D2 CLASS 3A WRESTLING: Abington Heights claims title; West's Turi most outstanding

Feb. 25—PLAINS TWP. — Two months ago, Abington Heights was a little underwhelmed after its second-place finish at the Lackawanna League wrestling championships.

The team's stars, Luke Sirianni, Austin Smith, Brian Heard and Caleb Marzolino, won league titles, but the Comets didn't perform the way they'd hoped in the other weight classes.

That changed on a bigger stage Saturday.

Sirianni (107 pounds), Smith (139), Heard (152) and Marzolino (189) captured titles, Sam Stevens (145) earned silver and Brady Kareha (114) and Luke Evans (127) claimed bronze to lead the Comets to the team title at the District 2 Class 3A championships at Wilkes-Barre Area High School.

"We did extremely well," Smith said after securing his fourth pin of the tournament for the 139 title for his third district crown. "All the kids that lost are wrestling back for third place and that's ultimately what clinched the district title for the team."

Those seven gave Abington Heights the most Northeast Regional qualifiers, as the top four in each weight class will advance to the tournament, which is Friday and Saturday at Bethlehem Liberty High School.

"I'm trying not to focus on (regionals)," Heard said after cruising to the 152 title with two first-period pins and a technical fall in the final for his second district crown. "I didn't look at the District 11 brackets at all. I'm just going to go in there, take it one match at a time and just hopefully work our way up to the championship."

Kareha lost his quarterfinal match Friday by one point, but secured a pin and two decisions in the consolation bracket to claim third. After advancing to the semifinals, Evans opened Saturday with a loss, but secured a pin and an 8-7 victory in the third-place match. Stevens battled for a second-period pin against Delaware Valley's Luke Brazanskas in the semifinals before losing in the final.

"We're super competitive, and we're competitive against each other," Marzolino said after pinning his way to a second district title. "Everyone wants everyone to succeed. Everyone wants to be the guy winning, so it's really nice to see it all coming along in the end."

Sirianni secured two pins and an 8-5 decision over Wyoming Valley West's Dorian Hoffman for his third straight district championship.

"We did start a little slow yesterday actually, but I think we realized that overnight, got up this morning, had a good talk with each other and had a pretty good solid few rounds," Sirianni said.

Best of the West

West Scranton's Michael Turi made the most of his first district tournament. In fact, the coaches thought his performance proved the most impressive in Class 3A.

The Invaders freshman dominated the 127-pound weight class with three pins and a technical fall to cruise to the championship and the title of most outstanding wrestler.

"It's great," Turi said. "I've been working hard these last couple years, so it just pays off."

One of Turi's three pins came against Wallenpaupack's Jaden Colwell, a district champion last season, in the final. Turi jumped up and celebrated when the official's hand hit the mat.

"The emotions just came over me and I got really excited," Turi said. "It was really cool."

He was one of four Invaders, including his brother M.J. (145), Jason Williams (121) and Tyson Cook (114), to capture titles, the best total in program history.

"As a captain, my teammates are like my friends and almost like family," said Cook, who secured a pin, a technical fall, a major decision and a decision to claim his first district title. "I'm extremely proud. To see so many guys getting to regionals is just amazing."

M.J. said his brother's victory gave him a boost for his match.

"Honestly, I just think it helps that he's there and that he won it first," M.J. Turi said after securing his first district title. "It just gives me motivation to just keep going every day in the room and whatever we're doing, we just help each other all the time."

Colby Celuck (172) placed third to also secure a spot at regionals.

"The team's performance was pretty great," Williams said after earning the 121 title with one pin and two decisions. "Four champions is a school record, so that's the goal we're shooting for here and that's amazing. I'm very proud of my team."

Other champions

C.J. Walton (172) and Aiden Black (285) secured titles to lead Delaware Valley to a second-place finish.

"It feels great," Walton said after one pin and two decisions to claim his first district crown. "Now it puts me in a better spot for regionals next week."

Black secured two pins and a major decision en route to his first district title.

"I definitely felt that throughout my matches, especially that last one, my lungs felt really good," the Delaware Valley junior said. "I felt in really good condition. It's that postseason shape that I'm trying to be in. I just felt really good and I felt comfortable, especially in that last match."

Wallenpauck's Gunnar Myers claimed his second district crown after a 3-1 sudden victory over Delaware Valley's Dom Moyer.

"He's tough," Myers said of Moyer. "He came in with a good gameplan. It's hard to score when kids come in with a good gameplan sometimes, but you've just got to stay composed. He wrestled great."

Contact the writer: jbaress@timesshamrock.com