By Robert Griffiths, Guest Contributor
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Northern Lebanon wrestlers Aaron Seidel and Sam Wolford both placed at the prestigious “Beast of the East” Wrestling Tournament held this weekend at the University of Delaware. The Beast of the East tournament is one of the top high school scholastic wrestling tournaments in the nation, and this year’s tournament included 12 mats, 960 wrestlers, and 168 teams from 24 states. In addition, the tournament featured 40 of the top-ranked high school wrestlers in the nation. Many of them have already committed to top college wrestling programs like Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan, Iowa, Lehigh, and Virginia Tech. Any high school wrestler who places in this tournament earns national recognition as one of the top wrestlers in their weight class.
Sam Wolford placed 7th in the 106-pound class. After receiving a bye in the first round, Wolford faced Cameron Sontz (Delbarton) in the second round and lost a close 4-3 decision. Sontz eventually reached the finals, losing to Joe Bachmann (Faith Christian Academy).
Aaron Seidel placed 2nd in the 120-pound class. Seidel dominated his opponents in the six matches leading to the finals. In the finals, he faced Leo DeLuca of Blair Academy. DeLuca is committed to the Iowa Hawkeyes, while Seidel is committed to Virginia Tech. DeLuca was able to gain two takedowns in the first period and hung on to defeat Seidel 5-2.
Below are the round-by-round results for both young men.
Results: Aaron Seidel (Jr.) – 2nd place at 120 pounds
Prelim – Aaron Seidel (Northern Lebanon) 10-1 won by fall over Christopher Nucifora (Bergen Catholic) 2-2 (Fall 4:41)
Champ. Round 1 – Aaron Seidel (Northern Lebanon) 10-1 won by tech fall over Jack Gedney (Lewis Mills) 2-1 (TF-1.5 3:26 (15-0)
Champ. Round 2 – Aaron Seidel (Northern Lebanon) 10-1 won by tech fall over Benjamin Levy (George Marshall) 4-2 (TF-1.5 3:51 (17-1)
Champ. Round 3 – Aaron Seidel (Northern Lebanon) 10-1 won by decision over Kurt Wehner (Donovan Catholic) 3-2 (Dec 4-0)
Quarterfinal – Aaron Seidel (Northern Lebanon) 10-1 won by decision over Mason Ziegler (Quakertown) 7-2 (Dec 6-1)
Semifinal – Aaron Seidel (Northern Lebanon) 10-1 won by tech fall over Mason Jakob (Dobyns Bennett) 12-3 (TF-1.5 5:54 (21-6)
1st Place Match – Leo DeLuca (Blair Academy) 6-0 won by decision over Aaron Seidel (Northern Lebanon) 10-1 (Dec 5-2)
Results: Sam Wolford (So.) – 7th place at 106 pounds
Champ. Round 1 – Sam Wolford (Northern Lebanon) 9-2 received a bye
Champ. Round 2 – Cameron Sontz (Delbarton) 5-1 won by decision over Sam Wolford (Northern Lebanon) 9-2 (Dec 4-3)
Cons. Round 2 – Sam Wolford (Northern Lebanon) 9-2 won by tech fall over Jacob Buffum (Skyline) 8-3 (TF-1.5 3:28 (16-0)
Cons. Round 3 – Sam Wolford (Northern Lebanon) 9-2 won by tech fall over Peyton Van Hoven (Mountain View) 14-3 (TF-1.5 3:13 (16-0))
Cons. Round 4 – Sam Wolford (Northern Lebanon) 9-2 won by decision over Michael Daly (Cranford) 30-10 (Dec 8-2)
Cons. Round 5 – Sam Wolford (Northern Lebanon) 9-2 won by decision over Austin Guerrieri (Cape Henlopen) 4-2 (Dec 8-1)
Cons. Round 6 – Sam Wolford (Northern Lebanon) 9-2 won by decision over Cooper Merli (Newburgh Free Academy) 11-2 (Dec 2-1)
Cons. Round 7 – McGettigan Liam (Gilman School) 14-4 won in sudden victory – 1 over Sam Wolford (Northern Lebanon) 9-2 (SV-1 6-4)
7th Place Match – Sam Wolford (Northern Lebanon) 9-2 won by decision over Charles Esposito (St Joseph Regional) 9-3 (Dec 7-3)
