Buckeye Bucks Roll to Dual Wins Over Valley Forge, Lakewood

Buckeye High School wrestling turned in a dominant night on the mat Thursday, earning a pair of convincing conference dual victories with a 59-18 win over host Valley Forge and a 59-24 decision over Lakewood at Valley Forge High School in Ohio.

Against Valley Forge, the Bucks controlled the lineup from the lightweights through the upper weights, using a combination of pins and forfeits to build an insurmountable lead. Chris Nameth set the tone at 106 pounds with a pin over Gaige Burianek, and Buckeye quickly added back-to-back forfeits at 113 and 120, claimed by Jake Cekeda and Chase Geyer, to open up early separation on the scoreboard.

Buckeye continued to pile on bonus points in the middle of the lineup. At 132, Brenden McKee recorded a fall against Elias Castro, and Dan Leonard followed with a forfeit win at 138. In the upper middleweights, Carter Hershkowitz delivered another key pin at 150 over Patrick Toader, and Chase D’Angelo (157) and Kaden Locker (165) each picked up forfeits to extend the advantage. At 175, Brody Zoul added a dominant 19-3 technical fall over Amir Abukhalil to cap the Bucks’ surge through the heart of the lineup.

Valley Forge managed individual wins at 126, 144 and 190. Nathan Hale earned a pin over Joe Stahl at 126, Gabe Wright edged Aiden Mangin 4-3 by decision at 144, and Maksym Petrechko secured a fall over Preston Ware at 190. However, Buckeye closed the dual in strong fashion in the upper weights, with heavyweight Carter Hoffman pinning Jose Rivera at 285 after Sawyer Davis dropped a 6-3 decision to Xander Mooney at 215, sealing the 59-18 team result.

Buckeye carried that momentum into the dual against Lakewood, again starting fast in the lower weights. Nameth opened with another pin, this time over Rammze Elabd at 106, and Vinny Joy followed with a fall at 113 against Jay-Mal Massengale. The Bucks picked up a forfeit at 120 for Zack Simmons and another at 132 for Braden Johnson, while Geyer added a pin at 126 over Beau Chapin-Fowler, giving Buckeye firm control early in the second dual.

The Bucks’ upper and middle weights continued to deliver bonus points. Leonard recorded a fall at 138 against Sau’meir Payne, and Hershkowitz produced one of the night’s standout performances at 150 with an 18-3 technical fall over Timothy Williams, adding to his earlier pin versus Valley Forge. Zoul remained a reliable finisher at 175 with a pin over Owen Mondt, and Davis responded from his earlier narrow loss by pinning Joshua Kelley-Moore at 215. Hoffman then closed out the dual with a forfeit win at heavyweight.

Lakewood collected wins in the middle weights to stay competitive on the scoreboard, including pins by Diezel Edgar over Collin Sklarz at 144, Konstandin Laska over D’Angelo at 157 and Deacon Nicholson over Locker at 165, along with a fall by Sullivan Mestek over Ware at 190. Even so, Buckeye’s depth, multiple pins and technical falls across both duals proved decisive, as the Bucks left Valley Forge with matching 59-point team totals and significant momentum moving deeper into the conference schedule.