Eisenhower's Shawn Pascuzzi (left) and Warren's Grant Heeter.

Special Night: Eisenhower Edges Warren in White Out Against Cancer Match

December 20, 2022

WARREN, Pa. – Eisenhower, and Warren teamed up to “White Out” cancer in Tuesday’s match, and on the mat, it was a competitive 42-30 win for Eisenhower.

Rewatch the match:

The annual match raises funds for the Warren Cancer Center in memory of former Warren coach Dean Johnson.

It’s a particularly special match for Eisenhower assistant coach Dennis Johnson, Dean’s brother.

“It’s really special because I know my brother is up there looking down,” Johnson said. “I get to give him grief at the Christmas table this year, even though he’s up there.”

On the mat, the Dragons jumped out to an early lead, capped by Grant Heeter’s 12-10 decision over Shawn Pascuzzi at 152 pounds.

Heeter and Pascuzzi were named Players of the Match.

“We use to wrestle each other a lot back in middle school,” Heeter said. “We’ve wrestled each other a lot over the years so we knew it was going to be a good one.”

See Heeter and Pascuzzi’s full interview here:

Heeter’s win was followed by three consecutive pins, for Eisenhower, however beginning with Camron Jakubczak’s first-period fall over Kenny Pizarro at 160.

Tucker Lindell (172) and Benji Bauer (189) followed with pins of their own, and after Ike’s Brok English won via forfeit, Michael Vanetta got the final pin of the night for Eisenhower at 285.

Johnson expressed the gratitude the young men showed both on the mat and in the fight against cancer.

“When you’re doing something against cancer, I think they really look at it as a positive thing,” Johnson said. “And that’s what we’re trying to teach our kids, to be empathic and that sort of thing. And it was a lot of fun.”

Ryan Fitzsimmons closed out the match for Warren with a major decision (11-2) at 114, with the Dragons having some big performances of their own.

Cameron Williams got a pin at 172, as did Connor Zaffino at 139, which was followed by a Josh Letko 15-0 tech fall victory at 145.

Also for Eisenhower, Cole Kellogg got a pin over Trentin Anthony at 133.

“These kids all know each other and even practice together,” said Eisenhower coach Jared Lindell, who picked up his first win as head coach. “But when it comes down to going toe-to-toe, we put that out of sight and compete.”

EISENHOWER 42, WARREN 30
121 – Griffin Williams (E) won by forfeit
127 – Cameron Williams (W) pinned Ryan Chambers, 3:28
133 – Cole Kellogg (E) pinned Trentin Anthony, 1:47
139 – Connor Zaffino (W) pinned Kam Ferrand
145 – Josh Letko (W) tech fall Derek Childs, 15-0
152 – Grant Heeter (W) dec. Shawn Pascuzzi, 12-10
160 – Camron Jakubczak (E) pinned Kenny Pizarro, 1:47
172 – Tucker Lindell (E) pinned Evan Swanson, 3:11
189 – Benji Bauer (E) pinned Damien Sanchez, 3:32
215 – Brok English (E) won by forfeit
285 – Michael Vanatta (E) pinned Joe Krall, 5:36
107 – Adika Fiscus (W) won by forfeit
114 – Ryan Fitzsimmons (W) maj. dec. Shawn Miller, 11-2

         

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