Cuts, scrapes, gashes and bruises are splattered about Brock Frable’s face, displaying the definition of character and courage battling through wrestlebacks at a grinder tournament such as last weekend’s Beast of the East.
While the Southern Lehigh junior’s mind was filled with disappointment because of the three close losses he endured, there is no question about the heart he displayed in bouncing back from a second-round loss to win six more matches to finish sixth at 175 pounds.
Frable could have won all 10 of his matches. He lost 15-12 thanks to a takedown with 24 seconds left, 11-7 after giving up a seven-point move in the final 30 seconds, and 4-2 in the fifth-place match.
But he found a way to look past the difficult setbacks to find a silver lining moving forward.
“I think 175 is for me,” Frable said. “This is the best I’ve ever wrestled in my career. Mentally, that’s a big factor. It’s changing how I think before my matches, and it’s helped lead to my success.”
Frable wrestled the previous two seasons at 145 and 152 pounds, but has let his body grow to the point where he is able to handle the size and physicality at 172 or 175 at out-of-state tournaments.
His Beast of the East experience gave him guidance on what needs to improve moving forward at that weight.
“Strength wise, I feel I’m not lacking too much,” he said. “Technically, sometimes, I’m lacking there. Against speedy guy is where I fall short, too, like my first loss of the [Beast of the East] tournament.
“But after this tournament, I think I can hang with almost anyone in the country.”
More heart
Whitehall coach Tim Cunningham left the University of Delaware’s Bob Carpenter Center late Sunday afternoon with a good assessment of where his team is after the Beast of the East tournament and a week away from the Bethlehem Holiday Wrestling Classic.
There were encouraging signs and some things in need of adjustment.
“Some guys did quite well,” he said. “Others have got a lot of work to do.
“We have to stand our ground. We can’t be getting pushed around, can’t be backing up. We’ve got to battle positions. Some of the younger guys made some strides. Some of the guys who have very little experience wrestled really well, and some of my guys who I had higher expectations for didn’t perform to their abilities. It’s early in the year. It’s why we come to these kind of tournaments.”
Cunningham had no problem with how returning PIAA Class 3A champion Willmont Kai responded to adversity. The senior 132-pounder won his first three matches decisively before giving up a late takedown in a 4-1 loss to Cedar Cliff’s Kavin Muyleart, last year’s 3A state runner-up at 121 pounds, in the quarterfinals.
Kai responded by winning his next four bouts, including an overtime victory over Bethlehem Catholic’s Reef Dillard, to finish third.
“One thing about Willmont is that he’ll be very disappointed after a loss,” Cunningham said, “but a couple minutes after he’s going to regroup and want to go for third place. There was no question he was going to wrestle back, to continue to wrestle, show class and character.”
Kai wrestled last season at 114, then started this year at 127 before bumping up to 132 for the Beast of the East. The senior said he feels comfortable against the bigger, stronger guys, and can counter them with his skill set and length.
He’ll stay at 132 for the Bethlehem Holiday Wrestling Classic, then see where things go later in the year.
“I told him what was best for him was to wrestle up over the holidays and not worry about his weight but worry about getting better.”
James and Mason Hopkins were among the other Zephyrs who wrestled well at the Beast despite coming up short of a medal. Adam Gasteratos and Tyrell Hoff, who each had 10 career wins before this year, won two bouts apiece.
Whitehall finished in 14th place in the team standings, sixth among public schools.
Fourth annual Beast of the East girls recap
It was a banner day for Lehigh Valley-area girls at the Friday at the University of Delaware with two champions among 11 medalists.
Quakertown’s Caroline Hattala repeated as 190-pound champion and was joined at the top of the podium by Southern Lehigh’s Xuan Graham at 115. Sister Mai Graham was second at 120. Hattala had five pins, four in the first period. Xuan Graham posted five bonus-point victories.
Palisades’ Bryce Snyder was third at 170, followed by Quakertown’s Ashley Stank (fourth at 105), Parkland’s Angelina Spachman (sixth at 140), Natalie Deutch (seventh at 155) and Peyton Schneck (seventh at 105); Quakertown’s Mackenzie Gappa (seventh at 120), Easton’s Danielle Williams (eighth at 125) and Lehighton’s Kennedy Quinn (eighth at 135).
Parkland finished third in the team race with 112 points. Quakertown was seventh (89.5), Southern Lehigh ninth (82) and Lehighton 21st (51).
King of the Mountain recap
Northampton had four medalists, including champion Brayden Wenrich at 121 pounds, and finished fourth in the team standings at Central Mountain.
Chase Grabfelder and Gabe Ballard were second at 152 and 160, respectively, for the Konkrete Kids. Carter Chlebove was sixth at 172. Northampton was without Trey Wagner.
Parkland had five medalists and was eighth in the team race. Braden Todora had a stellar tournament winning the 114-pound title with a couple of victories over ranked wrestlers, including Andrew Alexander of Mifflin County in the final.
Luis Moya took third at 107 with a tie-breaker victory over Council Rock South’s Quinn Bagnell. Matt Velez was fifth at 133, Jared Santilli was sixth at 139 and Jorge Moya was eighth at 160.
Elsewhere
Palisades had three medalists and finished 10th out of 30 teams at the Howdy Duncan Classic at William Penn (Del.) High School. Brock Schneiderwind (144) and Silas Day (215) won titles. Teammate Landen Phy was fourth at 150. Day had four pins, including one in overtime in the semis.
East Stroudsburg South was 26th in the team race at the Panther Holiday Classic at Mount Aloysius College. … Faith Christian was 3-0 at the Jonsey Classic Duals at West Chester Henderson without three-time state champion Adam Waters. … Quakertown swept a tri-meet with Downingtown East and host Lower Merion on Saturday. … Pocono Mountain West was 1-5 at the York Suburban Duals, beating Wyomissing.
