Kids ready for district tourney
With individual districts a little more than a week away, here is a look at the possible lineup for the K-Kids’ wrestlers based on who completed during district duals and their prospects for advancing to regionals. The top 5 wrestlers in each weight class compete the following weekend. The brackets will be posted on the district website by noon today.
106 – Kody Ziegenfus (5-17) spent his sophomore season weighing in between 92 and 95 pounds, essentially wrestling up three weight classes. He’s a year away from being able to wrestle on equal footing in this weight class.
113 – Carson Wagner (20-4), the 2021 district champion at 106, faces a couple of tough customers in Nazareth’s Tahir Parkins and whomever Bethlehem Catholic puts out at the weight. A knee injury suffered against Parkins during district dual adds uncertainty to his prospects, although Wagner finished the bout with Parkins (a 5-3 loss) and won two matches after that. As one of the best wrestlers in the state at 113, he should advance easily, but another district title would be a mild upset.
120 – Austin Noe (18-7) followed up a state-qualifying freshman season at 113 with a strong sophomore campaign. Look for Noe to battle Freedom’s CJ Horvath in the consolation final behind Nazareth’s Charlie Bunting and Beca’s Cael McIntyre.
126 – Giacomo Tropeano (5-8) has the misfortune of being in an absolutely loaded weight class. Would be an upset for him to crack the top 5.
132 – Aiden Micheli (18-8) has some close wins and some close losses against guys that figure to be in the mix for the top 5. He figures to need to win a couple of close bouts with evenly matched opponents to advance.
138 – Alex Hanley (4-3) looks to be the Kids entry at this weight after Mason Basara took first place at the district JV tournament last weekend. Hanley hasn’t competed since January 22. Two of his losses were to out-of-state wrestlers at Escape the Rock. The enigmatic senior is talented enough to advance, but it remains to be seen if he will be in good form.
145 – CJ Fritz (14-7). The 2021 state qualifier at 138 finished the regular season winning 8 of his last 9 matches, 7 by pin or tech fall. Possible district finalist. Almost certain to qualify for regionals.
152 – Dagan Condomitti (23-1). The 2021 district champion at 145 has had a dominant junior season. His only loss is to a two-time state champion from Ohio in the finals of the Escape the Rock tournament. Strong favorite to stand atop the podium at Liberty next weekend.
160 – Joey Confer (11-6) is on the bubble. The top four spots at this weight class look a little out of reach, so Confer will have to grind his way through consolations to extend his senior season.
172 – Rocky Cappolella (11-7) is also on the bubble, but the depth in AAA at 172 is a little weaker than at 160 giving Cappolella a reasonable opportunity to make it to the next weekend.
189 – Landon Roland (9-13) has some quality wins on his resume, so despite his overall record he has dark horse chances to surprise some people and advance.
215 – Makei Hubert’s (9-2) losses are to Nazareth’s Sonny Sasso and Chase Levey, who are top 5 in the state. He lost to Levey 3-2 in his second match of season. His wins are all by forfeit, pin, or tech fall. Possible district finalist and likely top 3 finisher.
285 – Michael Raub (2-7) The first-year senior wrestler is unlikely to advance.