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Expectation for WAHS was to get to Hershey, and it did

Williamsport’s confidence has never wavered. Coach Brian Nasdeo hasn’t allowed it to.

For every opportunity there was to talk about an injury which stole a starter from the Millionaires’ lineup, he could talk about someone stepping into the vacated spot and producing wins. And even as Williamsport has lost more than a third of its original starting lineup, it has expected to be headed to Hershey this week for the PIAA Team Wrestling Championships.

So when the Millionaires faced a 32-3 deficit against Clearfield in the final of the District 4/9 tournament Saturday, the confidence in his team still didn’t waver. Williamsport quickly worked its way back into the dual with four pins and a forfeit in six-bout stretch, giving sophomore Roman Morrone the chance to send the Millionaires to Hershey.

He did just that. His major decision in the final bout gave Williamsport the first district duals championship in school history. The Millionaires open this weekend’s PIAA Team Wrestling Championships on Thursday at 8 p.m. against defending state champion Bethlehem Catholic.

“We buckled down in the beginning of the year and said ‘we’re not going to talk about who is here and who’s not here. We’re just going to wrestle,'” Nasdeo said after practice Wednesday. “We knew we had a good enough core to get where we wanted to be. Are there some kids who have surprised me along the way? I don’t know that surprised is the right word. I think they’ve just developed a little faster than I anticipated.”

Williamsport’s journey to the state tournament has been filled with more speed bumps than a school parking lot. It started when returning state qualifier Braden Bower was lost before the season to shoulder surgery. Starting 126-pounder Carter Dawson wrestled only at the Top Hat before a shoulder injury ended his seasons. Porter Dawson got a delayed start to the season because of a balky shoulder and wrestled just seven matches before a knee injury took him out. Dade Splain has wrestled just nine bouts because of injury. Starting heavyweight Ethan Williamson left the team after just two weeks.

Even though they’re still in the lineup, Carter Weaver and Cael Nasdeo have both missed time this season with injuries. With every excuse to pack it in and say this just isn’t our year, Williamsport never did. Because despite all the reasons to say it was a lost year, there was always a group of kids in the room ready to work hard.

The confidence in the ability to win a district team title and qualify for a trip to Hershey never wavered. Well, almost never wavered. Trailing Clearfield, 32-3, in the district final was less than ideal. But Cael Nasdeo got a forfeit. Luke Seagraves and Weaver earned falls in back-to-back bouts. After a loss by decision, Isaiah Harer and Riley Bower earned two more falls, and all of a sudden Williamsport trailed only 35-33 with one bout to go. And that one bout was going to be wrestled by Morrone, one of the few Millionaires who have made it through the season unscathed.

Nasdeo was confident his 145-pounder would win. The two falls before his match and Clearfield losing a team point allowed Morrone the confidence to know he just needed to win to give Williamsport its goal.

“Those two pins gave me hope,” Morrone said. “I knew I could compete hard and beat the kid. So I made sure I went out and wrestled smart. I felt like I had it, and I was going to get it done for the team.”

“I had no doubt in my mind at that point we were going to win the match,” Nasdeo said. “I just wanted him to stay within himself. He didn’t have to feel the pressure, he just had to win the match. I think he went out there a little hyped up, but he gained his composure quickly and finished it off for us.”

And the reward for a 10-1 regular season and the first district team title in school history? That’s right, Bethlehem Catholic. The same Bethlehem Catholic who has won three of the last four PIAA Class AAA Team Wrestling Championships and seven overall. The same Bethlehem Catholic which has 55 state placewinners since 2000.

Do you know how many Williamsport has in that same time? One. Roshaun Cooley’s eighth-place finish in 2015.

It’s hard to imagine a bigger contrast in recent history than these two programs. But it’s exactly the kind of match Nasdeo and his kids were hoping to get when they set their goal of reaching the state team tournament.

“We’re going to see how good we really are because that’s one of the best teams in the state,” Cael Nasdeo said. “This is going to show us all the things we need to improve on and what we’re doing right so when we do get back to Hershey in March we’ll be ready for kids like that.”

“Everyone’s expecting them to win, so there’s no pressure on us,” Morrone said. “We have to go out there and wrestle every single second of the match because there’s always a chance to pull out a win.”

Brian Nasdeo looks at this weekend’s trip as an opportunity to get some of his wrestlers experience in the Giant Center before hopefully coming back in a month. It’s also about getting some of his less experienced wrestlers an opportunity to wrestle in an environment unlike one they’ve ever seen before.

“I’ve got kids who are never going to make it to states who are going to go down there and are going to get matches on that floor as part of the state tournament,” Brian Nasdeo said. “And as a coach, that’s the biggest thrill I get out of it. The best guys, hopefully they’re going to get here at some point in their career. But there are guys who come in here every day who work super hard and are just not going to make it. But this is how they can get there and be productive.”

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