JIM THORPE - Pine Grove's Ryan Martin placed third at last year's Schuylkill League Wrestling Tournament. Teammate Guy Zimmerman finished fifth.
The Cardinals' seniors are looking for much better this season, and they took the first step at the annual league gathering Friday night at Jim Thorpe High School.
Seeded first at their respective weights, Zimmerman (182 pounds) and Martin (220) wasted no time in winning their quarterfinal bouts. Zimmerman pinned Halifax' Jake Paul in 2:49 to reach the final four.
"It would be awesome (to win a league title),'' Zimmerman said. "I'd get my name up on the wall in my wrestling room. It would be great.''
A few minutes later, Martin flattened Jim Thorpe's Justice Batts in 47 seconds to move two victories from league gold.
"It would mean so much,'' Martin said.
The victories continued outstanding wrestling seasons for Zimmerman (26-1) and Martin (25-2) and even better senior years for the Cardinals.
During football season, Zimmerman played tight end and linebacker, while Martin was a center and linebacker. They, along with star running back Ryan Heim and fellow senior Jared McCabe, helped Pine Grove rise from 1-9 in 2012 to a Tri-Valley League championship.
Heim and McCabe also wrestled their way into the semifinals Friday night, Heim with one fall and McCabe with two.
"All the guys that played football ⦠we all want to win,'' Martin said. "We all went through the losing seasons, and we're all competitive guys.
"I lost a lot in my high school career, so coming from that into this season really means a lot,'' he added. "It's good to see improvement.''
Pine Grove coach Jack Drey said Martin started wrestling in eighth grade and Zimmerman just a few years earlier. In addition to being football teammates, they're leaders in the wrestling room and wrestle live together a lot at practice. They've hit the weights hard, too, and it shows up on the gridiron and on the mat.
"Football is definitely my favorite sport,'' Zimmerman said. "I took up wrestling in sixth grade with my buddy and just stuck with it from there.
"I do a lot of work for football, and it helps out in wrestling,'' he added. "And wrestling helped football a lot.''
In all, Pine Grove advanced seven wrestlers to the semifinals, lifting the Cardinals to second place in the team standings. Blue Mountain leads after Day 1 with 77 points, followed by Pine Grove (72.5), Panther Valley (67) and Pottsville (61). North Schuylkill and Upper Dauphin are tied for fifth place with 58.5 points.
Blue Mountain advanced eight wrestlers to the semifinals, while North Schuylkill and Panther Valley have six apiece.
The No. 1 seeds had little trouble advancing as all 14 reached the semifinals.
Tri-Valley had five of them: Sammy Hepler (106), Caleb Bordner (120), Chase Schaeffer (138), Hunter Harner (145) and Anthony Snyder (152).
North Schuylkill has three top seeds: Garet Grove (160), Auston Hummel (170) and Nate Gadinski (285).
Tamaqua's Colin Mashack (126) and Dylan Rynkiewicz (132), Pottsville's Luke Gardner (113) and Panther Valley's Richard Nase (195) were the other No. 1 seeds advancing. Thirteen of them pinned in the quarterfinals, with Nase posting a 20-5 technical fall over Tri-Valley's Mason White.
Action resumes at 9 this morning with the JV tournament. The varsity tournament continues at noon with the championship semifinals and two rounds of consolations. The finals for first, third and fifth places will be held at 6 p.m. on three mats.