NEWARK, Del.: Central Dauphin's Mitchell Pleskonko would like to forget his sophomore campaign at the prestigious Beast of the East wrestling tournament.
He was nervous. He was intimidated. He was overwhelmed and bounced out of the championships in short order.
Things have changed since last season. Pleskonko has become a more seasoned athlete, and he is already making noise as a junior in a venue that ate him up 12 months earlier.
Pleskonko carved his way into this evening's third round of the 145-pound bracket by beating Timberlane's Danny Scalzo — the No. 10 seed — 4-3 to bring the Rams section in the Bob Carpenter Arena to its feet.
“I think so,” said Pleskonko when asked if this was the biggest win of his career. “Last year, I couldn't get going and didn't have my head in it.
“This is a big improvement. I did a lot better, and this shows that I can handle the pressure in a tournament like this.”
Pleskonko had plenty on his shoulders trailing 3-2 in the third period with Scalzo trying to ride him out for the victory.
A year ago, Pleskonko would have went for a simple escape and probably come up short. This was different in that the Rams starter not only got out, he slipped under and behind a stunned Scalzo for the winning reversal 30 seconds from the finish.
“I knew I had a shot in the second period when I rode him out,” Pleskonko said. “He was frustrated and took a break after the second period. I knew I was in his head. He didn't want to win as much as I did.
“I really wanted it. I'm not the best on my feet right now but I knew if I got the reverse, I could hold him down and secure the win.”
Here is a list of the District 3 wrestlers still alive heading into the third round of the championship brackets.
106: Jake Cherry, Central Dauphin.
113: Tyshawn White, Central Dauphin; Connor Sheehan, Solanco.
132: Matthew Grossman, Manheim Twp.; Zach Elvin, Central Dauphin.
138: Alex Wolfe, Cumberland Valley; David Rump, Chambersburg; Koltyn Eason, Central Dauphin; Courtlandt Schuyler, Manheim Twp.
145: Max Good, Cedar Cliff; Mitchell Pleskonko, Central Dauphin; Patrick Duggan, Cumberland Valley.
160: TC Warner, Cumberland Valley; Drew Peck, Chambersburg.
170: Garrett Peppelman, Central Dauphin.
182: John Shorter, Manheim Twp.; Steven McNeal, Central Dauphin; Joshua Colello, Cedar Cliff.
220: Bo Spiller, Solanco.
285: Thomas Haines, Solanco.
Beast of the East brackets and news (Dec. 21-22)
Event news and team scores
Winners brackets:
106 | 113 | 120 | 126 | 132 | 138 | 145
152 | 160 | 170 | 182 | 195 | 220 | 285