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Wednesday, February 15, 1995 Page: 4B
Raczkowski, Blockus top list of Wyoming Valley Conference’s elite
With the regular season finished, it’s time to unleash my regular season
All-Wyoming Valley Conference wrestling team103 — Matt Raczkowski,
Lake-Lehman.
Raczkowski is a hands-down choice in this class. The closest match he’s
been in was last Wednesday’s 5-1 decision over Coughlin’s Jason Prutzman.
112 — Mike Weston, Hazleton Area.
Weston will most likely drop to 103 at districts, but has wrestled at 112
for the entire season and is undefeated.
119 — Don Morgan, Wyoming Area/Corey Luce, Coughlin.
Too close to single out either wrestler. Both are undefeated and have
dominated this class. Both will most likely drop to 112 for districts, Morgan
in AA and Luce in AAA.
125 — Brent Yates, Berwick.
In one of the strongest weight classes, Yates has produced an undefeated
regular season. He will probably drop to 119 for districts. Other
possibilities were Hazleton Area’s Craig Kassick, Coughlin’s Chin Orih and
Wyoming Valley West’s Rob Trotter.
130 — Mike Stuart, Lake-Lehman.
Another tough call, but Stuart gets the nod. After suffering an early loss,
Stuart has been dominant.
135 — Tim Sayre, Lake-Lehman.
Sayre was the Knights’ all-purpose man, also wrestling at 140 and 145 for
Lehman, but spent the majority of the season at 135, and is undefeated.
140 — Jesse Johnson, Berwick.
A week ago, Meyers’ Dave Solomon would have been selected. But Solomon had
the misfortune of two consecutive bad outings. At this point of the season,
nobody has been tougher than Johnson at 140. Valley West’s Mike Hando has also
had an outstanding season.
145 — Brian Hilburt, Meyers.
Hilburt started slowly, but still managed to win. Lately, Hilburt has been
dominating opponents. Coughlin’s Jamie Sperrazza should also be considered.
152 — Bill Hilburt, Meyers.
Like brother Brian, Bill also started slowly. But, like Brian, he is also
undefeated.
160 — Pittston Area’s Tony Barbrie/Dallas’ Aaron Gingo.
Both are undefeated and didn’t hook up when the Patriots met the
Mountaineers.
171 — Mario LaBrutte, Pittston Area.
LaBrutte has elevated himself from a sub-.500 wrestler last season to a
12-0 record in the WVC this season.
189 — Dave “Moose” Rohrbach, Coughlin.
The “Moose” has been on the loose this season in the WVC and nobody has
been able to catch him. He will probably drop to 171 for districts.
Heavyweight — Josh “Bubba” Blockus, Wyoming Valley West.
“Bubba” has emerged as the premier heavyweight in the WVC. Blockus has
defeated tough opponents such as Crestwood’s Bill Langin, Lake-Lehman’s Vito
Pilosi and Berwick’s Robert Welch.
Coach of the Year: Coughlin’s Dana Balum.
The veteran of 23 seasons has made all the right moves and has his Crusader
squad peaking heading into districts.
* * *
“Chin” knows wrestling: While Coughlin freshman Chin Orih is an all-state
soccer player, he’s also quickly established himself as a force on the mat.
Orih ranks among the league’s best 125 pounders with a 12-1 record and has
proven he has more skills than just kicking a ball into a goal.
“I think Chin has shown that he could do more than play soccer,” Balum
said. “He’s so quick and uses that to his advantage.”
* * *
Takedowns: The sites for the District 2 championships have been set. The
opening round of the Class AA championships will be held Friday at Wyoming
Valley West, while the AAA meet will also be Friday, at Hazleton Area. The
final rounds for both divisions will be at Hazleton on Saturday … With its
two victories last Saturday, Lake-Lehman clinched the mythical Wyoming Valley
Conference overall championship. The Knights (19-0) are rated eighth in the
latest edition of the Keystone State Rankings … Crestwood’s Anthony Morris
holds the distinction of the fastest pin in the WVC. Morris’ six-second fall
against Nanticoke was tops this season.
Scott Fertal
Wrestling Notes