2016 WPIAL Class AA Individual Wrestling Results

By: HSSN Staff
Sunday, February 28, 2016 | 10:29 AM

The talent in AA Wrestling was on display this weekend, as many wrestlers repeated as WPIAL champions. Saturday’s finals at South Fayette High School featured 9 returning WPIAL Champions, including 5 of which who had already won multiple WPIAL crowns before taking the mat for the finals.

The most impressive of which was George Phillippi of Derry. At 138 pounds, Phillippi became the 26th wrestler all time to win four WPIAL championships. He did by defeating Evan Myers of Southmoreland 9-3. For Myers, who is a senior, this is the third straight season he finished as a WPIAL runner-up.

Equally impressive in their careers are the four wrestlers who won their 3rd WPIAL title. Mike Carr of South Fayette was the first, winning a tight 1-0 match against Kody Komara of Freedom. South Park teammates Jake Wentzel and Greg Bulsak also earned their third gold medal in dominating fashion. Wentzel defeated Jefferson Morgan’s Trevor Kniha by major decision 14-3, while Bulsak pinned Dom Provenzano of Chartiers-Houston for a second straight week, this time in 2:41. The final wrestler to win his third WPIAL title was Jefferson Morgan’s Bill Bowlen. His win may have been the most impressive, as he had to knock off fellow returning WPIAL champion Robert Scherer of Burrell. Bowlen did it with a 4-3 win.

Robert Scherer of Burrell was not the only returning WPIAL champion who was not able to repeat. The first came at 120, where McGuffey senior Gage Nicolella was unable to defend his crown, as he fell short by a major decision to Southmoreland’s Tyler Griffiths 8-0. Also falling short was Jeannette’s GioVonne Sanders, who dropped a hard fought 3-2 decision to Burrell’s Damon Greenwald.

Overall it was Burrell and South Fayette who advanced the most wrestlers to the Southwest Regional tournament next week, as both teams had 8 kids move on. Freedom and Derry followed right behind with 7 kids advancing while Mount Pleasant rounded out the top five with 6 wrestlers.

For a full recap of the AA WPIAL Championships, listen to Inside the WPIAL Wrestling Circle, Monday night at 7:00 PM. Four time WPIAL Champion George Phillippi of Derry will be featured on the show.

Championship Finals:
106 – ZJ Ward (Freedom) dec. Bryan Gaul (Burrell) 8-4
113 – Gavin Teasdale (Jefferson Morgan) fall Manny Dovshek (Bentworth) 0:45
120 – Tyler Griffiths (Southmoreland) maj. dec. Gage Nicolella (McGuffey) 8-0
126 – Jihad Ratliff (Valley) dec. Tyler Alberts (Ellwood City) 4-2
132 – Stone Kepple (Derry) dec. Joe Demor (South Side) 3-2 2OT
138 – George Phillippi (Derry) dec. Evan Myers (Southmoreland) 9-3
145 – Mike Carr (South Fayette) dec. Kody Komara (Freedom) 1-0
152 – Damon Greenwald (Burrell) dec. GioVonne Sanders (Jeannette) 3-2
160 – Jake Wentzel (South Park) maj. dec. Trevor Kniha (Jefferson Morgan) 14-3
170 – Anthony Welsh (Beth Center) maj. dec. Dominic DeLuca (Derry) 10-1
182 – Greg Bulsak (South Park) fall Dom Provenzano (Chartiers Houston) 2:41
195 – Bill Bowlen (Jefferson Morgan) dec. Robert Scherer (Burrell) 4-3
220 – Alex Moses (Burrell) dec. Rasaun Culberson (South Fayette) 2-1 2OT
285 – Jake Beistel (Southmoreland) dec. Josh Lind (Mount Pleasant) 7-2

3rd Place Consolations:
106 – Colin Dunn (South Fayette) fall Ty Mazutis (Chartiers Houston) 4:35
113 – Shawn Broadway (Derry) dec. Danny McCarthy (Burrell) 9-4
120 – Alex Miscovich (Mount Pleasant) dec. Nick Candelore (Fort Cherry) 3-0
126 – Austin Mihalchik (Mount Pleasant) fall Antonio Cavallo (Greensburg Central Catholic) 3:35
132 – Justo Hernandez (South Allegheny) dec. Mike Novak (Mount Pleasant) 1-0
138 – Dallas Bulsak (South Park) dec. Shane Ging (South Fayette) 9-2
145 – Hunter Neely (Bentworth) dec. Logan Witwicki (Carlynton) 5-0
152 – Ben Previte (South Fayette) dec. Christian Clutter (McGuffey) 1-0
160 – Dominic Fundy (Beth Center) fall Jaden Datz (Southmoreland) 4:09
170 – Anthony Marra (Burrell) maj. dec. Bryson Miller (Freedom) 11-2
182 – Dan Black (Keystone Oaks) dec. Shawn Hennessey (Mapletown) 8-4
195 – Connor Main (West Greene) dec. Dino Simonelli (Avella) 4-3
220 – Bishop McCoy (South Side) dec. Noah Wiencek (Derry) 3-1 OT
285 – Joe Kazalas (Keystone Oaks) dec. Trey Lober (Chartiers Houston) 3-2 OT UTB

5th Place Consolations:
106 – Kace Sabedra (Derry) dec. Hunter Fry (Fort Cherry) 3-2
113 – Doug Bittner (Mount Pleasant) fall Cort Blatz (South Fayette) 2:19
120 – Trent Bechtold (Burrell) dec. Jack Pail (Freedom) 4-1
126 – Chase Komara (Freedom) dec. Teague Nicolella (McGuffey) 10-4
132 – Ken Azzerella (Avonworth) inj. def. David McElravy (Indiana)
138 – Aaron Harris (McGuffey) dec. Josh Kuslock (Chartiers Houston) 3-1
145 – Kurt Adkins (Washington) inj. def. Darrell Bails (Burgettstown)
152 – Savien Smith (Valley) inj. def. Noah Stoker (South Allegheny)
160 – Cody Jenkins (South Allegheny) dec. Dean Ward (Freedom) 8-0
170 – Tyler Nicholson (Burgettstown) inj. def. Bobby Bell (Indiana)
182 – Joe Bastaroli (South Fayette) fall Brandon Duchene (Summit Academy) 1:26
195 – Zack Charlesworth (Mount Pleasant) inj. def. Trent Orr (Indiana)
220 – William Peterson (Laurel) dec. Brad Hucik (Burgettstown) 3-2
285 – Evan Sweesey (Freedom) dec. Trevor McIntyre (Fort Cherry) 8-2

7th Place Consolations:
106 – Fred Howard (Elizabeth Forward) fall Dominick Reagan (Beaver) 2:58
113 – PJ Smith (Burgettstown) maj. dec. Austin Seik (South Side) 14-4
120 – Onreey Stewart (Derry) dec. Carter MacMurdo (Ellwood City) 5-0
126 – Ethan Awes (Burrell) dec. Anthony Wise (Southmoreland) 7-3
132 – Christian Hyrb (Beaver) dec. Jake Ognibene (Chartiers Houston) 4-3
138 – Alex Pergantis (South Allegheny) dec. Dillon Jeffrey (Burrell) 5-4
145 – Pasqualino Mastrangelo (Central Valley) dec. Chris O’Sullivan (Valley) 7-3
152 – Hunter Jones (Greensburg Central Catholic) dec. RJ Hall (Chartiers Houston) 7-0
160 – Mike Cusick (South Fayette) inj. def. Philip Petit (Valley)
170 – Colton Hamilton (West Greene) fall Reese McHaffie (South Side) 1:52
182 – Ryan Wise (Bentworth) fall Josh Parker (Riverview) 2:47
195 – Tyler Stine (Summit Academy) fall Tanner Weston (Mapletown) 2:50
220 – Tyler Girvin (Frazier) dec. Jack Harris (Yough) 3-0
285 – Harley Gee (Mapletown) fall David Schuffert (Valley) 1:31