Carlynton wrestling program looks forward to individual postseason

By: Don Rebel
Sunday, February 14, 2021 | 9:01 AM

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The team portion of the WPIAL wrestling season is in the books, with individuals set to take the spotlight.

For Carlynton, like several teams these days, it’s all about the numbers — or lack of them.

The Cougars have quality, but once again this season, lacked the quantity for success in the district team duals.

“It can be frustrating going into a match knowing that you are probably going to lose because of numbers,” Carlynton coach Ed White said. “As a coaching staff and team, we just focus on the matches that we wrestle and, if we win, it is a great feeling. When the match is over, I look at the matches we wrestle and add up those scores to see if we won or lost. This helps me deal with the challenge of having a small team.”

Wood was pleased with how the team did, finishing fourth in Section 2B-AA with a 2-3 record and a 6-6 overall mark. That was an improvement over the 1-4 season from a year ago.

Carlynton finished 34th out of 44 teams at the Powerade tournament and was seventh among WPIAL Class AA teams.

An example of a typical night in the team’s duals for the Cougars took place against Central Valley.

Carlynton had seven wrestlers set to go, but only three of them competed. Senior Oleg Melnyk won by fall at 160 pounds. Bryce Rodriquez at 120 pounds, Chase Brandebura at 126 pounds, Luke Steiner at 140 pounds and Francis Skindzier at 145 pounds won by forfeit.

Collin Milko lost by DQ at 215 pounds, and Alex Reick lost by fall at 132 pounds.

The Cougars beat the Warriors, 27-24.

The improvement comes in a season that was jeopardized by the pandemic. It’s another source of pride White has in his team.

“They are handling it very well,” White said. “They are following the guidelines established by the school and state.”

The individual district tournament will have two phases, sub-sectionals and sectionals, to help determine the eventual field for the WPIAL Class AA championships on Feb. 20 at Canon-McMillan.

Brandebura will be chasing a second consecutive WPIAL championship after winning gold last year at 106 pounds.

Three other Cougars wrestlers reached the consolation finals in 2020. Melnyk finished third at 160 pounds, and Rodriquez (113-pounds) and Milko (182-pounds) were fourth.

The sophomore Brandebura did well enough in the Class AA Southwest Regionals to qualify for the PIAA championships.

He defeated Owen Lehman of Northern Lebanon in the first round before losing Evan Maag of Notre Dame-Green Pond. He was eliminated in Round 2 of the state consolations.

All of those Cougars wrestlers hope the experience helps them go further in this season’s individual postseason tournaments.

“I believe they can be successful if they put in a hard week of practice,” White said. “They have the talent to go far if they are ready physical and mentally.”

Tags: Carlynton