The Panthers came out on top of the Palmerton Blue Bombers during Wednesday night’s wrestling action.
On Wednesday night the Panther wrestlers showed the visiting Palmerton Blue Bombers a little Saucon Valley hospitality. Well, maybe not. But, Saucon Valley (11-1 ) and Palmerton (0-8) did square off in Colonial League action. And, as their records show, the Panthers were considered heavy favorites on this night. As expected, Saucon Valley quickly shot the Bombers down. In only forty-five minutes, the Panthers defeated Palmerton 64-15.
Panther freshman Travis Riefenstahl taking the action to his Blue Bomber opponent.
Saucon Valley won 11 of the 14 bouts. 9 of the 11 Panther victories came by fall. Saucon Valley earned pins from Ermal Duka (106), Travis Riefenstahl (120), Jake Jones (138), Thomas Spirk (145), Ty Pfizenmayer (152), Matt Arciuolo (170), Dane Csencsits (182), Ramel Moore (195) and Nick Warnke (285). With the exception of Moore who pancaked his opponent about halfway through the second period, all Panther pins came in the first period. Freshman Jake Jones claimed the quickest pin of the night as he finished the job in only :11 seconds.
At :11 seconds, freshman Jake Jones of Saucon Valley had the quickest bout of the night.
Other Saucon points came from a major-decision by Kevin Dyer (126) who expertly defended a series of headlocks by rolling through the attempts thrown by Palmerton’s Daniel Lucykanish. Dyer was able to convert the headlock attempts into his own takedowns along the way to a masterful 17-3 victory.
The Panthers also registered six forfeit points awarded to sophomore Connor Nicholas (113).
Saucon senior Kevin Dyer proved to tough to score on against the Palmerton Blue Bombers.
The Bombers gathered a couple of falls to light their side of the scoreboard. Senior Shawn Gardner (160) and sophomore Jermey Mooney (220) each recorded pins. In addition, sophomore Dennis Lombardi (132) earned a hard-fought decision for Palmerton. However, it wasn’t nearly enough as the Panthers defeated the Bombers 64-15.
Saucon Valley 64 , Palmerton 15
106- Ermal Duka Jr., SV, fall Aaron Gardner So., P, 1:02.
113- Connor Nicholas So., SV, winner by forfeit
120- Travis Riefenstahl Fr., SV, fall Dylan Shinsky Sr., P, :28.
126- Kevin Dyer Sr., SV, maj-dec. Daniel Lucykanish Fr., P, 17-3.
132- Dennis Lombardi So., P dec. Cael Markle So., SV, 6-3.
138- Jake Jones Fr., SV, fall Grant Scott Sr., P, :11.
145- Thomas Spirk Sr., SV, fall Colton Stroup Jr., P, 1:04.
152- Tyler Pfizenmayer Fr. SV, fall Colin Mertz So., P, 1:07.
160- Shawn Gardner Sr., P, fall Nick Bortz Jr., SV, 3:32.
170- Matt Arciuolo Sr., SV, fall Matt Lalik Sr., P, :57.
182- Dane Csencsits Sr., SV, fall Aiden Melber Sr., P, 1:32.
195- Ramel Moore Sr., SV, fall Josh Eckhart Jr., P, 2:58.
220- Jermey Mooney So., P, fall Jack Marouchoc So., SV, 2:52.
285- Nick Warnke Sr., SV, fall Matt Garey-Hendricks So., P, 1:19.
Panther Wrestler of the Match: Ramel ‘Rah-Rah’ Moore
Saucon’s Ramel Moore earned his first varsity win with a pin Wednesday night against the Palmerton Blue Bombers.
Teacher Appreciation Night
- In what has become a tradition at Saucon Valley, varsity athletes choose a teacher that has made a difference in their lives and honors them with an invitation to the match with a little VIP seating. The honoree has access to the Panther bench and sits shotgun right alongside Coach Shirk to view their respective bout. Not only is it the best seat in the house for the Saucon Valley teacher, it is a wonderful show of gratitude from a thankful student!
- Ermal Duka, Mr. Jason Gordon (Art)
- Connor Nicholas, Mr. Bradley Godshall (Tech Ed.)
- Travis Riefenstahl, Mr. Rich Simononis (Business Ed.)
- Cael Markel, Mr. Scott Guidos (Math)
- Jake Jones, Mr. Thomas Koch (Science)
- Thomas Spirk, Mr. Robert Svitella (Science)
- Ty Pfizenmayer, Mr. Kevin Karetsky (Math)
- Matt Arciuolo, Mr. Robert Svitella (Science)
- Dane Csencsits, Mr. Robert Svitella (Science)
- Jack Marouchoc, Ms. Jennifer Falcaro (English)
- Nick Warnke, Ms. Genia Miller (English)
Coach’s Quote
We have great teachers here at Saucon Valley that support our wrestlers and all student-athletes. Many of these teachers attend sporting events, write recommendation letters, and are club advisors. As a wrestling team, it is one little way to honor a teacher that has had a positive impact on a wrestler’s life.
Saucon Valley wrestling coach, Chad Shirk
Up Next: The Panthers (10-1) will travel to Wilson (11-0) for a Friday night fight with the undefeated Warriors. This is going to a spectacular atmosphere for a high school sporting event. Junior High wrestling action is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. with the Varsity to follow at 7 p.m.
Good luck Panthers, the Source is with you!
All photos by Chris Christian. To see more photos please scroll down and visit his website, where you can purchase these and other high school sports photos.
