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Dawgs Win 2008 District Championship
Tournament Team Title
6 Dawgs Crowned District Champions
10 Dawgs Place - 8 Advance To Regional Tourney
Posted February 25, 2008
TEAM HIGHLIGHTS
* Berwick Wins 2008 District 2
Class AA District Championship Tournament Title - Second Consecutive
District Team Title
* 6 Dawgs Win District
Championship Titles For Second Consecutive Year
* 10 Dawgs Place - 8 Advance To NE AA
Regional Championship Tournament
* Head Coach Ernie Yates Named
District 2 Head Coach Of The Year For Second Consecutive Year
INDIVIDUAL
HIGHLIGHTS
Dawgs Winning
District Champ Titles:
Chris Bujno, 103lbs
Dom Yantorn, 112lbs
Lou Ney, 135lbs
Nick Venditti, 160lbs
Aaron Karns, 189lbs
Ryan Sitler, 285lbs
District Place
Winning Dawgs:
Steve Prebola, 3rd Place, 125lbs
Josh Winkelmann, 3rd Place, 145lbs
Matt Knecht, 4th Place, 130lbs
Roy Dennis, 4th Place, 215lbs
The record books for Berwick Wrestling
keep getting shattered.
The 2007-2008 edition of Berwick
Wrestling added a chapter to the history books when they finished in the top
8 at the 2008 PIAA AA Team Dual Championship Tournament in Hershey on
February 8 & 9, 2008. These Dawgs added another chapter to the
history books when they became the first Berwick team to record over 20 wins
during the regular season closing with a season record of 22-7.
This group of Dawgs never seem to be
satisfied making sure no one closes the history books just yet.
The Dawgs broke another historical record
in becoming the first Berwick team to win both consecutive District Dual
championship titles and district championship tournament team titles in back
to back years. Berwick won the 2008 District 2 AA Championship Tournament
Team Title in overwhelming fashion with 240 points. A distance second was
Lackawanna Trail with 175.5 points and Lake Lehman took third place with 170
points.
Tying another record set just last year,
Berwick crowned 6 District Champions at the 2008 PIAA AA District
Championship Tournament. The mark of 6 that tied last year's 6
District Champions both eclipse the mark of 5 District Champs set in 2001.
Winning District Championship Titles for
Berwick included sophomore Chris Bujno (103lbs), junior Dom Yantorn
(112lbs), senior Lou Ney (135lbs), senior Nick Venditti (160lbs), senior
Aaron Karns (189lbs), and junior Ryan Sitler (285lbs).
More Berwick Wrestling history was made
when 5 Dawgs won consecutive district championship titles. Junior Dom
Yantorn won his 3rd consecutive district championship while sophomore Chris
Bujno, senior Lou Ney, senior Nick Venditti, and senior Aaron Karns won
their second consecutive district championship titles.
Back to the history record books yet
once again. This year was the first time ever that Berwick Wrestling saw 6
District Champions all pin their way to the finals (a total of 16 pins).
While I can't officially confirm this - yet - I don't believe this feat ever
occurred even when we had 3 or 4 District Champions in a year. This
year also witnessed sophomore Chris Bujno pull the hat-trick of cementing
all falls, 4 falls out of 4 matches, to win his District Championship Title
at the 2008 District Championship Tournament.
Junior Steve Prebola (125lbs) and senior
Josh Winkelmann (145lbs) both won 3rd place honors. It was Prebola's
second consecutive district medal. Junior Matt Knecht (130lbs) and
freshman Roy Dennis (215lbs) won 4th place in hotly contested weight
classes. Knecht also won his second consecutive district medal.
Entries into the annals of the Berwick
Wrestling history record book wasn't even done at the conclusion of action
at the district championship tournament.
Head Coach Ernie Yates, named the 2008
District 2 Head Coach of the Year, also added to the record books with his
first ever back-to-back Head Coach Of The Year honors. See separate
segment below on the record setting honors Coach Yates has now amassed that
also etches into the history of Berwick Wrestling.
Congratulations Dawgs!!
Summary of coverage and honors achieved
at the district championship tournament are listed below.
Chris Bujno, So, 103lbs, District
Champion, Regional Qualifier
Sophomore Chris Bujno simply annihilated his competition at the district
tournament where he notched his second consecutive district championship
title. Bujno also pulled the hat trick of recording pins in all 4 of his
matches never allowing an opponent to reach beyond the second period. Chris
also blanked his opponents by not allowing one point to be scored upon him
during the entire tournament. Bujno opened up in the preliminaries
with a quick fall in 1:26 followed by another dominating fall in 1:13 in the
quarterfinal. In the semifinal, Chris crushed his opponent to nail a pin in
3:27. Never losing focus of the task at hand, Bujno entered the championship
final and wasted no time in showing his opponent the ceiling when he drilled
another overwhelming pin in just 3:25.
Congratulations Chris!!
Dom Yantorn, Jr, 112lbs, District
Champion, Regional Qualifier
Junior Dom Yantorn added his third consecutive district championship title
to his impressive resume as he ripped through his opponents at the district
championship tournament. Yantorn tore off the gates in the preliminary
round by recording a fall in lightning quick 22 seconds. Dom nailed
another singlet to the mat in his quarterfinal match securing the fall in
5:23. Yantorn kept his dominating pinning ways going strong in the
semifinal when he stitched his opponent's back to the mat in 4:48. In the
championship final, Dom met up with a returning district runner-up. Yantorn
took complete control of the match right off the whistle and maintained his
aggressive tempo throughout the duration in recording an outstanding 6-3
decision.
Congratulations Dom!! Lou Ney,
Sr, 135lbs, District Champion, Regional Qualifier
Senior Lou Ney continued his mission-quest this year and started the
postseason by pocketing his second consecutive district championship title
and third district medal in overwhelming style. Following an opening bye,
Ney made the most of the brief rest period prior to the quarterfinal that
saw him melt his opponent's shoulders to the mat in just 1:51. In the
semifinal, Lou went to work in business-like fashion and quickly secured
another fall in 3:04. The championship final pitted Lou against an opponent
that gave him a good match at district duals where Lou prevailed by
2-points. It was not to be the same kind of match at districts. Ney used his
precision technique and overwhelming conditioning to out-wrestle and
out-slug his opponent in recording an overpowering 13-5 major decision.
Congratulations Lou!! Nick
Venditti, Sr, 160lbs, District Champion, Regional Qualifier
Senior Nick Venditti, a returning State Medalist with his eyes set dead-on
another postseason mission for the top of the state podium, showed all the
poise and technique expected and got this postseason off to a great start by
earning his second consecutive district championship title and fourth
district medal. Following a bye in the preliminary round, Nick got off to a
quick start by nailing a fall in the quarterfinal in 2:27. In the semifinal,
Venditti was not to be denied and notched another impressive pin in 5:35.
The championship final slated Nick to do combat against a returning district
champion from last year's 171lb bracket. In an exhilarating contest,
Venditti had a 1-0 lead into the 3rd frame before his opponent scored a
go-ahead takedown. With pure mental toughness, Nick reversed his opponent in
the final 30 seconds to grab the thrilling 3-2 victory.
Congratulations Nick!! Aaron
Karns, Sr, 189lbs, District Champion, Regional Qualifier
Senior Aaron Karns, a returning State Runner-Up focused solely on going one
step higher at states this year, started the postseason this year in his
typical dominating and physically bruising style in recording his second
consecutive district title and third district medal. Karns started in
the preliminary round with an absolutely shocking fall in only a mere 7
seconds. Aaron then cemented another first period fall in the
quarterfinal in 58 seconds. The first period was yet another magical frame
in the semifinal round that witnessed Karns drill his opponent to the
basement for another pin in just 1:45. The championship final lined up
a pesky opponent for Aaron. But his opponent wasn't pesky enough.
Karns, who exacted complete and utter physical and technical control
throughout the entire match, had his hand raised high by the referee after
the buzzer sounded and the scoreboard lights showing an impressive 8-3
decision.
Congratulations Aaron!! Ryan
Sitler, Jr, 285lbs, District Champion, Regional Qualifier
Junior Ryan Sitler, the notorious Dawg PinMeister who bumped up this
postseason from 215lbs to 285lbs, earned his first district championship
title by nailing a pair of falls with one pin being far more impressive than
perhaps any of his long list of pins. After a opening bye, Sitler started in
the quarterfinal round by delivering a quick fall in only 33 seconds.
Due to "seeding bracket-itis," Ryan squared off with a returning
district champion in the semifinal round. In a tight contest after the first
period, Ryan exploded in the second frame and collapsed his opponent to the
mat for a fall in 3:06 in an absolutely crowd-roaring gymnasium. In the
championship final, Sitler was winning 1-0 entering the second period when
his opponent incurred a nose-gusher and was forced to medically default.
From the start, everyone in the gym thought the semifinal could be the
actual final and Ryan came up big in every one of his matches in notching
his district championship and second district medal.
Congratulations Ryan!! Steve
Prebola, Jr, 125lbs, 3rd Place Districts, Regional Qualifier
Junior Steve Prebola received his second consecutive district medal and his
second consecutive trip to the regional championship with a superb weekend
of wrestling that saw him grab 3rd Place at the district championship
tournament. Prebola was on fire in the preliminary round nailing a fall in
just a mere 1:16. In the quarterfinal round, Steve was in a all-out
dog fight but was on the short end of a tight decision. Prebola did a
gut-check and used his mental toughness in the consolation bracket. In
the consolation quarterfinal, Steve wrestled brilliantly in winning a 7-6
decision. Prebola then nailed his next opponent for a fall in only 3:49 in
the consolation semifinal. In the consolation final, Steve continued
to use his mastery of technique and lightning quick speed in an overpowering
8-4 victory.
Congratulations Steve!! Josh
Winkelmann, Sr, 145lbs, 3rd Place Districts, Regional Qualifier
Senior Josh Winkelmann, one of the most improved wrestlers on the team this
year, earned his first district medal by taking a 3rd Place finish at the
district championship tournament. Winkelmann, a key figure in the Dawg's
success all season, placed a pulverizing fall in only 1:43 against his
opponent in the preliminary round. Josh then hammered out a dominating 10-2
major decision against his opponent in the quarterfinal round. The
semifinal round pitted Winkelmann against the eventual district champion,
and in tough match, Josh was on the low side of the decision. As a senior,
it's now or never in the consolation bracket and Josh only knows the word
"now." Winkelmann delivered a brilliant performance in the
consolation semifinal with an 8-4 decision. In the all-important
consolation final, Josh stepped up, and, in an outstanding match, had his
hand raised high after the buzzer in securing a crowd-cheering 6-3 victory.
Congratulations Josh!! Matt
Knecht, Jr, 125lbs, 4th Place Districts
Junior Matt Knecht, one of the most feared wrestlers on the Berwick squad
this year with his amazing throwing abilities, earned his second consecutive
district medal by winning 4th Place at the district championship tournament.
After getting a bye out to the quarterfinal round, Matt lost his first bout
to the eventual runner-up. Matt dug deep inside and displayed heart and
sheer character in a superb performance in the consolation bracket. Knecht
took total control in the consolation quarterfinal in a great 8-3 win. In
the consolation semifinal, Matt just exploded with power and technique in
recording a 13-0 major decision. In the consolation final, Knecht was losing
4-1 in the third period. With less than 10 seconds left, and as if lightning
struck, Knecht hit one of his patent throws for a 5-point move but was ruled
out of bounds in a highly controversial call. Matt opened the door wide this
year with his improvement. You can bet that next year, his senior year,
Knecht will bust the door wide open.
Congratulations Matt!! Roy
Dennis, Fr, 215lbs, 4th Place Districts
Freshman Roy Dennis, bumped up from his normal 189lb frame to the 215lb
bracket, took the experience he gained from wrestling several times at the
heavier weight this season to act like it was no big deal in his outstanding
performance in winning 4th Place at the district championship tournament.
Dennis showed sheer character right off the bat by winning a thrilling 2-0
decision in the preliminary round. After dropping his quarterfinal match,
Roy was on a mission of total combat in the consolation bracket. Dennis
exploded in his consolation preliminary by cementing a fall in only 1:24. In
the consolation quarterfinal, Roy used his now-renowned brute strength and
technical skills in winning an exciting 10-8 decision. In the consolation
semifinal, Dennis drilled his next opponent into the mat in recording an
explosive fall in just 3:42 before dropping his consolation final. One thing
is for certain. Roy Dennis, with his outstanding performance as just a
freshman this season, is one freshman that has served notice papers to all
the upper-weight opposition and will be feared from "Day 1" next
year.
Congratulations Roy!! Coach
Yates Named 2008 District 2 "Coach Of The Year"
Head Coach Ernie Yates must now have a closet full of plaques honoring
him as Head Coach of the Year. At the 2008 PIAA District 2 AA
Championship Tournament on February 23 & 24, Coach Yates was named the
2008 Head Coach of the Year. It was the second consecutive year he was
bestowed this honor. While my record books only go back so far, Coach Yates
adds this honor to a long list. In addition to Coach Yates being named
Head Coach of the Year for two consecutive years in a row, he also received
this honor in 3 of the last 4 years; 4 times in the last 6 years; 5 times in
the last 8 years; 6 times in the last 10 years, and overall 7 times in the
last 13 years! Counting newspaper honors for Coach of the Year and
Coach Yates has at least 10 such awards in the last 13 years!
Congratulations Coach!!
Congratulations Dawgs!!
Go Dawgs!!
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