2014 WPIAL Class AAA Individual Wrestling Championship Results

By: Bruce Markey
Sunday, March 2, 2014 | 1:03 AM

Wrestling in his home gymnasium, Solomon Chishko of Canon McMillan looked to become the 24^th wrestler to win a 4^th WPIAL individual title. To do so, Chishko would have to beat another defending WPIAL Champion, Josh Maruca of Franklin Regional. Chishko dominated the action on their feet and thanks to four takedowns, cruised to a 9-4 victory.

Chishko was not the only Big Mac wrestler to take home gold. In the most competitive weight class of 126, Canon McMillan senior Dalton Macri won his first WPIAL title by beating two time defending WPIAL champion Sam Krivus of Hempfield. Macri needed all six minutes to win the match, as he got the winning takedown right before the clock hit 0:00 to win the bout. Macri was honored for his efforts by winning the outstanding wrestler award.

One guy who was not fortunate to win a WPIAL Championship was Franklin Regional’s Tyler Smith. After finishing as a runner-up the last three seasons, Smith faced off against Penn Trafford freshman Cameron Coy. In the third period, the match was tied at two before Smith decided to give Coy an escape. Coy would then pick up a takedown late in the third period and win the match 5-2. For Smith, this is his fourth WPIAL runner-up finish.

Two guys who had finished 2^nd in the WPIAL the last two years were able to turn around their fate and win WPIAL gold. Central Catholic junior Vincenzo Joseph beat Franklin Regional’s Michael Kemerer 5-2 at 138 and Franklin Regional junior Josh Shields beat Jake Shaffer of Latrobe 9-4.

Outside of Chishko, there were three other wrestlers to win multiple titles. Latrobe’s Zack Zavatsky won his third WPIAL championship at 182 and his teammate Luke Pletcher won his second WPIAL title at 120. Kiski Area’s Shane Kuhn also picked up his second WPIAL gold medal at 285.

The team portion was won by WPIAL and PIAA Champion Franklin Regional, who won by 37.5 points while qualifying six wrestlers for the PIAA tournament and picking up three champions. Latrobe finished second in points, qualifying five wrestlers while adding two champions. Belle Vernon rounded out the top three in points thanks in part to three PIAA qualifiers and one champion.

For a full recap of the AAA WPIAL individual championships, tune in to Inside the WPIAL Wrestling Circle Monday night at 7:00 PM on the MSA Sports Network. Joining us on the show will be four time WPIAL champion Solomon Chishko of Canon McMIllan.

Championship Finals

106 – Devin Brown (Franklin Regional) dec. Gage Curry (North Hills) 2-1

113 – Spencer Lee (Franklin Regional) fall Luke Landefeld (North Allegheny) 2:47

120 – Luke Pletcher (Latrobe) maj. dec. Brendan Hasson (Belle Vernon) 11-3

126 – Dalton Macri (Canon McMillan) dec. Sam Krivus (Hempfield) 4-3

132 – Cameron Coy (Penn Trafford) dec. Tyler Smith (Franklin Regional) 5-2

138 – Vincenzo Joseph (Central Catholic) dec. Michael Kemerer (Franklin Regional) 5-2

145 – Solomon Chishko (Canon McMillan) dec. Josh Maruca (Franklin Regional) 9-4

152 – Josh Shields (Franklin Regional) dec. Jake Shaffer (Latrobe) 9-4

160 – Austin Bell (Belle Vernon) dec. Jonathan Avon (North Hills) 8-2

170 – Kyle Coniker (Central Catholic) dec. Noah Wilps (Chartiers Valley) 3-2

182 – Zack Zavatsky (Latrobe) dec. Kellan Stout (Mount Lebanon) 5-1

195 – Cole Macek (Montour) dec. Andrew Phipps (Norwin) 3-1 OT

220 – Tyler Worthing (Kiski Area) maj. dec. Dylan Davis (Latrobe) 14-3

285 – Shane Kuhn (Kiski Area) dec. Zeynul Zaynullayev (Mount Lebanon) 5-2

Consolation Finals

106 – Hunter Baxter (Pine Richland) dec. Gage Nicolella (McGuffey) 7-1

113 – Doug Gudenburr (Ringgold) dec. Brendan Price (Canon McMillan) 3-1

120 – Kevin Kinyua (Mount Lebanon) dec. Scotty Stossel (North Allegheny) 2-1

126 – A.C. Headlee (Waynesburg) dec. Dom Forys (North Allegheny) 10-5

132 – Ty Buckiso (Peters Township) dec. Nino Bonaccorsi (Bethel Park) 3-1 OT

138 – Joey Alessandro (Hempfield) dec. Malachi Krenzelak (Canon McMillan) 4-3

145 – Jarod Verkleeren (Belle Vernon) dec. Tony Palumbo (Central Catholic) 2-1 2OT

152 – Paul Dunn (Bethel Park) fall Jake Ardellitz (Kiski Area) 4:45

160 – Dom Scalise (Latrobe) dec. Brandon Yant (Franklin Regional) 4-3

170 – Devin Fallenstein (Ringgold) dec. Milton Kobaly (Belle Vernon) 13-8

182 – Clay Byerly (North Allegheny) dec. Ryan Hannon (Butler) 3-2 2OT

195 – Zach Smith (North Allegheny) tech. fall Chad Kuhn (Kiski Area) 15-0, 3:12

220 – Fred Mantsch (Hempfield) dec. Will Bortmas (Butler) 13-9

285 – Stephen Turchick (Plum) dec. Tyler Mears (Latrobe) 2-1 2OT