Riverview’s Anthony Tigano displays improvement with medal at Allegheny County tournament

By: Michael Love
Saturday, January 28, 2023 | 11:01 AM

With a medal on the line at the Allegheny County tournament Jan. 21 at Fox Chapel, Riverview sophomore Anthony Tigano got the job done.

The first-year varsity wrestler at Riverview scored a 2-0 victory over Hampton’s Nate Glock at heavyweight to secure the fifth-place spot on the podium.

“He looked really good, and we were working on some stuff with his offense,” Riverview coach Joe Murphy said.

“The matches at heavyweight tend to be close, so we wanted to him to be aggressive and score early. He was able to work the whole combination to get the takedown. He wrestled smart and didn’t make many mistakes, and that was the key for him.”

Tigano, who Murphy said checks in at around 245 pounds, went 5-2 at the county tournament. He recorded a pair of pins to reach the quarterfinals where he suffered a loss by fall to Keystone Oaks’ Christian Flaherty.

Flaherty went on to win in the semifinals before falling to Pine-Richland’s Joseph Schneck in the championship match.

Tigano dropped to the consolation bracket and resumed his winning ways with a pin of Thomas Jefferson’s Hunter Hoak in 3:30 and a pin of Fox Chapel’s D’Angelo Hamilton in 1:41.

He didn’t let an 8-2 loss in the consolation semifinals derail his efforts as he bounced back in the fifth-place match with the win over Glock.

Tigano leads the Raiders with a 17-6 overall record. He owns 13 pins, three decision victories and one major decision.

“This is his first year on varsity, and last year was really his first year wrestling,” Murphy said.

“He didn’t wrestle much in seventh or eighth grade, so we decided to leave him down. He really shined at the junior high level and got better and better. He went to the Keystone State Championships and placed sixth in the state. When summer hit, he did a lot in the weight room and getting ready for football, too. Now, he is working really hard and building on last year’s work and having a strong season.”

Senior Aidan Draxinger and junior Brayden Layhew also fared well at the county tournament. Layhew went 3-2 over the two days of the tournament, while Draxinger was 2-2 in four matches.

Both now own 12 victories on the season.

Layhew, who went 9-3 as a sophomore last year, is 12-12 this season with nine pins and a pair of decision victories.

Wrestling at 172 for the county tournament, he started out with pins of Perry’s Antonio Roa and South Fayette’s Garren Barrows before a major-decision loss to Westinghouse’s Mateo Bradbury, a City League champion last year.

Layhew came back to earn a 9-2 decision over Moon’s Kaiden Kessler before ending his tournament with a pin at the hands of Joseph Geller.

“With Brayden, he has a good offense, and we’re working more with him to collect his points and move onto the next move,” Murphy said.

“He’s always aggressive and active, and we’re working with that and seeing some positive things from him.”

Draxinger (12-8) opened with a 3-1 win over Bethel Park’s Rocco Del Greco at 145 before a pinfall loss to Quaker Valley’s Logan Richey in the second round.

He rebounded in his first consolation match with a 7-3 decision over Pine-Richland’s Jake Jones before capping his tournament with a tough overtime loss to South Fayette’s Domenic Oliastro.

Draxinger owns five pins, four decisions and two major decisions among his 12 wins.

“We’re trying to get Aidan to be more offensive, and he really worked on that in the tournament,” Murphy said.

“He wrestled well. His last match went into overtime and could’ve gone either way. We thought he had a takedown at the end of the third period which would’ve won it.”

Riverview scored 35 team points and placed 31st out of 38 teams at the county tournament.

Sophomore Justin Burrell (139) is 7-10 on the season, and it’s been feast or famine for him with all seven victories and eight of his 10 losses coming by pin.

“Justin works really hard in the room and does everything we ask of him,” Murphy said.

“He’s not the tallest guy, but he lifted a ton in the offseason and got heavy. A lot of times, he faces a size disadvantage, and a lot of those pins are from cradles. With the taller guys he’s facing, we tell him that there is no leeway. We’ve been working with him on avoiding certain positions, and he’s improving on that. He’s strong and athletic, so he has that going for him.”

Senior Mike Pietragallo is 7-9 this season at 215 after posting a 9-15 mark last year as a junior. He owns a pair of pinfall victories with one decision and one major decision.

Riverview will face Penn Hills on Thursday (Feb. 2) and hosts Allderdice on Feb. 15 leading up to the Class 2A East Section Tournament on Feb. 18 at Greensburg Salem.

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

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