It’s a shame that more kids aren’t interested in being part of the Allentown High School wrestling team.
Head coach Ed Dunckley and his staff are puzzled why the numbers for the program are so low, but continue to make the best of the situation, stressing quality over quantity.
"I don’t know what the problem is," Dunckley said. "We start off with 23 kids and end up with 17, and, as a result, we’re losing matches because of forfeits. It seems like an epidemic in Allentown."
The problem is especially frustrating this season since the wrestlers on the team are having strong individual success on the mats.
"We’ve only won two matches, against Princeton and Hopewell Valley, but we’d be much more competitive without having to forfeit so many matches," Dunckley said. "The guys are really starting to come together, and we’ve got some guys who are really wrestling well."
The Redbirds have wrestlers up and down their makeshift lineup who are winning more than they are losing against a competitive Mercer County league schedule.
Junior Nick Painchaud has been as strong as expected thus far at 125 pounds and is 12-1. Painchaud was a county champ last year and finished third in District 25.
His lone loss, a 7-5 decision, came during a match against Notre Dame, Lawrence. Dunckley said he was not at his strongest that day.
"I didn’t expect him to lose that match," he said. "We had the flu going around at the time, and Nick just didn’t wrestle up to his ability that day. He’ll probably see that kid again at the county tournament, and I know Nick is looking forward to that."
Another Redbird who has excelled thus far is senior 135-pounder Frank Cerankowski, who is 11-0 and finished first in both the Ewing Invitational and the Hawk Classic in Manchester earlier this year.
"Frank has had some injuries and downtime, and has missed some action, but when he’s wrestled, he’s been very strong," Dunckley said. "He’s looking forward to the county tournament and districts."
Ed Zawata is also off to a strong start at 145 pounds, posting a 10-4 mark thus far, including a second place at the Ewing tournament and a third at the Hawk Classic.
"All four of Ed’s losses could have been wins," Dunckley said. "His record should be even better than it is, but he’s working very hard and has looked very good of late."
Junior Matt Schottlander got a late start this season coming back from an injury, but is now 5-2 at 112 pounds and doing very well, according to his coach. Another junior, Matt Merrit, is 7-5 at 160 pounds.
"Matt is really coming along," Dunckley said. "He’s got some losses to some really tough kids where he could have done a little better, but he’s learning from those matches and getting better."
Senior Jason Bender, a 189 pound senior, is 6-6 and starting to come around, according to Dunckley.
Senior Brian Simon has looked good at 130 pounds and is 8-5.
"Brian is doing well," Dunckley said. "I’ve only had him for two years and he’s really progressed.
One of the squad’s top younger grapplers is freshman Sean Mulligan, who is 5-6 at 103 pounds but is starting to come alive, according to his coach.
"The rest of the guys are trying really hard and we’re shuttling freshmen and sophomores throughout the lineup," Dunckley said. "A lot of these guys should be wrestling one or two years of jayvee before facing some of the competition they’re seeing, but you don’t get that luxury at Allentown. We have to throw them right into the fire from the start."
With nine matches (including a quad meet on Feb. 15) before the District 25 tournament, the Redbirds have plenty of time to work on improving as individual wrestlers.
This weekend they will travel to Trenton for the Mercer County Tournament, where Dunckley expects a number of his guys to be competitive on both Friday and Saturday.
Dunckley added that his top guys are really looking forward to the districts.
"We have one big match and that’s districts," he said. "That’s what makes or breaks your season for the top guys. We wrestle against teams like Hightstown, Rancocas Valley and Northern Burlington, where there are some really great wrestlers.
"The county tournament is a good test, but it doesn’t compare to districts," he added.
With a number of tests lying ahead, the Allentown wrestlers will have plenty of opportunities to prove themselves. Dunckley is confident that they will win their share of matches the rest of the way.
It’s just too bad there aren’t more of them competing. Dunckley has proven his ability to groom wrestlers individually. It would be interesting to see what he could do with an entire team.