Crestwood Wrestling Bibla brothers medal at regionals, advance to states

Crestwood wrestlers begin PIAA competition this week

Crestwood senior Magnus Bibla and sophomore brother Lincoln enjoyed some big moments last weekend at the Class 3A Northeast Regional wrestling tournament in Bethlehem Their reward is another weekend of wrestling, this time in Hershey.

The wrestling brothers are headed to the sweetest place on earth thanks to their medal-winning performances at regionals, where Magnus placed second at 215 pounds and Lincoln took fourth at 189. The top four finishers in each weight class move on to states, which begin Thursday and run through Saturday at the Giant Center in Hershey.

Man on a Mission Magnus rolled into Saturday’s championship bout at 215 after first securing a fast takedown in his Friday quarterfinal bout against Brandon Stieher of Pocono Mountain West. He pinned Stieher in 1:39.

The state’s 14th-ranked wrestler at 215 according to PA Power Wrestling, Bibla, secured his second pin of the tournament in Saturday morning’s semifinals where he took down Bethlehem Catholic’s Augustus Warke in 3:32, getting back to the regional final for a second straight season.

“I was working all season to get to where I was and that’s what I wanted,” the Crestwood senior said. “I felt like I could come in here, blow through this and get to the finals and see where that puts me.”

Nazareth senior Sonny Sasso, the state’s top-ranked 215-pounder and last year’s state champion, was waiting for him there. Sasso reached the final by pinning District 2 stalwart Hank Baronowski of Wallenpaupack in 1:17 of their semifinal.

Bibla (33-3) didn’t back down in the final. He escaped after two Sasso takedowns, but couldn’t fight off a second-period pin in 2:55.

“It was pretty tough,” Bibla said afterward. “He’s a big, long kid. Pretty strong, too, and he has a lot of technique. I learned that there are tougher opponents out there and I still have stuff to work on.”

Comeback kid

Lincoln Bibla literally got off his back to land a spot in the state tournament.

In the second period of the 189-pound consolation semifinals.,Nazareth’s Marco Malerba built a 12-point lead and was on the verge of a pin. With a spot at states on the line, the Comets sophomore changed all that, hitting a reversal and pinning Malerba - despite losing 17-7 at the time.

“I didn’t even see the score,” Lincoln Bibla said. “I was just looking for the pin. I was down, I was on my back a few times, but all season has kind of been that way so I’m really good off my back and once you flip them it’s kind of over.”

Lincoln earned three straight pins in the consolation bracket Saturday to advance to states, including an 11-second pin over Shane Rowland of St. Joseph’s Prep and a second-period fall over Xaiden Schock (2:04) of Wallenpaupack.

Wrestling his fourth bout of the day in the third-place match, Lincoln was pinned by Abington Heights’ Caleb Marzolino (1:22).

Worthy contingent

All four Crestwood wrestlers who competed in Bethlehem made it to the second day of regionals, helping the Comets to an eighth-place finish (50 points, tied with Parkland) in the Class 3A team title chase. Bethlehem Catholic won that with 231.5 points, followed by runner-up Nazareth (221.5) and Easton (137.5) in a distant third.

Crestwood’s Devin Shaw reached the consolation quarterfinals at 152 pounds before bowing out of the tournament with a 2-2 mark.

On Friday, Shaw opened with a slim 7-6 decision over Leo Petroski of Mariana Bracetti Academy. But Shaw was also cut down in the quarterfinals, losing by a technical fall to Dagen Condomitti of Northampton in 1:52.

Shaw bounced back Saturday morning in the second round of consolations, pinning Anthony Toczydlowski of Archbishop Ryan in 1:41. However, In the consolation quarterfinals, Nazareth’s Cade Campbell gained a 7-0 decision.

Wrestling at 133, the

Comets’ Santino Cassarella hooked up with Rocco Teivelli of Roman Catholic, grabbing an 8-4 first-period lead en route to a 20-8 major decision and a trip to the quarterfinal round. There, Nazareth’s Charlie Bunting used several takedowns on his way to a 22-7 technical fall, sending Cassarella to the consolation bracket.

In the second round of consolations Saturday, Austin Noe of Northampton pinned Cassarella in 43 seconds, ending his tournament.

Canvasing the Competition

The Bibla brothers will begin their quest for state medals when the PIAA Class 3A Wrestling Championships begin on Thursday.

Lincoln Bibla (26-11) begins action in the preliminary round at 189, where he squares off with Strath Haven senior Sam Milligan (41-7), the Southeast Regional thirdplace finisher.

Magnus Bibla (33-3) comes into the tournament in the Round of 16, where he tangles with another senior in Owen Ott (34-7) of Penn Trafford. He is the thirdplace finisher out of the Southwest Regioanal.

The double-elimination tournament continues through Saturday, and can be followed live by going to piaa.org and following the prompts. The top eight finishers in each weight class earn state medals.