Battle comes down to the ladies

BY ASHLEY TEATUM

Times-Shamrock Writer

MONTROSE – If her teammates posted a large enough lead Monday night, Lackawanna Trail junior Mackenzie Rosiak would be able to wrestle in her first match.

She got her chance, and she used it to her advantage.

With a six-point lead at stake, Rosiak pinned Montrose’s veteran wrestler Heather Traver in 1 minute, 10 seconds, to secure Lackawanna Trail’s 48-30 victory in the Division II opener for both teams.

“Awesome,” Trail coach Jeff Stauffer said simply. “She comes from a family of wrestlers, and she wrestles with her brothers all the time.

“Kenzie hit a beautiful headlock. She missed the arm the first time, but the second time she did it. She’s tough. She was really nervous, but she did really well. We’re proud of her.”

Just 30 seconds into the bout, Rosiak made an illegal headlock move that earned her opponent a point.

But with 50 seconds left in the first period, she executed a proper lock and pinned the senior from Montrose.

“I thought I was going to get sick,” Rosiak laughed. “I was really nervous, and I got really jittery. But I knew if I just did the moves that I learned that I could win.

“I guess I was surprised how hard she came at me, so I think I need to realize that they’re not the guys I wrestle at practice. They’ll be coming hard, so I have to go back just as hard and do my best.”

Every match was won by either forfeit or fall, and there was no contest at 103.

Lackawanna Trail jumped out to an 18-0 lead with victories for Alan Nye (125) and Vic Rosa (135) by forfeit and a pin for Billy Lee at 130.

Ben Lehman (215) and Eric Laytos (285) recorded back-to-back pins for the Lions, and Jeremy Greenley added another at 152.

Lehman’s bout, in which he pinned Connor McNamara with 1:03 elapsed in the second period, was the longest match Monday.

“Our coaches drill into our heads to get as many points as possible,” Lehman said. “The powerhalf (was working for me), trying to get that in there and turn him over. Then I threw the legs in to overpower him, and it just worked out. They’re a couple of my favorite moves.”

Anthony Benacquisto posted the first six points for Montrose with a fall over Jake Adcroft at 140. Pins from Blake VanNostrand (160) and Zach Thorne (189) pulled the Meteors within six.

“For my guys, I love the intensity,” Montrose coach Jim Lewis said. “I liked how they went out there aggressive. They were in the match the whole time.

“They went out and said, ‘I want to win and I want to get the points.’ They realized we get this many forfeits, we need to make sure we match that amount.”

Trail 48, Montrose 30

125: Allen Nye (LT) by forfeit. 130: Billy Lee (LT) pinned Kevin Zamorski, 3:15. 135: Victor Rosa (LT) by forfeit. 140: Anthony Benacquisto (M) pinned Jake Adcroft, 1:04. 145: Jeremiah Johnson (M) by forfeit. 152: Jeremy Greenley (LT) pinned Kyle Rogers, 2:38. 160: Blake VanNostrand (M) pinned Matt Goodrich, :44. 171: Marvess Rosiak (LT) by forfeit. 189: Zach Thorne (M) pinned Caleb Darling, 1:18. 215: Ben Lehman (LT) pinned Connor McNamara, 2:57. 285: Eric Laytos (LT) pinned James Brewer, 1:51. 103: No contest. 112: Gary Parks (M) by forfeit. 119: Mackenzie Rosiak (LT) pinned Heather Traver, 1:10.