Regional notes

No team had a worse time in the Southwest Region tournaments than Shady Side Academy. First, Matthew Cunningham, who came into the Class AA event in Johnstown with a 21-0 record, lost his second-round match, 9-8, when he was called for a clasp in the final seconds, and was later tossed out of the tournament when he slammed Cam Corle of Chestnut Ridge in a fit of frustration.

Then, in the 112-pound finals, Dane Johnson lost the 112-pound final when he was called for his third caution, a foot fault. Anthony Zanetta of Keystone Oaks came away with a 2-1 overtime win. It was the first time in my 26 years of covering wrestling that I've seen a match end that way.

Losing the fourth qualifier for Class AAA Southwest a few years ago meant a lot of good wrestlers from the area would not qualify for the state tournament. Meet the three from this year: McGuffey's Alex Dunaway (103) and Trinity's Nick Standish (135) and Kalvin Schultz (152).

Let's give some credit to the longshots. In Class AA, Beth-Center's Chris Stay lost his first match in Johnstown and won the next five to finish third. T.J. Valor of Hempfield did the same thing in Class AAA. Charleroi's Vinne DeStefano battled Corle for fifth place at 145 and won by rideout.

When Grant Lowther moved up to 130, there were whispers that the move was predicated on a weigh-in mistake in the team tournament. If that was so, then maybe Lowther should have more problems such as these. He cruised to the 130-pound title at Norwin with a 9-3 pasting of Rudy Chelednik of Hempfield.