The Parkland wrestling team improved to 9-3 on the season with a victory last Saturday night at Liberty, 45-22.

Coach Jon Trenge’s Trojans pulled out to a 39-4 lead to eliminate all drama. Juan Moya, Victor Carrasquilla, Emanuel Montalvo, Adrian Gacek, Michael Gavrilesku, Blake Dergham, Aaron Ciampittiello, Phoenix DelVecchio and Xander DeSelm were a wrecking crew in this one, all winning their battles on the mat.

Gacek didn’t mess around in his win, pinning Dante Morrison in just 20 seconds at 215. Moya wrestled a fine technical match in his 11-0 major decision victory over Elijah Reed in the 160-pound match. DelVecchio gutted out a 6-5 decision in the 127-pound fracas over the Hurricanes’ Jack Evans.

“Phoenix is a team captain this year,” Trenge said. “His work ethic, attitude and resilience have brought him far since his freshman year.”

Two nights earlier the Trojans came up short in a 44-20 loss to Easton. Parkland managed to earn eight bonus points from its four wins. Gacek was determined to win his battle with the Red Rovers’ Aidan Hutchinson and finally secured a pin with just 12 seconds remaining. Gavrilesku pinned Anthony Embardino at the 50-second mark, Kern won a 7-5 decision over Jayvon Simmsat in the 133-pound match, and Dergham was solid in a 17-2 tech fall win at 114.

The loss to Easton was disappointing to Trenge. He cited the Rovers, along with Nazareth, Bethlehem Catholic and Northampton, as being among the top fours team in District 11. In measuring themselves directly against these elite schools this season, the Trojans lost a heartbreaker to the Konkrete Kids on Jan. 5 by one point.

“I do believe we have a solid handful of guys who could make some noise in the postseason and get beyond the very tough District 11 tournament,” Trenge said.

With two matches remaining before the District 11 Team Tournament, the Trojans were in sixth place in the district rankings heading into this week. They took on Pleasant Valley Monday and Dieruff on Monday. With a pair of wins the Trojans could move up from their sixth-place district ranking before team tournament seeding is final on Thursday.

Parkland will also wrestle Emmaus in a final regular season bout on Feb. 7.