Miller, sixth at 152.
Garnet Valley 132-pounder Matthew Marino won his third Manheim title, majoring New Kent’s Cade Darber 10-2, and was voted the Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament.
Bald Eagle’s Brandon Meredith, the returning 106-pound titlist, won at 113 and New Kent’s Kade Sanders and JWR’s Thomas Mukai defended their titles at 170 and 220, respectively.
Howell and JWR’s Sam Book advanced from second-place finishes last year, Book with an 11-1 major at 126 over Council Rock North’s Sam Hayes.
As did Palisades’ Nathan Haubert, with a 6-1 win over Garnet Valley’s Nick Puliti at 145.
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Updated on 06/10/2022
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Youth movement coming to Methacton
Updated on 06/10/2022 | Dennis C. Way
Dennis C. POSTED ON DECEMBER 6, 2016
WORCESTER >> Roman Moser never had a choice.
As the son of former Methacton High district champ Eric Moser, and as a member of the Moser family, considered the first family of Warriors wrestling, Roman was in a singlet by age four and soon knew the insides of more gymnasiums than he could count.
He was going to be a wrestler.
The good thing is, Roman fell in love with the sport.
And now, he and fellow freshman Kibwe McNair are part of a youth movement that just may see the Warriors mentioned in the same breath as Pioneer Athletic Conference heavyweights Boyertown, Owen J. Roberts and Spring-Ford before too long.
Moser (138 pounds) and McNair (120) have been ranked by some publications as among the top scholastic freshman wrestlers in the state, no faint praise for one of the best scholastic wrestling areas in the country.
And the pair are aware of their newfound stature.
“Everybody realizes I’m ‘pretty good,’” Moser said. “But I’m just going to wrestle my style and try and get the job done.
“My dad kind of put me into the sport, so you could say I was pushed into it. But I’ve come to love it.”
McNair’s path was different, although his dad, too, played a role in his entry into wrestling.
“It just started with my dad asking me if I’d like to try wrestling,” McNair said. “I was eight years old, and thought I’d try it.”
The early days were not fun.
“I used to go to tournaments and just get beaten up,” McNair recalled. “I was getting my butt whipped every weekend.”
But McNair soon crossed paths with Lewis Baker, one-time Germantown Academy and Upper Merion standout, who offered his services as coach.
Improvement came rapidly, and soon it was McNair doing the butt-whipping.
“I remember I had a couple of real good matches with (Souderton freshman state qualifier) Tyler Williams,” McNair said. “That gave me confidence.”
As to how the duo will fit into the Warriors lineup, head coach AJ Maida said they’ll be there when the season begins.
“They’re kids who will make an instant impact on our lineup,” Maida said. “They were experienced kids by the time they reached the high school level.”
How they’ll fit into that lineup, however, remains a question only time will solve.
For the moment, however, neither is lacking confidence.
When asked their goals for their first varsity season, both freshmen felt Hershey would be a good place to end their initial years.
“I think making it to regionals and winning 20 matches would be a good first year,” Moser said. “But I feel I can reach states.”
“I don’t think of myself as the best yet, because I haven’t even started my first varsity season,” McNair said. “But if I keep up my training regimen and keep up my grades, I feel I can achieve a lot my freshman year.”
As for the Warriors, Maida said his team will be good, but in the PAC, that term is relative.
“This is my ninth year here,” Maida said, “and we’ve never beaten Boyertown and we’ve never beaten Spring-Ford and we’ve only beaten Owen J. once
“So there’s still a lot we have to shoot for.”
With his two prized freshmen, perhaps the gap closed a little bit further.
http://papreplive.com/2016/12/06/youth-movement-coming-to-methacton/