BETHLEHEM - Reese Balk is wrestling well. He knows that.

The Lehighton senior also believes he can still get better. He knows he has to reach his ultimate goal.

But Balk couldn’t ask for much more after a dominating display at the District 11 Class 2A Tournament.

Balk powered to the 285-pound title, pinning North Schuylkill’s Neeko Caraballo in 5:20 in the final.

It was the type of performance befitting of a top seed, and one that helped Balk earn the Class 2A pinner award with pins in all four of his matches.

“It feels really amazing, because compared to last year I got fourth place,” said Balk. “I got hurt, couldn’t wrestle at regionals. Now, placing first this will probably give me even better seeding for regionals.”

Balk was one of five Times News area wrestlers to reach the finals Saturday night at Liberty High School. Balk’s teammate Aidan Gruber (114), Jim Thorpe’s Stephen Korte (121), Northwestern’s Luke Fugazzotto (172) and Palmerton’s Dillon Lombardi (152) all advanced to next week’s Southeast Regional Tournament with runner-up finishes.

Also advancing to next week’s regional event with top-four finishes were Tamaqua’s Evan Temarantz (107, third), Brody Schlier (fourth, 114) and Gabe Erbe (127, fourth), Lehighton’s Jacob Ferguson (third, 160), Northwestern’s Noah Schlofer (fourth, 215) and Northern Lehigh’s Sam Frame (fourth, 285).

Pinning machine

Balk was unstoppable over two days at the district tournament, racking up pins in 1:09, 1:54, 3:17 and 5:20 to capture the pinner award in 2A.

The match with Caraballo in the finals was the fourth meeting of the season between the two wrestlers. Balk had won the first two by scores of 10-4 and 6-4, but Caraballo, who was seeded seventh, posted a 6-2 win on Feb. 3 at district duals.

Balk was ready for the finals, putting Caraballo to his back in the first period with a takedown and collecting three near-fall points to build a 5-0 lead.

“It feels good to finally get a pin (against him),” said Balk. “I came close, but I hadn’t been able to actually pin him during the season, it was always by points. It felt good to actually get him down on his back.”

Balk and Caraballo traded reversals in the second period to make the score 7-2.

A takedown by Balk with 1:29 left in the third period made it 9-2 before the senior secured the pin, one Balk almost had in the first period.

“I was so close, but he started rolling me over, so I was like, I’m going to back off and readjust,” Balk said of the near-fall.

Despite not getting the early pin, the early advantage helped Balk set the tone.

“It gives you a huge confidence boost, because No. 1, your opponent is on their back, so you’re breaking their mentality,” said Balk. “They might make mistakes, start to panic, so you can play off of those mistakes and use that to your advantage.”

“He started out really nice,” added Indians’ head coach Floyd Brown. “I was a little surprised he went for the headlock, but I’m glad he did because it worked out. I know he was a little timid, we thought it was going to be a close match, and didn’t want to open up too much right away. But I think he had a little fire in him from losing to him last time. And he went out and wrestled probably one of the best matches I’ve seen him wrestle all year. He stayed aggressive. It was good. He did a nice job.”

Balk’s third pin came in 3:17 against Williams Valley’s Cameron Green in the semis.

After qualifying for regionals a year ago but being unable to wrestle due to injury, Balk appears to be hitting his stride at the right time this postseason.

“I feel like I’m getting close, but I wouldn’t say best because hopefully that will happen as we keep going forward,” Balk said. “I know I’m going to have more competition. I can work better on neutral, I can focus more time and effort into that. I feel like top and bottom I’m pretty solid.

“I’m very excited to finally get my shot at regionals and see what I can do.”

Balk has impressed at each stop along the way, something Brown doesn’t expect to stop now.

“Now we’ll focus on next week and hopefully get through next week, too,” said Brown.

Falling in the finals

Gruber ran into now four-time and defending state champion Ayden Smith in the 114-pound final.

Smith led 4-1 with a pair of takedowns in the first period, and pushed that advantage to 13-4 after the second before securing the fall in 4:34.

“I feel really good about today. I was happy to be in the finals, be in that situation,” said Gruber. “And it’s nothing but good for me to be able to wrestle someone of that caliber. To feel what it’s like, because he was the previous state champ. That’s how one wrestles. I get to see what that’s like, and it just prepares me a little bit more for what’s to come.”

Gruber, who was seeded second, pinned Tamaqua’s Brody Schlier in 3:25 in the semis. Gruber led 14-2 before the pin.

The senior will be making his third straight trip to regionals. He was a state qualifier as a sophomore.

“I really wanted to just make it to regionals and keep moving forward,” said Gruber.

Gruber had two technical falls and a pin prior to the finals.

“I feel good,” said Gruber. “I feel a little more confident this year, it’s my last year I’m just going to put all that I have out there because there’s really nothing to lose. I’m just going to do the best that I can and hope for the best and keep moving forward.”

Both Lombardi and Korte knocked off higher seeds to reach the finals.

Lombardi, seeded sixth, bounced No. 2 seed Chase Stephen of Tri-Valley in the 152 semis with a 9-8 decision.

Down 4-0 in the first period after giving up a takedown and two back points, Lombardi got an escape and then a takedown followed by three back points to go ahead 6-4.

Lombardi got another escape in the second period before Stephen scored a takedown to make it 7-6

A reversal with 1:27 left put Stephen ahead 8-7. But Lombardi dug deep, getting a reversal with 0:28 left to take the win.

“Semifinal match was a big one,” said Lombardi. “I was real happy about that. I had a nice reversal in the last 30 seconds to win the match, and I knew I had to ride him out. In my head I was like, ‘If I win this, I will be so happy.’ I really was. It was big.”

In the finals, Lombardi and top seed Cole Hubert of Saucon Valley were scoreless for much of the first period before Hubert got a takedown with 0:17 left and added three back points at the end of the period to make it 5-0, which is how the score would stay for the remainder of the match.

“I was really happy to be here because I really wanted to go to regionals,” said Lombardi. “I got out on the mat and I was like, ‘Win or lose, I know I wrestled a good tournament.’ He’s (Hubert) a very good opponent and I was going to put up a fight, and I think I put up a pretty good fight against him.”

Korte, seeded fourth, knocked off top seed Mikhail Hartranft of Catasauqua with a pin in 5:04 in the semifinals. Hartranft pinned Korte Jan. 21 at the Coal Cracker.

The sophomore controlled the semifinal match, getting a takedown and two back points in the first period. Hartranft had a pair of escapes in the second, and Korte added another takedown to make it 6-3.

Korte got a takedown with 1:08 left in the third period before finishing it with the pin.

In the finals, Korte battled third seed Cooper Feltman of Notre Dame Green Pond. Feltman got the first takedown 1:02 into the match, but Korte used an escape and a takedown in the final three seconds to go ahead 3-2 at the end of the first period.

Feltman got out to start the third period, and came up with a takedown with 0:28 left to go ahead 5-3 before Korte had an escape with 0:21 left to make it 5-4 going to the third.

Korte got out to start the third period to tie it at 5-5, but Feltman got a takedown with 0:34, which proved to be decisive. Korte had an escape with 0:29 left, but Feltman held on for the 7-6 win.

“I was feeling pretty confident. That’s pretty much all I can do is feel confident,” said Korte. “I have to work on setting up angles for my shots; I was just trying to shoot straight in, that’s one thing I did notice. I wasn’t really setting up shots, just kind of shooting in.”

Korte has a lot to build on and look forward to, and will be making his first appearance at regionals after placing sixth at districts last year.

“That was pretty much my main goal, to make it to regionals,” said Korte. “I’m only looking forward from here.”

Fugazzotto, a top seed at 172 pounds, powered into the finals with his third pin of the tournament, topping Saucon Valley’s Mason Beckowski in 1:30.

The sophomore faced No. 2 seed Keegan Ramsay of Notre Dame Green Pond in the finals. Ramsay took a 2-1 lead in the first period, and added an escape in the second to make it 3-1.

Ramsay secured three back points with 1:37 left in the third to make it 6-1. Fugazzotto had an escape with 1:15 remaining, but Ramsay got another takedown with 0:23 left to seal the 8-2 win.

“He was slowing us down,” said Tigers’ coach Joe Killar of Ramsay. “He was patient, and we weren’t. He wrestled a smart match. He wrestled well.”

Fugazzotto advances to regionals for the second year in a row after also qualifying for states last season.

“Hopefully he wrestles well at regionals,” said Killar. “Time well tell.”

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS

... Notre Dame Green Pond won the team title with 263.5 points ahead of Saucon Valley (189). Lehighton was fifth with 116.5 points, while Northwestern (85), Jim Thorpe (83.5), Palmerton (82), Northern Lehigh (74.5) and Tamaqua (74) were seventh through 11th.

UP NEXT

... The Class 2A Southeast Regional tournament will take place next Friday and Saturday at Freedom High School. The top six will qualify for states.

District 11 Wrestling Championships

Class 2A

First Place

107

- Carter Chunko (Saucon Valley) tech. fall Owen Wolfgang (Tri Valley), 17-2 (4:48)

114

- Ayden Smith (Notre Dame GP) pinned Aidan Gruber (Lehighton) in 4:34

121

- Cooper Feltman (Notre Dame GP) dec. Stephen Korte (Jim Thorpe), 7-6

127

- Aiden Grogg (Saucon Valley) dec. Tanner Berkenstock (Notre Dame GP), 6-1

133

- Gavyn Kelton (Notre Dame GP) maj. dec. David M`balla (Wilson), 14-3

139

- Kaden Brish (Blue Mt.) dec. Jared Gonzalez (Notre Dame GP), 9-2

145

- Jackson Albert (Saucon Valley) default over Owen Woll (Blue Mt.)

152

- Cole Hubert (Saucon Valley) dec. Dillon Lombardi (Palmerton), 5-0

160

- Dominic Sumpolec (Notre Dame GP) dec. Danny Haubert (Palisades), 5-0

172

- Keegan Ramsay (Notre Dame GP) dec. Luke Fugazzotto (Northwestern), 8-2

189

- Augustus Warke (Schuylkill Haven) pinned Kyler Quick (Mahanoy) in 5:49

215

- Chad Beller (Catasauqua) dec. Connor Smalley (Notre Dame GP), 5-4 (UTB)

285

- Reese Balk (Lehighton) pinned Neeko Caraballo (No Schuylkill) in 5:20

Third Place

107

- Evan Temarantz (Tamaqua) dec. Western Slingland (Wilson), 6-4 SV

114

- Brock Schneiderwind (Palisades) dec. Brody Schlier (Tamaqua), 7-6

121

- Mikhail Hartranft (Catasauqua) dec. Kaden Casey (No Schuylkill), 6-1

127

- Ryan Fisher (Mahanoy) dec. Gabe Erbe (Tamaqua), 7-3

133

- Noah Hanlon (Tri Valley) dec. Aiden Knorr (Pen Argyl), 7-1

139

- Hector Mateo (Saucon Valley) pinned Hunter Troutman (Tri Valley) in 1:28

145

- Nino Morici (Notre Dame GP) dec. Jimmy Weikel (No Schuylkill), 2-0

152

- Chase Stephen (Tri Valley) dec. Nathan Thomas (Notre Dame GP), 5-2

160

- Jacob Ferguson (Lehighton) dec. Ricky Halford (No Schuylkill), 6-3

172

- Bradley Renninger (Blue Mt.) dec. Landon Beckowski (Saucon Valley), 3-1

189

- Hunter Blankenhorn (Blue Mt.) maj. dec. Arberi Duka (Saucon Valley), 10-0

215

- Aiden Myers (Schuylkill Haven) dec. Noah Schlofer (Northwestern), 4-3

285

- Gino Guerrisi (Notre Dame GP) dec. Sam Frame (No. Lehigh), 3-2 TB2

Fifth Place

107

- Isaiah Adams (Pen Argyl) pinned Magnus Monger (Williams Valley) in 4:40

114

- Braydon Uricchio (Northwestern) pinned Noah Gosart (No. Lehigh) in 2:36

121

- Aiden Schlier (Tamaqua) dec. Diego Dominguez (Palisades), 4-2

127

- Santino Micci (Wilson) dec. Josh Merkel (Palmerton), 2-1

133

- Trent Croll (Northwestern) pinned Blake Muffley (Lehighton) in 2:29

139

- Nathan Sterner (No Schuylkill) dec. Jonathan Cordon Pinto (Catasauqua), 6-1

145

- Luca Albanese (Pen Argyl) pinned Derek King (Palmerton) in 5:33

152

- Payton Fasnacht (Blue Mt.) pinned Evan Wentz (Lehighton) in 2:05

160

- Sayyidakbar Akbarov (Blue Mt.) pinned Andrew Zimmerman (Schuylkill Haven) in 0:57

172

- Jaden Meyer (No Schuylkill) pinned Nikolas Schwartz (Jim Thorpe) in 2:58

189

- Grady Newhard (No. Lehigh) pinned Asher Traylor (Lehighton) in 1:09

215

- Aiden Sterling (Jim Thorpe) dec. Jack Tosh (No. Lehigh), 2-1

285

- Cameron Green (Williams Valley) pinned Sam Krauss (Salisbury) in 2:11