Davidson commit Carmine Lenzi
Berks Catholic is ranked #7 in the state in Class 2A. The Saints showed why at the BCIAA Wrestling tournament. They rolled over Conrad Weiser 61-6 in the semifinals and then cruised past Exeter 62-9 in the championship. "We have a lot of good freshmen coming up which I think really made us more dominant than I expected. I'm happy with the progress we're making," senior Carmine Lenzi told SV Sports' Paul Roberts. Berks Catholic improved to (20-0) on the season and earned its second Berks County title in the past three years. The Saints had four freshmen in the lineup on Friday night against the Eagles and they all won their matches. Tyden Shuman (114) and Coy Koller (152) picked up two of Berks Catholic's eight pins in the final. The Saints jumped out to a 36-0 lead with five pins in the first period and a forfeit. Gunnar Maciejewski (139), Andrew Messner (145). Koller, and Lenzi (172) each won by fall in less than one minute. Eduardo Franco pinned Landon Garretson in 69 seconds at 189 pounds to make it 36-0. Keith Messner (127) and Brayden Hartranft (133) ended the match with consecutive pins. Hartranft holds the school record for wins with 143 and is committed to Franklin & Marshall. Many were hoping to see Berks Catholic battle Wilson in the BCIAA Championship, but the Bulldogs opted to send their varsity wrestlers to the Coal Cracker tournament in Lehighton. "It is what it is. I'm still excited. Our work showed the same results. I'm just as happy," replied Lenzi. Wilson fell to Exeter 50-22 in the semifinals. The Bulldogs had claimed the Berks County crown in three of the previous four years. Lenzi has piled up 134 career victories. The Davidson commit is (27-4) this season. He finished sixth in the state at 172 pounds last year. Two weeks ago, Lenzi brought home a gold medal from the BCIAA individual tournament at 189 pounds. He has high hopes for the PIAA-2A championships in early March. "I truly believe I can win this year. I've wrestled a lot of the top five guys and I've always had close matches. I know I'm putting the work in. There's no dominant kid in my weight class," he said.