Five regional wrestlers scale the heights at Bethlehem Holiday Classic

189- Freedom’s Jared Karabinus vs Spring-Ford’s Mason Richards in the Bethlehem Holiday Wrestling Classic finals.

Friday’s final day of the Bethlehem Holiday Wrestling Classic lit up Liberty’s Memorial Gym with some adrenalin-pumping competition, some clutch performances under pressure and a whole lot of memorable wrestling.

Whether it was freshmen such as Easton’s Noah Fenner and Northampton’s Gabe Ballard showing off their enormous potential with championships at 107 pounds and 114, respectively, or Freedom senior Jared Karabinus showing how years of dedication can pay off with a big trophy after winning 189, or Nazareth’s two proven veterans, Tahir ‘Tig’ Parkins and Sean Kinney, displaying their hard-earned skills to win at 139 and 285 respectively, the classic showed off the depth and passion of Lehigh Valley wrestling.

172- Council Rock South’s Bekhruz Sadriddinov vs Northwestern’s Luke Fugazzotto in the Bethlehem Holiday Wrestling Classic finals.

Those five were the lehighvalleylive region’s champions, with seven others finishing second.

189- Freedom’s Jared Karabinus vs Spring-Ford’s Mason Richards in the Bethlehem Holiday Wrestling Classic finals.

Council Rock South’s monster second day propelled the Golden Hawks to the team title with 188.5 points. Easton and Phillipsburg, which at one point on Friday were tied for the lead, finished third and tied for fifth, respectively, with 166.5 and 148.5; Northampton also had 148.5.

Second was a very happy bunch of Nazareth Blue Eagles who finished second at 168.5, passing the Red Rovers on Kinney’s fall in the very last bout of the tournament.

Kinney knew well what was required for his team to pass their heated rivals.

“I knew we needed bonus,” he said.

And, with Kinney, you know he delivered with a fall in 1 minute and 37 seconds.

Here’s a look at all five champions, in descending order of weight.

Counting the precious wins

Kinney reached 100 career wins with his hard-fought 5-2 semifinal win Friday morning over Quakertown’s Calvin Lachman, a Lehigh commit.

“100 means a lot to me,” he said. “Especially knowing I won’t be wrestling after high school (Kinney has signed to play football at Lafayette). I’m taking it all in a little more, knowing I only have so many left.”

145- Phillipsburg’s Luke Geleta vs. West Scranton’s Michael Turi in the Bethlehem Holiday Wrestling Classic finals.

The Blue Eagle senior improved his career record to 101-5 in the final for his second BHWC championship, but not without a moment of uncertainty.

Pardo, who is superb on his feet, took an excellent shot that seemed to catch Kinney just slightly off balance.

114- Northampton’s Gabe Ballard vs Easton’s Nick Salamone in the Bethlehem Holiday Wrestling Classic finals.

“He almost got me,” Kinney said.

But Kinney recovered quickly, countered and took Pardo down. Once the action moved to the mat, Pardo was doomed as he is light for a 285-pounder and Kinney is, well, not.

“I wanted to wrestle fast guys like Pardo,” Kinney said.

107- Easton’s Noah Fenner vs. Emmaus Emilio Albanese in the Bethlehem Holiday Wrestling Classic finals.

Kinney seems to rounding into wrestling form after a long football season that ended only Nov. 25, just over a month ago.

285- Nazareth’s Sean Kinney vs. Kennett’s John Pardo in the Bethlehem Holiday Wrestling Classic finals.

“I am definitely getting better,” Kinney said. “I can wrestle the first period the way I want to, maybe not the second and third period. The Beast of the East (where Kinney finished second) was a hard march for me but it’s been that way since my sophomore year. Once we start our morning runs, I’ll be fine.”

107- Easton’s Noah Fenner vs. Emmaus Emilio Albanese in the Bethlehem Holiday Wrestling Classic finals.

Does he like the 6 a.m. runs head coach Dave Crowell is famous for? Kinney paused.

285- Nazareth’s Sean Kinney vs. Kennett’s John Pardo in the Bethlehem Holiday Wrestling Classic finals.

“I like what they do for me,” he said.

All part of turning him into the great champion he is.

Eternity on the mat

Karabinus gave Freedom a BHWC championship for the second straight season after CJ Horvath won in 2022 – but it was a close-run thing.

114- Northampton’s Gabe Ballard vs Easton’s Nick Salamone in the Bethlehem Holiday Wrestling Classic finals.

The Patriot senior’s final was the closest of any local, as he rallied for a 4-3 defeat of Spring-Ford sophomore Mason Richards.

152- Quakertown’s Collin Gaj vs. Phillipsburg’s Gavin Hawk in the Bethlehem Holiday Wrestling Classic finals.

Richards reversed Karabinus in the second period and led 2-1 after the second period. Karabinus escaped immediately from the bottom to start the third period to tie the bout at 2 and took down the Ram with 1:28 remaining to lead 4-2.

172- Council Rock South’s Bekhruz Sadriddinov vs Northwestern’s Luke Fugazzotto in the Bethlehem Holiday Wrestling Classic finals.

But Richards escaped with 65 seconds left and drama ensued as he pursued the winning points.

“I was just hanging on for the win,” said Karabinus, winning his first major tournament. “I looked over at one point (with Richards on him closely) and saw there were 20 seconds left. It felt like an eternity.”

But Karabinus, now 15-0 on the season, said the match was just what the doctor ordered for him.

“I am not used to close matches like that,” said the Patriot, who, like Kinney, will pursue another sport in college, in his case lacrosse at St. Joseph’s University. “I need to know how to win matches like that. I know I can win them; I just need those matches under my belt. Richards was really strong and fundamentally sound.”

145- Phillipsburg’s Luke Geleta vs. West Scranton’s Michael Turi in the Bethlehem Holiday Wrestling Classic finals.

Karabinus said he’s benefitted from working with new Freedom assistant Tyler Greene, the Easton state medalist.

“He’s a big guy and working with him as helped me a lot,” Karabinus said. “He’s big and fast.”

Karabinus gives the appearance of a wrestler on the rise.

“Winning this tournament feels amazing,” he said. “I want to keep this going. I want to keep my head in and build my conditioning so I can beat some of the toughest kids.”

He already has.

Scoring, scoring, scoring

Parkins dominated the field at 139 pounds in just the way he hoped to.

“If I score 12 points in a match, no one is catching me,” said the Rutgers-bound Blue Eagle senior. “I want to go until I can’t go any more, to put it all on the mat.”

Parkins did just that at Liberty over two days. He won two bouts by fall, one in a 20-5 technical fall, another by 13-5 over Blake Boyer of Kennett in the semis and 15-7 over Seamus Mack of Hempfield.

Lots of points also translated into lots of team points for the Blue Eagles, and Parkins’ dominance earned some talk of an Outstanding Wrestler award, which went to CR South’s ex-M Malvern Prep standout Anthony Mutarelli at 133.

“I think I wrestled mostly pretty well, and I did a lot of new stuff,” Parkins said. “I have been working on a lot of new things.”

139- Nazareth’s Tahir Parkins vs. Hempfield’s Seamus Mack Hempfield in the Bethlehem Holiday Wrestling Classic finals.

And old things like winning.

Getting offense back

Northampton’s Ballard is one of the most compelling ninth graders to wrestle locally in quite a while.

The eye is drawn to the Konkrete Kid even when there are six mats to watch. His movements and the elasticity with which he wrestles stand out in any field.

He knocked off CR South senior Connor Lenahan in the quarters with late heroics, decked Julian Zaragosa of Northern Lebanon in two minutes in the semifinal and handled Easton sophomore and returning state placewinner Nick Salamone 8-2 in the final.

139- Nazareth’s Tahir Parkins vs. Hempfield’s Seamus Mack Hempfield in the Bethlehem Holiday Wrestling Classic finals.

Did the opposition matter in the final?

“100 percent,” Ballard said. “That was the main rivalry a long time ago and I hope again. It felt great to get that win.”

Ballard very nearly had another first-period fall – Salamone only very narrowly escaped being decked – but Salamone never recovered from the five-point move.

“That set the tone for the whole match and gave me a little adrenalin rush,” Ballard said.

145- Phillipsburg’s Luke Geleta vs. West Scranton’s Michael Turi in the Bethlehem Holiday Wrestling Classic finals.

It also fulfilled a goal of Ballard’s.

172- Council Rock South’s Bekhruz Sadriddinov vs Northwestern’s Luke Fugazzotto in the Bethlehem Holiday Wrestling Classic finals.

“In my training, I have trying to get my offense,” he said. “The Beast of the East (where Ballard finished third) showed me I needed to get my offense back, to be able to score in any position.”

Consider that done. Now, onto new areas to get better.

“I have to improve getting off bottom,” Ballard said.

Payback time

107- Easton’s Noah Fenner vs. Emmaus Emilio Albanese in the Bethlehem Holiday Wrestling Classic finals.

You wouldn’t think a freshman like Fenner would have time, less than a month into his first season, to develop a nemesis and require payback.

285- Nazareth’s Sean Kinney vs. Kennett’s John Pardo in the Bethlehem Holiday Wrestling Classic finals.

But he has.

Emmaus freshman Emilio Albanese defeated Fenner 10-7 in the final of the Tom Best Memorial Top Hat Tournament at Williamsport on Dec. 3.

Then Albanese edged Fenner 8-6 in sudden victory in the teams’ dual meet on Dec. 20.

Fenner improved from the first to the second time and then exploded in improvement on Friday. A first-period cradle sent Fenner soaring and he rolled over Albanese 9-2 after a 5-0 first period.

“Last time (Dec. 20) I had the cradle locked up too but it slipped,” Fenner said. “This time, when I took him down, he balled up, I got my legs in and had a perfect cradle – and it worked. I learned from our previous matches how to wrestle him in close matches and I used that to my advantage.”

Fenner sure did – he was in complete control. Even when Albanese took him down in the second period, Fenner escaped quickly and instead of being cautious in the third period, Fenner kept attacking and added another takedown.

“No matter, I think I can wrestle any kid in the world and be calm and turn into a positive,” Fenner said. “Today I kind of surprised myself. I didn’t let things happened that happened in those other matches. I trusted my training and had God by my side, and my coaches (Jody Karam and Corey Keener) made me believe I could beat this kind. I learned a new attack and I did better than I had previously.”

139- Nazareth’s Tahir Parkins vs. Hempfield’s Seamus Mack Hempfield in the Bethlehem Holiday Wrestling Classic finals.

Now Fenner can move forward.

“Winning this tournament gave me a huge boost of confidence, and now I can move onto bigger and better things,” he said.

Seems like Fenner’s scholastic career is off to a fast start, and there seems no limit to it.

The other finals

Mutarelli pinned Northampton sophomore Trey Wagner in 3:36 to clinch his OW and the 133 bracket.

Phillipsburg and Northwestern Lehigh each dropped a pair of finals.

Returning PIAA 3A champion (at 145) Collin Gaj of Quakertown was just too much for Stateliner junior Gavin Hawk in a 5-1 win, but Hawk battled and scrapped and never stopped moving in the 152-pound final in a creditable effort.

West Scranton’s Michael Turi led 5-0 over P’burg’s Luke Geleta in the 145 final, but Geleta battled back to tie the bout at 5 in the third period before a decisive late takedown by Turi.

Northwestern’s Luke Fugazzotto, who won the most falls/fastest time for his four pins, ran into CR South’s overwhelmingly strong Bekhruz Sadriddinov at 172 and lost 7-2 but, again, the Tiger sophomore gave Sadriddinov a competitive bout.

At 215, Wilson-West Lawn’s Ryan McMillan pinned Northwestern’s Noah Schlofer in 3:04.

Bethlehem Holiday Wrestling Classic

Team scores and legend: Council Rock South (CRS) 188.5, Nazareth (Naz) 168.5, Easton (Ea) 166.5, Phillipsburg (Pb) and Northampton (Nh) 148.5, Wilson-West Lawn (WWL) 143, Quakertown (Q) 122.5, Greater Latrobe (GL) 110, Saucon Valley (SV) 102, North Allegheny (NA) and West Scranton (WS) 98, Kennett (K) 91.5, 71, Boyertown (B) 82, Spring-Ford (SF) 81.5, Emmaus (Em) 79.5, Freedom (F) 78, Northern Lebanon (NL) 75, Whitehall (Wh) 74, Blue Mountain (BM) 68.5, Hempfield (He) 67, Liberty (L) 61.5, Northwestern Lehigh (NWL) 61, Parkland (Pa) 57, Garnet Valley (GV) 49, Stroudsburg (St) 48, Delaware Valley (DV) 46, North Penn (NP) 42.5, Southern Lehigh (SL) 37.5, Warwick (Wa) 34.5, Honesdale (Ho) 32, Hazleton (Ha) 24, Wilson (Wi) 23.5, Fauquier (Va,) (Fa) 10, Wyoming Valley West (WVW) 6.5

Championship finals

107: Noah Fenner, Ea, d. Emilio Albanese, Em, 9-2

114: Gabe Ballard, Nh, d. Nick Salamone, Ea, 8-2

121: Aaron Seidel, NL, d. Luke Willochell, GL, 8-4

127: Mason Ziegler, Q, d. Pat Woloshyn, CRS, 11-4

133: Anthony Mutarelli, CRS, p. Trey Wagner, Nh, 3:36

139: Tahir ‘Tig’ Parkins, Naz, md. Seamus Mack, 15-7

145: Michael Turi, WS, d. Luke Geleta, Pb, 8-5

152: Collin Gaj, Q, d. Gavin Hawk, Pb, 5-1

160: Gavin Cole, CRS, p. Sayyidakbar Akbarov, BM, 1:26

172: Bekhruz Sadriddinov, CRS, d. Luke Fugazzotto, NWL, 7-2

189: Jared Karabinus, F, d. Mason Richards, SF, 4-3

215: Ryan McMillan, WWL, p. Noah Schlofer, NWL., 3:04

285: Sean Kinney, Naz, p. John Pardo, K, 1:37

Consolation finals

107: Wilmont Kai, Wh, p. Bryce Benner, K, 2:55

114: Connor Lenahan, CRS, d. Augustus Smith, SF, 4-0

121: Luke Reitter, CRS, d. Brody Coleman, B, 3-0

127: McKaden Speece, WWL, d. Jacob Braun, GL, 3-1

133: Gavin Sheridan, B, d. Christopher Kelly, Ea, 4-2

139: Benjamin Fanelli, Ea, d. Jonny O’Brien, NP, 3-1 SV

145: Jack Campbell, Naz, d. Jackson Albert, SV, 7-1

152: Cade Campbell, Naz, d. Cole Hubert, SV, 5-1

160: Elijah Simak, Naz, d. Matteo Garcia, WWL, 4-0

172: Hunter Snyder, GL, p. Liam Packer, Pb, 2:13

189: Shae Linegar, Ea, d. Jared Rohn, SV, 4-3

215: Aidan Buggey, NA, d. Dante Morrison, L, 7-1

285: Calvin Lachman, Q, md. Gavin Grell, Nh, 14-5

Fifth place

107: Evan Schomburg, NA, fft. Carter Chunko, SV

114: Leo Joseph, GL, d. Julian Zaragosa, NL, 7-2

121: Blake Dergham, Pa, d. Gus Stedeford, NA, 3-1

127: Tyson Cook, WS, d. Zach Jaffe, K, 5-2

133: James Garcia, WWL, d. Gavin Geleta, Pb, 3-0

139: Blake Boyer, K, d. Dominic Moyer, DV, 6-2 SV

145: Gavin Carroll, Q, fft. Kane Lengel, K

152: Quentin Hammerstone, Ea, md. Xayden Sallit, Em, 9-1

160: Jesse Scott, Em, p. James Geiger, Ea, 2:56

172: Blaise Eidle, WWL, d. Colby Celuck WS, 2-1 UTB

189: JJ Plaza, He, d. Mason Hartung, NA, 3-2

215: Levi Landry, Ho, d. Cody Krall, GL, 3-1

285: Logan Kurzweg, WWL, fft. John Wargo ,Pb

Seventh place

107: Anthony Pettinelli, Pb, d. Eddie Alvarez, CRS, 8-3

114: Remy Trach, Naz, d. Connor Legier, WS, 4-2

121: Teagan Caciolo, Em, d. Gio DiBiagio, Wi, 6-3

127: Zachary Berwick, St, fft. Simon Zamudio, Ha

133: Mark Hubshman, WS, d. Nolan Carroll, GV, 3-2

139: Chase Grabfelder, Nh, p. Griffen Reid, NA, 3:36

145: Austin Noe, Nh, md. Owen Woll, BM, 12-0

152: Devlin Chevere, Nh, p. Michael Cliver, NP, 1:47

160: Johnathon Roth, Pb, d. Ivan Bonilla, F, 6-1

172: Brayden Zuercher, Naz, d. Bradley Renninger, BM, 3-2

189: James Hopkins, Wh, p. Ethan Brownback, WWL, 4:35

215: Nathan Smith, Pb, d. Kurtis Crossman, Ea, 1-0

285: Connor Hudak, SF, d. Michael Gavrilesku, Pa, 2-1 TB

Semifinals

107: Noah Fenner, Ea, inj. def. Carter Chunko, SV, 4:00; Emilio Albanese, Em, p. Bryce Boyer, K, 1:45

114: Nick Salamone, Ea, d. Leo Joseph, GL, 5-3; Gabe Ballard, Nh, p. Julian Zaragosa, NL, 2:00

121: Aaron Seidel, NL, tf. Luke Reitter, CRS, 4:51 (18-3); Luke Willochell, GL, p. Brody Coleman, B, 4:34

127: Mason Ziegler, Q, md. Zach Jaffe, K, 22-9; Pat Woloshyn, CRS, d. McKaden Speece, WWL, 4-3

133: Anthony Mutarelli, CRS, tf. Christopher Kelly, Ea, 4:00 (15-0); Trey Wagner, Nh, p. James Garcia, WWL, 7:48

139: Tahir ‘Tig’ Parkins, Naz, m d. Blake Boyer, K, 13-5; Seamus Mack, He, d. Benjamin Fanelli, Ea, 3-0

145: Luke Geleta, Pb, d. Gavin Carroll, Q, 3-2; Michael Turi, WS, inj. def. Kane Lengel, K, 3:54

152: Collin Gaj, Q, md. Cade Campbell, Naz, 19-6; Gavin Hawk, Pb, p. Cole Hubert, SV, 3:30

160: Gavin Cole, CRS, d. James Geiger, Ea, 8-2; Sayyidakbar Akbarov, BM, md. Matteo Garcia, WWL, 15-5

172: Bekhruz Sadriddinov, CRS, d. Hunter Snyder, GL, 8-5; Luke Fugazzotto, NWL, p. Liam Packer, Pb, 1:03

189: Mason Richards, SF, p. Shae Linegar, Ea, 5:14; Jared Karabinus, F, d. Jared Rohn, SV, 3-1

215: Ryan McMillan, WWL, p. Levi Landry, Ho, 0:48; Noah Schlofer, NWL, d. Dante Morrison, L, 6-3

285: Sean Kinney, Naz, d. Calvin Lachman, Q, 5-2; John Pardo, K, md. John Wargo, Pb, 17-6

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Brad Wilson may be reached at [email protected].

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