WPIAL Class AA notes
So Cody Wiercioch is human.
The phenom freshman from Charleroi suffered the first loss of the season and his varsity career in the 152-pound finals of the WPIAL Class AA Championships to Burrell's Travis McKillop. It was a great match to watch, and a large portion of the crowd in Chartiers Valley High School left after it was over. I was struck by a few things: 1. McKillop is a really good wrestler and has been overshadowed by Wiercioch this season. 2. Wiercioch could use a little more work on getting out from the bottom. 3. Wiercioch's maturity was evident even in defeat. After the loss, he was a stand-up guy with the media. A lot of wrestlers who suffered such a disappointment would disappear after the awards stand presentation. Expect great things in his career.
Fort Cherry has not had the best of luck this season. Heavyweight Cory Garry broke his hand and couldn't wrestle in the postseason. Flu ravaged the team in mid-January and the numbers in the room weren't great. But the Rangers have a nice 1-2-3 punch in the upper weights with Sam Guidi (160), Gary Kiefer (189) and Greg Kumer (215). Guidi and Kiefer each won WPIAL titles and Kumer was fourth.
Matthew Cunningham of Shady Side Academy won his fourth WPIAL title, becoming only the 19th wrestler in WPIAL history to achieve such a feat. Cunningham's fortune is Dakota DesLauriers' bad luck. The freshman from Burrell is an outstanding talent but probably will be second in his weight because of Cunningham.
The more I watch Michael Innes, the more I'm convinced he will medal at the state tournament. The junior from Chartiers-Houston tore up a weak 140 weight class to win a WPIAL championship. If he keeps wrestling angry, and stays healthy, he will have a strong finish.
The area should feel good about winning seven WPIAL championships. Washington and Greene counties have gone through some lean times. But this performance was one to be hopeful that wrestling is going to make a surge again.
The phenom freshman from Charleroi suffered the first loss of the season and his varsity career in the 152-pound finals of the WPIAL Class AA Championships to Burrell's Travis McKillop. It was a great match to watch, and a large portion of the crowd in Chartiers Valley High School left after it was over. I was struck by a few things: 1. McKillop is a really good wrestler and has been overshadowed by Wiercioch this season. 2. Wiercioch could use a little more work on getting out from the bottom. 3. Wiercioch's maturity was evident even in defeat. After the loss, he was a stand-up guy with the media. A lot of wrestlers who suffered such a disappointment would disappear after the awards stand presentation. Expect great things in his career.
Fort Cherry has not had the best of luck this season. Heavyweight Cory Garry broke his hand and couldn't wrestle in the postseason. Flu ravaged the team in mid-January and the numbers in the room weren't great. But the Rangers have a nice 1-2-3 punch in the upper weights with Sam Guidi (160), Gary Kiefer (189) and Greg Kumer (215). Guidi and Kiefer each won WPIAL titles and Kumer was fourth.
Matthew Cunningham of Shady Side Academy won his fourth WPIAL title, becoming only the 19th wrestler in WPIAL history to achieve such a feat. Cunningham's fortune is Dakota DesLauriers' bad luck. The freshman from Burrell is an outstanding talent but probably will be second in his weight because of Cunningham.
The more I watch Michael Innes, the more I'm convinced he will medal at the state tournament. The junior from Chartiers-Houston tore up a weak 140 weight class to win a WPIAL championship. If he keeps wrestling angry, and stays healthy, he will have a strong finish.
The area should feel good about winning seven WPIAL championships. Washington and Greene counties have gone through some lean times. But this performance was one to be hopeful that wrestling is going to make a surge again.
posted by Joe Tuscano at
11:51 PM
20 Comments:
Now can we stop with the "greatest ever" and Kolat references?
Nalma,
give credit to mckillop he won a good match so no crying from us CW fans. it's 1-1 now. chances are those two will wrestle again. we'll never stop with greatest ever and kolat references though.
I agree with Nalma. He will never be what Cary Kolat was to this sport back then. He couldn't win his section for lords sake. Kolat was undefeated for four straight. He also went to the midlands and took third as a sophmore in high school. Send Weirchoch to Midlands and see the real truth. Kolat was WPIAL wrestling at its best. This other kid is just above average.
WOW... As much time spent talking and bloging about 14 year old 9th grader is just insane, really. He is a young 14 year old, wrestling 152, with (HALF) the experience of the wrestlers he meets. This is the only thing that should be talked about and relished. Think about this before bashing and comparing him to the greats. And don't say that you didn't bash him, there have been posts with those "smart a&&" jabs that had negetive under tones, as the above post with the above average comment. Anyone trying to post against this, will only enforce what has been typed here. Because you can't argue the (TRUTH)
Its a dieing sport and the so called fans have a little to blame for that.
bucco-coach
??!??! What did your post mean? No, we shouldn't be talking about anyone's age ands experience, we should be talking about wrestling, which we are. We are not the ones that refered to him as the "greatest ever". He is a great wrestler, no one here has ever denied that. My point was just 25 matches into a freshman year, we shouldn't have been crowning him PIAA champ yet, let alone a 4-timer that would never get beat. Appreciate the boys skills, but don't pile unneeded pressure on a young kid that is particiating in the granddaddy of all pressure sports. I also have to differ about wrestling being a dying sport. I think it is coming back around, just look at all the money being made by Clubs.
Girty Drillo...Drago Wiercioch already beat McKillop, you are stupid...He beat the #1 ranked kid in AAA. He will be 4 time WPIAL champ guaranteed.
Girty Drillo...Vulcano beat Schilinski in the team tourney you are stupid...Vulcano will never be cradled...Girty Drillo, go suck eggs...
Nalma... I believe what bucco-coach is trying to get at is a kid with 4 or 5 years of wrestling is usually still in grade school or starting middle school. Not a freshman starter, with a bunch of titles to his name. Really wasn't that hard to understand when read without a negative attitude to start with. Wrestling is suffering, low middle school numbers or no teams at all. Take a look into the stands alot of empty seats, huh. What the hell does clubs have to do with this post. I don't see club owners driving a Benz, or leaving his club for someone else to see after, while he goes sit on a beach for weeks on end. If CW goes to JO's wish he should. I would not want to wrestle him. YA, I said JO's. Think about that for a while and go down the list of real good wrestlers he has beaten with 5 years of wrestling. Understand now?
JO's = Who cares.
I am sleeping. Was that Samien Guiddi posting?
Ya, I know it must sting a bunch, to know your Johnny was beat by a youngn. Sorry to wake you.. "Now, go get your shoe shine box"
I think Club wrestling has a lot to do with it. Where do you think CW learned? Why do you think the Shady Sides, Burrells and CHs are dominating the WPIALs when 10-15 years ago it was all West Greene, JM and Wash High? Club wrestling is resurrecting the sport from the midget level up. If you don't believe that, attend an Open youth tourney and count the club apparel, ie Quest, PitBull, Team Kolat, etc. I wasn't reading anything with a negative attitude, I was trying to explain my stance. I have a POSITIVE view of the future of wrestling.
My Johnny hasn't been beat by a youngin since 1994.
When JM and WG were in their prime in the early 90's I thought all those guys trained at the barn. Wasn't that the original 'wrestling club' around here? Is this not accurate?
-Girty Drillo
"Girty" ... lol
Hey Tuscano I want to thank you for giving Tarley one line in your column on Sunday after winning WPIAL's. Oh I forgot he's not from Canon Mac or Charleroi. Maybe if he pins his way through regionals the same way he did WPIAL's you'll give him some ink.
Tarley is not going to pin his way to the title this weekend. He has his hands full in the semis with Wesmont kid and Rizzo will be waiting in the finals.
If you think club wrestling is going to resurrect this dying sport you are sorely mistaken. Infact, club wrestling will be the reason why wrestling dies out completely. I have said it before and I'll say it again. "Wrestling needs to stay in the schools where it belongs". Club wrestling needs to be a supplement to the school programs not the other way around. Without school support you will not get the fan base to sustain the sport and what will happen is the sport will turn into Karate. Only the people with money will be able to send their kids to the clubs and the competition will fade. It is already happening right before your eyes and you people just don't see it. How many of you would be following Cody Wiercioch from Quest if Charleroi decided not to have a program. Only family and friends would be there. The funny thing is that alot of you are getting exactly what you wanted. All this crap about wrestling being an individual sport is going to come back and bight in the a__. And quite frankly I'm an optimist.
It's 2am I faded out at the end of my rant. It suppose to read bite you in the a__. And to add to my rant. I think the wrestlers of the 80's and 90's would kick the butts of every wrestler in the new millenium. Theres no real competition now. It's the haves vs. the have nots. Now how hard is it to figure out who is going to win. Cody Wiercioch is a nice story but, seriously he wouldn't have come close to the competition in the 80's and 90's. Western PA was a hot bed for wrestling now you pay attention to who wins at states. The west or the east? Midget programs are dying out people are to busy to coach so they take their kid to quest and pay so they can spend their time doing something else. And, by the way JM was dominent in the 90's because they had a great coach who now coaches Waynesburg University. They are doing pretty good if you haven't payed attention. There's no barn wrestling. They got good by riding the bulls out in the pasture along with the sheep. Greene County, Where the men are men and the sheep are scared. And, I don't want to hear crap from you Greene county boys either. I went to school down there and heard that saying on a daily basis back in the day. Just putting some humer in my rant.
Anonymous at 5:40. I don't think you should be so critical of Joe for not writing more about Tarley. He pinned his way through and was top seed. Is it really that big of a story or surprise? The stories are in the upsets and surprises. Maybe when Tarley gets beat or does something extraordinary, then he will get "some more ink". Anyway, there are a few bloggers on here that are giving him enough recognition as it is.
I will get to Tarley. Every season there are wrestlers who get featured early and some who are featured late. If it's later, then that means I have confidence that athlete is going far in the tournament. Just be patient.
CW wins in Johnstown Beats Mckillop 2-0. Told you stupid idiots CW would win. Better than Kolat now.
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