Siegrist repeats as Holiday Tourney champ

In the Manheim Holiday Tournament’s 170-pound finals last Wednesday, Baron senior Jared Siegrist (right) looks to finish a takedown against Council Rock North’s Josh Shalinsky. (Photo by Preston Whitcraft)

Manheim Central senior Jared Siegrist made history in more ways than one last Wednesday.

If repeating as the 170-pound champion in the prestigious Manheim Holiday Tournament wasn’t enough, there was something else.

“He’s the first Manheim wrestler to be a four-time finalist at the Holiday Tournament,” Barons’ skipper Troy Sunderland said. “So that speaks volumes for what he’s done.”

With his 12-8 victory over Council Rock North’s John Shalinsky (14-1) in the 170-pound finals, Siegrist became MC’s first wrestler since Jordan Enck in 2006-07 to win back-to-back crowns. In addition to his two gold medals, Siegrist (11-0) has two silver medals from his freshman and sophomore seasons at the Holiday Tournament.

“It’s one of my favorite tournaments just because it’s here at home, you get a good fan base, so it’s a pretty big deal,” Siegrist said. “It’s just a fun tournament overall.”

Siegrist wasn’t the only Manheim Central wrestler having fun last Tuesday and Wednesday. Four other Barons placed &tstr; senior Brock Fittery (12-4) took bronze at 182, sophomore Garret Fittery (10-4) was fourth in the 220-pound brackets, senior Sam Martin (7-4) placed fifth at 195, and sophomore Zack Zeamer (13-7) finished sixth at 126 &tstr; as the Central grapplers took eighth in the team standings with 110 1/2 points. Easton, with 215 points, easily outdistanced Shikellamy (139) for the crown.

“I guess like any tournament, we won some we probably shouldn’t have and lost some we probably shouldn’t have,” Sunderland said. “But we hoped that we would place a little bit higher, finishing eighth as a team. We thought some additional kids might place.”

For Siegrist’s part, he punched his ticket to a fourth straight finals appearance in dominant fashion, tech falling State College’s Cole Urbas 21-6 in 5:52 in the quarters and then flattening Garnet Valley’s Ryan Mortimer in 4:31 in the semi-finals.

“I like to try wrestling every kid the same, just push the pace, try to work my shots and get things going for me,” Siegrist said.

Facing Shalinsky, Siegrist led 2-1 after one and 7-1 after getting a two-point tilt with :43 remaining in the second period.

“It was my high crotch (that was working against Shalinsky),” Siegrist said. “I was able to get in on his leg and run the corner and take him down.”

Shalinsky didn’t go quietly, however. The Indians’ senior countered with a four-point takedown with :28 to go in the period to make it 7-6.

“I went to go in and take a high crotch,” Siegrist recalled, “and I left my arm hang and I was on my knees and he just hipped in and pressured in.”

But Siegrist recovered nicely. Still leading 8-6 heading to the third, he put it away with a pair of takedowns in the final two minutes.

“He was relaxed and that’s one of the keys for him to be successful,” Sunderland said. “He’s paid his dues. Now it’s just time to enjoy and have fun and go out and wrestle and let it loose. It was great to see him win.”

It was great to see Brock Fittery bounce back from a tough 13-5 semi-final loss to Spring Ford’s Steve Rice, the eventual 182-pound champ. Fittery pinned Council Rock North’s Dan Boruta in 3:29, then pulled off a 7-6 decision over Easton’s Max Viduszynski in the bronze-medal match.

“(Brock) did a great job. Tough loss, but pretty tough kid,” Sunderland said of Rice. “But Brock battled back and won some close matches to come back and get third and wrestled smart.”

At 220, Brock’s younger brother Garret recovered from a 10-3 quarterfinal loss to State College’s Pete Haffner to win three straight, including two falls, to advance to the consolation finals. There he got caught in a headlock and was pinned by Easton’s John Williams in 16 seconds, giving him fourth place.

“I thought maybe (Garret) had the potential to get in the finals, but nonetheless to place as a sophomore, his first year in the tournament, is pretty good,” Sunderland said.

Martin was pretty good for the Barons at 195, going 3-2 in the tournament, capped by a fall in 2:36 over Garnet Valley’s Ryan Rushton in the fifth-place bout.

“Sam Martin basically has very limited experience and then being able to do what he’s done and placing here at the Holiday Tournament was pretty amazing,” Sunderland said.

In the 126-pound brackets, Zeamer suffered a hard-fought 8-5 setback to Spring Ford’s Hunter Mitch in the quarterfinals. But he got himself into the medal rounds and eventually dropped a 12-1 loss to Bald Eagle Area’s Garrett Rigg for sixth place.