Cymmerman denied 4th WPIAL wrestling crown; Mt. Pleasant has 2 champions

By: Paul Schofield
Saturday, February 20, 2021 | 9:10 PM

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Derry senior Ty Cymmerman sat by himself in the auxiliary gym at Canon-McMillan High School, his head down.

He appeared to be in deep thought after he was denied a chance at joining an elite group for four-time WPIAL champion wrestlers.

Cymmerman gave up a four-point move in the second period and lost to Blackhawk senior Kenny Duschek, 5-2, in the 145-pound final at the WPIAL Class AA wrestling championships.

“I know what I did wrong,” Cymmerman said. “I just have to get back in the room and continue to work.”

While becoming a four-time WPIAL champion is gone, he still has a shot at the bigger prize: a state title.

“I worked the entire match, and I couldn’t get to what I like to do,” Cymmerman said. “I was still trying to fight it off (that takedown), and the official gave him the two and started counting.”

Derry coach Mike Weinell, while not pleased on how the match was officiated, said Cymmerman didn’t do what was discussed at practice.

“We went over things at practice,” Weinell said. “Ty just has to be aggressive and finish.”

While Cymmerman came up short, two Mt. Pleasant wrestlers did not.

Freshman Jamison Poklembo rebounded from a loss Friday in the Section 3 final to defeat Valley junior Dion Lyons, 9-2, at 132. Lyons won 2-1 on Friday.

And junior Dayton Pitzer, who missed his sophomore season while recovering from knee surgery, won his second WPIAL title with a 37-second pin of Knoch senior Eli Reese. Pitzer (33-2) also had a 32-second pin in the semifinals.

“It feels good, but I’m not done. I still have another year,” Pitzer said about winning his second title. “I have more work to do. I go out and just have fun wrestling. I’m looking forward to the next few weeks when things get tougher.”

Poklembo, who was upset with his loss to Lyons on Friday, said he will take a WPIAL title over a section title.

“I went after a win today,” Poklembo said. “I was too cautious on Friday and wasn’t going to leave it up to the refs again. I was too conservative on Friday. I went after it in the finals.”

Mt. Pleasant coach Zach Snyder said getting two champs, his first as a coach, is amazing.

The Vikings advanced four wrestlers to the Southwest Region. Senior heavyweight Ian Fasano and junior Collin Gnibus recovered from tough losses in the semifinals to place third.

Laurel Valley junior Ryan Harbert (138) ended up second. He dropped a 10-5 decision to Burrell senior Ian Oswalt, who became the 31st wrestler in WPIAL history to win four titles.

“I felt I wrestled well,” Harbert said. “The matches against Ian will definitely help me down the road. They opened my eyes on what I can do.”

Harbert reached the Southwest Region as a freshman and sophomore in District 6.

Burrell had four champions. The others were freshman Cooper Hornack (106), sophomore Nike Ferra (120) and senior A.J. Corrado (160).

Hornack was one of four freshmen to win titles. The others were Bentworth’s Chris Vargo, who defeated Elizabeth Forward freshman Damon Michaels, 4-1, at 113; Poklembo and Frazier’s Rune Lawrence, who pinned McGuffey senior Ethan Barr at 172.

South Park senior Joey Fischer (126) won his third WPIAL title, Duschek his second and Laurel senior heavyweight Mitch Miles his second.

Freedom senior Trent Schultheis also was shooting for his fourth title, but he lost in the semifinals to Burgettstown senior Shane Kemper.

Quaker Valley junior Patrick Cutchember won the 189-pound title.

Check out an archive video stream broadcast of the championships on the TribLive High School Sports Network.

Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.