Xayden Sallit acknowledged his mounting emotions after a whirlwind 24 hours.
A night after winning his 100th career match, Sallit was part of a group honored on Senior Night at Emmaus.
“It’s a mix of feelings,” the senior 172-pounder said after Thursday’s win over Cedar Crest Boulevard rival Parkland. “It’s like, ‘Oh, yeah. The postseason is coming, which is why we have a season.’
“On the other hand, it’s like, ‘Oh, man. This is the last time I’m going to step on this mat.’ It’s tough.”
Sallit continued to stay tough for his opponents. He was persistent and aggressive during his 16-4 major decision over Parkland’s Donato Ciampittiello to combat those nerves and clinch the 43-20 victory.
A few minutes earlier, Xayden’s younger brother, Xyler, produced the biggest roar from the home crowd by pouncing on a cradle opportunity to pin Jorge Moya in 2 minutes, 41 seconds at 160.
“Definitely the turning point,” Emmaus coach Jim Best said of the sophomore’s match.
Xyler Sallit’s 39th career victory was perhaps a sign that all the sparring with his older brother is paying off.
“I didn’t expect to get that [pin],” he said. “But I knew I could get that shot back that I didn’t get in the first period. I did and was able to lock up the cradle. I just go out there and let it fly.”
Best has seen maturity this season in both Sallit brothers. The Green Hornets coach has helped Xyler learn to not always go after the big move, to be patient, trust that he will wear down an opponent and then go for the bout-definining move.
He and the rest of the Emmaus staff also has worked with Xayden about controlling and pushing the pace, about staying aggressive and confident in his skill set.
They are two of many reasons why the Green Hornets are 13-1 and among the state’s best Class 3A teams.
“Xyler going out there and not only finding a way to not only get the win but get the fall against Jorge Moya who is a quality opponent,” Best said, “that gave the rest of the guys who were going to wrestle some confidence and say, ‘Hey, let’s put an exclamation point on this dual meet, not just a period, and they did.’
“At that high level, you have to have that patience to know that this is the time to shoot and this is not the time to shoot. This might be the time to hand fight hard, exhaust my opponent so that when he’s a little bit tired now I can start to fire off my shots. That’s where Xyler is starting to mature with his wrestling IQ.”
Parkland’s Matt Velez, top, beat Emmaus’ Jackson Max 6-4 in the 139-pound bout, but the Green Hornets won the dual meet 43-20. (April Gamiz/The Morning Call)
Emmaus recovered from an 11-0 hole after Parkland got big bonus-point wins from Luis Moya at 107 and Braden Todora at 114.
The Green Hornets won the next three in a row. Teagan Caciolo and Talan Springer produced consecutive pins before Emilio Albanese got a technical fall at 133.
The Trojans never recovered, though coach Eddie Keichel liked his team’s fight. Matt Velez got a decision at 139 over returning state 3A medalist Jackson Max at 139.
But Emmaus won the next six bouts to deal Parkland’s District 11 Class 3A team tournament hopes a serious blow.
The Trojans (9-6) slipped from seventh to ninth place in the race for eight spots.
“The score is what it is,” Keichel said. “It doesn’t dictate how our season is going to end. I’m happy with how we wrestled. There’s a lot to take from this. We’ll move onto East Stroudsburg South, and then focus on the individual postseason.
“We’ve got to get ourselves healthy. We’re dinged up, got a couple concussions and other things going on. We’re going to try to get to full strength and make a run in the individual postseason.”
Max Pugach and Tycen Norman are two of the Parkland regulars working to get back in time for February and, hopefully, March.
Right now, however, the Sallits are benefitting from the coaching and their training time together. That time is dwindling for Xayden, who will wrestle in college.
“It’s good emotions because my whole family and friends are here,” Xayden said. “It’s an exciting last ride, but also internally for me it kind of sucks. I’ve got wrestling in college to look forward to, but I love this team. I want to keep competing with these guys.”
Xayden is equally proud of his brother’s development. Both pride themselves on their strength, but the older brother admits Xyler has a lot going for him.
“He’s better than I was [as a sophomore],” Xayden said. “He’s definitely progressed faster than I thought, and I have the highest expectations for my brother. I think he can be a state champion.
“His hips are unmatched with anyone I’ve wrestled. And, on top, he’s a leg rider. I take that from him. I’m better in neutral, but he’s tough on top.”
Xyler has taken plenty from his brother, and it has shown this season.
“Last year, my neutral was horrible,” he said. “I didn’t do much. This year, I’m trying to expand my variety in neutral. It’s getting better.”
Emmaus is better than it has been in a long time, thanks in part to the Sallits.
The Green Hornets, just like the Sallits, have high expectations for the next two months. Judging from Thursday’s performance, they all will be fun to watch.
Emmaus 43, Parkland 20
107: Luis Moya (P) tech. fall Andrew Gerken, 17-2, 3:13
114: Braden Todora (P) pinned Levi Max, 0:55
121: Teagan Caciolo (E) pinned Chase Kruk, 0:52
127: Talan Springer (E) pinned Anibal Torres-Wilczewski, 5:09
133: Emilio Albanese (E) tech. fall Ricardo Rivera, 17-2, 3:55
139: Matt Velez (P) dec. Jackson Max, 6-4
145: Tommy Fallstich (E) dec. Jared Santilli, 4-3
152: Aiden Bayard (E) maj. dec. Colton Vitale, 17-8
160: Xyler Sallit (E) pinned Jorge Moya, 2:41
172: Xayden Sallit (E) maj. dec. Donato Ciampittiello, 16-4
189: Logan Armstrong (E) by forfeit
215: Chase DeCesare (E) dec. Jayden Santiago, 7-6
285: Myles Lysek (P) pinned Logan Roth, 3:28
Referee: Larry Dieter
Senior writer Tom Housenick can be reached at thousenick@mcall.com
https://www.mcall.com/2026/01/22/sallit-brothers-solidify-emmaus-wrestling-win-over-rival-parkland/
