ORWIGSBURG – After a year on the sideline, the Schuylkill League Wrestling Tournament is back.

The tournament returned to Blue Mountain High School following a season away due to the coronavirus pandemic, with 13 wrestlers being crowned champions on Saturday.

For a trio of Times News grapplers, gold draped their necks when all was said and done, while silver was also on the plate.

Two Tamaqua wrestlers battled into the championship round and came out on top. And it was a grand day for one Jim Thorpe combatant, too.

Tamaqua’s Michael Steigerwalt was strutting around the mat with his arms raised in a victory pose with a pin at 145 pounds Cole Eberts was all smiles, as the Blue Raider bagged his first league title at 172 pounds and used a pin in the process.

And Jim Thorpe’s proud Cameron Tinajero pumped his fist when leaving the mat, soaring with confidence after a scintillating pin at 160 pounds.

Without a doubt, Tamaqua is starting to surge as the season gets geared up for a February run, which leads into the District 11 tournament, then regionals and the ultimate prize - a trip to the ‘Sweetest Place on Earth,’ Hershey, for states.

Jim Thorpe is also eyeing the future prizes. The Olympians, along with Lehighton, are on the cusp of making an impact down the road.

In the team standings, Tamaqua posted a fourth-place finish with 127.5 team points, Thorpe accumulated 98.5 points to finish sixth, while a wounded Lehighton contingent down with illness still showed promise with an eighth-place finish and 76 points.

“I’m pleased with where we are at (thus far),” was the way Jim McCabe put things about his band of Tamaqua wrestlers.

Ditto for Dan Heaney and his group of Olympians.

“I’m pleased the way we wrestled, we’re getting better,” Heaney pointed out.

The Indians were dinged and wounded, said their coach Floyd Brown.

“Before we got on the bus, we lost a few kids,” Brown said of the missing wrestlers down with sickness.

It was a given pre-tournament favorite Pottsville would continue to dominate the team classification, which it did for the fifth straight season. The Tide bagged four individual titles, and four runner-up finishes en route to piling up 221 points.

While an old mainstay, once mighty North Schuylkill continues to wake up the echoes of the past with a youthful group, and claimed a second place with 176 team points. Another impressive small school performance from Tri-Valley found the Bulldogs finishing third, scoring 140 points.

Off and Running

Steigerwalt drew an opening round bye because of his top seed, and immediately went to work in his first bout, needing only 2:18 to pin North Schuylkill’s Brayden Kessler and roar into the championship round.

Steigerwalt punctuated the tournament, pinning No. 2 seed Blake Bender of Pottsville in 2:56 to win the title.

“I’m glad the way things worked out,” Steigerwalt said. “I was focused, even though I was the top seed. I just wanted to do my best. This is a nice win, since I’m a senior. It means a lot.”

Steigerwalt can now add his name to the list of Schuylkill League champions from Tamaqua.

“He has been working so hard for the past two years,” said McCabe.

Like Steigerwalt, Eberts was reveling in his win.

Eberts made a strong impression in the tournament. He pinned Jim Thorpe’s Jared Newhall - the top seed - in 3:42 to reach the finals before dispatching Schuylkill Haven’s Aiden Myers in 4:51 to win the title.

“I just felt so confident, especially the way I started, it gave me a huge boost,” Eberts said.

Eberts also pinned Blue Mountain’s Vernon Kleckner in 1:26 in the quarterfinals.

Rocked and Rolled

Jim Thorpe’s standout at 160 pounds, Tinajero was gunning for a gold medal. He broke out of the gate with a tech fall over Blue Mountain’s Lane Nodecker (18-1, 3:40), and followed that victory with a tough 7-3 decision over North Schuylkill’s Ricky Halford in the semis.

“I’m really excited for Cam, he’s been working hard all year long,” Heaney said. “He saw his opportunity, he (went) and got it.”

Indeed, Tinajero was at the top of his game, rolling past Pottsville’s John Borrell - the third seed - in the final. Tinajero wasted little time with a quick takedown, then in a heartbeat pinned the Crimson Tide wrestler at 1:43.

“I felt great, and I just wanted to go out and take (control) early,” said the Thorpe senior.

The quick work by Tinajero wasn’t lost on his coaches.

“That’s the way Cameron is, he doesn’t waste any time,” added Heaney.

TOUGH LUCK .. Lehighton had a few wrestlers that didn’t make the trip. “It was a last-minute thing,” Brown said. “I really was excited for (freshman) Brock Solt at 189, I just wanted to see him on the mat. I thought he would gain a lot of (valuable) experience.”

IN THE FINALS … Lehighton’s standout Jake Hall (106) placed second, losing by fall to North Schuylkill’s Noah Gilgore in the finals. Tamaqua’s Gabe Erbe, the top seed at 113, was upset by second-seeded Colin Seefeldt of Blue Mountain by pin in the finals. Lehighton’s Aiden Gruber lost out in the championship bout (120) via pin to Pine Grove’s Connor Demcher (1:49). At 126, Dalton Monger (Pottsville) dispatched Thorpe’s Ridge Snyder (0:38). Parrish MacFarland (Pottsville) edged Thorpe’s Gabe Heaney (152) by decision, 5-4.

ONWARD … Lehighton will host the Coal Cracker Tournament this weekend, with over 40 schools scheduled to participate.

QUOTABLE … “That’s my style, go right after (him), never let up,” Tinajero said after his impressive win at 160 pounds to improve his overall record to 24-3.

Schuylkill League Wrestling Championship

Team Scores and Legend

1. Pottsville (Pott) 221, 2. North Schuylkill (NS) 176, 3. Tri Valley (TV) 140, 4. Tamaqua (Tam) 127.5, 5. Blue Mountain (BM) 110, 6. Jim Thorpe (JT) 98.5, 7. Schuylkill Haven (SH) 92, 8. Lehighton (Leh) 76, 9. Mahanoy Area (Mah) 53.5, 10. Pine Grove (PG) 47, 11. Williams Valley (WV) 29.

Championship Finals

106

- Noah Gilgore (NS) pinned Jacob Hall (Lehighton) in 0:42.

113

- Colin Seefeldt (BM) pinned Gabe Erbe (Tam) in 5:12.

120

- Connor Demcher (Pott) pinned Aiden Gruber (Leh) in 1:49.

126

- Dalton Monger (Pott) pinned Ridge Snyder (JT) in 0:38.

132

- Payton Fasnacht (BM) major dec. Jayden Coulson (Pott), 14-5.

138

- Cade Schneck (PG) pinned Chase Stephen (TV) in 5:25.

145

- Michael Steigerwalt (Tam) pinned Blake Bender (Pott) in 2:56.

152

- Parrish McFarland (Pott) dec. Gabe Heaney (JT), 5-4.

160

- Cameron Tinajero (JT) pinned John Borrell (Pott) in 1:43.

172

- Cole Eberts (Tam) pinned Aidan Myers (SH) in 4:51.

189

- Jacob Scheib (TV) pinned Cael Quick (Mah) in 1:15.

215

- Mark Ritschel (Pott) dec. Braxton Schwartz (TV), 4-3 (UTB).

285

- Justis Troutman (TV) dec. Grant Lapachinsky (Pott), 5-0.

Third-Place Matches

106

- Aiden Schlier (Tam) major dec. Henry Snyder (JT), 16-2.

113

- Kaden Casey (NS) dec. Dawson Hasenauer (SH), 5-0.

120

- Tyler Slotterback (NS) pinned Drew Hanlon (TV) in 2:03.

126

- Kaden Brish (BM) dec. Ryan Fisher (Mah), 7-5 (SV).

132

- Zander McElhenney (NS) dec. Nick Zeigenfuss (Leh), 3-1.

138

- Jacob Schlier (Tam) dec. Luke Sterns (Pott), 5-1.

145

- Aden Celani (SH) dec. Brayden Kessler (NS), 2-1.

152

- Mason Boltz (TV) pinned Sayyidakbar Akbarov (BM) in 2:30.

160

- Ricky Halford (NS) pinned Nick Stoyer (SH) in 4:56.

172

- Jared Newhall (JT) pinned Wyatt Allgeier (TV) in 2:38.

189

- Bradley Renninger (BM) dec. John Buday (Tam) 5-3 (SV).

215

- Jared Tinari (NS) tech. fall Wyatt Sherer (Leh), 17-2 (4:13).

285

- Jeremiah Lott (WV) pinned Neekoli Caraballo (NS) in :56.

Fifth-Place Matches

106

- Tevin Walsh (SH) dec. Chris Dembinsky (Pott), 5-2.

113

- Cole Wagner (Pott) pinned Jeremiah Wetzel (PG) in 3:00.

120

- Gavin Wade (SH) pinned Austin Martin (PG) in 2:59.

126

- Hunter Troutman (TV) dec. Nate Sterner (NS), 5-2.

132

- Andrew Zimmerman (SH) pinned Zaidyn Walker (Tam) in 2:20.

138

- Jimmy Weikel (NS) dec. Nikolas Schwartz (JT), 8-6 (SV).

145

- Hunter Blankenhorn (BM) dec. Caden Deibert (WV), 5-2.

152

- Patrick Cooney (NS) pinned Stephen Baker (Mah) in 2:29.

160

- Jacob Hehn (Tam) pinned Ethan Buchert (Leh) in 1:50.

172

- Bryce Shappell (Pott) pinned Dawson Kleeman (NS) in 2:30.

189

- Trevor Minalda (NS) tech. fall Charlie Schuster (Pott), 16-1 (2:20).

215

- Joe Lagaza (Mah) pinned Robert Schaeffer (PG) in 2:26.

285

- Trevor Manbeck (BM) inj. default Gauge Hartney (Leh).