12 Pocono wrestlers to watch heading into EPC team championship

With January coming to a close, wrestling teams from around the Poconos will head to the EPC team championship tournament held at Easton Middle School on Saturday.

Although Stroudsburg is the only local team with a winning team record, there are plenty of varsity wrestlers looking to compete in the individual tournaments later this season. The EPC team championship will give these wrestlers a chance to stand out.

Stroudsburg, Pocono Mountain East and Pleasant Valley each have several wrestlers with the chance to make the podium in the individual tournaments, and East Stroudsburg North looks poised to return senior Wayne McIntyre to the PIAA tournament.

Here's the wrestlers to keep an eye on Saturday.

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106: Zachary Berwick, freshman, Stroudsburg

The first four wins of Berwick's varsity wrestling season came via forfeits, but the winning never stopped once the freshman actually hit the mat. Berwick has a 21-3 record consisting almost entirely of pins. Berwick won via pin 13 times, compared to five by forfeit, two by decision and one by technical fall.

113: Mark Ortiz, senior, Stroudsburg

Ortiz spent the first week of the season wrestling at 120, but dropped to 113 after an 8-0 start. The Stroudsburg senior has continued dominating at 113 with a 16-5 record. Ortiz's 24 wins this season leads all Pocono wrestlers; expect that number to only increase.

120: Jake Brown, junior, Stroudsburg; Josh Marrero, junior, Pocono Mountain East

Brown dropped down to the 120-pound class after starting the season at 126, and, while the results have been mixed thus far, his six losses at 120 have mostly been close matches. Easton represents one of the Lehigh Valley's many difficult obstacles for Pocono wrestlers, but Brown's loss by a 2-1 decision to Easton's Benjamin Fanelli suggests he can handle the challenge.

Marrero is a sneaky candidate to compete in the 120-pound class at districts. The East junior competed in districts at 113 pounds as a freshman before missing out on his sophomore season last winter. In his return to wrestling Marrero has 13 wins to nine losses and hasn't faced a overly lopsided defeat.

126: Keegan Demarest, sophomore, Pocono Mountain East; Everett Lata, senior, Pleasant Valley

Just a sophomore, Demarest has already declared himself one of the area's top wrestlers. He placed fourth in District 11 Class 3A as a freshman wrestling at 120 pounds and is 16-8 at 126 pounds in his second year with the team.

Lata took a huge step forward for Pleasant Valley as a senior, compiling so far a 16-8 record in his first season wrestling at 126 pounds. January gave Lata a stretch of tough matches against Freedom and Easton, as well as two-time state qualifier Robert Gardner out of South Williamsport.

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132: Mikey Hollar, junior, Pocono Mountain East

Hollar's 16 wins match Demarest for East's team leaders this season, which doesn't come as a big surprise for the Cardinals duo. Hollar competed in the district tournament each of his first two years with the team — he's shown the talent is there and has a legitimate shot to medal this year.

138: Josh Griffith, senior, Pleasant Valley

Griffith struggled early in the season before moving up to 138, where he's won eight of 12 matches. The PV senior also has won five of six matches at 132 pounds since his first match at 138 on Dec. 17.

160: Evan Raposo, senior, East Stroudsburg North

Raposo has wrestled just four matches at 160 pounds after going 7-3 in the class as a junior, but with pins in all four matches it seems like he's the Poconos' best shot at winning in this weight class.

189: James Syracuse, senior, Pleasant Valley; Wayne McIntyre, senior, East Stroudsburg North

Syracuse has been the Poconos' most dominant wrestler this winter, as the PV senior got off to a 22-1 start. His only loss was a 5-3 decision on Dec. 16 against Bethlehem Catholic's Augustus Warke. Fifteen of Syracuse's wins were via pins, five of which took fewer than 60 seconds.

While Syracuse's record is a touch better than McIntyre's 18-4 performance so far, McIntyre proved in the past that he's up there with the best in the state. The Timberwolves senior appeared in the PIAA tournament after finishing No. 3 in the North East AAA Regional as a junior.

McIntyre placed sixth at regionals as a sophomore and advanced to districts as a freshman, where he lost in the second round to eventual champion Julian Chlebove of Northampton. Chlebove, a senior at the time, went on to win his third state championship after defeating a freshman McIntyre.

285: Glenn Pittius, senior, Pocono Mountain West

The heavier weight classes feature few Pocono wrestlers, but if there's one to watch out for, it's West's Glenn Pittius.

The Panthers big man has lost just one match this winter, which came against two-time state qualifier Matthew Cruise of Easton. Pittius' 12 wins this season came via 10 pins and two forfeits. If he's got an opponent to wrestle, Pittius will be ready for the action.

Win-loss records are courtesy of pa-wrestling.com.

Frank Piscani is the Sports Life multimedia reporter at the Pocono Record. You can email him at fpiscani@gannett.com or find him on social media platforms @frankpiscani.

This article originally appeared on Pocono Record: EPC wrestling championship: Top competitors to watch from the Poconos