Robbie Schneider reached a career milestone on the way to a season-opening tournament title.
Schneider, Deegan Ross and Jonah Houser all won individual championships and three teammates joined them in the finals Dec. 3 when the Lions finished second out of 16 teams in the Rough Rider Invitational, a wrestling tournament hosted by Catasauqua.
Conwell-Egan edged Lackawanna Trail, 227½-219, for the team championship. No other team produced more than 160 points.
Schneider won the 172-pound title with a 13-5, major decision over Dalton Clymer from Northwestern Lehigh. He got there with two first-period pins, the second of which was his 100th career win.
Ross won at 160 and Houser at 285, both on second-period pins in the final. Ross reached the final with two pins in a minute or less. Houser had one more bout to get there and followed up a pair of first-period pins with a decision by shutout.
Garet Fowler (133), Ethan Lee (139) and Max Bluhm (152) all finished second.
Bluhm lost the final by one point and Lee by two in low-scoring decisions.
Fowler reached the final on three straight first-period pins. Lee also had three pins, the first two in the first period. Bluhm won two pins and a major decision.
Seth Ross finished third at 215 pins, winning the consolation final, 8-4, over Hutton Smith from Lower Merion.
Demetrius Douglas (160) and Beau Ware (189) each finished fourth.
Brayden Clarke (121) and Tucker Kinney (172) placed fifth.
Season outlook
Schneider went 48-5 last season when he won his first District 2 and Northeast Regional titles on the way to placing fifth in the state at the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Championships.
The other veterans in the lineup make the Lions the favorite to repeat their Lackawanna League Division 2 and District 2 Class 2A titles. They won the district championships both as a dual meet team and in the team scoring at the individual championships. They tied for ninth at the state dual meet championships.
Seth Ross is back after winning 38 times. Deegan Ross won 37 times, Lee 32, Bluhm 27 and Fowler 22. Clarke also had a winning record at 16-10.
Lee and Houser joined Schneider as district champions. Bluhm, Deegan Ross and Clarke took second, Seth Ross was third and Fowler was fourth.
The Lions were unbeaten as a dual meet team until the state tournament. They won seven tournament titles, six in the scoring format with individual competition and one in the district dual meet event. The titles also included the Lackawanna League Tournament Championship.
