Bethlehem Catholic 49, Central Mountain 12 – PIAA 3A wrestling first round – Rapid Recap
The return of senior 132-pounder Luke Carty to the lineup for the first time in over a month highlighted Bethlehem Catholic’s romp over the previously unbeaten Wildcats in a first-round match of the state team tournament at the Giant Center in Hershey.
Carty’s 13-5 major decision over Logan Long at 138 (Carty weighed in at 132) was one of seven Becahi (16-4) wins in the first eight matches (starting at 285) as the Hawks sprinted out to an insurmountable lead over the District 6 champions (14-1).
“I didn’t know I was wrestling for sure until about two minutes before coach told me I was,” Carty said. “It was great to see all my teammates on the edge of the mat cheering for me in my first match. It got me excited to be back, and I didn’t let it get to my head.”
Carty had been “unavailable” to wrestle since December according to Becahi head coach Jeff Karam. His last match came Dec. 29 at the Tony Iaisello Christmas City Tournament at Bethlehem Catholic.
Karam said there was no doubt Carty would wrestle Thursday. He said he decided “last week” that Carty could return to the team but said there was no chance that Carty could have wrestled in the District 11 team tournament.
“I brought Luke here to wrestle and he’s going to wrestle,” Karam said. “I wanted to see how he’d handle it. I bumped him up to 138 to wrestle (Logan Long) a kid with an unorthodox style and I wanted him to be challenged. I think he did a good job despite missing six weeks.”
The win moved Becahi into Friday’s quarterfinal (2 p.m.) against District 7 champion Kiski Area, which topped District 3 third-place team Central Dauphin 52-11.
Turning point: Golden Hawk sophomore Ryan Anderson’s fall in 1 minute and 11 seconds at 126 over Cody Coleman pretty much slammed the door on any hopes the Wildcats had of an upset. Anderson’s not knows as a pinner
Top performer: Have to say Carty. A six-week layoff and he looked sharp, if not by his standards. “I felt a little awkward out there and a little rusty,” Carty said. “My conditioning was steady.”
What it means: Carty, a two-time state qualifier, makes Becahi a whole lot tougher in the middle of the lineup. The Golden Hawks would have won Thursday without him, but in matches coming up like Kiski Area he will make a real difference. Against Central Mountain Becahi did a good job maximizing bonus points by converting late leads into majors (Carty, Zach Glenn at 120, Jarred Papcsy at 132, Ryan Zeiner at 152) in the third period – a good sign for what is coming up in a rugged tournament. “That’s the way we do things,” Karam said. “We wanted to be winning those third periods and getting bonus points. That’s been our modus operandi and we want to keep on doing that.”
Brad Wilson may be reached at bwilson@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @bradwsports. Find Lehigh Valley high school sports on Facebook.
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