At the District 2 Class 2A Wrestling Championships, Mid Valley senior Matthew Almedina captured his fourth straight district title and second consecutive Outstanding Wrestler award. He had two technical falls and two pins at 139 pounds. In the Round of 16, he won by technical fall over Valley View’s Cooper Rawlings, 16-1, in 1:01. He won by tech fall in the quarterfinals over Blue Ridge’s Richard Lord, 15-0, in 41 seconds. In the semifinals, he pinned Lackawanna Trail’s Joshua Fowler in 27 seconds, then pinned Honesdale’s Sam Eisele in 29 seconds in the final.

Family: Father, Robert; mother, Melissa; brothers, Noah, Sam; sister, Amanda

Coach: Dennis Hricenak

Talk about your performance and how you were able to make such quick work of your opponents: My gameplan the whole weekend was just enjoy my last year of districts, regionals and states. I was just in there pretty much having fun and just doing what I normally do. To me, it’s what I expected. This is what I should have done. Just go in, make quick work and get off the mat.

Describe your pin in the final: Before the match, me and my dad were talking and he was like, ‘Are you going to do a cradle?’ I said, ‘We’ll see. If it’s there, it’s there.’ In the match, I snapped him down and the cradle was there, so I was like, OK, here we go. Let’s end it quick.

Had you wrestled him previously: I only wrestled the kid in the quarters and semis before that. I never wrestled the first kid or the last. Honestly, I prefer when I didn’t wrestle somebody. I’m fine with not knowing what they’re going to do because if I’m worried about what they’re going to do, then I’m not going to wrestle my best. I’m worried about what I’m going to do. So I didn’t really pay attention to anybody that wrestled in my bracket. I was confident in what I was going to do.

What does it mean to you to be a four-time district champion: It means a lot. A lot of hard work and everything. But like I’ve told everybody, this is the first small step to getting to the top of that Hershey podium. It’s just one stepping stone to me.

What was your reaction when they announced your name again as Outstanding Wrestler: I was pretty shocked. I didn’t know if you could win it two times in a row. It’s weird, I don’t know why I was super shocked. A lot of coaches came up to me and were like, we voted for you. I was like, ‘Wow, I really appreciate that.’ I was just surprised you could win it multiple times. Didn’t want to be greedy.

Any one of the four district titles mean more than the others: Most are about the same. But I’d probably say the one my sophomore year because that year was pretty rough for me. I went through a lot of injuries. I was out for seven months. The week before, I didn’t even know if I was going to wrestle postseason because I tore my LCL and my MCL. We decided I was going to go up in weight to 139 and that’s where I’ve wrestled the past three years. I was the 1-seed, but I wasn’t 100 percent sure how it was going to go. I made my way to the finals and wrestled a kid from Western Wayne, Jake Leslie, who was pretty tough. I ended up beating him, 7-3. I was pretty proud of myself for that because to battle through all that was definitely not easy.

As you head into regionals, are you happy with how you are wrestling: I’m pretty happy. I feel like I’m having the best season of my career. I’m confident in what I’m doing, trusting what I’m doing. I believe that I work harder than anyone else. I just have to be confident, don’t get into my head, have fun and enjoy it. There’s nothing left to lose.

Wrestling is a relatively new sport at Mid Valley. What has it been like helping to build the program: It’s been awesome, seeing the sport grow in the school and hear kids talking about it. Sometimes I’m sitting there in school and it’s weird to hear kids say, ‘Man, I have to make weight,’ I used to be the only one who had to do it. It’s pretty crazy. It makes me happy because it’s a great thing for our school. It builds character. It’s definitely a great sport for any school to have.

Favorite teams: In football, I love the San Francisco 49ers and in college, I’m big on Iowa State.

Favorite food: Pizza

Is there a food you give up during the wrestling season, then once it’s over that’s the first food you have: Definitely pizza with a milkshake from (Hershey’s) Chocolate World. That’s the way to do it.

Cake or pie: Cake

Favorite school subject: Probably my science classes. I find those to be more interesting and easier for me to deal with.

Athletes I admire: Really, my brothers even though they’re younger than me. I love how they show no fear when they’re out there. It’s not that they don’t care, they don’t worry about the outcome. I also admire 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy because he’s a huge believer in the Lord and just the way he plays and carries himself.

Superstitions and rituals: I usually have a peanut butter and honey sandwich before I wrestle. The biggest thing I do that really gets me zoned in is as the national anthem is going on, I pray and give thanks for what’s going on and the opportunity that I have.

If I could have any superpower, it would be: Definitely super speed. No one would be able to touch you, especially in wrestling.

One word that best describes me: Loyal.

App I use the most on my phone: Instagram.

Three people to have dinner with: Honestly, I’d say God and my family. Those are the only things I really look up to. I’m not really big on celebrities. I don’t really pay attention to all that.

Post-graduation plans: I’m headed to Mercyhurst University, which just became D-I three years ago. I was talking to the coach and he’s awesome and the program is really successful. He’s building a good class, so I’m pretty excited for it. I know I’m going to have success no matter what.

Do you know what you’re going to study: I’m between accounting and biology. But I also was talking to my dad and I’m interested in becoming a college wrestling coach. Why not? This sport is always going to be a part of me. It’s definitely something I’m considering.

Scranton Times-Tribune

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