ALLENTOWN: Scheuerman wins District 25 wrestling title

By: Kyle Moylan Sports Editor
    While all wrestling matches are scheduled to last six minutes, Ross Scheuerman saw his District 25 Tournament title clash with Brendan Walsh as being, more or less, sudden death.
    “I knew that whoever got the first takedown was probably going to win the match,” said Scheuerman, a sophomore at Allentown High.
    Scheuerman got the takedown. And just like the Mercer County Tournament, he won the title with a close decision in the championship match over Hightstown’s Walsh. In the District 25 final at 140 pounds this past Saturday at host Steinert High, Scheuerman defeated Walsh, 3-0.
    The third point was an escape Walsh conceded for strategic reasons. Those first two points were the big ones.
    “It was the same as the Mercer County Tournament — get that first takedown and put it in cruise control,” Scheuerman said. “That takedown was the match. I rode him out at the Mercer County Tournament. I knew I could ride him out again.”
    Both Scheuerman and Walsh are very good defensive wrestlers that don’t make a lot of careless mistakes. A 2-0 advantage for either of them is more meaningful than it would be in a lot of other matches.
    “It feels really good to win a District title,” Scheuerman noted of what is a bit of a rarity for an Allentown High wrestler. “I wish my teammates could be here with me, but I did what I had to do.”
    Scheuerman’s title gives him a spot in the Region VII quarterfinals on Friday. Taylor Maul and Sam Shonk also have a chance to get to the Region VII quarterfinals, but they needed to win a Region VII preliminary match this past Tuesday.
    Maul placed second at 119 pounds when he was defeated in the title match by Rancocas Valley’s Steven Scotton, 5-1.
    “I wanted to win, but I have to move past that loss and get ready for (Region VII),” Maul said. “I’ll just go back to the practice room and work harder.”
    Maul was third at 112 pounds as a freshman. Following a second at 119 pounds as a sophomore, Maul is thinking first at 125 pounds as a junior.
    “That’s what I’m going for,” Maul smiled.
    Sam Shonk was defeated in the semifinals at 130 pounds, 15-4, by Nottingham’s Jamone Lyles. Shonk earned a spot in Region VII by defeating Hightstown’s Jason Herrera, 4-2, in the match for third place.
    “The three guys that advanced are sophomores,” Allentown Coach Larry Kimport said. “Our whole team is young. Of the fourteen guys in the lineup, nine or ten of them are sophomores.
    “We went 7-11 as a team this year, but our message to the kids was to keep working and getting better. It’s wrong on so many levels to give up on anything. Keep pushing forward.”
    Steve Colletti (103) pinned Trenton’s Kenny Brown in the first round on Friday night. Colletti was then knocked out of the tournament when he was pinned by Robbinsville’s David Bossie, the eventual champion.
    Marc Meloro (135) pinned Pemberton’s Krisjan Osorio in the opening round. Meloro was then pinned by Northern Burlington’s Josh Jones in the quarterfinals.
    Lenny Gigantino (125), James Cocorles (145), Tyler Tice (152), Garrett Marshall (160), Cody Marks (171), Mike Waldron (189) and Marc Mangano (215) also competed in the tournament for Allentown. Allentown did not have a wrestler at 112 or 285 pounds.
    What is know for a certainly, however, is Allentown will have at least one wrestler in the Region VII quarterfinals.
    “It’s time we started making some new history at Allentown,” Scheuerman said. “I’m not worried about the other stuff.”