McStravick, Steffenino Golden at King of the Mat Tournament

by Jake Hallman

Posted on December 30, 2009

Understand, the ninth-grade tandem is the same age as their fellow frosh, with similar interests and hobbies.

But when it comes to wrestling experience, McStravick and Steffenino are grades ahead of just about any freshman around.

No stranger to the wrestling mats, the two were introduced to the sport about the same time they were getting ready to enter kindergarten. Their training started with the Upper Perk Braves, the feeder wrestling program for the middle and high schools.

The two turned heads in the East Penn League, garnering tournament titles and the hardware that goes along with it. From there, the two continued their success at the middle school level, earning more of a reputation and following with each match.

This past summer, McStravick and Steffenino, along with the other large freshmen following on the 2009-2010 squad, got a taste of varsity workouts under head coach Tom Hontz. Hontz said the raw talent stood out from the beginning, but also realized there was still a good deal of work that needed to be done.

But from the looks of things at this past weekend's King of the Mat Tournament at North Davidson High School in North Carolina, the duo are off to a good start.

McStravick (112) and Steffenino at 103 held off all of the competition in their respective brackets to claim tourney titles. Their golden finishes helped the Tribe to a fourth-place team finish in the 20-school affair. Team champion Parkland took top honors with 286 points, ahead of Lake Norman (195), Bob Jones (172.5) and Upper Perk (149).


While McStravick and Steffenino may have headlined the Indians' effort, there was plenty of support.

Juniors Cody Ambrose (160) and Nate Pompei battled their way to third-place finishes, as senior Nick Hale represented the upper-class effort with a fifth at 189.

Senior David Cannon medal-ed with a sixth at 130 pounds, as did fellow senior Dan Wolfrom (215), and sophomore Dalton Fleming was seventh at 152.

McStravick earned his title after using a 15-0 technical fall over Glenn's Kegan Mahaffey to get to the championship match, where he held off Northside's Joe Cutler.

Steffenino picked up a 57-second fall in the semifinals over Bob Jones' Austin Clark, and then got past Parkland's Phazon Roddy for the gold.

Pompei earned a 13-5 major in his consolation match against Martinsville's Freddie Williams and Ambrose got the slap in 3:59 against Austin Fuller (Bob Jones) for his third-place finish.

While the individual efforts, as well as the team finish, were a boost for the Indians, their collective work has just begun.

The Pioneer Athletic Conference season gets under way at home Jan. 6 as the Tribe entertains Methacton. After that, the team will again head down South to take part in the prestigious Battlefield Duals at Colonial Forge High School in Virginia, Jan. 8-9.

http://www.upvnews.com/sports/mcstravick-steffenino-golden-at-king-of-the-mat-tournament.html

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