District 2 AA Championship Tournament - February 23 & 24, 2007
Posted February 25, 2007

DAWGS WIN DISTRICT TEAM TITLE WITH REC0RD-SHATTERING PERFORMANCE

TEAM HIGHLIGHTS

*  Berwick Wins 2007 District 2 Class AA District Championship Tournament Title

*  6 Dawgs Win District Championship Titles To Eclipse Previous 2003 Record Of 5 Individual Titles.

* 10 Dawgs Place - 9 Dawgs Advance To NE Regional Championship Tournament

*  Head Coach Ernie Yates Named District 2 Head Coach Of The Year - Receives Joe Chwalek Memorial Award

*  Assistant Coach Jerry Marks Named District 2 Assistant Coach Of The Year - Receives Hayden Evans Memorial Award

*  Berwick Wrestling Receives Wyoming Valley Conference Sportsmanship Award

INDIVIDUAL HIGHLIGHTS

*  Dawgs Winning District Champ Titles:
Chris Bujno, 103lbs
Dom Yantorn, 112lbs
Tyler Perry, 135lbs;
Lou Ney, 145lbs
Nick Venditti, 160lbs
Aaron Karns, 189lbs.

* District Place Winning Dawgs:
Ryan Sitler, Runner-Up, 215lbs
Steve Prebola, 3rd Place, 119lbs
Steve Hess, 3rd Place, 285lbs
Matt Knecht, 6th Place, 125lbs.

*  Nick Venditti Wins Outstanding Wrestler Award At District Championship Tournament

*  Chris Bujno Breaks Berwick Wrestling's All-Time Freshman Win Record
      

Article Coverage Of 2007 District 2 AA Championship Tournament

The record books for Berwick Wrestling keep getting shattered by this 2006-2007 edition of Berwick Wrestling.

It started on January 28, 2006, when the Dawgs honored all past Berwick Wrestlers by notching the 500th Win in the history of Berwick Wrestling.  Then on January 31, 2007, Berwick defeated Crestwood 38-32 to win the co-championship of Division I of the Wyoming Valley Conference.  Berwick then won the District 2 Class AA Team Dual Championship tournament on February 3, 2007, with a 46-17 win over Lake Lehman.  The district dual championship qualified Berwick for its first-ever appearance at the PIAA State Team Dual Championship tournament at the Giant Center in Hershey on February 2nd & 3rd, 2007.

But the record books were meant to be kept open by this scrappy bunch of Dawgs.

The feeling was in the air at the District Championship tournament that the Dawgs would do something very special on this day.  After Berwick sent 7 wrestlers from the semifinals into the championship finals, the Dawgs sent Assistant Coach Wade Perry to the wardrobe department.  Specifically, Coach Perry headed for the "Pride & Tradition" wardrobe department.  The 7 Berwick Finalists donned the now-famous long blue robes adorned with wide white collars of the unbeaten 1972 Berwick Wrestling team, which is forever known as "Murderer's Row," for the Parade of Champions that preceded the championship round.  It was a sight to behold and was only outdone by the fantastic wrestling the Dawgs achieved after the robes came off.

At the District 2 Class AA Championship Tournament held at Lake Lehman High School on February 23 & 24, 2007, Berwick won it's third district title of the season by winning the district tournament team championship.  Berwick went on to have a record-setting 6 Dawgs win championship titles, placed 10 grapplers, and advanced 9 out of 13 wrestlers entered into the district tournament to the NE Regional Championship tournament to be held next weekend at the Williamsport High School Magic Dome.  Junior Nick Venditti received the highest honor as the recipient of the District Championship Tournament Outstanding Wrestler Award by winning his District Championship Title in the tournament's toughest weight class.  Freshman Chris Bujno entered the record books by breaking Berwick Wrestling's all-time freshman win record, previously held by Tyler Perry in 2003-2004, by notching Win #34 that was also the victory that sealed his District Championship Title.  Berwick Wrestling's coaching staff was also lavished with awards as Head Coach Ernie Yates was named Head Coach of the Year and Assistant Coach Jerry Marks named Assistant Coach of the Year.  Berwick Wrestling also wrapped-up the district awards ceremony by winning the Wyoming Valley Conference Sportsmanship Award.

Winning District Championship Titles for Berwick included freshman Chris Bujno (103lbs), sophomore Dom Yantorn (112lbs), senior Tyler Perry (135lbs), junior Lou Ney (145lbs), junior Nick Venditti (160lbs), and junior Aaron Karns (189lbs).  Sophomore Ryan Sitler (215lbs) won District Runner-Up honors while junior Steve Prebola (119lbs) and senior Steve Hess (285lbs) both won 3rd place honors.  Sophomore Matt Knecht won 6th place district honors in the hotly contested 125lb weight class.

Chris Bujno, Fr, 103lbs, District Champion, Regional Qualifier
Breaks Berwick Wrestling's All-Time Freshman Win Record
Freshman Chris Bujno, entering the district tournament as the #3 seed, dismantled his first 3 opponents en-route to the championship final.  In the final, Chris squared up against the #1 seed, a junior who was a returning district runner-up.  Chris displayed sheer heart and determination, along with his quickness and strength, to capture an impressive 4-2 decision for the district championship title.  Bujno's victory in the championship final, Win #34, also broke Berwick Wrestling's all-time freshman win record of 33 which was previously held by Tyler Perry in 2003-2004.
Congratulations Chris!!

Dom Yantorn, So, 112lbs, District Champion, Regional Qualifier
Sophomore Dom Yantorn added his second consecutive district championship title to his already impressive varsity resume as he tore through his opponents at the district championship tournament.  In the championship final, Dom squared up against a fellow returning district champion for all all-out battle.  Well, one champ wasn't going to repeat, and Dom's mission not to be denied prevailed as he used his superior strength to control the action throughout the length of the bout in recording an exciting 2-0 decision for district championship title #2.
Congratulations Dom!!

Tyler Perry, Sr, 135lbs, District Champion, Regional Qualifier
Senior team captain Tyler Perry notched his second district championship title and 4th consecutive district medal by just obliterating all of his opponents en-route to securing the gold medal.  In the final, Tyler showed his desire to quickly move on to the regional championship tournament as he struck with lightening precision in showing his opponent the ceiling in just a mind-numbing 1:03.  Tyler is on a mission quest.  The mission is Hershey for the state championship wrestling tournament.  Tyler is also in great position to break the all-time career win record in the history of Berwick Wrestling.
Congratulations Tyler!! 

Lou Ney, Jr, 145lbs, District Champion, Regional Qualifier
Junior Lou Ney, wrestling up in weight from the regular season, used his blazing quickness and massive strength to pocket an outstanding district championship title and his second district medal.  After plowing through his early competition, Lou showed unrelenting determination in winning his exciting semifinal match in overtime.  In the final, Lou wasted no time in his pursuit for gold as he struck his opponent with bullet-blazing speed and delivered a pyroclastic blast of a fall in a mere 1:44 that left the crowd speechless in utter amazement.
Congratulations Lou!!

Nick Venditti, Jr, 160lbs, District Champion, Regional Qualifier
Wins District Championship Tournament Outstanding Wrestler Award
No one at the district championship tournament would enter an argument over what weight class was the toughest.  Without a doubt, the 160lb weight class was brutal in just looking at the chart, let alone wrestling the matches. After nailing 2 consecutive first period pins, Nick won a simply outstanding 2-1 decision in his semifinal match.  In the championship final, Nick showed his superior strength and technique to exact control from start to finish to capture his district championship title and 3rd consecutive district medal.  For his top-notch performance, Nick was awarded the Outstanding Wrestler Award for the District 2 Championship tournament.
Congratulations Nick!!

Aaron Karns, Jr, 189lbs, District Champion, Regional Qualifier
Junior Aaron Karns, the Prince of Punishment who wrestles like a brutal maniac, once again made mince-meat out of all his weekend opponents to win his district champion title and second consecutive district medal.  After destroying his opponents in the opening rounds, Aaron let loose an unrelenting barrage of physical artillery that saw him record a 10-0 major decision in the semifinal.  In the championship final, Aaron went to work like a blue-collar mechanic and once again detonated painful blow after blow that torpedoed his opponent for a captivating 7-0 decision and a gold medal around his neck.
Congratulations Aaron!!

Ryan Sitler, So, 215lbs, District Runner-Up, Regional Qualifier
Sophomore Ryan Sitler, the King Meister of All Pin Misters who has recorded well over 20 pins this season (some kids would love to have over 20 wins let alone over 20 pins!!), kept his simply outstanding season going yet another week with an excellent weekend of wrestling at districts in winning runner-up honors.  After nailing one of his patented pins in his opening round, Ryan went on to decimate his semifinal opponent with a dominating 10-0 major decision.  In the final, Ryan wrestled like an unrelenting warrior against an over-sized opponent and only came up short in a tight decision.
Congratulations Ryan!!

Steve Prebola, So, 119lbs, 3rd Place Districts, Regional Qualifier
Sophomore Steve Prebola was on fire for the entire weekend of district championship competition in winning 3rd place honors.  After opening up with a victory via a crushing pin in his first match, Steve dropped a heartbreaker of a tight decision to the eventual district champion.  Steve made sure it was his only loss.  Steve went on to obliterate his next opponent with a 16-5 major decision before shutting out and shutting down his next 2 foes both via commanding 7-0 decisions.  In the consolation final, Steve's determination and technical skills entered stratospheric heights as he plummeted his opponent's shoulders to the mat in only 2:16 for the superb bronze medal.
Congratulations Steve!!

Steve Hess, Sr, 285lbs, 3rd Place Districts, Regional Qualifier
Wow!!  Senior Steve Hess is a first year wrestler.  Say that 3 times in a row.  Steve is now a district place winner, with 3rd place honors.  Say that 10 times.  Simply amazing!!  After winning his first match, Steve dropped a 2-point decision to the #2 seed.  Following his only loss, all hell broke loose for his upcoming opponents.  Steve ripped off a pair of decisions to earn the right to battle in the consolation final.  For the battle of bronze and right to wrestle on next week, an all-out war ensued.  Steve was losing by 1-point with approximately 15 seconds left on the clock and a restart from neutral in front of him.  Like a raging bull, Steve charged his opponent and and blasted him to his back in the final ticks of the clock for one of the most exciting 3-2 come from behind victories one can ever witness. The Dawg Faithful went nuts!!
Congratulations Steve!!

Matt Knecht, So, 125lbs, 6th Place Districts
Sophomore Matt Knecht had a great weekend of wrestling despite falling short on his personal goals.  Matt won his first match via a commanding 5-2 decision before dropping his next match.  In the consolation bracket, Matt delivered a brutalizing fall over his next opponent in only 2:48.  Matt kept his winning ways going in his next match with a dominating and outstanding 7-0 decision.  Matt then dropped a heartbreaking 1-point loss in his next match-up against the eventual 3rd place finisher in a contest where Matt was literally  a second or two from winning.  Although the weekend didn't turn out the way Matt wanted, Knecht is one of the most improved wrestlers the Dawg Faithful has seen in years, and we all know there was no difference between his abilities and the bronze medalist.  Anticipate big things from Matt next year!
Congratulations Matt!!

Congratulations Dawgs!!