Parkland came out in full force in a 63-6 Eastern Pennsylvania Conference wrestling win over Pleasant Valley on Wednesday.

The night began in the 285-pound class with PV’s James Barruzza opening things up for the Bears. Barruzza lost on a 7-3 decision to Zayd Afif, and Parkland’s dominance began in the first EPC match of the season for the Trojans.

It was a convincing victory for Parkland, which got pins from Blake Dergham (106), Nathan Kresge (126), Leo Kern (132), Mikeal Palmieri (160), Adrian Gacek (172) and Alex Neely (189).

Juan Moya also earned bonus points with a technical fall at 152 pounds, while Aaron Ciampittiello (120) and William Sallit (138) both posted major decisions.

“You’re going to bump into stuff like this,” said first-year Pleasant Valley head coach Alex Depew. “Parkland’s really well-coached. They have a lot of tough kids, and we got outclassed tonight. Coaches have to re-evaluate things. The kids got to look at themselves in the mirror and decide what they want to do. Parkland came to wrestle, the coaches came to coach, and that’s the outcome.”

Pleasant Valley was able to get two wins in last Saturday’s Battle at Bethlehem Duals over Southern Lehigh and Bangor to start 2-3 in the 2021-22 season.

The Bears’ lone bright spot came at the end of the night when senior James Syracuse claimed the final victory in the match.

Syracuse pinned Julius Reyes in: 30 at 215 pounds.

“Syracuse is the captain of the team for a reason,” Depew said. “He just got back from being a little banged-up. We expect that out of James. He knew the expectation and fortunately, he closed out the match for us.”

Syracuse finished out the fall football season for Pleasant Valley, and is 6-0 on the wrestling season individually.

PV’s tough start to the season against Parkland doesn’t get any easier, with powerhouse Bethlehem Catholic on deck Thursday night. It is a short turnaround for the team, which has to travel to Bethlehem to face the Golden Hawks.

OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN

... Depew commented on Syracuse’s toughness in getting ready for the wrestling season. “He’s a three-sport athlete,” the coach said. “Great athlete, so he’s a little banged-up and he knows that. In wrestling, he’ll be even more banged-up. He’s got to figure it out, and he is. He’s going out there and performing and practicing hard. We expect a really successful season out of James.”

Everett Lata, also a team captain, had a tough night, getting pinned in 1:35 at 126 pounds.

NEW COACH IN TOWN

... Depew has settled into his role as head coach, working to build the program back up in an always-competitive EPC. “Good kids, we’re going to take lickings like this, and we got Bethlehem Catholic Thursday, so it sure doesn’t get any easier,” he said.

Parkland 63, Pleasant Valley 6

106 - Blake Dergham (P) pinned Dominic DiFusco in; 30; 113 - Kaleb Contes (P) won by forfeit; 120 - Aaron Ciampittiello (P) major dec. Edward Lauritsen, 12-3; 126 - Nathan Kresge (P) pinned Everett Lata in 1:35*; 132 - Leo Kern (P) pinned Josh Griffith in 4:29; 138 - William Sallit (P) major dec. Aldin Vukel, 8-0; 145 - Jack Griffin (P) won by forfeit; 152 - Juan Moya (P) tech. fall Thomas Lovito in 3:50, 19-4; 160 - Mikeal Palmieri (P) pinned Aaron Nonnemaker in 3:01; 172 - Adrian Gacek (P) pinned Robert Dominick in 3:29; 189 - Alex Neely (P) pinned Jason Schubert in 2:18; 215 - James Syracuse (PV) pinned Julius Reyes in: 30; 285

- Zayd Afif (P) dec. James Barruzza, 7-3.

* - Team point deducted for misconduct.