Class AA wrestling recap
If you want to know just how difficult it is to go through the postseason in wrestling, check out the 135-pound weight class in the WPIAL championships. Avella's Mitch Spencer was the fourth seed and had his pride hurt when Dave Demor of SS Beaver beat him in last week's section finals.
So all Spencer does is knock off top-seeded Zack Sheridan of Mt. Pleasant in the semifinals, and third-seeded Travis McKillop of Mt. Pleasant in the finals to win his second WPIAL title. If you didn't like the results for your wrestler, don't worry. Just wait a week.
Congratulations to Cody Catalina, who became Beth-Center's first WPIAL champion in a decade. He was a fourth seed but a pair of 2-1 decisions – over Sam Guidi of Fort Cherry in the semifinals and Josh Durbin of West Greene in the finals – shot him to the top.
Give Bill Sutton, the head coach at Chartiers-Houston, credit for knowing when to say when when it came to Michael Innes' injured rib muscle. Innes defaulted out of the 140-pound finals against SS Academy's Dane Johnson, who won his fourth WPIAL title without breaking a sweat.
Ryan Watson seemed bemused by the dozens of fans cheering for him during the tournament. The group hung a sign praising his 100th career victory and led cheers for the Burgettstown, Avella and Fort Cherry. They were a breath of fresh air in a tournament that was in need of some.
For all the talk about how down wrestling has been in Western Pennsylvania, there is a good chance that five Class AA wrestlers from the WPIAL can win a state title. The obvious candidates are Keystone Oaks' Anthony Zanetta, and Shady Side Academy's Dane Johnson and Roman San Doval. After this tournament, you have to put Andrew Lucarini of Fort Cherry and Matthew Cunningham of SS Academy in the mix.
I also like Jordan Roussos of Carlynton. Just a hunch.
Charleroi had a nice tournament, advancing five and getting Tommy Thorpe to the 160-pound finals.
Avella's Kyle Appleby won the 152-pound weight class, despite suffering with a severe head cold. Imagine how good he can be when he's healthy.
So all Spencer does is knock off top-seeded Zack Sheridan of Mt. Pleasant in the semifinals, and third-seeded Travis McKillop of Mt. Pleasant in the finals to win his second WPIAL title. If you didn't like the results for your wrestler, don't worry. Just wait a week.
Congratulations to Cody Catalina, who became Beth-Center's first WPIAL champion in a decade. He was a fourth seed but a pair of 2-1 decisions – over Sam Guidi of Fort Cherry in the semifinals and Josh Durbin of West Greene in the finals – shot him to the top.
Give Bill Sutton, the head coach at Chartiers-Houston, credit for knowing when to say when when it came to Michael Innes' injured rib muscle. Innes defaulted out of the 140-pound finals against SS Academy's Dane Johnson, who won his fourth WPIAL title without breaking a sweat.
Ryan Watson seemed bemused by the dozens of fans cheering for him during the tournament. The group hung a sign praising his 100th career victory and led cheers for the Burgettstown, Avella and Fort Cherry. They were a breath of fresh air in a tournament that was in need of some.
For all the talk about how down wrestling has been in Western Pennsylvania, there is a good chance that five Class AA wrestlers from the WPIAL can win a state title. The obvious candidates are Keystone Oaks' Anthony Zanetta, and Shady Side Academy's Dane Johnson and Roman San Doval. After this tournament, you have to put Andrew Lucarini of Fort Cherry and Matthew Cunningham of SS Academy in the mix.
I also like Jordan Roussos of Carlynton. Just a hunch.
Charleroi had a nice tournament, advancing five and getting Tommy Thorpe to the 160-pound finals.
Avella's Kyle Appleby won the 152-pound weight class, despite suffering with a severe head cold. Imagine how good he can be when he's healthy.
posted by Joe Tuscano at
11:20 PM
2 Comments:
Congrats to those Avella boys, GREAT showing placung 3rd. Went in with 5 and going on With 5 including 2 champs, 1 being voted outstanding wrestler. Good Luck in the weeks following!!!!!
I agree with most of your picks of the local kids that can win the state title but SanDoval is in for a rough road with Zach Bennett dropping to 189 from 215 Joe. Bennett will win it at 215.
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