H.S. wrestling: Palmucci, top-ranked Kingsway both flex muscles

WOOLWICH – Josh Palmucci just couldn’t help himself.

And few could blame him.

In one of the most anticipated bouts of the big showdown, the senior 150-pounder not only delivered a crucial victory, he accomplished the win with a pin that sent the home crowd into the frenzy and helped pave the way for the No. 1 Kingsway Regional High School wrestling team’s 37-33 triumph over No. 4 St. Augustine on a snowy Friday night.

Palmucci, normally one of the most calm, collected wrestlers in the red-and-black, flexed his muscles in celebration as the Dragons’ bench erupted and the noise level inside the South gym reached its highest decibels of the meet.

“I usually don’t celebrate,” Palmucci said. “But I was all in the moment. It was a great feeling. As soon as I got my inside trip, I knew I was going to get the win (with a takedown), but I wasn’t expecting the pin.”

Palmucci entered the meet as the No. 2 ranked wrestler in the weight class by The Mat Pack while St. Augustine’s Jake Slotnick checked in at No. 3.

Kingsway head coach Mike Barikian felt Palmucci’s motor would be the deciding factor in what was a toss-up match on paper.

He was correct.

While Slotnick grabbed the momentum with an early takedown and held a 3-2 lead in the third, Palmucci never got rattled and his patience would pay huge dividends later in the bout.

“(Palmucci) has a ton of good wins,” Barikian said. “He’s a little bit light for the weight, but you’ll notice he’ll just go forever.

“We told him to stay calm, (Slotnick’s) coming with these flurries, this is going to slow down. After he got the first takedown, no doubt, we’re good. Then, not only did he get the last takedown, he stayed on it and got the six.”

Palmucci, who said he hadn’t faced Slotnick since he lost a bout in middle school, has played a key role for the Dragons for four seasons. And with 21 wins already this winter, he’s looking for even bigger things as the season reaches its most important stretch.

“I just try to attack each day and get better,” said Palmucci, who has a pair of third-place finishes and a sixth at regions. “Identify my weaknesses and try to fix them. Don’t look into the past, because you can’t change it. Don’t look into the future, because the only thing you can control is in the present.”

St. Augustine appeared to be in position for the big upset by rolling out to a 21-0 lead, but Kingsway rallied with eight wins in the next nine bouts.

The first big toss-up bout came at 126 where Kingsway’s Nathan Taylor, the top-ranked wrestler in the weight class, earned a 1-0 win over second-ranked D’Amani Almodovar, riding his opponent out in the third period.

“It was an inauspicious start for us,” Barikian said. “We got to 120 and said we can change it. We start right here, go out and just wrestle. Just score points and score some more points. I know we’re in better shape…we’re going to go for six (minutes). I know that.”

Freshman Brady Whitzell locked the meet up with a pin at 175, running a half into a second-period fall in the next-to-last bout.

“It was the craziest feeling in the world,” Whitzell said about clinching the meet. “My teammate Seamus (Calhoun) was telling me that I couldn’t get all worked up about everything. I just needed to chill and that’s what I did. Stay chill and it worked.”

Who’s No. 1?

Kingsway answered that question by running the gauntlet with victories over No. 2 Delsea, No. 3 Camden Catholic and now No. 4 St. Augustine this season.

Barring some unforeseen major upset, the Dragons will finish as the top-ranked team in South Jersey for the second consecutive season. The squad won its first Vogeding/Mat Pack Cup, the award for the No. 1 team, last season.

“We wrestled the three best teams and our kids have performed every time,” Barikian said. “We just show up and outwrestle teams. That’s what I love about these guys.”

Hermits fall short

St. Augustine attempted to become the first South Jersey team to pin a loss on Kingsway since Camden Catholic in 2020.

The Hermits won six bouts, including two forfeits, and generated bonus points in the remaining four, but couldn’t convert it into a victory.

“We needed to wrestle better,” St. Augustine head coach Bill Ward said. “We needed to win the toss-up matches and we didn’t.

“They were down and fought back. Where we needed to win, they beat us.”

St. Augustine pulled out a secret weapon for the match as Trey McLeer made his season debut. The senior, who hails from Woolwich Township, received a forfeit in the final bout.

Kingsway 37, St. Augustine 33

215: Alex Marshall, SA, forfeit; 285: Brady Small, SA, p. Christopher San Paolo, 4:57; 106: Jackson Slotnick, SA, md. Jason Meola, 11-2; 113: Kaden Naame, SA, tech fall Nathan Lubonski, 15-0, 4:42; 120: Brendan Callahan, K, forfeit; 126: Nathan Taylor, K, d. D’Amani Almodovar, 1-0; 132: Chase Hedler, K, d. Brandon Borman, 8-5; 138: Joey Miranda, K, tech fall Cooper Lange, 19-3, 5:17; 144: Richie Gruno, SA, p. Tommy DiPietro, 0:21; 150: Josh Palmucci, K, p. Jake Slotnick, 5:41; 157: DJ DiPietro, K, md. Tristan McLeer, 14-4; 165: Dakota Morris, K, md. Dennis Virelli, 15-4; 175: Brady Whitzell, K, o. Jake Andre, 3:56; 190: Trey McLeer, SA, forfeit.

Tom McGurk is a regional sports reporter for the Courier-Post, The Daily Journal and Burlington County Times, covering South Jersey sports for over 30 years. If you have a sports story that needs to be told, contact him at (856) 486-2420 or email tmcgurk@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @McGurkSports. Help support local journalism with a digital subscription.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: H.S. wrestling: Palmucci, top-ranked Kingsway both flex muscles