Staying grounded
JACKSON TWP — For being such a highly-touted high school wrestler, Seneca Valley's Alejandro Herrera-Rondon does not get ahead of himself.
That mind-set undoubtedly helped him at the renowned POWERade Tournament, where he accomplished something even more noteworthy than his state championship as a freshman last year.
Herrera-Rondon topped St. Paul's (Mo.) Kurt McHenry, the second-ranked wrestler in the nation at 113 pounds, 2-1 in double overtime Dec. 29 to win the POWERade title at Canon-McMillan High School.
The former went 6-0 at the two-day event.
“I entered the tournament with an open mind,” Herrera-Rondon said. “I wasn't thinking about winning, just took it one match at a time. I have a better chance to do well when I do that.
“He (McHenry) is one of the best wrestlers in the country. I was well-aware of him.”
Both wrestlers earned an escape before Herrera-Rondon tallied the deciding one in the fifth period.
“Some people refer to me as a defensive specialist and it definitely came into play in the title match,” he said. “I was able to use my size and strength to my advantage.”
SV coach Kevin Wildrick noticed intangibles that helped his star sophomore grab the crown.
“The thing that stood out for me was his composure during that match,” he said. “The big stage didn't rattle him. There were times when he was inches from giving up points, but he stuck with the game plan.”
Herrera-Rondon was absolutely dominant in his first four bouts of the tourney. He opened with a first-period pin of Stroudsburg's Mark Ortiz, followed by back-to-back technical falls over Reynolds' Adam Wilcox and Nick Bottazzi of DePaul Catholic (N.J.).
In the quarterfinals, Herrera-Rondon dispatched Finn Solomon of Franklin Regional via major decision (10-1), advancing him to a semifinal bout with Jake Rundell of Oak Park River Forest (Ill.). Neither wrestler scored until Herrera-Rondon tallied a pair of near-fall points in the third period and won, 2-0.
Herrera-Rondon's success on the mat belies his personality off of it.
“He is such a laid-back kid,” said Wildrick. “You wouldn't know that he is a high-level wrestler.”
The Raiders had 12 wrestlers competing at POWERade. Also medaling were sophomore Dylan Chappell (second at 106 pounds) and senior Nick Montalbano (eighth at 152). The efforts helped SV to an eighth-place finish out of 52 teams.
“There was a heavy WPIAL presence there, but the tourney attracts teams from all over the country,” Wildrick said. “It's been ranked as the second-most difficult in-season tournament to compete in. It has grown in strength and is very prestigious.”
Chappell tallied three pins in his four bouts leading up to his showdown for the title with Reynolds' Gary Steen, which the latter won, 5-3.
“He (Steen) is the defending state champion, so there is no shame losing to him,” said Wildrick. “Last year, we had Alejandro wrestling at 106 pounds (at POWERade), so Dylan had to wrestle up at 113 and he didn't place.
“He is wrestling at a different level right now,” Wildrick added of Chappell. “He's very hard to score on in any position.”
“I was able to finish a lot of my matches quickly,” Chappell said. “POWERade is pretty tough out of the gate and it just gets tougher as you move on. You just have to fight through it.”
Chappell, who won a title at the King of the Mountain Tournament in mid-December, has hopes of joining Herrera-Rondon in an exclusive group by season's end.
“My goal is to win a state title and I think I have a good chance to do it,” he said.
The Raiders placed third in the WPIAL as a team last season and reached the state semifinals. For a squad that wants to build off of that performance, SV's effort at POWERade is a very good sign.
“This was the culmination of a very tough December for us,” said Wildrick.
