Welcome to the official website of the Conestoga High School wrestling team.  The website is maintained by the Conestoga Wrestling Booster Club.  Congratulations to the Stoga Pioneers for taking the Sectional Championship!

Action From State Championships

The PIAA State Championships ran from March 5th to the 7th.  Stoga was represented by junior Gregg Gruschow, competing in the 215 pound bracket.  His first matchup was against Spencer Myers from Selinsgrove, and ended in a pin by Myers.  Myers went on to take 2nd place.  Gruschow's first consolation round match was against Sean Sadosky of St. Mary's and unfortunately ended in a decision in favor of Sadosky, who took a medal for 7th in states.  You can find pictures here.

Regionals Complete, States Next

The Conestoga Pioneers sent four wrestlers to the Southeast Regionals in Oxford on February 27 and 28.  Seniors Dave Exler and Jordan Pavillard, junior Gregg Gruschow and sophomore Ben Hartshorn competed in the regional action.  Of this group, Gregg Gruschow placed third in the 215 weight bracket and heads to the state championships in Hershey beginning on March 5.  The team is pulling for Gregg to succeed at States!  Pictures of the action from regionals can be found here.

Stoga Places Fourth at Districts

Conestoga took fourth place at Districts on Saturday, February 21, and sends four of the eleven who qualified for Districts on to Regionals in Oxford next weekend:  Ben Hartshorn, taking third place at 112, Dave Exler, third at 119, Jordan Pavillard with fourth place at  135 and Gregg Gruschow, who took second place at 215.  Taking fifth place for Stoga were Nick Beccatini at 152, Bryan McCormick at 171 and Matt Roe at 189.  Click here for pictures from the day's action.

Conestoga Rocks at Sectionals

Congratulations to Coaches Harner and Elicker and the Conestoga Pioneers on winning the District 1 Section 6 Tournament at Garnet Valley on February 14.  The Pioneers dominated the action and put 11 wrestlers on the stand.  These 11 will also advance to the District 1 Central Tourney next Saturday, February 21, at Spring Ford.  

Ben Hartshorn won at 112 and advances for the 2nd year, with hopes of repeating his trip to Regionals.  David Exler took 1st at 119 pounds.  In a major upset, Tim DiPaolo took 2nd.  Jordan Pavillard took 3rd, Jake Walk placed 4th at 140, Nick Becattini took 3rd at 152, Taylor Perkins placed 4th at 160, Bryan McCormick placed 3rd in a tough 171 bracket and Matt Roe took 2nd at 189.  Gregg Gruschow pinned his way to 1st at 215, his second sectional title, and Matt Frey took 4th at 285. 

Conestoga ran away with the team title with 174.5 points, 40 points better than runner-up Penncrest.  Click here for pictures of the tournament and here for a write-up of the day's action.

Senior Night

Senior Night, originally planned for the Ridley home match on February 4, was held at the Christy's home on Friday, February 6.  Pictures of the evening can be found here.

Wrestling Wrendezvous

Kudos are due for Betty Ann Exler for her hosting the fabulous Wrestling Wrendezvous on Saturday evening, January 24.  I believe it was unanimous...it was great. 

Thanks also to big Mike Tucker for presenting a professional array of appetizers and dinner.  Everything was to die for. 

Thanks to Tammy Tucker and JoAnn Frey for all their help...behind every great chef...is a woman, or two. 

Thanks to Bob Perkins for his terrific hosting of the Wine Bar, which may turn out to be an annual event. 

Hall of Fame Night / Strath Haven

The Booster Club honored its 6th inductee into the Wrestling Hall of Fame on Friday evening, January 17, just prior to the 7 pm start of the Strath Haven Varsity match. This year's inductee was Mr. Andy Cappelli, class of 1974.  

Stoga manhandled Strath Haven on the mats, 57-9.  The meet started at 140 pounds, where Jake Walk pinned Joe McCulley halfway through the second period.  Also pinning for Stoga were Kyle Ryan, Nick Becattini, Taylor Perkins, Gregg Gruschow, Matt Frey and Dave Exler.  Pictures of the night's action can be found here.

Five Star Invitational

Thank you to all of the many volunteers that spent most of their day in the gym insuring the Five Star went off without a hitch. The Pioneers were 3-2, bringing their dual meet record to 11-3.  Box scores can be found on the Results page and pictures can be found here and here.

A special thanks to Ms. Sue Gruschow and her volunteer staff for their extraordinary service.

Pioneers Triumph Over Radnor

The gym was rocking for the CYWA Youth Appreciation night as Radnor ventured west to take on the hometown Pioneers in one of the most anticipated matches of the season.  Radnor brought several very strong wrestlers and only one Central League defeat, so second place was on the line.

Senior Captain Matt Roe got Stoga's first few precious points with a decision at 189, followed by another routine pin for Gregg Gruschow. Todd Christy, still shaking California sand out of his shoes, snuck into the 103 pound slot and managed to pin his opponent in his first varsity match. These 6 points would prove very valuable.

After Ben Hartshorn and David Exler tortured their opponents en route to a tech fall and a major, Stoga dropped both the 125 and 130 matches. Jordan Pavillard won by decision at 135, but Stoga then lost at 140, 145 and 152. This brought the score to 27-25 in favor of Stoga, and critical 160 and 171 pound matches would decide the outcome of the dual meet.

At 160, Senior Captain Taylor Perkins got the first takedown and then an escape, and held on for dear life for a 3-2 decision. The score was 30-25 Conestoga, so Radnor needed a pin from their tough 171 pound wrestler to win.  Senior Bryan McCormick gave no back points in what turned out to be a take-down battle.  McCormick ended Radnor's hopes for victory by finishing with his own takedown and rode his opponent out, losing a close decision but ensuring the victory for Conestoga, 30-28.  Pictures of the night's action can be found here.

Stoga Beats Harriton at Home

The Pioneers took on new Central League foe Harriton HS on January 10th, and thanks to the weather forecast, it was a rare afternoon matinee.  Harriton did not have to worry about the snow as they were back home in short time. The Rams did not field a wrestler in five weight classes, giving Stoga a 30 point cushion as they dominated 55-9. Tim DiPaolo, Jordan Pavillard, Dylan Irving, Nick Becattini, Gregg Gruschow and Ben Hartshorn won for Stoga.  Click here for pictures.

Pioneers Lose to Springfield Delco

The boys traveled south to defending Central League Champ and still strong Springfield Delco on January 7th, but they may have wished the bus took a wrong turn as Springfield crushed Stoga 49-10.  After 2 tough losses to open, Stoga manages its first 6 points via forfeit.  John Scuteri won the only match of the night for the Pioneers.  Click here for pictures.

William Tennent and Archbishop Wood

The Pioneers traveled to Warminster on Saturday, January 3, in a tri-meet to take on host William Tennent and Archbishop Wood.  Stoga was twice victorious, first beating AB Wood 48-24, then beating WT 32-19. 

Pioneers that pinned in beating AB Wood were senior Matt Frey, senior captain David Exler, senior Jordan Pavillard, soph Nick Becattini and senior captain Taylor Perkins.  Click here for pictures from the Archbishop Wood meet.

The William Tennent match brought a little more intrigue, but the outcome was never in doubt. The match started at 215 with a rematch from last year's regionals, as Stoga junior Gregg Gruschow avenged that loss with a 3-1 overtime victory against 4th seeded Dan Clemenson. 112 pounder Ben Hartshorn continued his winning ways with a major decision, as did senior captain David Exler. Junior John Scuteri, soph Tim DiPaolo and senior Jordan Pavillard all won by decision, as did junior Dylan Irving and soph Nick Becattini.  Click here for pictures from the William Tennent meet.

The Pioneers are now 5-0 in dual meets this young season. The Pioneers have heavy duty this coming Wed, January 7, as they travel to defending Central League champ Springfield.

We'll see you matside.

A.I. Dupont Tiger Classic

Stoga traveled to Delaware and took 11th place (out of 29 teams), while placing 7 wrestlers on the podium, in the 6th annual A.I. Dupont Tiger Classic.

112 pound sophomore Ben Hartshorn took 6th, senior captain David Exler took 8th at 119, senior Jordan Pavillard took 5th at 135, soph Nick Becattini placed 7th at 160, senior Brian McCormick took 5th at 171, senior captain Matt Roe took 7th at 189, and Junior Gregg Gruschow took 5th at 215.

In the JV Tourney, freshman Kevin Ryan took 6th place at 135, soph James Statts took 2nd place at 140, senior Harry Segal took 2nd at 152 and soph Jeff Tucker took 3rd place at 215 pounds.

The Pioneers wrestled tough in a very difficult tourney. Thanks to coaches Harner and Elicker for all their time.  Click here for photos from the tournament, and here for photos of the medal winners.

Stoga Crushes Lower Merion

The Pioneers took it to under-manned Lower Merion last night with a decisive 66-3 win at home. With 2 forfeits and 6 pins, the match was never in doubt.  Click here for photos from the match. 

Freshman Jason Greenlaw started the pin machine rolling at 103, followed by soph wrestler Ben Hartshorn at 112. Senior David Lemco recorded his first Varsity pin at 135 and senior Jordan Pavillard pinned at 140 pounds. Senior 189 pounder Matt Roe and junior 215 pounder Gregg Gruschow each pinned as well. 

The most exciting matches of the night were an overtime loss by junior John Scuteri, who got 2 back points at the buzzer to force overtime, but was taken down in the first overtime period, and a last second victory by senior captain Taylor Perkins. 

The dual meet season takes a break for the Holiday, but the boys travel to Delaware next weekend for the Tiger Classic. 

Stoga Beats Upper Darby

The Pioneers were on the road and went out on fire and took a 27-6 lead over host Upper Darby, but the Royals clawed their way back to take the lead at 152 pounds 34-30. Stoga needed to win both the 160 and 171 bouts to win the match. 

Senior captain Taylor Perkins made quick work at 160 and jumped out to a 4-0 lead, but held on to win by the same score. With Stoga now down 34-33, Senior Bryan McCormick had to win for Stoga to win the match. McCormick had an easy take down and was all over his opponent and won 5-1, clinching the victory for Stoga, and moving them to 2-0 in the Central League this year. 

Senior captain Matt Roe started the match off with a 6-3 dec at 189, followed by a pin by Gregg Gruschow at 215 (Gruschow is 6-1 this year and is ranked at 215 in D1) a pin by Matt Frey at 285, and a pin by 112 pounder Ben Hartshorn. Senior captain David Exler was down 4-1 as the 3rd period started, but came up big and pinned at 119. In another crucial match, senior Jordan Pavillard was down 1-0 in the 3rd, then reversed and got 2 back points, but was quickly reversed but avoided any back points, to hold on to a 4-3 dec. 

This was a fabulous match to watch and our congratulations to the Pioneers. Visit the Results page for box score results and here for photos.

Conestoga Wins Dual Season Opener

The 2008-2009 season started out with a bang, as Conestoga beat Penncrest 42 to 32 in Stoga's first dual meet of the season.  The team really pulled together to begin the season on the right note.  Click here for a link to photos from the Penncrest match.

Pumpkin Classic

The Pumpkin Classic, our annual pre-season tournament, has turned the corner after our 4th season, as we had 311 wrestlers from 5 states. The Club continues to count on this event to grow and provide more and more financial support. Please don’t hesitate to contact Mike Roe (mikejroe@comcast.net) should you wish to help with this event.

For results from the 2008 tournament, please click here.

Hall of Fame

The Conestoga High School Wrestling Booster Club is proud to continue the tradition of inducting a new member into the Wrestling Hall of Fame. The Wrestling Hall of Fame honors and commemorates outstanding individuals who have positively impacted and consistently contributed to Conestoga Wrestling. Candidates are selected from alumni wrestlers, coaches, parents and supporters of the Conestoga High School wrestling program.

Contacts

Mike Roe, President, Conestoga Wrestling Booster Club: mikejroe@comcast.net

Nick Gruschow, webmaster: pioneerwrestlingwebsite@yahoo.com