Allegheny County championship matches are set

By: Greg Macafee
Saturday, January 18, 2020 | 1:36 PM

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The semifinals have concluded at the 2020 Allegheny County wrestling tournament held at Fox Chapel and the championship field is set.

The Parade of Champions will begin at 5:45 with the first championship match set to begin at 6 p.m.

Of the 14 weight classes, 12 No. 1 seeds advanced to the championships. The only No. 1 seed to fall on Saturday was 106-pounder Jacob Goldberg from Taylor Allderdice. He was pinned in 3 minutes, 8 seconds by Montour’s James Walzer.

A few other things happened Saturday morning at Fox Chapel. North Hills 138-pounder Sam Hillegas continued his pin streak at the Allegheny County tournament. Besides two forfeits during his freshman year, Hillegas has won every match at the Allegheny County tournament via pin. On Saturday, he pinned Thomas Jefferson’s Kale Bucksio in 1:48.

No. 1 seeds Brendan Finnerty (160) from Thomas Jefferson and South Park’s Joey Fischer (120) both earned career win No. 100 during their semifinal bouts. Finnerty earned a 10-0 major decision over Fox Chapel’s Alex Wecht and Fischer earned a 3-2 decision over Gateway’s Evan Whiteside.

The semifinals also seemed to be a family affair on Saturday as three different sets of brothers took the mat at Fox Chapel. Mt. Lebanon’s Luke (195) and Mac Stout (170) both earned spots in the championships later in the day. But, Pine Richland’s Nate (145) and Jacob Lukez (152) also wrestled in the semifinals along with Quaker Valley’s Donovan (285) and Patrick Cutchember (182). Nate and Patrick were both No. 1 seeds in their brackets and earned spots in the championships with wins on Saturday.

Championship Matches

106: No. 2 Anthony Ferraro, Pine-Richland vs. No. 5 James Walzer, Montour

113: No. 1 Vince Citrano, Plum vs. No. 2 Tyler Diggins, Moon

120: No. 1 Joey Fischer, South Park vs. No. 2 Dylan Coy, North Allegheny

126: No. 1 Ryan Michaels, Elizabeth Forward vs. No. 3 Zachery Wright, Hampton

132: No. 1 Kelin Laffey, Pine-Richland vs. No. 2 Jrake Burford, Highlands

138: No. 1 Sam Hillegas, North Hills vs. No. 2 Max Stedeford, North Allegheny

145: No. 1 Nate Lukez, Pine Richland vs. No. 3 Jackson Gray, Mt. Lebanon

152: No. 1 Cole Redinger, Quaker Valley vs. No. 2 Cole Spencer, Pine-Richland

160: No. 1 Brendan Finnerty, Thomas Jefferson vs. No. 6 Oleg Melnyk, Carlynton

170: No. 1 Mac Stout, Mt. Lebanon vs. No. 3 Tyler Kocak, Hampton

182: No. 1 Patrick Cutchember, Quaker Valley vs. No. 2 Justin Hart, Hampton

195: No. 1 Luke Stout, Mt. Lebanon vs. No. 2 Luke Montgomery, Bethel Park

220: No. 2 Ed Farrell, Fox Chapel vs. No. 4 Andy Mellinger, McKeesport

285: No. 1 Ben Grafton, North Allegheny vs. No. 7 Nick Murphy, Elizabeth Forward

Semifinal Results

106: James Walzer, Montour p. Jacob Goldberg, Taylor Allderdice, 3:08; Anthony Ferraro, Pine-Richland m.d. Chase Brandebura, Carlynton, 16-2; 113: Vince Citrano, Plum t.f. Michael Carmody, Quaker Valley, 18-3 (3:14); Tyler Diggins, Moon p. Dylan Mayer, Taylor Allderdice, 4:34; 120: Joey Fischer, South Park d. Evan Whiteside, Gateway, 3-2; Dylan Coy, North Allegheny, d. Khyvon Grace, Moon, 8-2; 126: Ryan Michaels, Elizabeth Forward p. Robert Palmieri, Pine-Richland, 3:40; Zachery Wright, Hampton d. Jesse Galioto, West Mifflin, 12-10; 132: Kelin Laffey, Pine-Richland d. Jeremy MacPherson, North Hills, 8-3; Jrake Burford, Highlands p. Troy Jacobson, Taylor Allderdice, 2:42; 138: Sam Hillegas, North Hills p. Kale Bucksio, Thomas Jefferson, 1:48; Max Stedeford, North Allegheny d. Parker Loera, Bethel Park, 4-1; 145: Nate Lukez, Pine-Richland d. Freddy Junko, North Allegheny, 5-1; Jackson Gray, Mt. Lebanon p. Michael Zacur, Thomas Jefferson, 3:56; 152: Cole Redinger, Quaker Valley p. Jacob Lukez, Pine-Richland, 1:44; Cole Spencer, Pine-Richland d. Grant MacKay, North Allegheny, 5-1; 160: Brendan Finnerty, Thomas Jefferson, m.d. Alex Wecht, Fox Chapel, 10-0; Oleg Melnyk, Carlynton p. Gage Galuska, Hampton, 3:02; 170: Mac Stout, Mt. Lebanon d. Brian Finnerty, Thomas Jefferson, 7-2; Tyler Kocak, Hampton d. Eli Brinsky, South Fayette, 5-3; 182: Patrick Cutchember, Quaker Valley d. Riley O’Mara, Bethel Park, 18-16; Justin Hart, Hampton d. Nick Whittington, Keystone Oaks, 3-2; 195: Luke Stout, Mt. Lebanon p. Donovan O’Malleu, Chartiers Valley, :53; Luke Montgomery, Bethel Park d. Nick Marcenelle, North Allegheny, 2-0; 220: Andy Mellinger, McKeesport d. Donovan Cutchember, Quaker Valley, 8-2; Ed Farrell, Fox Chapel p. Josh Sobeck, Montour, 1:58; 285: Ben Grafton, North Allegheny d. Quentin Franklin, South Fayette, 3-2 u.t.b.; Nick Murphy, Elizabeth Forward p. Senneca Harney, Moon, :41

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

Tags: Bethel Park, Carlynton, Elizabeth Forward, Fox Chapel, Hampton, Highlands, McKeesport, Montour, Moon, Mt. lebanon, North Allegheny, North Hills, Pine-Richland, Plum, Quaker Valley, South Park, Thomas Jefferson