At Lackawanna meet, local wrestling teams get early Christmas gifts with strong results

HAWLEY — All three local boys teams fared well at the 2023-24 Lackawanna League wrestling tournament.

The event was hosted by Wallenpaupack Area on Saturday, attracting AA and AAA squads from across the region.

West Scranton captured the team title by piling up 227.5 points, good enough for a comfortable cushion over runner-up Abington Heights (207.5).

Honesdale powered its way to a third-place finish with 185.5 points, thanks in large part to Mason Avery, Justin Scanlon, Joel Landry and Joey Giannetti all advancing to the finals.

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“I thought we competed really well and had a strong showing in finishing third,” said coach Ryan Chulada. “Abington Heights and West Scranton are very tough, so to be in the top three with them was quite an accomplishment for us.”

Paupack also turned in a stellar effort. The Buckhorns accumulated 185 points to claim fourth. Senior captain Gunnar Myers paced the attack, winning an individual gold medal at 160 pounds.

“I’m absolutely pleased with the effort from our kids,” said longtime skipper Steve Krushnowski. “That was a very high caliber tournament and I’m proud of how we competed.”

Meanwhile, a young Western Wayne team turned heads with a solid performance. The Wildcats had five wrestlers place third or higher en route to a sixth-place showing.

Senior Tyler Barletta led the way, advancing to the finals before finally settling for silver at 152.

“We scored the third most points by a Western Wayne team in the last 15 years,” said coach Josh Harrison. “I think having five kids in the top three is really impressive considering we only had one in the top four last year.”

Swarming Hornets

Honesdale jetted out to a fast start Saturday morning before an overflow crowd on the shores of The Big Lake. The Hornets were tied with West Scranton atop the standings heading into the semifinals.

Avery was at the forefront of the attack. A multi-sport standout fresh off a stellar football season, Avery breezed through his first three bouts at 160. The tough-as-nails junior punched his ticket to the gold medal match via a second period pin of DV’s Travis Walton.

Joining Avery in the finals were teammates Justin Scanlon, Joey Giannetti and Joel Landry.

Scanlon is a sophomore who competes at 127 pounds. He’s won seven of his first eight bouts and pinned Paupack’s Nick Skokos in the semis.

Giannetti (172) is a senior who piled up 31 wins last year. Giannetti is currently 7-2 and earned his spot in the finals with a 7-2 decision over Valley View’s Camryn Higgins.

Landry (189) posted a 29-7 record last winter and placed second at districts. On Saturday, the senior pounded out a hard-fought 6-4 decision over Keith Yusinski of Abington Heights in the semis.

And while all four Hornets came up short in the gold medal round, Chulada had nothing but praise.

“We finished ahead of Paupack and Delaware Valley which are big Class AAA schools,” he said. “I don’t recall ever finishing ahead of DV so that was a nice feather in our cap as well.”

Paupack attack

As has been the case for the past several years, Wallenpaupack Area hosted the tournament and put on a show for the hometown crowd.

Myers continued his dominance at 160, reeling off three straight falls to seal a spot in the finals. There, he put the clamps on Honesdale’s Avery midway through the second period.

Paupack’s senior star is now 11-0 on the season and 115-18 in his record-setting career.

In addition to Myers, the Buckhorns advanced seven wrestlers to the semifinals: Ayden Blaut (107), Giovanni Lomonaco (121), Nick Skokos (127), Tristian Braxton (152), Gabriel Caufield (172), Conan Kier (189), Xaiden Schock (215).

Only Schock was able to break through to the finals. Sadly for a big Buckhorn cheering section, he had to settle for silver versus Abington’s Caleb Marzolino.

“This is great preparation for the post season,” Krushnowski said. “The kids know that this is a marathon and not a sprint. So, there were some good lessons learned. We know we can hang with anyone.”

Turning the corner

Western Wayne struggled a bit in the early going, but turned on the jets as the afternoon wore on.

While only Tyler Barletta battled his way into a gold medal match, four Wildcats triumphed in the consolation finals.

Marcello Caminiti rallied to defeat DV’s Dean Gouldthorpe to claim third place in the 114-pound bracket.

Landon Morcom earned a bronze medal via a second-period pin of Skokos at 127. He was joined on the podium by Liam Farley (133) and Jake Leslie (145).

“I think that this kind of success is showing the kids that they are capable of competing with the top schools in our league,” Harrison said.

This article originally appeared on Tri-County Independent: Lackawanna League wrestling tournament hosted by Wallenpaupack Area