Led by Kelin Laffey, Pine-Richland wrestling ahead of schedule

By: Shawn Annarelli
Saturday, January 23, 2021 | 8:01 AM

Pine-Richland’s daily goal is to get 1% better, a mantra coach Caleb Kolb often repeats to his wrestlers.

He recently learned the Rams may be a little ahead of schedule after their third-place performance out of 15 teams at the Mid-Winter Mayhem tournament Jan. 16 at the Monroeville Convention Center.

“There’s a compound effect by getting 1 percent better every day, which they can do by staying disciplined here, in the classroom, with their nutrition and now by staying disciplined with covid-19,” Kolb said. “We have guys who can stay mentally tough, and I believe it’s going to pay off.”

The tournament was highlighted by junior Kelin Laffey’s championship run.

Laffey (138) is the last Rams wrestler to be undefeated this season.

“Kelin is one of those kids who has what I guess you would call the X-factor,” Kolb said. “He wrestles hard, likes to battle every second and wants to win. He’s very competitive each time he steps on the line for six minutes. Even in his finals match, he was down and ended up coming back.”

Laffey pinned Forest Hills’ Tye Templeton and won an 11-1 decision over Mt. Pleasant’s Luke Geibig to earn a place in the championship finals.

Malvern Prep’s Reed Fulmer completed two takedowns early in the finals match, which Laffey attributed to having slow feet that led to a 4-1 deficit.

Laffey took an aggressive approach to storm back in the third period when he successfully scored on a reversal to take a 10-8 lead. He was able to prevent Fulmer from scoring in the last 30 seconds to seal the win.

“It’s nice to come back from being down,” Laffey said. “It’s a great feeling, and it’d be great to keep the undefeated streak going. We’ve also got Powerade coming up, so that’s going to be a tough tournament. I’m looking forward to it.”

Penn commit Cole Spencer (160) has won four of his five matches this season, with the loss coming in the Mid-Winter Mayhem’s championship finals by a 4-2 decision against Midd-West’s Avery Bassett, who took third place in the state last season at 160.

Spencer is wrestling up a weight class from a year ago when he placed fourth in the state.

“You want to be in tournaments like Mayhem and Powerade to get our guys battle tested, and Cole wrestled great in a tough tournament and made a few little mistakes,” Kolb said. “He’s really the ideal guy who will better himself and constantly help the other guys on the team. He’ll make adjustments and come out on top in the postseason. I really believe that.”

Junior Shane Simpson (106) also lost in the championship finals by a 7-2 decision to Chestnut Ridge’s Brock Holderbaum.

“We had a talk with the team on (Jan. 14), just about being mentally prepared and being able to mentally stay in a match for six minutes,” Kolb said. “I think Shane took that to heart and it showed. He came out to dominate, score points and wrestle hard. He’s another guy who I think can do big things.”

Sophomores Anthony Ferraro (113) and Joey Schneck (285) placed fourth.

The strong showing at the Mid-Winter Mayhem tournament came after splitting early season duals in a loss to North Allegheny and a win over Shaler Area.

“We’re wrestling hard, and that’s all I ask for,” Kolb said. “You’re going to make mistakes over six minutes in a match, but they’ve kept pressing and shown a lot of improvement. They’re battling, so good things are going to happen this season. I see this team and believe in the next few years we’re going to be a high caliber team, a wrestling school.”

Tags: Pine-Richland