A few other Konkrete Kids wrestling notes from Hershey:

Austin Noe

• Senior Austin Noe wrapped up his Northampton wrestling career going 0-2 for the weekend, dropping two decisions 7-4 and 9-5. He is likely to continue wrestling at East Stroudsburg, although he has not committed as of yet. Noe finishes his high school career with a record of 89-45 and 59 pins. He was a 4-time district medalist and 3-time regional medalist. If not for the 2021 COVID restrictions, he likely would have joined the 100-win club.

Gavin Grell

• Junior Gavin Grell enjoyed some success at his first state appearance, going 1-2 and bowing out of consolations after a tough 4-1 decision in tiebreaks. With Nazareth’s Sean Kinney graduating, Grell is in line to battle for a district crown and perhaps more next season.

Streak Continues

• Northampton won a state medal for the 41st consecutive year. The next longest streak in Pennsylvania history is 25 years and the second longest active streak is 21 straight. Although nothing can be taken for granted, with Wagner and Ballard on the roster, that streak seems like it’s destined to grow.

Busy Coach

• These days in high school sports, coaching is not just a season-long commitment. Successful coaches are working almost year-round to build top programs.

And sometimes coaches go beyond that to provide a great experience for the kids they coach.

When the Northampton school board approved the girls wrestling team in November, Joe Provini not only stepped in to get that program off the ground, but he also made sure that the girls were not treated as afterthoughts.

As if that were not enough things for him to have on his plate, the Provinis celebrated the birth of their second child the week of individual districts and while any time is a good time to welcome a little miracle into the world, there is no busier time of the year for a coach leading both a prestigious program with high expectations and a nascent one looking to grow.

While Provini credits “having an understanding wife” and that is undoubtedly true, there is no question that he deserves major kudos and a long break for what he did this season.