Nick Painchaud, Anthony Stover see seasons end.
By: Kyle Moylan
Tom Painchaud may have extended his career into last night’s Super Regions, but the season ended for two of Allentown High School’s other wrestlers back on Feb. 27.
Tom Painchaud, Nick Painchaud and Anthony Stover all qualified for the Region VII Tournament by placing among the top three wrestlers in their weight class at District 25.
As the champion of his weight class, Tom Painchaud automatically received a bye and advanced to the quarterfinals of Region VII. Nick Painchaud and Stover, on the other hand, needed a win on Feb. 27 in the Region VII pre-quarterfinals to keep their season going.
Stover, the all-time winningest wrestler in Allentown High history, was up against Delran’s Dave Larson. Stover’s high school career was ended when Larson pinned him at the 2:30 mark of their match.
"I thought Anthony would go farther," Allentown coach Ed Dunckley noted. "The thing you have to remember is that this far along in the season, everyone is a good wrestler. Anthony lost to a tough guy.
"The match was close in the second period and Anthony just got caught. He (Larson) came out of one move and just saw another one develop. The timing was just there and he saw it. That happens."
The season also ended for Nick Painchaud, Tom’s little brother. As a Sophomore, however, Nick Painchaud has two more tries to advance further into the state tournament.
Nick Painchaud was pinned by Sterling’s Desmond Wiggins in their 112-pound match.