Loyalsock’s Rodarmel, Vincenzes each record feats at sectionals
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On the final first lap of each wrestler's individual postseason, Loyalsock seniors Kaden Rodarmel and Braden Vincenzes not only handled business, but managed to pull off historic feats in the process.
At the Central Sectional this past Saturday, Rodarmel carried his run on the championship side all the way to a sectional title - his first since his freshman season. He got to share the accomplishment with fellow Lancer, Ivan Baker, who also came away with his first sectional title as a freshman over the weekend.
"It's pretty cool because I won, and Ivan won at 114. He's had a lot of ups and downs this year, so it was pretty cool to see him come out as a freshman and wrestle really well today," said Rodarmel.
"For me, it was pretty good. I don't think I had my best stuff today. I got put into deep waters and I feel like wrestled out of it and won, so that's pretty nice."
And with Vincenzes's initial win on Saturday, he surpassed 100 wins in his career.
Though the prospect added to the pressure of kicking off sectionals on the winning end, the senior managed to shake it off, defeating Muncy's Paxton Derr by tech fall to advance to the championship semis. He credited the win to trusting his skills and experience.
"There's always a little bit of pressure before matches. I always get a little bit nervous, but I'd say for a hundred wins, it was a little bit more nerve wracking," said Vincenzes on his nerves heading into the match. "But I just knew if I went out and wrestled my match and brought physicality, that it'd be fine, and it ended up being fine."
Neither run was perfect, as Vincenzes fell to No. 1 Conner Harer in the following round by way of pin. But he managed to brush off the loss and finish strong, bouncing back with a win by tech fall in consolation semis and a major decision win over Hughesville's Conor Knight to take third.
"It sucks to get stuck on Conner Harer's side of the bracket," laughed Vincenzes following the run. "But there's nothing you can do about that. I just had to wrestle as well as I could, and I think it showed today."
For Rodarmel, his biggest obstacle came in the form of state-ranked wrestler and good friend, Coy Bryson of Montgomery.
It was clear that the pair was evenly matched from the jump, reflected in the score and the back-and-forth gaining and regaining of momentum. When Rodarmel secured a takedown midway through the first period, Bryson responded by maintaining his composure, chipping away at the deficit with escapes late in the first and early in the second to even the score.
"We were joking around all week about it. It was pretty different to us," said Rodarmel on Bryson. "But yeah, he's tough. I'll probably have to wrestle him again, so I have to make some adjustments when I wrestle him for sure."
He'd come away with an escape after starting the third period on bottom, riding that lead until the match's conclusion. It may not have been perfect, but Rodarmel still took a lot of confidence away from claiming gold at sectionals. He hopes that'll fuel a deep run at districts next weekend.
"Yeah, that was the first step to Hershey, so I feel like I did pretty well," said Rodarmel. "I'm excited for district and for some good wrestling. It's going to be fun. I've just got to get my head mentally right, and I should be good."