Pennsbury Wrestling

Trentonian The Area's Finest - North Hunterdon's Frondorf named Wrestler of the Year Featuring the best from 48 high schools throughout the Delaware Valley, today we present The Trentonian's annual All-Area Wrestling team. The Wrestler of the Year is North Hunterdon's superlative 152-pound junior Ricky Frondorf, who is one of two state champions on the team along with Holy Cross junior Adam Cooney. Our Coach of the Year is Pennsbury's Joe Kiefer. Although it had only half a team, Peddie ended up with the most first teamers with three. Checking in with two apiece were Neshaminy and Pennsbury. KYLE MILANESE The Delran 103-pounder had a fantastic sophomore season, going 34-2 en route to district and region titles. Milanese ended up fifth in the state and tied an unofficial New Jersey record by not giving up a single point in 24 straight bouts. BRIAN SELLERS A junior with outstanding quickness, Sellers was 44-6 on the season and advanced the furthest of any locals at the PIAA Class AAA states with a fifth in Hershey at 112 pounds. Sellers was also a sectional champion and third at regions. FRANK PAGE The Colonial Valley Conference's all-time winningest wrestler with a 118-13 mark, Page capped off an outstanding career with a first at District 25 and second at Region VII at 119 pounds He also became just the third wrestler to win four Mercer County Tournament titles. STEVE SEEMULLER The Cinnaminson sophomore put together a solid season with a 29-5 record. Seemuller was a District 26 champion and second at Region VII at 125 pounds. He also advanced to states where he lost to Brick Memorial's Marc Rosenfield, 4-2. ERIC BEITZ A junior at Hunterdon Central, Beitz heads up the 130-pound weight class after going 24-5 on the year. Beitz was a Hunterdon-Warren champion, first at District 17 and also fourth at Region V. KYLE NASDEO Although he was forced to settle for a somewhat disappointing sixth at states, the South Brunswick senior still enjoyed an outstanding season. Nasdeo was 34-5, first at districts and captured a third straight Region V championship. JOE BOWMAN The Pennsbury junior heads up a strong weight class that also includes Pemberton's Antoine Ketler, who was sixth in the state. Bowman was forced to settle for eighth in Pennsylvania, but injury defaulted his last two bouts. Bowman was 41-11, first at sectionals and third at regions. DAVE ICENHOWER Heading to the College of New Jersey to wrestle for his father, Icenhower wrapped up a strong career at the Peddie School with a 34-6 record and an impressive third at Prep Nationals. He was second at Prep States behind national champion Mark Perry of Blair. RICKY FRONDORF Our Wrestler of the Year,Frondorf went the distance with a 39-0 record that, obviously,included a state title at 152 pounds. Absolutely superb on his feet, Frondorf was the first North Hunterdon state champion since 1988 and will be receiving all kinds of college offers. BILL HUNT It was a tough call at 160-pounds between Neshaminy's Hunt and Jon Schimpf of Pennsbury. Schimpf won the first two meetings this year, including the sectional final. Hunt, however, rebounded to knock Schimpf out of districts and then advanced to states with a third at regions. Hunt's final record was 25-15. KEITH O'DONNELL A "junior'' at the The Peddie School, O'Donnell was 30-5 with four of the losses coming to Blair standout Matt Palmer. The other loss was to New Jersey state champion Nick Roy of Wall. All five losses were fairly close decisions. O'Donnell was second at Prep Nationals and pinned 23 opponents this year. KEVIN FOX A transfer from South Brunswick, the Peddie "junior'' went 32-4 and was first at the St. Alban's Tournament. He was second at Prep States where he injury defaulted the final with a broken hand and still managed to finish fourth at Prep Nats. ADAM COONEY The standout Holy Cross junior won a state championship this year after losing a one-point decision in the finals the year before. Cooney was 38-1, losing only in the finals of the Beast of the East Tournament. He will be a big favorite to repeat as a state champion next year. GEOFF DONAHUE A Division I football prospect on Neshaminy's state champion team, Donahue went 32-6 in his junior season. The Redskins heavyweight was a section, district and region champion and finished seventh in Pennsylvania. JOE KIEFER Our Coach of the Year, Kiefer guided the Falcons to a 22-1 record. The only loss for the Falcons was in the PIAA Class AAA State Dual Match finals against Easton, the No. 2 ranked team in the country. This was by far the best showing for any Lower Bucks team since Pennsylvania went to dual match championships. Pennsbury, of course, was also the Suburban One Patriot Division winner. Jon Schimpf was selected for the second team and Dan Vagnozzi copped third team honors. And consider this for next year: Pennsbury graduates only one starter.

Brian Sellers ATHLETICS: Finished fifth in the tough 112-pound weight class at the PIAA Class AAA wrestling championships. COACH'S COMMENT: "He accepted the challenge of (wrestling at) 112, even though there was a returning state champion there. He wanted to take the challenge. He's a fearless wrestler who really likes to go after people." — Joe Kiefer ATHLETIC GOAL: To improve weaknesses and place higher at the state tournament next year. ACADEMICS: A-B student. CAREER GOAL: To be a successful family man. FAVORITE ATHLETE: Allen Iverson. FAVORITE THING TO DO: Go to the movies. FAVORITE MOVIE: The Matrix. FAVORITE BAND: Anything hip-hop. FAVORITE FOOD: Pizza. COLLEGE LIST: Penn State, Rider, Lehigh, Drexel.

LEVITTOWN - Pennsbury's Jon Schimpf thought his high school wrestling career had come to an end two weeks ago. By JOE JONES Courier Times And with it, a chance to earn 100 career victories. But then the call came. Schimpf was selected to wrestle in last night's Delaware Valley Wrestling Officials' All-Star Challenge Meet of Champions at Harry S Truman. Representing the Southeastern Pennsylvania team, Schimpf wrestled in the second 171-pound match against Ben Weller, from Riverside, representing the N.J. Region 7 squad. Schimpf hadn't wrestled in two weeks. He jumped out to a 3-1 lead after the first period. And it appeared that would be more than enough for the Pennsbury senior to hit the century win mark. Then Weller drew to within 3-2 with an escape with just under 30 seconds remaining. "My coach will tell you I'm a pretty good staller," Schimpf said of his milestone 3-2 win. "I don't think he was too worried. "I guess I got a second chance (to get 100 wins). I thank God for that." WRESTLING ALL-STAR CHALLENGE: SOUTHEASTERN PA 33, N.J. REGION 7 22

8 area wrestlers in All-Star Classic The 13th Annual High School Wrestling All-Star Classic, featuring the best seniors in the match of Southeastern Pennsylvania vs. Southern New Jersey, will be held tonight at Harry S Truman High School at 7:30. Eight of the 14 Southeastern Pennsylvania participants are from Lower Bucks. They are Archbishop Wood's A.J. Barrett (130), Bensalem's Scott Miller (130), Conwell-Egan's Matt Pape (275); Truman's Kevin Moore (152), Neshaminy's Jonathan Denny (112), Jeremy Kershbaumer (125) and Bill Hunt (160) and Pennsbury's Jon Schimpf (171). Schimpf, a two-time sectional champion, will wrestle Riverside's Ben Weller, a district place winner.

By Tom Waring - Bucks County Courier Times PENNSBURY: Juniors Brian Sellers and Joe Bowman reached states. Sellers is making a return trip. He went 1-2 a year ago. Sellers is 40-4, having lost twice to two-time defending state champion Jermaine Jones of Henderson and once to Easton's Chad Sportelli (a Nebraska recruit and his first-round opponent tomorrow) and Neshaminy's Jon Denny (who placed eighth at states two years ago). "He can compete with guys who've placed at states, so you would think there's a realistic opportunity for him to place," said coach Joe Kiefer. Bowman has dominated most District One wrestlers because he's so good at takedowns. The competition will be a lot tougher in Hershey. "He has to be at the top of his game. If that happens, sure, he can place," Kiefer said. One of Kiefer's predecessors, John Kopack, was inducted into the District One Wrestling Hall of Fame on Saturday. Kopack, a 1954 graduate of Bristol High, wrestled at Millersville University. He won 158 matches and two league titles in 20 years as a coach at Pennsbury. He's also considered the "father" of the wrestleback system that is used in the postseason. His three children presented him with his induction plaque. Kopack is already a member of the Pennsbury Wrestling and Pennsylvania Wrestling Coaches Association halls of fame. 2/13/02 PENNSBURY: The Falcons finished the dual meet season 22-1, the only loss against PIAA Class AAA champion Easton in the semifinals. Junior Brian Sellers thinks his team has a chance to reach that level again. “We only have two seniors. We have a lot of guys coming back,” he said. Pennsbury will host the Section One Tournament on Saturday. The finals are set for 6 p.m. The top three finishers in each of the 13 weight classes advance to the District One North Tournament at Wissahickon. Like all teams, Pennsbury will finish wrestleoffs and make sure its wrestlers are at the proper weights before tomorrow night’s seeding meeting. Fans will see some interesting rematches of regular season matchups at sectionals. Coach Joe Kiefer believes it’s a whole new season. “Just because you’ve beaten somebody before, it may count toward seeding, but it doesn’t count for anything else,” the veteran coach said. 2/6/02 PENNSBURY: The Falcons are 20-0. After tonight's regular season finale against Council Rock, they'll face St. Mary's in the PIAA Class AAA Dual Meet Tournament on Friday. "The only way you prove you belong is to beat somebody," said coach Joe Kiefer. If Pennsbury beats St. Mary's, it will likely face District 11 champion Easton in the semifinals. How good is Easton? The Rovers beat Council Rock, 66-0, earlier this season. Everybody knows about Pennsbury stars like Brian Sellers and Jon Schimpf, but Kiefer attributes the unbeaten season to a team effort. For example, he points to junior Kevin Chisnell, who is often matched against the opponent's top wrestler for the good of the team. "His contribution is real important," Kiefer said of Chisnell. 1/30/02 PENNSBURY: The Falcons (16-0, 8-0 SOL Patriot) are the top seed in the District One Class AAA Dual Meet Tournament, but coach Joe Kiefer isn’t happy. There’s a possibility his team will wrestle Council Rock and Neshaminy or North Penn on Saturday. Those four teams are battling for the SOL Patriot crown. “I’m very disappointed in the seeding. It’s inappropriate for the four teams to all be in the same half-bracket,” Kiefer said. Kiefer likes going to the district duals because his wrestlers gain experience competing against teams from outside the Bucks County area. Five Falcons have more than 20 wins - Brian Sellers, Jon Schimpf, Pat Frain, Joe Bowman and Joe Bergen. 1/23/02 PENNSBURY: Coach Joe Kiefer likes his team's balance. He sees only a couple places where real improvement is needed. Joe Zizzo hopes to return from shoulder surgery. He was hurt in the team's pre-Christmas trip to Orlando, Fla. Also, Bobby Speer has returned to the program. Speer won 19 bouts a year ago, but didn't come out for wrestling this season so he could concentrate on football. Now he's back, just in time for big matches against North Penn, Neshaminy and Council Rock. "He's ready to go. We expect him to be a factor as we go down the stretch," said Kiefer, adding that Speer has competed in JV matches so far. 1/16/02 PENNSBURY: The Falcons (11-0, 3-0 Suburban One League Patriot Division), as usual, have strong lightweights. They opened leads of 25-0 vs. Abington, 38-0 vs. William Tennent and 27-0 vs. Pennridge. Kyle Palucis (103 pounds), Chris Strickland (112), Brian Sellers (119), Dan Vagnozzi (125) and Bill Trimble (130) all won their bouts in those three matches to spark Pennsbury to big leads. The Falcons will be good again next year in the lower weights, since the aforementioned fivesome consists of three juniors, a sophomore and a freshman. 1/9/02 PENNSBURY: The Falcons (9-0, 1-0 SOL Patriot) are not yet at full strength. Coach Joe Kiefer is hoping that Joe Zizzo and Chris Ryan return soon from minor injuries and that Serafin Lopez cracks the lineup. Pennsbury is thriving this year despite a young lineup. Two freshmen, Bill Trimble (130 pounds) and Ben Rees (135), are both 13-6. "I'm really, really pleased with Billy Trimble and Ben is just improving all the time, too," Kiefer said. Senior Jon Schimpf is 18-2 at 171 pounds, including a victory over Methacton's Az Numerato. 12/19/01 PENNSBURY: The Falcons finished sixth among 16 teams last weekend at the Carlisle Tournament. Coach Joe Kiefer said he hoped to do better in the tournament, which was dominated by Bloomsburg. Seven Falcons placed in the top six, led by 119-pound champion Brian Sellers. Sellers has won two titles this year (he was the Outstanding Wrestler at Haverford) and has lost only to two-time PIAA Class AAA champion Jermaine Jones of Henderson. Other Falcons who won medals were Jon Schimpf (third at 171), Joe Bergen (third at heavyweight), Dan Vagnozzi (fifth at 125). Pat Frain (fifth at 189), Ben Rees (sixth at 135) and Joe Bowman (sixth at 145). Pennsbury is leaving today to compete in the KSA Invitational dual meet tournament in Orlando. The Falcons will wrestle seven dual meets in a three-day period. There will be time to enjoy the sights in central Florida, but the Falcons will be looking to improve as a team. “Our first priority is the wrestling,” Kiefer said.