Lions silence Herd

Red Lion defeated Carlisle to advance in the District 3 Team Wrestling Tournament.

By TOM HUNT
Daily Record/Sunday News

Article Last Updated: 01/30/2008 08:36:17 AM EST

The referee watches closely as Red Lion's Dan Quackenbos nearly pins Carlisle's Greg Tate during their 285-pound bougt Tuesday in the District 3 Class AAA tournament. Quackenbos went on to score at 13-5 major decision as the Lions rolled to a 43-24 vidtory over the Thundering Herd. Red Lion will meet No. 1 seed Central Dauphin on Thursday. (York Daily Record/Sunday News - Mike Zortman)

At bottom: · TUESDAY'S RESULTS

Jan 30, 2008 — Red Lion wrestling coach Biff Walizer was concerned that his team, just days removed from a convincing loss to Spring Grove, would still be feeling the effects of that match against Carlisle in Tuesday's opening-round match of the District 3 Class AAA Team Wrestling Championships.

"I was worried about them being a little down on themselves," he said. "(Carlisle's) been on a roll lately. I knew we were going to have our hands full."

As it ended up, the Thundering Herd had their hands full.

The Lions showed some serious pinning power, racking up five falls in nine wins, on the way to a 43-24 victory over the Mid-Penn Conference squad. The win moves eighth-seeded Red Lion (18-2) into a Thursday match against top-seeded Central Dauphin.

Giving up big team points was something Carlisle head coach Joe Wilson wasn't accustomed to doing.

"That hasn't happened to us all year. In fact, we've been the ones picking up the bonus points," said Wilson. "We have a young team. This is good experience for them."

In the opening bout, Scott Vasellas got Red Lion off to a great start with the first fall of the night. The sophomore pinned Matt Willow with just 22 seconds left in the second period. Two matches later, Sean Andel got the Lions' quickest one of evening, decking Trent

Yablonski at the 1:22 mark of their 140-pound bout.

Keith Dahlheimer (171), Dylan Nguyen (103) and Andy Luu (125) recorded the other pins.

Dahlheimer's second-period pin of Matt Blessing was the junior's 22nd of the season, setting a single-season record for the program.

Walizer made several lineup moves with each one producing the desired result.

He flip-flopped his regular 215-pounder Dan Quackenbos and 285-pounder Dan Wagner, using Wagner at 215. Wagner made a mistake and got caught on his back, eventually giving up a pin. But Quackenbos responded with a 13-5 major decision at 285, nearly pinning Carlisle's Greg Tate on two different occasions.

The other switch involved Chris Albright, Red Lion's standout 125-pounder, moving up two weight classes to meet the Thundering Herds' freshman phenom Jayshon Wilson. Albright is the top-rated Class AAA 125-pounder in District 3 while Wilson holds the No. 1 spot at 135.

The hope was to take out a sure win for Carlisle (12-5) while getting Albright, a two-time District 3 champion, a tough opponent as prep for the impending individual post season.

A reversal and two-point nearfall in the third period erased a 2-0 deficit Albright was facing from a first period takedown. Wilson came back, getting a tying reversal with just 18.3 seconds left in the match and sending it to overtime.

After a couple of shot attempts where neither wrestler was able score, Albright finally got a takedown with one second left in the overtime following an excellent flurry, earning a 6-4 decision.

Walizer made the decision at the last minute, knowing that his senior star would be able to respond.

"Weigh-ins were at six, and I told him at five," said Walizer with a laugh. "(Wilson) is a freshman but physically he's (matured). ... Chris has never backed down from any challenge I've given him."

Albright attested to Wilson's physicality.

"I tried to turn him, and he posted with his arm. It was like trying to move a tree," said Albright. "Strength at 125 certainly isn't the same as strength at 135."

Carlisle's Matt McCollum reached a milestone as the senior recorded his 100th career win with an 8-0 major decision over Joel Gemmill at 112. McCollum is the son of Bermudian Springs head coach Dave McCollum.