The Hometown Press, January 7, 2009
Little ‘Big’ Men Lead SV Wrestlers to Another Tourney Title
By Bob Denney Jr.
Powered by huge performances from Dan Stover, Vinny Oristaglio, Mark Asebedo and Jeff and Jim Chen, the Sun Valley varsity wrestling squad won the team title at the Octorara Duals this past Saturday. Stover and Oristaglio went undefeated on the day while Asebedo and the brothers Chen combined for 11 victories as the top half of the lineup helped to spark the Valley grapplers to their second championship in two weeks.
Through the early part of the 2008-2009 campaign, the Vanguards’ lighter weight wrestlers have been somewhat in the shadows of their larger and heavier teammates. Three substantial seniors in particular, Mike Redden, wrangling at either 189 or 215 pounds, Josh Marquard (at 160 or 171 lbs.) and Sean Simon (152 or 160) have dominated opponents so far this winter and each ranks near the top in Delaware County in their respective weight classes this season. While the Valley’s “Trilogy of Terror” continued to strike fear into their opponents this past weekend with four W’s each, it was the Vans’ Little ‘Big’ Men who, according to head coach Damon Kuzemka, made the difference as the Vans motored to five straight victories and the team title.
Stover was a force all day long as each of his five triumphs either tied a match or increased his squad’s lead. Competing mostly at 125 lbs. his first period pin in the championship bout against Manheim Township evened the team score at nine and sparked a 23-0 run. Earlier, the quiet but deadly junior, who is currently rated number three in Delco at 125 lbs. by the Daily Times’ beat writer, contributed a second period tech fall, a major decision win and a three-point victory in addition to another pin. Likewise, Vinny O could not be stopped as the super soph scored five consecutive triumphs including a major decision at 125 against Downingtown East in the semi-finals and a first period win by fall at 119 in the Suns’ showdown with Bethpage in the opening round.
While Sto’ and O have been studs for Kuzemka since their freshman seasons, it was contributions from other lesser known Vans that gave the Valley the edge in a string of tight team battles. Mark Asebedo and his twin brother Dan have emerged this year at the very top of the line up and last Saturday Mark came through with four wins including a first period pin at 112 lbs. against Conestoga Valley in the opening round which helped to fuel a 36-28 triumph. Jeff Chen chimed in with three victories in the tourney at 135, capped by a major decision win in the title tilt while his scrappy sibling Jim totaled four wins, none bigger than his first period pin at 140 pounds that gave the Vans a 30-28 advantage over CV and his fleet flattening in the championship match that gave the Hometown Heroes a commanding 25-9 lead over Manheim. Add in the clutch win in the finals by Charlie Morgan at 125, who bounced back from a sluggish performance to push a first period pin and the Valley’s Little ‘Big’ Men had a day to remember.
“We didn’t always wrestle our best today but the guys kept finding ways to win,” related a proud Coach Kuzemka afterwards. “Guys like Danny (Stover), Vinny, Mark, Jeff, Jim and Charlie all came though for us when we needed them,” he continued, “and of course Josh, Sean and Mike had big days again for us!” Big certainly is the way to describe the entire Sun Valley wrestling team, from the top to the bottom, after their second consecutive title triumph.