Butler rides big early lead to win over SV
John Enrietto Eagle Sports Editor
December 22, 2022 Last Updated: December
23, 2022 04:44 PM High School
Golden Tornado
wrestlers collect 4 pins in 39-21 victory
Butler's Levi Donnel
looks up towards the scoreboard near the end of his 10-2 major decision over
Corey Wolfe of Seneca Valley on Wednesday night. Shane Potter/Butler Eagle
12/21/22
BUTLER TWP — The 30-0
lead did not surprise Butler wrestling coach Scott Stoner.
In fact, he thought it
could have been more.
“I was hoping for a
30-0 lead before Santino (Sloboda’s match at 107 pounds),” Stoner said. “When
we got the pins at 215 and 285 ... yeah, I felt like we could have gotten a few
more points during that opening stretch.”
Sloboda pinned his
opponent to get Butler’s lead to 30-0 and the Golden Tornado went on to a 39-21
dual match win over Seneca Valley in the Intermediate High School gym.
The Tornado (7-0)
began the match with three successive major decisions, followed by pins from
Landon Christie, Ethan Babay and Sloboda.
“It wasn’t a good
starting spot for us,” Seneca Valley coach Kevin Wildrick said. “But when you
lose 39-21, there is no good starting spot.”
Babay improved to 9-5
on the season with all but one of his wins coming by pin-fall.
“Ethan is very
athletic. He’s a heavyweight who can scramble,” Stoner said. “It looked like
their kid had him dead to rights and he scrambled out of it. That’s a major
plus for him.
“He’s had to wait hjis
turn behind Jake (Pomykata) and Ethan learned a lot from him,. He’s putting
that knowledge to good use. He’s pretty aggressive on the mat.”
Babay said he used an
inside bar to pin Royal to the mat.
“I’ve been working on
that move,” Babay said. “In practices, I keep drilling it and drilling it. I
felt I could make it work tonight, so I kept trying it. I finally got him to
turn. That pin felt pretty good.
“When you see some of
your teammates get pins and put together a string of wins like we did tonight,
it definitely helps me. I just wanted to keep that string rolling. I was fired
up to go out there and try to get a pin for the team.”
Butler’s other pin
came from Kase Chopp (9-3) at 139 pounds. He built a 16-4 lead through two
periods before securing the pin at 4:23.
“We did well in spots,
but Seneca Valley has a young team and I thought we’d come out with a little
more arrogance tonight. I don’t feel like I saw enough of that,” Stoner said.
“Levi won by major
decision, but he kept trying a tilt and it wasn’t working. You have to
recognize that on the mat and try something else. That’s just one example.”
Sloboda, a freshman,
is off to an 11-0 start this season with six pins.
The Raiders (4-2)
received pins from Connor Smith at 114 pounds and Tyler Chappell at 127. They
improved to 8-2 and 10-2, respectively, on the season.
“Those guys are our
leaders and they always come out ready,” Wildrick said. “We’re a young team and
Butler has a lot more experience. You can’t give up bonus points in a dual like
this and we have up way too many bonus points early.”
Seneca Valley will
compete in the Powerade Tournament at Canon-McMillan during the Christmas
break. Butler will participate in the 35-team Southmoreland Tournament Dec.
27-28.
BUTLER 39, SENECA VALLEY 21
(match started at 160 pounds)
107-Santino Sloboda
(B) pinned Hunter Tillotson, 1:25; 114-Connor Smith (SV) pinned Ana Malovich,
3:45; 121-Kelley Schaukowitsch (B) dec,. Jack Tofanelli, 4-3; 127-Tyler
Chappell (SV) pinned Leo Iarrapino, 2:26; 133-Zach Hill (SV) dec. Gavin Rush,
4-2; 139-Kase Chopp (B) pinned Brody Pirt, 4:23; 145-Teagan Leighty (SV) dec.
Legend Wilkinson, 5-4; 152-Jacob Eubanks (SV) dec. Dawson Davis, 7-0; 160-Levi Donnel
(B) dec. Corey Wolfe, 10-2; 172-Matt Zinkhann (B) dec. John Mallery, 9-1;
189-Mickey Kreinbucher (B) dec. Ryan Wagner, 15-5; 215-Landon Christie (B)
pinned Thomas Wuycheck, 1:00; 285-Ethan Babay (B) pinned Roman Royal, 2:37