Owen J. Roberts wrestlers win district title

Owen J. Roberts did something it hadn't had to do all season long on Saturday: win a close match.

Facing by far its stiffest competition of the season, the Wildcats persevered for their first-ever District 1 Class AAA team wrestling championship, topping Norristown, 35-29, at Upper Dublin.

OJR improved to 17-0 in dual meets this season, but before its win over Norristown had been truly dominant.

Entering the final, the Wildcats limited 10 of 16 opponents to single-digit points with a whopping 45.8 average margin of victory. To boot, the Wildcats notched three shutouts - a rarity.

Norristown, sans its stud 195-pounder, Larry Gordon, out with a right ankle sprain, was within three points with two matches to go. It took an Eagles forfeit at 106 pounds for OJR to clinch the title.

"It's great for my kids, it's great for my assistant coaches, the whole program," OJR head coach Steve DeRafelo said.

Norristown (8-1) fell for the second straight year in the district title match. Still, the Eagles move on to the PIAA tournament, beginning Monday. OJR received a bye into the state tourney's second round. Third-place Spring-Ford and fourth-place Council Rock North also advanced. Lower Moreland topped Pottstown, 34-31, for the Class AA championship and will face District 12 champ Bishop McDevitt on Monday for a place in the state tournament.

Over its last seven duals, OJR had dropped a minuscule 10 combined matches out of 84. Norristown took seven of 14 on Saturday.

OJR's James Warta earned a pivotal decision over Jesse Prante at 220 pounds. Prante needed a late takedown to eke out a win, but couldn't budge the much stronger Warta.

"Building that mat strength has really come through for me this year," Warta said.

Without Gordon, Norristown was forced to bump several wrestlers up in weight. Shane Springer, the top 170-pounder in the district, wrestled at 195 pounds, and earned a historic pin.

In decking Nick DeAngelo in 51 seconds, Springer became Pennsylvania's all-time pins leader, with a record of 128.

"I honestly think [Owen J. Roberts] was on their heels, because if we had [Gordon] we might have been able to do a little more maneuvering and we could have pulled it out," Springer said. "They should honestly be lucky . . . it could have been a whole different ending."