Beca v Whitehall

www.mcall.com/sports/highschool/all-wrsbecahi-a.7119364dec17,0,4704879.story

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Bethlehem Catholic wrestlers hold off Whitehall, 36-28

Golden Hawks get off to fast start with lightweights, win close bouts to edge Zephyrs.

By Tom Housenick

SPECIAL TO THE MORNING CALL

December 17, 2009

Jeff Karam got a taste of where his Bethlehem Catholic wrestling squad is in the early stages of the season.

His young Golden Hawks aren't bad.

Karam's lightweights built up a big lead, then held on for a 36-28 home win over a senior-laden Whitehall team Wednesday night.

Randy Cruz (112), Jaydon Rice (119) and Richie Cruz (125) got bonus points in dominating the first three bouts, then Ryan Todora's 1-0 win at 130 gave Bethlehem Catholic an 18-0 start.

Whitehall didn't score a takedown until Nathan Snyder got one on his way to earning a 5-1 decision at 135.

The Hawks' lead swelled to 30-13 after Larry Giammarco's fall at 171.

After the Zephyrs pulled within 30-28 following consecutive pins from Taray Carey (215) and Tony Bourizki (285), coach Tim Cunningham opted not to send out a wrestler at 103, giving Bethlehem Catholic freshman Darien Cruz, Randy's brother and Richie's cousin, a forfeit and the Hawks the win.

''My kid is a freshman; this would have been his first wrestling match. I wasn't going to do that to him. I wasn't going to take a chance,'' Cunningham said.

For the Hawks, their underclassmen looked solid, especially early.

''We have a very young team, a lot of freshmen and sophomores,'' Karam said. ''Our lightweights looked really strong.

''[Winning the close bouts], that was key. I think we out-conditioned them and just showed a lot of heart.''

In addition to winning 1-0 at 130, Bethlehem Catholic got another 1-0 win from Elliot Riddick at 152, holding off Whitehall's Seth Guth in the third period, especially in the final 45 seconds when it looked as though Guth was working his way out from bottom position.

Then Giammarco's first-period fall at 171 was big for the Hawks to get maximum points.

''Yeah, that was a major deal,'' Cunningham said of the loss at 171. ''[Josh Alpha] is only a freshman. He was real nervous before the match.

''Those [1-0 losses], we were hoping to get them. You can't take that from either of [Becahi's kids]. You have to win the close ones.''

While Bethlehem Catholic moved to 5-0 already this season, Whitehall (0-1) showed some rust in its first dual this season.

But the Zephyrs don't have much time to work on things. They are headed to Virginia this morning for a tournament.

The Hawks, meanwhile, are spending the weekend at the legendary Beast of the East tournament in Newark, Del. Surely, Karam will find out even more about his young troops.

''There are definitely some kids where the conditioning needs to be better and that will be addressed,'' he said. ''Hopefully, we'll be closer to where we want to be after this weekend.

''Last year, we were experienced and started strong, went into district duals as the No. 1 seed and lost [early]. That left a sour taste in my mouth. I want to reverse things this year and be building to be where we want at the end of the season.''

Bethlehem Catholic will be joined by Lehigh Valley Conference foes Liberty, Nazareth and Northampton at the Beast of the East.

Bethlehem Catholic 36, Whitehall 28

112: Randy Cruz (BC) tech. fall Chris Monge, 15-0, 5:37; 119: Jaydon Rice (BC) maj. Dec. Bryan Brensinger, 10-0; 125: Richie Cruz (BC) pinned Ryuta Amaike, 3:58; 130: Ryan Todora (BC) dec. Aaron Morekin, 1-0; 135: Nathan Snyder (W) dec. Cody Gonzalez, 5-1; 140: Matt Bonshak (W) maj. dec. Zach Hoppaugh, 14-3; 145: Aaron Williams (W) pinned Corey Gonzalez, 3:21; 152: Elliot Riddick (BC) dec. Seth Guth, 1-0; 160: Kyle Dehaut (BC) dec. Josh Rodriguez, 6-2; 171: Larry Giammarco (BC) pinned Josh Alpha, 0:37; 189: Kevin Rehm (W) dec. Martin Laluz, 7-1; 215: Taray Carey (W) pinned Jon Nunez, 1:56; 285: Tony Bourizki (W) pinned Carlos Rojas, 1:49; 103: Darien Cruz (BC) by forfeit.

Referee: John Fidelibus. JV score: Whitehall 15-12.

Tom Housenick is a freelance writer.