Local wrestlers head to junior national duels; Magazine names Marsteller wrestler of the week
A pair of local wrestlers left town today to take part in the USAW National Junior Dual Wrestling Championships, which begin Thursday. Central York's Sam Butler will wrestle in the 98-pound weight class for the Pennsylvania team, Panthers coach Fred DeLuca said. Butler will be joined on the team by heavyweight Brooks Black, a native of Dover who wrestles for Blair Academy in New Jersey. In addition, DeLuca is one of four coaches on the Pennsylvania team. Central York was actually supposed to send two more representatives to the five-day tournament: Don Crabill (119 pounds) and Tyler Whitecomb (135). Crabill could not join the team because of a travel snafu, while Whitecomb aggravated a knee injury last week. The junior wrestling level encompasses mostly high schoolers going into their junior and senior seasons. The duals serve in some ways as a warm-up to the USAW Cadet and Junior Nationals individual tournament, which will take place in Fargo, N.D. beginning July 15. --------------------------------------------- Meanwhile, the national attention continues to roll in for Kennard-Dale's Chance Marsteller. The rising sophomore was named national "Wrestler of the Week" by TheMat.com, for his pristine performance at the USAW Cadet National Duals last week in Daytona Beach, Fla. (The Cadet class consists wrestlers ages 15 and 16l.) Marsteller, who won a PIAA Class AAA championship last winter, went a combined 18-0 at 152 pounds in the Greco-Roman and Freestyle portion of the competition. According to an article on TheMat.com, Marsteller earned technical falls in seven of those matches, and falls in five others. Most impressively, he allowed points in one of his 18 matches. Let that stat sink in for a second. Marsteller won an individual title at the Cadet Nationals last season in Greco-Roman, and placed fourth in freestyle. He should be a favorite in both categories at this year's event.