126 pounds
1. So. Ryan Anderson (23-4) Bethlehem Catholic
2. Fr. Jonathan Miers (34-6) Easton
3. Sr. Trevor Tarsi (25-13) Nazareth
4. So. Cody Harrison (23-5) Phillipsburg
5. Sr. Paul Miller (32-9) Saucon Valley
Taking injury time: Fr. Cole Handlovic (10-4) Bethlehem Catholic (out for season)
NJSIAA state qualifier: Harrison
PIAA 3A Northeast Regional qualifiers: Tarsi, Anderson, Miers
PIAA 2A Southeast Regional qualifiers: Miller, Reto, Fronheiser, Vonelli
Honorable mention (in alphabetical order): So. Travis Brown (26-14) Liberty; Sr. Gio Campana (15-10) Belvidere; Jr. Jon Consorti (30-5) Wilson; Fr. Gage Crater (24-11) Delaware Valley; Jr. Seth Fronheiser (21-10) Northern Lehigh; So. Chris Ostir (14-10) Warren Hills; Sr. Chase Pavelko (19-11) Emmaus; Jr. Nick Reto (24-5) Pen Argyl; Sr. Noah Rex (17-7) Whitehall; Jr. Blake Shalbert (23-13) Parkland; So. Nicky Vonelli (29-8) Notre Dame
Comments: This class presents a classic rankings conundrum. Tarsi was second, Anderson third and Miers fifth at D-11 3A, so the order should reflect that, you’d think, … but Tarsi is 0-5 against Anderson (0-3) and Miers and didn’t wrestle either in districts. On the other hand, Tarsi defeated Blue Mountain’s Josh Mason 3-1 while Miers lost to Mason 2-0. You could argue this endlessly, and no doubt some will, but we think the head-to-head, in this case, overcomes the D-11 3A results. In other words, we think we had the order right before and aren’t changing. Regionals may change our mind, but we’d bet not. (If we ranked Monroe County schools, Patrick Gould of East Stroudsburg South, who won 3A and beat all three of the wrestlers at issue, would be No. 1. We don’t and he isn’t, but it’s a thought.) Harrison was third at Region 3 and avenged his loss there (to Sebastian Cornejo of Morris Catholic) in the third-place match. He’s wrestling really well and could medal in Atlantic City, which would cause more conundrums (but remember Tarsi edged Harrison 3-2 at the Beast of the East). Miller won 2A with a wild 9-8 decision over Reto in the final; love to see a rematch at regionals. Vonelli (who lost 4-3 to Reto in the 2A semis) was third, Fronheiser fourth at 2A. Reto, Vonelli and Fronheiser could all challenge Miller for that last spot. A word for Consorti, who finished sixth in 2A after landing at 126 (he was at 113 all season); sometimes wrestling can be a very cruel sport and it was to Consorti this week.
Brad Wilson may be reached at bwilson@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @bradwsports. Find Lehigh Valley high school sports on Facebook.
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