Chad Sportelli ’02
Career Record: 122-17, 2x D11 Champ, 3x Regional Champ, 3x State Medalist
Tournament Championships: 2x Manheim
College: Nebraska/Kent State (NCAA Qualifier)
2002 – 112 lbs.: District Third, Regional Champ, State Fourth (40-6)
2001 – 103 lbs.: District Champ, Regional Champ, State Third (45-5)
2000 – 103 lbs.: District Champ, Regional Champ, State Fourth (37-6)
1999 – 103 lbs.: JV behind Matt Ciasulli (1-0)
Chad Sportelli was a standout lightweight for the early 2000s Red Rovers that were the best public school team in the country in 2001 and 2002.
As a freshman, Sportelli received his first varsity win via forfeit against Lehighton in his only start.
As a sophomore, Sportelli broke the lineup at 103 and made an instant impression, scoring a pair of pins in a combined 1:01 in his first two matches. His third fall in three matches more than doubled his mat time, taking 1:30 to pin Ian Womack (Brandywine Heights). His first decision came in a 6-3 win over future D11 champ and state medalist Joe Provini (Nazareth). He’d suffer his first two career losses at Reno, dropping his opener to National Prep champ Max Meltzer (Bullis, MD). He bounced bcak to impressively win Manheim, with a pin in the first round then out scoring his foes 33-12 the rest of the way. He followed that up with a win over National Prep champ Robbie Preston (Blair Academy). At Elite Duals, he split with a pair of Ohio state champions and NCAA All Americans, losing to NCAA finalist and four time state champ Ryan Lang (St. Edward) before beating two-time All American and four-time Ohio finalist Josh Zupancic (Walsh Jesuit) 9-3. Sportelli won ten of his final eleven bouts of the season, including a 2-0 day at D11 Duals, to enter the D11 Tournament as the top seed at 103. There, Sportelli ripped Matt Spengler (Parkland) 16-0, knocked off Provini 7-1, avenged an upset regular season loss by pinning Ross Strebig (Freedom) in the first period, then claiming his first D11 title with a 4-2 win over Chris Renninger (Blue Mountain). The following weekend, Sportelli rolled through District 2 and District 4 with pins in his first two matches and a 7-3 win over Chad Kerstetter (Selinsgrove) for the Northeast Regional title. At the state tournament, Sportelli won his opening match, a 10-4 decision over Jon Denny (Neshaminy). In the quarterfinals, Sportelli dropped a 9-7 heartbreaker to Mike Gardner (Bellefonte) to send him into the consolation bracket. There, Sportelli won three straight, including another win over Renninger to advance to the consolation final. There, he got a rematch with Gardner, but lost 8-5 to finish fourth in his first trip to Hershey.
As a junior, Sportelli started the season at 112 pounds. In a highlight bout of the local schedule, he dropped a 3-2 match to state champion Jeremy Hartrum (Wilson) in the dual between the eventual 2A and 3A team champs to start the season. What was unexpected was Sportelli was reversed to his back and pinned by unheralded Joe Kardelis (Nazareth) in a tighter than expected match up with the Blue Eagles. Sportelli righted the ship in Reno, advancing to quarterfinals with three bonus point matches, then wrestling back for a third place finish as one of six Easton medalists. At Manheim, Sportelli drew two-time state finalist Mike Sees (Shikellamy) in the quarters, losing a 6-4 battle, but wrestled back for his second bronze medal in as many weeks. He cut to 103 in the new year, and his season took off. None of his matches at Elite Duals reached the second minute and his first six minutes at his new weight class were pins, including a first period pin of Ohio state champion Albert Madson (St. Edward) and Ohio state finalist Brent Goode (Archbishop Moeller). That streak stopped at the NHSCA Final Four, where he “only” beat Oklahoma state bronze medalist David Mahan (Midwest City) 10-6 and handled National Prep champ and NCAA qualifier Robbie Preston (Blair Academy) 7-1. He bonused his way through the rest of his regular season schedule, going tech, fall, major at D11 Duals and scoring three pins at State Duals. In the D11 Tournament, Sportelli opened with a 14 second fall, then majored Sean Carr (Whitehall) and Matt Spengler (Parkland) to make finals, where he shut out Mikey Pena (Liberty) 6-0 for his second D11 championship. The following weekend at Regionals, Sportelli pinned future state bronze medalist Ricci Bass (Dieruff) before a semifinal pin of Phil Dun (Pittstown) and a 4-2 win over two-time state medalist Jeremy Griffith (Berwick). Sportelli was one of the favorites in his return trip to the state tournament, though he was bracketed on the same side as returning state champion Jeremaine Jones (West Chester Henderson). Sportelli handled Jeff Ruffini (Kiski Area) in his opening match, then cruised in his quarterfinal over Chris Wise (Erie Cathedral Prep). That set up his semi with Jones. Sportelli scored the opening takedown of the bout to lead 2-0 and rode Jones the rest of the way to solidify his early lead. He escaped in the second to go up 3-0 and kept on the offensive to try and punch his ticket to finals. He got to Jonses’s leg with a wrap arm single, but Jones scrambled to a whizzer, then dazzled a young Jordan Oliver, who years later coined the term “Jermaine Jones Tilt” after watching Jones hit a beautiful shin whizzer tilt for five points to stun Sportelli. Jones went neutral in the third, and was able to play keep away to hold a 5-3 lead and move on to his second state final. Sportelli dropped into the consolation bracket where he shut out future state finalist Mike Ciotti (Greater Latrobe) and scored a reversal in the bronze medal match to beat future state champ and NCAA All American Drew Headlee (Waynesburg) for third place. Sportelli was part of a program record seven medalists as Easton tallied it’s highest state tournament score in program history on their way to a title.
As a senior, Sportelli opened the year with a rematch against Jeremy Hartrum, with the Wilson state champ again sneaking by Sportelli with a 3-1 win. At Reno, Sportelli pinned his way into the quarterfinals, but lost in the quarterfinals then fell in the medal match to future California state champ and future NCAA All American Joe Baker (Poway). Sportelli bounced back to win Manheim, majoring state bronze medalist Clint Shirk (Bald Eagle Area) 12-3 in the finals. At Elite Duals, Sportelli won the marquee match up when he knocked off two-time New Jersey state champion Pat Dattalo (Randolph) 9-7. He followed that up with a 6-2 win over Shirk. In Easton’s dominant win over St. Edward that vaulted them to the #2 spot in the nation, Sportelli hammered Albert Madson for teh second year in a row, this time by an 11-3 major decision. At the NHSCA Final Four, Sportelli finished his career undefeated against Blair Academy wrestlers when he beat National Prep champion Adam Frey 8-4. He brought the Easton crowd to it’s feet with a second period pin of freshman phenom John Paukovitz (Northampton) in Easton’s Mountain Valley Conference clinching win over the KKids. He finished the year by majoring state medalists MIke Pena (Liberty) and Brandon Stillo (Phillipsburg) then going 3-0 at District Duals, capped by an 8-4 win over Paukovitz. He followed that up by going 3-0 at State Duals, highlighted by a 13-1 win over state qualifier Brian Sellers (Pennsbury). At the D11 tournament, top seeded Sportelli was attempting to be the ninth Eaton wrestler to win three District titles. But in his semifinal, he cut Paukovitz loose in a 2-2 match and was unable to score the winning takedown in the third period and had to settle for a third place finish. At Northeast Regionals, Sportelli took care of business, becoming the fourth Easton wrestler to win at least three Northeast Regional championships, outsourcing the field 27-7 capped with a 9-6 win over Mike Acedo-Malaney (Milton) in the finals. In the Southeast Regional, Jeremaine Jones suffered a semifinal loss and had to settle for third place, scrambling the two-time state champion’s spot in the state bracket. This woudl get crazier in Hershey, when Jones drew returning fourth place finisher Drew Headlee (Waynesburg) in the first round and Headlee pinned Jones in the second period. Sportelli, now the tournament favorite, beat Sellers (Pennsbury) for the secone time in teh season to advance to quarterfinals. That matched Sportelli up in quarterfinals with WPIAL runner-up Mike Ciotti (Greater Latrobe), who Sportelli hammered at states in 2001. This time, Sportelli went neutral in the second period, but was unable to get to his offense against Ciotti. In the third, Ciotti was able to sit out and escape, then fought off a desperate Sportelli over the last ninety seconds to shock the Easton star. That dropped Sportelli into a do-or-die medal match with…Jermaine Jones. In their rematch, they traded escapes in the first two periods, then dramatically, Sportelli scored the medal securing a takedown with 22 seconds left to knock Jones out of the tournament. He then beat future state runner-up Sean Clair (Plum) and pinning Chad Maggi (Canon McMillan) to make his third consecutive bronze medal match. There, he dropped his final match in an Easton singlet with a 3-2 loss to future state champ Jared Royer (Cedar Cliff). Sportelli and classmate Matt Ciasulli joined Bobby Weaver, Jack Cuvo, and Jamarr Billman as the only wrestlers with 50 career pins.
After Easton, Sportelli initially wrestled for two seasons at Nebraska before transferring to Kent State, where he was a two-time NCAA qualifier for the Golden Flashes.
History of Easton Wrestling 