Boys, girls wrestlers compete at Nationals
Two boys wrestlers place top 16, two girls wrestlers win match
Boys Wrestling:
On March 24 and March 25, the boys wrestling team attended NHSCA Nationals at the Virginia Beach Sports Center. Senior CJ Walton and junior Dom Moyer placed in the top 16, which was two matches away from placing.
There were 5,500 wrestlers and 59 mats at the event in total.
Moyer had 143 kids in his weight class. He lost his first match in overtime, and on the second day, he won five inches in a row but then lost his last match by a point.
“As a junior, Dom had a major year and had several coaches watching his matches,” head coach Lou DeLauro said.
Senior Brennan Colville and sophomores Brady Colville and Luke Brazanskas won two matches each.
“Brady and Luke being sophomores and even getting wins there is big for them,” coach DeLauro said. “It gives them some recognition, and it gives them college looks.”
In the off season, the team has club practice two times a week, lift three times a week and have a few tournaments until Memorial Day.
“Our season is the winter, but spring is very big for wrestling if you want to do it in college.” coach DeLauro said.
Girls Wrestling:
On March 24 and March 25, five members of the girls wrestling team competed in Nationals in Virginia Beach. The competition consisted of girls in grades 9-12, and there were a total of over 400 girls competing in different brackets. Two DV wrestlers won one of their two matches. Seniors Sarah Seltzer and Alia Narvaez-Wiener, sophomores Victoria Depew and Olivia Montanino and freshman Wert Walzer competed. Montanino and Walzer won one match each, and the other three wrestlers finished 0-2.
This is the first time that girls ever competed at Nationals in DV history.
“It was a good team-building experience,” head coach Evan Bates said. “We are building a great program.”
According to coach Bates, seven of the opponents who the DV wrestlers faced were All-Americans.
“It’s good for the girls to be able to see tough competition once they get to this level,” he said. “This tournament gave us great motivation going into next year.”
Although freestyle is coming up, that was essentially the end of girls wrestling for this year. Seltzer finished her DV wrestling career with two school records: 58 wins and 51 pins.
In May, the PIAA will vote on sanctioning girls wrestling as an official league sport, and coach Bates and his team are looking forward to the possibility of the sport becoming state official.