Raiders take league wrestling crown

1-28-26

By Corey Gesford
In convincing fashion, Blue Ridge repeated as the Lackawanna League Division III team wrestling champion with a 52-18 win over previously unbeaten Scranton Prep. The Raiders used three falls, a pair of major decisions and a victory in the closest match of the evening to secure the title.
Jason Luce needed only 21 seconds to record his fall at 133 pounds. At 114 pounds Dante Tanzini pinned his opponent at the 1:11 mark. Donovin Baldwin added a second period fall at 160 pounds.
Wayne Canute earned a 17-0 technical fall at 160 pounds while Brice Woodruff won a 12-1
major decision at 139 pounds and Kaden Bennett added a 10-1 major decision at 172 pounds. At 189 pounds Zach Krupovich scored the only point of the match to take a 1-0 decision.
Trinity Lord (107), Aidan Tanzini (121), and Giovanni Annesi (127) all claimed forfeit wins for the Raiders.
The Raiders also finished 37th out of 57 teams at the Coal Cracker Invitational held at Lehighton High School.
Krupovich was the most successful Blue Ridge grappler reaching the Championship quarterfinals at 189 pounds.
He opened with a 18-3 technical fall and followed that with a second and first period pins to stand 3-0 heading into the quarterfinals.
Krupovich lost by technical fall 18-2 and then lost a close 7-5 decision in his first consolation match.
Woodruff picked up a pair of wins at 127 pounds. He opened with a technical fall in the second
period and then earned a first period pin in his next match. In the third round Woodruff suffered a loss by technical fall and then lost a close 1-0 decision in the consolation round.
At 121 pounds Aidan Tanzini got off to a good start winning his first match with a second period
fall and following that with a 13-1 major decision.
Tanzini then had to withdraw due to injury in his next match and was unable to return the
remainder of the tournament. Dante Tanzini (114), Annesi (127), and Richard Lord (139) all went 1-2. Montrose closed out its Division III season with a 38-23 win over Lackawanna Trail. Wyatt Steele posted a second period pin at 145 pounds while Delos Stone was a 17-2 technical
fall win at 133 pounds.
Sawyer Brander picked up a 13-6 decision at 114 pounds, while Grady Louriero (127), Lincoln
Hobbs (172), Corey Anderson (215) and William Frasier, Jr. (285) all picked up forfeit wins for
the Meteors. Elk Lake won the two bouts wrestled in a 35-18 win over Mountain View.
Michael Hillier won a 23-6 technical fall over Trey Hummel in the third period of the 172-pound match.
Colby Ruark earned a 58-second fall over Matthew Jacob at 215 pounds.
The Warriors also collected forfeit wins by Faith Tracy (107), Jayson Crawford (139), Whalen Kinney (152), and Ethan Smith (285).
Mountain View earned their points with three forfeit wins as Kaylynn Handler (121), Ada Chamberlain (133),and Hadyn Barto (145) each earned six points.