Over the past weekend, Faith Christian and Palisades both experienced different levels of success.
The Lions captured their second consecutive District One Class 2A title when they trounced Bishop McDevitt, 51-22, at Upper Dublin High School.
With the win, Faith Christian will advance to the state tournament and face Western Pa. power Westmont Hilltop in Hershey Thursday evening.
Palisades participated in the Central Bucks East duals and the Pirates split four matches, defeating Sun Valley and Central Bucks West, while losing to Hatboro-Horsham and West Chester East.
Faith Christian senior 145-pounder T. J. Alderfer registered one of five falls for the Lions, who stormed out to a 27-6 lead and took control. He sees his team peaking at the right time.
“We all want to go out and push the pace, and we’re all fighting for each other,” said Alderfer, who has 22 wins (22-13) and 12 falls. “We had some guys hurt and some guys trying to fill some weights.
“It felt good to win this two years in a row. I feel pretty good right now, and I want to go out with a bang. We went out to Hershey last year, so we know what to expect. We know what we have to do, and this might be a good foreshadowing for us in team duals and individual districts.”
Palisades head coach Nick LaFevre also is watching his club round into shape, and he expects his club to be more solidified later this month despite battling some forfeited weights.
Palisades received a major boost with the return of defending state champion 160-pound senior Nathan Haubert to the lineup. Haubert posted a 4-0 record on the afternoon along with fellow 182-pound senior Adam Marsh, who raised his overall record to 20-1 with 11 falls.
Marsh is closing in on the 100-career win mark, having 96 after the tournament.
“Nathan went out there and tore it up,” said LaFevre. “He really looks good for just coming back. Adam is our leader on and off the mat. With Nathan back, it took some pressure off Marsh and Ben Haubert, who also is having a great year.”
LaFevre welcomed sophomores Danny Kelleher and Gavin Kreschollek back to the lineup. Kelleher can fill holes from 152 to 170 pounds, while Kreschollek will wrestle between 195 and 220 pounds.
Sophomore Austin Winters went undefeated (4-0) at 170 and fellow sophomore Zach Smith went 3-1 at 138 pounds.
“We’re young and we have a good bunch of sophomores,” added LaFevre. “Zach Smith is a football player who joined us late and is doing a good job.”
LaFevre cited the contributions of youth program coach Jason Magditch, a former assistant and head coach in the Lehigh Valley, and assistant coach Matt Hughes, both of whom have made their presence felt.
“Those guys have been doing an outstanding job,” said LaFevre. “We have two matches left before districts, and we feel good about where we are headed.”
Host Central Bucks East won two of its three matches on the afternoon, defeating Sun Valley and Hatboro-Horsham before losing to Wissahickon.
Freshman Mason Stein (132) and junior Marcus Chernyshev (160) each picked up three wins, and freshman Ethan Bean (113), senior Dylan Rafferty (138), and junior Danny Eckley (170) each had a pair of wins.
