(Seventh in a series)
Kade Pascoe did not have much success as a youth wrestler all the way through junior high.
He then came to Whitehall’s varsity room where he paired with Willmont Kai, who last year became Whitehall’s first 100-match winner in more than a decade and its first state champion since 2002.
Pascoe has progressed like never before. He is a two-time District 11 and Northeast Regional Class 3A medalist and two-time PIAA qualifier who can join Kai this season as a 100-match winner.
“In junior high, I don’t think he ever had a winning record,” Whitehall coach Tim Cunningham said. “It comes from what he puts in in the room. He’s one of the hardest workers I’ve ever had.”
Pascoe, who was encouraged by his father, Damon, at a young age to find a sport and stick with it, has a message on his school locker to remind himself of how far he’s come and where he wants to get to in his final high school season: ‘State champion.’
The senior said he knew before Kai knew that Kai was going to be a state champion. He has been training to make his belief in himself come to fruition.
“It’s all just mental,” he said. “I know what I can do. It’s the ability to know my body, what positions I can get in, scrambling, how to control your hips. I took all that away from sparring with [Kai].”
Pascoe is part of a Zephyrs team that believes it is ready to take the next step, to beat one of District 11’s elite. He joins Kai and fellow senior James Hopkins, who is also closing in on 100 career wins, and a group of underclassmen with talent, potential and an understanding of the team concept.
Freshmen Dionte Wheeler, Mason Hopkins and Aiden Hannis are part of that influx of youngsters who will be key to Whitehall’s progress.
“We’re starting to build where this sport is part of the tradition at Whitehall,” Cunningham said. “That’s always been one of my goals, to make it a very important sport here.”
The Zephyrs’ team success in recent years has come from the group’s dedication to one another and understanding that individual success is borne out of the team’s growth.
That growth this season starts with Kai because of what he’s done. Though he quickly evolved from novice to state champion, last year’s state run easily could have been just another seventh-place finish.
Kai needed to rally from a big deficit to beat Hempfield Area’s Nico Kapusta 13-12 in the quarterfinals, then hold off returning state champion Dominic Morrison of Hatboro-Horsham 6-4 in the second tie-breaker before beating stud freshman Mateo Gallegos of DuBois in the final.
It came to fruition because of Kai’s skill set and willingness to be coached. That took time.
“Before the postseason,” Kai said, “I was doing my own thing instead of listening to Coach Cunningham. He calls me Mr. Know-it-all. Everything he told me worked out. The main reason for what I did in the postseason was strictly my coachability.”
The lineup
Wheeler will be at 107. Junior Adam Gasteratos (9-6 last year) is at 114. Things are undecided at 121. Pascoe or Kai will be at 127 with the other at 133.
Either Omar Lopez, Josiah Wright or Ronin Harris will be at 139. They have a combined five varsity matches.
Senior Tyrell Hoff (7-9 last year) starts at 145. Sophomore Rocco Fonzone (9-7) is at 152. Junior Rocco DeLucia, who has 38 career wins, or freshman Mason Hopkins will be at 160. Junior Layony Sanchez (9-12) or DeLucia or Hopkins will be at 172.
James Hopkins and Hannis will split between 189 and 215.
One of the football players getting a late start because of the Zephyrs’ run into the Class 5A state playoffs will start at 285.
“The offseason was great,” Cunningham said. “They were training four, five days a week. We couldn’t give them enough. It’s a great problem. They are a tight-knit group. Willmont, if he sees something and I don’t, will stop [a teammate] and say, ‘This is what I would do in that situation.’ It’s a real good team approach.
“It took some time. All are dedicated. No one thinks they don’t have to do something because they accomplished this or that. It’s all about the team. What can I do to help the team out?”
The schedule
(dual meets at 7 p.m. unless noted)
Dec. 3: Nazareth
Dec. 10: at East Stroudsburg North
Dec. 17: East Stroudsburg South
Dec. 20-21: Beast of the East at the University of Delaware
Dec. 28-29: Bethlehem Holiday Wrestling Classic at Liberty
Jan. 7: at Parkland
Jan. 9-10: War on the Shore at Powell Convention Center (Md.)
Jan. 13: at Pleasant Valley
Jan. 14: Liberty
Jan. 17: Spartan Clash at Springfield Township
Jan. 19: at Stroudsburg
Jan. 21: at Pocono Mountain East
Jan. 24: at Bethlehem Catholic, 1
Jan. 28: Pocono Mountain West
Senior writer Tom Housenick can be reached at thousenick@mcall.com
