A-K Valley wrestling notebook: Middleweights lead charge for Kiski Area

By: Greg Macafee
Wednesday, February 26, 2020 | 6:12 PM

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Two weeks ago, WPIAL Class AA wrestlers converged on Canon-McMillan for their individual sectional and WPIAL tournaments. Now, the Class AAA wrestlers get their chance this Friday and Saturday at the same site.

The WPIAL released the brackets earlier this week after sectional tournaments last Saturday. Jack Blumer was the only A-K Valley wrestler to capture a top seed heading into the weekend as he looks to protect his 33-1 record and capture a third WPIAL title.

He wasn’t the only Cavalier to earn a top three seed. Four of his teammates did as well. Sammy Starr (26-4) is the No. 2 seed at 152 pounds behind Pine-Richland’s Cole Spencer. Nick Delp (29-3) came in at No. 3 in the 170-pound bracket behind Mt. Lebanon’s Mac Stout and Hampton’s Tyler Kocak.

Brayden Roscosky (31-4) earned the third seed at 195, coming in behind Mac’s older brother Luke Stout and Bethel Park’s Luke Montgomery. Dom Giordano worked his way into the top three of the 120-pound bracket as well. He comes in behind Seneca Valley’s Dylan Chappell and Greater Latrobe’s Nathan Roth.

In total, the Cavaliers captured five section championships this past weekend, and they all came between 152 and 195 pounds.

“It was cool, and we had some pins through there as well,” Kiski Area coach Chris Heater said. “We’re kinda known for our guys through there. They were kinda out there just doing what they are supposed to be doing at this time of the year.”

The only section champ from Kiski Area that didn’t receive a top-three seeding was 182-pounder Jared Curcio (27-7). He is the sixth seed in the 182-pound bracket.

“That was pretty cool for us,” Blumer said. “Especially in the parade of champions when it was just Kiski guy, after Kiski guy, after Kiski guy. It was pretty cool to have your teammates beside you and wrestling one after another.”

Wrestling will begin at 5 p.m. Friday with first-round and quarterfinal action. On Saturday, wrestling will begin at 10 a.m. with at 11:30 and championship rounds at 5 p.m.

On to Hershey

Burrell, Highlands and Valley all traveled to the PIAA Southwest AA regional this past weekend at IUP.

Burrell’s Ian Oswalt and AJ Corrado came the closest to capturing a regional title but still punched their ticket to Hershey with runner-up finishes. Oswalt lost to Glendale’s Brock McMillen, 3-1 in sudden victory, in the 132-pound final. Corrado lost to Caleb Dowling from St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy by a 2-1 decision in the 152-pound championship.

In total, the Bucs had two runners-up, a third-place finisher in 182-pounder Ricky Feroce, and a fifth-place finisher in Nick Salerno at 120. All four will head to Hershey next weekend for the state tournament.

Highlands didn’t have any wrestlers place in the top eight, and Valley’s Dion Lyons earned a seventh-place finish in the 132-pound weight class.

Starting off on the right foot

Alongside the five Kiski Area wrestlers who earned section titles this past weekend, Armstrong’s Logan Harmon and Fox Chapel’s Alex Wecht also got their individual postseasons started on the right foot.

At 160 pounds in the Section 3-AAA tournament, Wecht worked his way through the bracket with a pin of Indian’s Brody Kunselman in 1 minute, 6 seconds and a 7-0 decision over Butler’s Nate McDonald. In the championship match, Wecht took down previously undefeated Guy Deleonardis from Knoch by a 3-2 decision.

As the No. 1 seed, Harmon got through his bracket with ease. He earned a pin in 1:25 and an 18-3 technical fall in 4:35 in the semifinals. In the championship match, he took a 13-1 major decision over Butler’s Caleb Hartung.

In the WPIAL tournament, Wecht (26-6) was given the No. 5 seed. Harmon (23-3) was seeded fourth.

Greg Macafee is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Greg by email at gmacafee@triblive.com or via Twitter .

Tags: Armstrong, Burrell, Fox Chapel, Kiski Area, Valley