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Williamsport wrestling falls to No. 1 nationally ranked Wyoming Seminary

By Evan Wheaton 5 min read

One could argue Williamsport's wrestling team is having its best season in program history. At the very least, it’s safe to say the Millionaires have been consistently raising the bar all winter.

Let's run through the list.

Starting the year with its best Top Hat tournament finish since the mid 90s, Williamsport won its first King of the Mountain team title, claimed its first PHAC Division I crown, handed Central Mountain its first conference dual loss since the Wildcats joined the Heartland and, for good measure, placed within the top 20 at the Powerade, Pennsylvania's largest tournament.

So, why not take on Wyoming Seminary, the top high school wrestling program in the nation according to Trackwrestling? With a loaded roster up and down its lineup, and chock-full of Division I talent, the Millionaires faced their greatest test one-on-one against the Blue Knights.

That test ended in a 35-24 win for Wyoming Seminary at the Magic Dome Tuesday.

"I thought the boys competed well. The kids that they did bring were quality kids, but two of my better wrestlers get forfeits," Williamsport coach Brian Nasdeo said. "I don't think it was the kids they brought necessarily, the holes they didn't fill. It's disappointing."

The Blue Knights kept their cards close to their chest and didn't bring their full lineup. The Millionaires received forfeits at 132, 138 and 145. The 18 straight points cut Williamsport's deficit to 23-21 at the time heading into 152. The match started at 215 with a 17-1 tech fall from Wolfgang Frable over Charlie Lundy.

Though the match was out of sight by the final weight class, Sebastian Robinson ended the night on a high note for the Millionaires. With one minute remaining in the third period, Robinson pulled off a two-point move to tie it, then rifled off points in the final 60 seconds to walk away with a 7-3 decision over Jake Baker.

"I was just going hard towards the end," Robinson said. "He was looking tired, so I just kept pushing. It opened up and I got the points."

Even without its entire roster on hand, Robinson was glad to come out with something, anything against the top team in the country.

"It boosted (my confidence) a lot," Robinson said. "They didn't bring their whole team, just some of their guys, but it felt good to get a win against them."

The only other Millionaire to win their weight was Cael Nasdeo, who shut out Davis Motyka for a 4-0 decision.

Williamsport is currently ranked fifth in the state for Class AAA duals. Having limited the amount of bonus points given up against the Blue Knights -- three pins and a tech fall -- the Millionaires kept it close for the most part, with two non-forfeit wins earned on the mat.

"Sebastian is just doing great. I couldn't be happier for where he's at," Nasdeo said. "And Cael wrestled fine, it's a kid that he knows and he's friends with ... he wrestled fine."

Nikkos Filipos (106) and Luke Lilledahl (120) pinned Jack Heller and Luke Segraves at 52 seconds and three minutes, 40 seconds respectively. Carter Schubert (172) pinned Ryan Dunlap at 1:39.

Charles Crews, after starting with a quick two points, fell behind DJ Moehring before chopping his deficit with late points. Crews cut his bout within a point, but Moehing held on for a 6-5 decision after the two went neutral with five seconds left.

At 126, Devin Harris led most of the time, but Matthew Dimen came up with some late points to hold out a 7-5 decision. Roman Morrone (160) took Dom Federici through a scoreless period, allowed one point in the second, and the two traded blows until Federici came out on top, 4-2. Christopher Crawford took a 9-3 decision over Carter Weaver at 152.

Both teams saw one another at the Powerade in December. Wyoming Seminary won the 65-team tournament by nearly 100 points, having gone all out with its lineup.

The dual between the Blue Knights and Millionaires, circled ferociously on the calendar for many, was not the same field of wrestlers.

"If they had brought their wrestlers, I was hoping to see the best team that we're going to see from now until states. That's not what happened," Nasdeo said. "I'm not going to lie to you, I'm a little bit irritated about that, but it is what it is."

WYOMING SEMINARY 35, WILLIAMSPORT 24

215: Wolfgang Frable (WS) tech fall Charlie Lundy, 17-1. 285: DJ Moehring (WS) dec. Charles Crews, 6-5. 106: Nikkos Filipos (WS) pinned Jack Heller, 0:52. 113: Cael Nasdeo (W) dec. Davis Motyka, 4-0. 120: Luke Lilledahl (WS) pinned Luke Segraves, 3:40. 126: Matthew Dimen (WS) dec. Devin Harris, 7-5. 132: Braden Bower (W) via forfeit. 138: Santino White (W) via forfeit. 145: Riley Bower (W) via forfeit. 152: Christopher Crawford (Wyoming Seminary) dec. Carter Weaver, 9-3. 160: Dom Federici (WS) dec. Roman Morrone, 4-2. 172: Carter Schubert (WS) pinned Ryan Dunlap, 1:39. 189: Sebastian Robinson (W) dec. Jake Baker, 7-3.

Starting at /week.