Pennsbury Wrestling

Bucks County Courier Times By Scott Esposito FAIRLESS HILLS - Brian Sellers has put his heart and soul into wrestling since the second grade, when he started out with the Pennsbury Falcons youth organization. Now a senior at Pennsbury High, his work ethic and techniques have improved vastly to where he's a strong contender for the state title. "Brian has been an outstanding wrestler now for four or five years," said Pennsbury coach Joe Kiefer, whose Falcons improved to 14-0 last night with a 44-19 Suburban One League victory over William Tennent. Sellers, who last night worked in the 119-pound category, needed just 52 seconds to pin Steve South and improve his season record to 20-1 and career mark to 108-19. He needs 22 wins to match the Pennsbury record for career victories, held by Kiefer's son, Kip, and Chuckie Connor. "Brian is very quick and strong," Kiefer said. "He really dominates at times." Sellers played soccer, mostly as a midfielder, and wrestled while growing up. His brother, Jason, who wrestled for and graduated from Pennsbury in 1993, is the reason Brian joined the Falcons' youth organization. "There's a lot to learn in terms of technique, which is why it's so important to start at a young age," said Jason, who earned a master's in business from the University of Delaware and now works in real estate investing. Brian took his brother's advice, but continued to play soccer as well. He played JV soccer at Pennsbury as a freshman, but quit soccer after that to focus on wrestling. In the spring, he doesn't run track or play baseball. Instead, he wrestles freestyle in various tournaments. "Wrestling just started as something to do besides soccer," Brian said. "Eventually, I got better and better at it, and got to where I like it better than soccer." Sellers is one of several standouts for Pennsbury. Senior Joe Bowman (140-152) moved to 21-0 by pinning John Betschner in 3:45. "Joe is steady and strong," Kiefer said. "The one negative is that he can get frustrated at times, as we saw tonight. But overall, he's technically sound." Senior Joe Zizzo (135) moved to 20-2 with a 6-5 decision over Joe Leary. Sophomore Lee Milas (103) moved to 19-3 with a 7-3 decision over Adam Schwartz. Milas likely will be the 103-pounder for the rest of the season because junior Kyle Palucis is probably lost for the year with a knee injury. "He's fit in well," Kiefer said. "Tonight he started real well, but lost focus and tried to force some moves. As a result, he allowed the Tennent player to make the match exciting for the fans." Tennent (1-3) got fine efforts from junior Dave Schreiner (160), who improved to 12-1 with a 14-3 decision over Kyle Allen, as well as junior Curtis Beardsell (152), who moved to 14-0 by pinning Kurt Sunderland in 2:13. Tennent senior Sonny Flood (171) won a 6-4 overtime decision from Bobby Speer, marking Speer's second loss (16-2) of the season. Kiefer applauded those efforts, but also criticized his team. "I'm not pleased with the way we wrestled," he said. "I don't mean to take anything away from William Tennent, but I felt we were sloppy and lethargic. We weren't focused and made too many mistakes. We gave away a lot of points just before the buzzer because we weren't focused."

Gold Medal 103 1...Seth Ciasulli(SO)....Easton...11 2...Morgan Baublitz(JR)....Cumberland Valley...3* 3...Steven Mytych(SO)....Pleasant Valley...11* 4...Chris Neidermeier(SO)....Waynesburg...7 5...Jon Bittenger(JR)....Albert Gallatin...7 6...Brandon Christman(FR)....Whitehall...11 7...Hadley Harrison(FR)....General McClane...10 8...Rob Morrison(FR)....Cedar Cliff...3 9...Will Horvath(FR)....Liberty...11 10...Paul Bacci(JR)....Conestoga...1 11...Ryan Bosso(SO)....Penn Manor...3 12...Matt Kyler(FR)....Clearfield...9 13...Anthony Zehring(JR)....Middletown...3 14...Mike Trnzadel(JR)....Wissahickon...1 15...Kyle Fluke(FR)....State College...6 16...Ray Ward(SR)....Stroudsburg...11 112 1...Coleman Scott(JR)....Waynesburg...7*** 2...Brad Pataky(SO)....Clearfield...9** 3...Bill Spencer(SR)....Highlands...7** 4...Tim Harner(JR)....Norristown...1** 5...Brian Sellers(SR)....Pennsbury...1** 6...Nate Nauroth(SO)....Quakertown...1** 7...Micheal Goslicky(SR)....Thomas Jefferson...7** 8...Alex Krom(SO)....Easton...11* 9...Joe Kemmerer(JR)....Crestwood...2* 10...Jeremy Griffith(SR)....Berwick...2** 11...Scott Sehar(SR)....Central Dauphin...3 12...Garrett Barbush(SR)....Manheim Central...3* 13...Billy Stenack(SO)....Northampton...11 14...Eric Albright(SO)....West York...3* 15...Steve Bell(SO)....Connellsville...7 16...Jarrett Hostetter(SO)....Oxford...1* 119 1...Mark McKnight(SR)....Chartiers Valley...7** 2...Drew Headlee(SR)....Waynesburg...7*** 3...Jared Royer(JR)....Cedar Cliff...3** 4...Casey Moore(JR)....Central Mountain...6* 5...Mike Sees(JR)....Shikellamy...4** 6...Sean Clair(SO)....Plum...7** 7...Brian Jones(SR)....Phillipsburg-Osceola...6* 8...Nick Nauroth(SR)....Quakertown...1* 9...Wes Kuser(JR)....Governor Mifflin...3 10...Kevin Henning(SR)....Spring Grove...3 11...Braylin Williams(FR)....Easton...11 12...Ryan Jablonski(SR)....Norristown...1 13...Ashtin Primus(FR)....Connellsville...7 14...Reinaldo Merced(SR)....Freedom...11 15...John Paukovits(SO)....Northampton...11 16...Quint Eno(SR)....Elizabethtown...3* 125 1...Tim Haas (SR)....Cedar Cliff...3*** 2...Joe Ciampoli(JR)....Altoona...6** 3...Clinton Shirk(JR)....Bald Eagle Area...6** 4...Kyle Keane(SO)....Bradford...9* 5...Mark Throckmorton(JR)....Waynesburg...7* 6...Dan Burkholder(SO)....Trinity...7 7...Charles Griffin(JR)....Reading...3* 8...Brandon Behrer(JR)....State College...6 9...David Pienaar(SO)....Greensburg CC...7 10...Dan Enciso(SR)....Valley...7 11...Joe Caramanica(SO)....Nazareth...11 12...AJ Moore(SR)....Kiski Area...7 13...Dan Vagnozzi(SR)....Pennsbury...1 14...Darren Kern(JR)....Upper Perkiomen...1 15...Joe Creazzo(SR)....Easton...11 16...Dave Gilio(SO)....Northampton...11 130 1...Donnie Jones(SO)....Greensburg-Salem...7* 2...Bryan Hart(SR)....Easton...11 3...Clint Collins(SO)....Upper Merion...1* 4...Chris Ramos(JR)....Governor Mifflin...3** 5...Joey Ecklof(SO)....Northampton...11 6...Jay Morrison(JR)....Whitehall...11** 7...Joe Provini(SR)....Nazareth...11** 8...Nathan Geesaman(SR)....Waynesboro...3 9...Bart Wylie(JR)....Seneca Valley...7* 10...Tim McGoldrick(SO)....Pleasant Valley...11 11...Mark Day(SR)....Trinity...7 12...Billy Martin(SR)....Avon Grove...1 13...Nick Yalch(SR)....Berwick...2 14...Mike Mowbray(SR)....Upper Darby...1 15...Mike Catalano(SO)....Canon McMillan...7 16...Archie McConnell(SO)....Solanco...3 135 1...Doug Surra(SR)....St. Mary's...9** 2...Dave Morgan(JR)....West Scranton...2** 3...Daren Murray(SR)....Central Dauphin...3** 4...Ian McGoldrick(SR)....Pleasant Valley...11 5...Chris Renninger(SR)....Blue Mountain...11** 6...Mark Fisher(SR)....Bald Eagle Area...6* 7...Matt Lower(SR)....State College...6 8...Mark Powell(JR)....Trinity...7* 9...Tommy Picarsic(SO)....Penn Trafford...7* 10...Joe Zizzo(SR)....Pennsbury...1 11...Sean Cote(SR)....Chartiers Valley...7 12...Erik Goodling(SO)....Cumberland Valley...3 13...Scott Rokosky(SR)....Pottsville...11 14...Zach Gill(SR)....Shikellamy...4 15...Eric Svec(SR)....Greensburg Salem...7 16...Zac Knorr(SR)....Spring Ford...1 140 1...Mike Rodgers(JR)....Easton...11*** 2...Matt Barnett(SR)....Hempfield...3** 3...Scott Heckman(SR)....Bangor...11** 4...Jared Mowl(JR)....Moon...7* 5...Dan Geib(JR)....Souderton...1* 6...Hayden Harrison(JR)....General McClane...10* 7...Jake Rathfon(SR)....Downingtown...1* 8...Devon Smith(SR)....Upper Perkiomen...1 9...Kyle Fiekles(SR)....Erie Prep...10 10...Jereme Heisey(SO)....Manheim Central...3 11...Scott Maney(SR)....Bald Eagle Area...6* 12...Bob Ireland(SR)....Neshaminy...1* 13...Kyle Martin(JR)....Connellsville...7 14...Matt Bush(SR)....Phillipsburg Osceola...6 15...Angelo Manifest(SR)....Kiski Area...7 16...Derek Deutsch(JR)....Nazareth...11 145 1...Jeff Ecklof(SR)....Northampton...11** 2...Brandon Guenot(SR)....Bald Eagle Area...6** 3...Matt Kocher(SR)....State College...6** 4...Jarrod King(JR)....Connellsville...7** 5...Joe Bowman(SR)....Pennsbury...1** 6...Bryan Kuhn(JR)....Erie McDowell...10* 7...Ben Young(SR)....Downingtown...1* 8...Ian Tobin(JR)....Titusville...10* 9...Mike Dimotsis(SR)....North Penn...1* 10...Chris Murray(JR)....Central Dauphin...3 11...Mike Ferrara(SR)....Pleasant Valley...11 12...Rob Melly(SR)....Lower Dauphin...3 13...Brian Rowan(JR)....Neshaminy...1 14...Kurt Lorenz(SR)....Kiski Area...7 15...Justin Lilly(SO)....Nazareth...11 16...Luke Harrison(SR)....General McLane...10 152 1...Brad Herman(SR)....Parkland...11** 2...Albert Miles(SR)....Canon McMillan...7** 3...Taylor Letters(SR)....Shaler...7** 4...Anthony Angeline(SR)....Lampeter Strasburg...3** 5...Kirk Main(SR)....McGuffey...7** 6...Zach Brower(JR)....Boyertown...1** 7...Sean Richmond(JR)....Easton...11 8...Billy Haydt(JR)....Northampton...11 9...Ed Sholtz(SR)....Wissahickon...1* 10...Eric Fisher(SR)....Bald Eagle Area...6** 11...Nate Cain(SR)....Dowingtown...1 12...Hudson Harrison(SR)....General McClane...10 13...Chad Sutliff(SR)....Conneaut Lake...10* 14...Bryan Lekawa(SR)....Latrobe...7 15...Chris Tate(SR)....Garnet Valley...1 16...Jon Shorts(SR)....West York...3 160 1...Zach Fryling(SR)....North Penn...1*** 2...Neil Bretz(JR)....Cumberland Valley...3* 3...Matt Lear(SR)....Easton...11** 4...Mickey Moran(JR)....Shaler...7* 5...Dave Schreiner(JR)....William Tennent...1* 6...Logan Downes(SO)....Valley...7* 7...Matt Fetzer(SR)....Indian Valley...6* 8...Mark Murphy(SR)....Northern...3* 9...Jason Hollar(SR)....Red Lion...3 10...Rich Brooks(SR)....State College...6 11...Tommy Shultz(JR)....Latrobe...7 12...Zek Lane(JR)....Allen...11 13...Nick Wood(SR)....Corry...10 14...TJ Morrison(SR)....Cedar Cliff...3 15...Matt Horne(SR)....Conneaut Lake...10 16...Pat Warusz(SR)....Neshaminy...1 171 1...Jake Herbert(SR)....North Allegheny...7** 2...Josh Weitzel(SR)....Oxford...1** 3...Josh Arnone(SO)....Honesdale...2** 4...Joe Ammendola(SR)....Wissahickon...1* 5...Mike Metzger(SR)....Governor Mifflin...3* 6...Brandon Hill(SR)....North Penn...1* 7...Ryan Nowicki(SR)....Northampton...11** 8...Mike Heist(SR)....Parkland...11* 9...Charlie Pienaar(SR)....Penn Trafford...7 10...John Ptak(SR)....Albert Gallatin...7* 11...Steve Chirieleison(SR)....Plum...7 12...Jon Kokinda(SR)....Council Rock North...1 13...Mike Corcetti(SR)....Kiski Area...7 14...Lance Wilt(SR)....Central Mountain...6 15...Mike Pierson(SR)....Upper Perkiomen...1 16...Adam Weaver(SR)....West Perry...3 189 1...Phillip Davis(SR)....Harrisburg...3** 2...Josh Haines(JR)....Northampton...11** 3...Eric Cassidy(SR)....North Alleghany...7** 4...Tyler McCall(SR)....Central Mountain...6 5...Nick Guida(SO)....Parkland...11** 6...Stephen Breese(SR)....McGuffey...7** 7...Nick Voelker(SR)....Erie Prep...10* 8...Marc Decker(SR)....State College...6* 9...Kyle Narkiewicz(SR)....Warwick...3* 10...Nick Pedezan(JR)....Penn Trafford...7 11...Monty Rockey(JR)....Bald Eagle Area...6 12...Jess Kulp(SR)....Southern Lehigh...11 13...Bret Caldwell(SR)....Solanco...3 14...Ed Kenzakoski(JR)....Coughlin...2 15...Pat Heim(SR)....Conestoga...1 16...Zach Stank(SR)....Central Dauphin...3 215 1...Jon Oplinger(JR)....Northampton...11** 2...Adam Lopiccolo(SR)....Susquehannock...3** 3...Josh Evans(SR)....Pottsville...11* 4...Scott McKillop(JR)....Kiski Area...7* 5...Adam Parcell(SR)....Interboro...1* 6...Marcus Millen(JR)....Easton...11 7...Adam Atiyeh(JR)....Parkland...11 8...Doug Weidner(JR)....Pennridge...1* 9...John Lavoranti(JR)....Pittston Area...2 10...Sam Ansel(SR)....Latrobe...7 11...Jim Martin(SR)....Wyoming Valley West...2 12...Kyle Chandler(SR)....Coatesville...1 13...Kyle Sprenkle(JR)....Spring Grove...3 14...Ryan Collins(SR)....Council Rock North...1 15...Nic San Doval(SR)....Central Catholic...7 16...Chris Koziarski(SR)....Erie Prep...10 275 1...Tyler Rees(SR)....Northern...3** 2...Ryan Marovich(SR)....Erie McDowell...10** 3...Joel Yoder(SR)....Bald Eagle Area...6* 4...Geoff Donahue(SR)....Neshaminy...1** 5...Zach Sheaffer(JR)....Cumberland Valley...3* 6...Jeremy Hockenberry(JR)....West Perry...3 7...Nick DeBartolo(JR)....Upper St. Clair...7 8...Brandon Rupert(SR)....Kiski Area...7 9...Mike Powell(SR)....Canon McMillan...7 10...Jason Groller(JR)....Easton...11 11...Jay O'Hora(SR)....Selinsgrove...4 12...Ryan Kittrick(SR)....Coughlin...2 13...Mike Wilson(JR)....Stroudsburg...11 14...Will Mechelski(JR)....Southwestern...3 15...Jason Fronczak(SR)....Montour...7 16...Jon Altemus(SR)....Clearfield...9 ***=Returning State Champion **=Returning State Placewinner *=Returning State Qualifier TOP 10 AAA DUAL MEET TEAMS 1....Easton...11 2....Northampton...11 3....Bald Eagle Area...6 4....Pennsbury...1 5....Upper Perkiomen...1 6....State College...6 7....Nazareth...11 8....Kiski Area...7 9....Cumberland Valley...3 10....Parkland...11 HONORABLE MENTION Central Dauphin...3 Pleasant Valley...11 Trinity...7 Connellsville...7 Clearfield...9

Trentonian Things sure haven't changed very much for Pennsbury after it blew through Florida in December and caused the most carnage in the Sunshine State since Hurricane Floyd. The No. 1 ranked team in the area and 13-0 on the season, Pennsbury just massacred two more opponents in Pennsylvania. This leaves the Pennsbury dual match advantage at a staggering 863-70. Only one team - Germantown Academy in a 60-10 loss - has won more than two bouts against Joe Kiefer's Falcons. Now, we know a lot of our readers around New Jersey are asking. Who the heck is Pennsbury and where is it located? Pennsbury is actually right across the river from Trenton, was 22-1 last year, has a long tradition in wrestling and is legitimate. In fact, if the Falcons were in New Jersey, they'd be right in the top five mix of the state. At least one coach in New Jersey is aware of the Falcons, who previously were better known for having an awesome softball team and the best football program in Pennsylvania back in the 1970s. "I saw them coming on at the Moorestown (summer) tournament a couple of years ago," said Lenape coach Russ "The Magnificent" Minuto. "They're very good." Area Rankings 1. Pennsbury (13-0) 2. Hunterdon Central (3-0) 3. North Hunterdon (2-0) 4. Neshaminy (3-0) 5. Rancocas Valley (5-0) 6. Delaware Valley (1-2-1) 7. Lenape (3-0) 8. Pemberton (3-0) 9. Voorhees (1-0) 10. Delran (3-2) 11. Cinnaminson (3-0-1) 12. South Brunswick (1-4) 13. Council Rock North (2-1) 14. Peddie (8-0) 15. Truman (4-2) 16. Bensalem (3-4) 17. No. Burlington (3-1-1) 18. Hamilton (1-4) 19. Cherokee (1-3) 20. Burlington Township (1-1)

Bucks County Courier Times

Honorable Mention 1/5/03

WRESTLING: Joe Bowman, Pennsbury: Falcons' 145-pounder won for the 100th time in his career at the Delone Catholic Christmas Tournament. He defeated National Prep Tournament placewinner Ryan Kennett of Haverford by a score of 8-5 and his record now stands at 18-0. His win helped Pennsbury to a first-place finish.

Honorable Mention 12/25/02

WRESTLING: Dan Vagnozzi and Pat Frain of Pennsbury: Vagnozzi (13-1), 125-pounder, finished 8-0 at KSA Tournament in Orlando, helping lead the Falcons to the tournament title. Frain finished 8-0 at 189 pounds in the KSA Tournament. He helped the Falcons establish a team record for points and tie it the next day with 76-0 victories over Okton, Va., and Hoover, Ala.

Bucks County Courier Times Joe Bowman’s toughness is a big reason for his success, particularly this year. The 145-pound senior boasts a perfect 20-0 record. By Al Thompson FAIRLESS HILLS - When Eagles head coach Andy Reid brought in linemen Stephen Neal and Kelly Gregg to try out for his team as free agents a couple of years ago, he didn’t bring them in because of their football prowess. In fact, Neal ever played a down of college football. Reid brought them in because they were championship wrestlers. Reid said he liked wrestlers because he saw a “special toughness” in them. It was an attribute he wanted to rub off on the rest of his football team. Reid would no doubt love Pennsbury’s 145-pound grappler Joe Bowman. Bowman upped his individual record to 20-0 after pinning Bensalem’s Ed McNelis in 1:47, helping the Falcons (13-0) roll to a 55-9 win over the Owls (3-4) yesterday afternoon. Falcons head coach Joe Kiefer said his senior’s toughness has been a key element in his team’s success over the last four seasons. “It’s one of his trademarks to be a hard-nosed, stick-his-nose-in-there wrestler,” Kiefer said. “He wrestles tough with all his opponents, and he does a good job of that.” Another sign of toughness for Bowman was how he rebounded from a dislocated elbow in each of the last two seasons to come back stronger and a better wrestler. Bowman compiled a 40-10 record as a junior, finishing eighth in the states, having to withdraw from the tournament with the elbow injury. “It’s something that he’s suffered twice and been through and rehabilitated,” Kiefer said. “And that is more to his credit.” Bowman says he was disappointed how his junior season finished. He won’t, however, look any further than the regular season when talking about goals. He is considered a legitimate contender for the state title. “My goal right now is to get through the (regular) season without getting hurt,” he said. “Then once postseasons comes, it will be to wrestle my best. Once I get to the states, then I’ll set my other goals.” Bowman says toughness for a wrestler comes from the discipline it takes to be successful. “Wrestling has a different kind of toughness,” Bowman said. “When you go out to wrestle, you not only have to be tough (on the mat) but you have to have a mental toughness to keep your weight under control....to hold your weight all week and then make it. Football is tough, I played football, but in wrestling, you’re going at it one-on-one and that is why it is so tough.” Kiefer said he knew what special toughness to which Reid was referring. “I think the big thing is the one-on-one competition,” Kiefer said. “Certainly tennis is one-on-one, but it’s not man vs. man. There are rackets, balls and courts involved. Here it’s that one-on-one competition with another human being, out in front of everybody in the gym. There’s no one to blame it (defeat) on but yourself … you have to take responsibility. I think that is the thing that builds a lot of character in a young man.” Kiefer is starting to realize that the kid he has watched grow up to become a young man, and who has been such a big part of his program, will be gone in a few short months. “It’s going to be kind of unusual next year to walk in here and not see Joe Bowman,” Kiefer said. “It just seems like he’s been there forever.” Bowman wrestled through the Pennsbury midget program, middle school and four years of varsity. “I’ve known him since he was 5 years old,” Kiefer said with a slight look of sadness on his face. “He’s been wrestling since he was 6. He’s always been outstanding. He’s just gotten better and better. I’m real proud of him.”