GA senior Kwasi Ampomah (right) was unable to score on this takedown attempt since PC junior Billy Costello landed outside the circle. (Photo by Tom Utescher)

The referee (right) signals a takedown for PC senior James Frye (wrestler on top), who has landed GA sophomore George Schwartz on his back and would go on to complete a pin. (Photo by Tom Utescher)

by Tom Utescher

To the casual eye, visiting Penn Charter appeared to be in a commanding position halfway through last Friday’s Inter-Ac League wrestling rumble at Germantown Academy.

The starting weight was 120 lbs., and from that weight class up through the 160 lb. bout, the Quakers were able to build a 27-8 lead, logging one pin, one victory by decision, and three wins by forfeit while the host Patriots registered two major decisions.

As the action progressed into the second set of seven weight categories the meet began to go GA’s way. The Pats would get back all three forfeits, worth a total of 18 points, and in actual wrestling action, they scored a pin and a regular decision. With one match to go, GA had an insurmountable 41-27 lead. Charter would collect six default points at 113 lbs. to lock in the final score of 41-33.

Before the meet, a Penn Charter junior veteran had failed to make weight at 220 lbs. and GA was able to bump their regular 220, senior Kwasi Ampomah, up to 285. At 220, each school sent out an athlete who doesn’t normally wrestle in that class, and GA junior Dan Smith was able to secure a pin for the Patriots.

Ordinarily, Germantown may well have forfeited at 285 lbs., but Ampomah was able to step up and win a 9-3 decision over Quakers junior Billy Costello. In two matches, GA had gone from a 26-27 deficit to a 35-27 lead.

Each team came away with a 2-1 record in the Inter-Ac. Previously, both squads had beaten Episcopal Academy, while GA suffered a loss to Haverford School and Charter defeated Springside Chestnut Hill Academy. Penn Charter alum Peter Shaifer is the second-year head coach for the Quakers, while former GA assistant coach Zach Doll has moved up to the top job with the Patriots this season. Doll was a standout at the Hill School (’00) and went on to wrestle at the University of Pittsburgh.

Overall in the Inter-Ac, the undefeated leader is defending champion Malvern Prep, which has earned a top-20 ranking in one national poll.

As last Friday’s meet at GA got going with the 120 lb. bout, Patriots senior Brian Jamison looked to pile up points by scoring multiple takedowns and allowing PC junior Gene Naumovsky to escape in between. He was able to carry this strategy through three periods, leading 4-1 and 7-1 after the first two, and then finishing off a 13-5 win. Obtaining the eight-point margin necessary for a major decision, he put up four team points for the Patriots instead of the three for a regular decision.

Germantown gave away the meet lead by forfeiting at 126 lbs. to Charter freshman Jalon Jones, then Patriots senior Trey DeGeorge and PC freshman Sam Shemtov took the mat at 132.

The more experienced DeGeorge built a big lead on the scoreboard in much the same manner as Jamison did at 120, with a series of takedowns and escapes. He picked up some near fall points to end the second period at 12-2, then off of a neutral start in the third round he engineered a takedown with 20 seconds remaining to post a 14-2 major decision.

Once again, GA gave back these team points, and more, through a forfeit in the following weight class. Here, 138 lb. sophomore Alex Koenig accepted the gift on behalf of the Quakers, who now led the meet 12-8.

The only PC senior to wrestle on Friday, James Frye, used several takedowns and near falls to acquire an 8-1 advantage in the first two periods at 145. He and Patriots 10th-grader George Schwartz began the third round on their feet, and after Frye executed a takedown midway through the period, he pinned Schwartz with 29 seconds to go. The Quakers now led in the team tally, 18-8.

Another six points jumped onto the visitors’ side of the board when their junior 152-pounder, David Giorno, collected a GA forfeit. Two periods into the 160 lb. contest the score was 1-0, thanks to an escape by GA sophomore Mike Roman. Penn Charter junior Chris Johnson came on strong in the third period, escaping from the bottom, scoring a takedown with 38 seconds remaining, and then earning three near fall points for a 6-1 win.

The Quakers had now reached what would prove to be their high-water mark in the meet, leading 27-8.

Senior Mike Gilmore began to reverse GA’s fortunes at 170 lbs., where he led visiting freshman Wayne Derkotch, 12-1, after two periods. Starting on top in the third, Gilmore quickly turned Derkotch, but the PC ninth-grader held out for more than a minute before he was pinned with 26 ticks to go.

Very quickly it became a one-point meet at 27-26, as Charter forfeited to a pair of Patriot sophomores, Ben Sawyer (182 lbs.) and Pat Salmon (195).

As mentioned above, the Quakers’ regular 220-pounder, who had beaten GA’s Ampomah in the past, did not hit an eligible number on the scale at weigh-ins. With Ampomah now bumping up a class, the 220 lb. contest featured GA’s Smith and visiting sophomore Luke Mattice.

Not normally marquee performers for their respective teams, they were now wrestling an important match in the overall scheme of things. A takedown in the opening period and then a reversal from the bottom position at the start of second stanza had Smith leading 4-0 going into the final round.

Off a neutral start, Smith scored a takedown, then let Mattice escape. The GA grappler was able to parlay his next takedown into a pin, ending the encounter with 1:03 on the clock and moving his team ahead in the meet, 32-27.

Although he was giving up a weight advantage to PC’s Costello at at 285 lbs., the Patriots’ Ampomah completed two takedowns that sent him into the third period with a 4-2 edge. He escaped from the bottom and shot for a takedown with 50 seconds left, spreading the score to 7-2. Costello escaped, then Ampomah rang up a final takedown with nine seconds to go.

Since PC was due to forfeit at one of the two remaining weights, this 9-3 decision for GA sealed the team victory for the host team.

Sophomore Brandon Seidman scooped up the forfeit points for GA at 106 lbs. and spread out the team score up to 41-27, then his ninth-grade teammate Mark Fasciocco took the mat at 113 lbs.

Fasciocco swings between the varsity and junior varsity teams for the Patriots, and fellow freshman T.J. Henry of Penn Charter moved ahead of him, 11-3, over the first two periods. The GA grappler was treated for bleeding as the third round was about to begin, and it was decided that the Patriots would default since the outcome of the meet had already been decided.