The Parkland wrestling team showcased its depth and talent at the District 11 Class 3A individual wrestling championships held last Friday and Saturday at Liberty High School in Bethlehem.

A total of four wrestlers - Aaron Ciampittiello (113), Juan Moya (145), Adrian Gacek (160), and Alex Neely (189) reached the championship semifinal rounds. Gacek was the only Trojan to win his consolation semifinal match. He eventually finished in third place when he pinned Liberty’s Christian Reed at the three-minute mark.

Gacek and Neely advanced to this weekend’s PIAA Northeast Regional Championships as the top five wrestlers in each weight class move on with the chance to qualify for next weekend’s state championships in Hershey.

Neely (26-9 this year) displayed solid wrestling throughout the tournament. After a first-round bye, Neely routed Freedom’s Anthony Lyden 22-4 in a technical fall second-round win. Next up Neely won a fierce 5-3 struggle over Emmaus’ Jake Gross in the quarterfinals. The winning streak ended when Neely was pinned in the semis at the 2:21 mark by East Stroudsburg North’s Wayne McIntyre.

Neely lost his consolation semi to Whitehall’s Melquan Warren in a 7-9 decision before beating Pocono Mountain West’s Brandon Stiehler in the fifth-place match.

“I wanted to use my aggressiveness and try and use his shots to score,” Neely said of his loss to Warren. “It didn’t really work out, but it kept it pretty close...It was my best performance.”

In reviewing his Trojan wrestling career, Neely said he enjoyed the camaraderie he developed with teammates and becoming physically and mentally tougher.

“I enjoyed making friends and the bonds,” he said. “I also enjoyed the moments when you had a close match and even if you lost and you get ready to come back again. When you win and you train so hard work your butt off and it pays off you feel so good.”

Gacek opened the tournament with a pair of pins against Tyvon Warren of Allen and Marcus McNeill of East Stroudsburg South.

After falling to eventual runner-up Landon Muth of Bethlehem Catholic in the semifinals, Gacek beat Noah MacIlroy (freedom) in a consolation match to reach the third-place bout.

Gacek pinned Liberty’s Christian Reid in three minutes to take third place and up his record this season to 32-6.

The Trojans’ Blake Dergham (106), Ciampittiello and Moya all dropped their fifth-place bouts to take sixth place at districts and fall one win short of a regional berth.

Parkland finished ninth as a team at districts with 90.5 points.

Nazareth (305.5) won the team title with five first-place finishers. Bethlehem Catholic (288.5) crowned seven champions and finished second. Northampton, with one champ, took third place, followed by Easton (150.5), Pottsville (118), Emmaus, (106), Freedom (101) and Liberty (98.5). Whitehall (88.5) rounded out the top ten teams.

Blake Dergham (106)

Dergham pinned Chris Dembinsky (Pottsville) in 1:40

Dominic Rizzotto (Nazareth) dec. Dergham, 4-0

Dergham pinned Jasiah Pagan (Liberty) in 3:57

Dergham pinned Dayvion Marshmon (Whitehall) in 3:25

Zachary Berwick (Stroudsburg) dec. Dergham, 12-6

Fifth-place match: Rizzotto dec. Dergham, 7-2

Aaron Ciampittiello (113)

Ciampittiello pinned Nicholas Reyes (Pocono Mt. West) in 1:26)

Ciampittiello dec. Colin Seefeldt (Blue Mountain), 7-4

Carson Wagner (Northampton) def. Ciampittiello by forfeit

Benjamin Fanelli (Easton) def. Ciampittiello by forfeit

Fifth-place match: Seefeldt def. Ciampittiello by forfeit

Nathan Kresge (120)

Kresge pinned Jack Evans (Liberty) in 1:09

Cael McIntyre (Bethlehem Catholic) pinned Krege in :19

Kresge major dec. Josh Marrero (Pocono Mt. East), 16-4

Austin Noe (Northampton) pinned Kresge in 4:20

Phoenix DelVecchio (126)

Braxton Appello-Fries (Nazareth) pinned DelVecchio in 1:57

Devlin Chevere (Northampton) dec. DelVecchio, 11-6 SV

Ryan Naradko (132)

Kollin Rath (Bethlehem Catholic) pinned Naradko in 2:58

Leo Kern (138)

Kern major dec. Omari LaMothe (Pocono Mt. West), 11-3

Nick Velde (Emmaus) pinned Kern in :59

Kern dec. Michael Ortiz (Stroudsburg), 7-2

Mason Basara (Northampton) dec. Kern 8-3

Juan Moya (145)

Moya tech. fall Killian Ursu (Stroudsburg), 19-3 in 2:53

Moya dec. Christopher Jurado (Freedom), 5-2

Christian Fritz (Northampton) dec. Moya, 7-2

Ryan Santiago (Liberty) dec. Moya 6-4

Fifth-place match: Jurado dec. Moya 6-1

Victor Carrasquilla (152)

Quin Scott (Emmaus) dec. Carrasquilla, 7-5

Carrasquilla dec. Hunter Blankenhorn (Blue Mountain), 7-4

Connor Bevan (Freedom) dec. Carrasquilla, 4-2

Adrian Gacek (160)

Gacek pinned Tyvon Warren (Allen) in 1:01

Gacek pinned Marcus McNeill (East Stroudsburg So.) in 1:18

Landon Muth (Bethlehem Catholic) dec. Gacek, 4-3

Gacek tech. fall Noah MacIlroy (Freedom), 15-0 in 3:00

Third-place match: Gacek pinned Christian Reid (Liberty) in 3:00

Mikael Palmieri (172)

Palmieri dec. Vernon Kleckner (Blue Mountain), 5-3 SV

Jared Karabinus (Freedom) dec. Palmieri, 7-2 SV

Vinny Hebel (Nazareth) dec. Palmieri, 5-2

Alex Neely (189)

Neely tech. fall Anthony Lyden (Freedom), 22-5 in 3:41

Neely dec. Dylan Osorio (East Stroudsburg So.), 3-2

Wayne McIntyre (East Stroudsburg No.) pinned Neely in 2:21

Melquan Warren (Whitehall), 9-7 dec. Neely, 9-7

Fifth-place match: Neely dec. Brandon Stiehler (Pocono Mt. West), 5-1

Zayd Afif (215)

Pedro Morillo (Allen) pinned Afif in 5:43

Afif pinned in Alexander Rivera (East Stroudsburg So.) in 1:14

Mark Ritschel (Pottsville) pinned Afif in 2:24

Michael Gavrilesku (285)

Elijah Thomason (Bethlehem Catholic) dec. Gavrilesku, 3-0

Gavilesku dec. Seth Kolb (Liberty), 2-1

Glenn Pittius (Pocono Mt. West) pinned Gavrilesku in 4:20