ALLENTOWN: Scheuerman sixth in wrestling finale

By Justin Feil, The Packet Group
   Larry Kimport was on his way to a wrestling tournament when he met Ross Scheuerman’s mother. Seeing his Allentown High School sweatshirt, she asked who he was, and he told her he was the Redbirds coach.
   ”She said, ‘Wait until you get my boy, he’s a great one,’” Kimport recalled. “He turned out to be.”
   Scheuerman’s mother was right. The AHS senior closed his record-breaking career with a sixth-place finish at 171 pounds in the Tournament of Champions on Sunday in Atlantic City.
   ”It’s the end of a long season,” Kimport said. “He went down there and ended up wrestling six matches. He went 3-3 and placed sixth in the state. I’m happy with it. His weight class is 24 kids and he placed sixth. It’s a step up from last year.”
   Last year, Scheuerman was seventh at 160 pounds at the TOC. Unlike most of the wrestlers that made it to Atlantic City, Scheuerman wasn’t in the wrestling room all offseason trying to build up for a big encore. His future is in football, and he will continue in that sport for Lafayette University in the fall.
   ”Most of these kids are 12 monthers,” Kimport said. “They wrestle around the season, in tournaments and clubs. He just picks up the Monday after Thanksgiving. At the end of the run, he hangs it up.”
   It was an incredible run for Scheuerman, who leaves as the most decorated wrestler in Allentown history. He is the first Redbird wrestler to place at the state tournament and he did so twice. This year, he went 30-3 overall, placed second in the region and repeated as district champion. In four seasons, he compiled a record of 117-17, and is the only Allentown wrestler to amass more than 100 wins in his career.
   ”He’s a great example to our kids,” Kimport said. “Qualifying for states two years in a row and wearing an Allentown singlet, that’s huge. A lot of our guys went down to watch. They can see it’s attainable, it’s doable. You have to have faith. It’s not just strangers from other places that do it. The opportunity is there for everyone to try.”
   It takes someone special to get to the state tournament, and Scheuerman fits the bill. He was popular among teammates, who saw just how hard he worked in season to reach his goals.
   ”In the past, we would go to Bordentown or Robbinsville to work out,” Kimport said. “This time around, a bunch of our kids rolled out the mats and wrestled with Ross and supported him. The team was really behind him.”
   Scheuerman’s trip to AC began with a preliminary bye before he took on Nate Leer of Teaneck, a wrestler who had lost just twice before on the season. Scheuerman pinned him in 4:37 to advance toe the quarterfinals, where he dropped a 3-2 decision to Tevin Shaw of Piscataway, who was 35-1 at the time and eventually finished second overall. In wrestlebacks, Scheuerman beat Ryan Luynch of Raritan, 7-0, then edged Collingswood’s Taylor Venanzi, 3-1, before falling to eventual third-place finisher Colin Hewitt of Franklin, 5-0.
   ”His weight class, nobody really dominated anybody,” Kimport said. “There was very little separation. He got beat, 3-2, by a kid that made it to the finals and took second.”
   Scheuerman’s career ended in a hard-fought 1-0 loss for fifth place to send Scheuerman out in sixth place after six of his most competitive matches of the season.
   ”We went down there Friday at noon and left (Sunday) after 5,” Kimport said. “It is draining emotionally. You’re living in a hotel and walking back and forth. But it’s fun too. You meet new people and you watch great wrestling all weekend long.”
   It’s the last wrestling that Scheuerman expects to do. Allentown was thrilled to have had the chance to see him over four remarkable years. And nobody feels luckier than Kimport, who started coaching Scheuerman shortly after he met his mom.
   ”I was also his middle school coach,” Kimport said. “I did the middle school for a couple of years, and I moved up by happenstance. I first coached him when he was in sixth grade. He was a sensational kid then too.”
   With a sixth-place finish in his final Tournament of Champions, Ross Scheuerman left with confirmation what his mother knew long ago. He was a great one.