Joe Collins has high aspirations about getting back to the state tournament this season.
Last season, the Central Bucks East 285-pound junior was a regional champ and state qualifier, and compiled an overall record of 35-4. Now a senior, Collins is off to a 6–0 start and has utilized the lessons he learned from his trip to Hershey. His older brother, Quinn, finished as state runner-up at 189 for the Patriots in 2022.
“States taught me that I can’t focus on anything other than the match I am wrestling while I’m there,” reflected Collins. “I also need to keep up with recovery, so I can feel great when the big matches arise.
“I’m approaching my final season in high school week by week doing what must be done to give me the best advantage against all the opponents I will face this year. We have some good kids coming up this year that still need to learn a lot but I think some of them could definitely do pretty good this season.”
Both CB East and Central Bucks South have a similar team makeup, with a few experienced grapplers sprinkled together with some inexperienced ones.
The Patriots began the season dropping matches to Spring-Ford and Council Rock North. They also finished 11th at the Carlisle Classic, where Collins won the 285-pound title and fellow senior Reagan McCullough finished third at 215. McCullough was third at sectionals last year, and had an overall 26-13 slate. He had a 6-1 record to begin the week. Junior Sam Hunter (121 pounds, 22-7 last season), will also be in a leadership role. The Patriots will wrestle in the Ralph Wetzel Classic Thursday and Friday at Hatboro-Horsham High School.
“We have five unproven freshmen in our lineup this year, so they will learn quickly what District One wrestling is all about,” said East head coach Dave Scarpill. “So call this a rebuilding year.
“Seniors Reagan McCullough and Collins have 61 combined wins from last year. Senior Luke Wilson tore his ACL in his second match of this season, and he is likely out for the season. Sam Hunter will be counted on to teach our new lightweights how to compete.”
At CB South, head coach Chris Meister is facing a similar problem. The Titans will look to mature toward the end of the season.
Senior 139-pounder Jake Neill (38-6 and fourth at regionals last season), and fellow senior 285-pounder Keiran Padgett (7-9 last season) will look to anchor a budding lineup. Juniors Marco Ott (189) and Eduardo Juarez (215) also will be in the mix.
Freshmen Hashim Afridi (107) and Brayden Masten (114) along with sophomores Vincent Mokos (114) and John Shields (133) have already made an impact. The Titans finished fourth at the Pottstown Invitational, where Neill, Mokos and Shields all finished as runners-up in their weight classes.
They also won three of five matches at the Travis Manion ’99 Memorial Duals at La Salle College. The Titans travel to Chambersburg this weekend for the MyHouse Trojan Wars tournament.
In spite of his team’s youth, Meister sees the team in a solid situation.
“The wrestling program continues to grow with over 45 wrestlers currently on the roster,” he stressed. “Our middle school team has 67 wrestlers with several very talented kids coming up the ranks. After a long successful football season, we’re just beginning to get our football players back into the fold in late December.
“We like our chances down the road.”
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