The Saucon Valley Panthers have now won five consecutive Colonial League titles.
Entering the Colonial League championships Monday night at Catasauqua, Saucon Valley seemed an overwhelming favorite to win and take home a fifth straight title. After all, the Panthers defeated the Northwestern Tigers 66-6, crushed the Wilson Warriors 51-15 and handled the Bangor Slaters 41-22 earlier in the season. In addition, Saucon was undefeated with a 19-0 record and had not lost a Colonial League regular season match since 2011. The smart money was on the Panthers to repeat and, when all the wrestling was finished, the Panthers proved they were on the money.
Panther Paul Miller doing what he does in the Colonial League semifinal against the Northwestern Lehigh Tigers.
On Mat #2 at Catasauqua, the Panthers, as the #1 seed, took on #4 Northwestern Lehigh while the Bangor Slaters (#2) did battle with the Wilson Warriors (#3) on Mat #1. Not that it was needed, but Saucon received a little help from the Tigers as they gave away forfeits to Dane Druckenmiller (106), Stephen Good (195), Devin Fontanez (220) and Trey Polak (285).
In addition to the forfeits, the Panthers registered falls by Paul Miller (126), Angelo Mahaffey (138), Dane Csencsits (152), Nate Kehs (170) and Jarret Hirschbeck (182).
The other Panther points came as a result of decisions to Nick Rosengrant (113), Josh Jones (120), Justin Kyra (132) and Jason Jones (145). Jason Jones rolled up an 11-2 victory for a major-decision.
Saucon Valley cruised into the finals with a 67-6 victory to face Bangor, who defeated Wilson 37-31 on the adjacent mat.
Jarret Hirschbeck of Saucon Valley gets six for his team.
The Panthers continued to look sharp against the Slaters, earning falls from Nick Rosengrant (113), Josh Jones (120), Paul Miller (126), Abe Lugo (182) and Devin Fontanez (220).
Lugo stepped back into the Panther lineup after missing time with an injury and put on a great show with Bangor’s Haakon Mathewson. Lugo trailed 2-0 after the first break. He worked very hard to earn an escape and converted two workman-like takedowns. Lugo willed his way to a 5-4 advantage at the end of the second period. Mathewson was awarded an escape at the beginning of the third period to knot the score and it looked as if he was about to take Lugo down. However, Lugo abruptly snapped Mathewson to his back in a blink and smothered him for six, making the team score 38-10 in favor of the Panthers. Lugo’s pin clinched the championship title for Saucon Valley.
It was a grind, but Saucon senior Abe Lugo came out with a huge victory for the Panthers.
Saucon Valley junior and 100 match winner Jason Jones earned bonus points for his 15-0 victory. Leading 9-0 after the first period, Jones started the second period on top and turned his opponent twice for the tech-fall in 2:36.
The Panthers also received decisions from Justin Kyra (132), Angelo Mahaffey (138), Dane Csencsits (152) and Stephen Good (195).
Csencsits, a freshman, continued to impress as he defeated Slater junior Edward Hay. In dramatic fashion with the score tied 3-3 in the waning seconds of the third period, Csencsits converted a takedown with time running out. Csencsits earned a 5-3 decision over Hay, who was a PIAA 3A state qualifier last year. It was certainly a signature win for Csencsits.
Panther freshman Dane Csencsits squared off against and defeated 2016 PIAA state qualifier Ed Hay.
It was a historic win for Saucon Valley. Winning one championship is reason to celebrate, but to win five straight is nothing less than extraordinary.
Asked what the keys are to the Saucon Valley wrestling dynasty, Coach Chad Shirk said, “We have a very supportive wrestling community and we have coaches that are dedicated to our student-athletes. We have wrestlers that put a tremendous amount of time into their training during the off-season to build on the rich tradition of Saucon Valley wrestling.”
A tradition with great leadership.
Wrestlers of the Match: Freshman Dane Csencsits (152) and senior Abe Lugo (182).
Freshman Dane Csencsits
Senior Abe Lugo
UP NEXT: The Panthers take their team into the District XI Team Championships as the #1 seed. They will wrestle the winner between Catasauqua (#8) and North Schuylkill (#9) at Bethlehem Catholic High School Thursday at 7:30 p.m. A victory takes the Panthers to Saturday morning’s semifinal at Freedom High School.
Saucon Valley coaches Don Rohn and Chad Shirk happy with their team’s effort in the 2017 Colonial League Finals.
Panther fans packed the stands and celebrated a fifth consecutive Colonial League title.