When longtime assistant Trey Balasco took over the Council Rock South program for longtime head coach Brad Silimperi, Balasco figured it would be a rather smooth transition.
Silimperi had built the program into a traditional District One and state powerhouse.
So far, Balasco’s expectations have been met.
Council Rock South has taken home team gold at the Cumberland Valley Kickoff Classic as well as the Bethlehem Holiday Wrestling Classic. The Golden Hawks also claimed a 10th-place finish at the Beast of the East in Delaware, and a ninth-place spot at the prestigious Escape the Rock tournament in their own gym.
The Golden Hawks have won nine of 10 dual matches with a loss to Faith Christian as their lone blemish.
Heading into this weekend, CR South will meet Owen J. Roberts in the district duals quarterfinals at Upper Dublin. In other quarterfinals involving local teams, Quakertown will square off against Sun Valley, and Council Rock North will tangle with Pennridge.
Balasco, whose team also is coming off a dominant Suburban One League Patriot Division title, is enjoying every moment. The Golden Eagles posted a 58-12 thumping over Avon Grove in the first round of duals Jan. 25.
“I feel great about where we stand,” beamed Balasco. “We started district duals with a dominant win over Avon Grove. We’re dialing in and ready to make a postseason run. All offseason we knew this team could be special and we’re seeing it come to fruition. We’re going to see some tough competition come Saturday.
“It’s always such a fun day of wrestling, great battles, a lot of energy and excitement. The boys have risen to every challenge all year and I’m confident they will continue to do so this weekend. Our goals are not only a district duals title, but a state title. However, we have to take care of one match at a time.”
Senior 114-pounder Connor Lenahan, who is 29-7 this season for the Golden Hawks, appears to be ready to take the next step and to inch closer toward the 100-win career mark. He also is confident his team can make a major impact.
“I believe my season and the season the team is having have been going pretty well so far and hope it continues,” said Lenahan, who will take his career 97-32 slate into this weekend.
“Looking at the district duals, I think we have a great chance to be there in the end. I know I have to improve on my re-attacks and to get better on my feet.
“Chemistry wise, most of us have been together for a really long time and I think that helps in the practice room and that translates out onto the mat.”
Along with Balasco, Quakertown head wrestling coach Kurt Handel has been equally impressed with his continuing developing squad. The Panthers also have the league Liberty Division title on their radar.
“That (duals) was the best I’ve seen us wrestle all season from our young freshmen to our experienced seniors,” boasted Handel. “Calvin Lachman had a great match at heavyweight and our freshmen at 107 (Gunnar Jozefowski) and 114 (Julian Moonlight) had great days.
“We’re looking forward to wrestling for the league title at home on Wednesday. If we win, it’ll be our eighth league title in a row, and Saturday is the second round of district duals. The team’s really focused on making the team state tournament.”
Lachman, a senior and state qualifier who has a 30-3 record this season and a 123-30 career mark, has watched his team strengthen its stance and has followed the path.
“I personally feel like we’re peaking at the right time,” noted Lachman. “I feel like our team is certainly ramping up our intensity as the season goes. This past weekend, we showed that we can be quite the dominant team as we took over at the duals.”
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