Deep Quaker Valley wrestling lineup racking up wins

By: Ray Fisher
Sunday, January 21, 2024 | 11:01 AM

Quaker Valley already has four wrestlers in its 20-win club for 2023-24.

Prior to the Allegheny County championships held Jan. 19-20 at Fox Chapel, QV senior Jack Kazalas (22-1), junior Marcus Richey (22-4) and sophomores Bruce Anderchak (21-1) and Matthew Danna (21-3) were 20-match winners.

“They all are showing that they can compete with the best in the state,” QV coach Austin Heinl said of the talented foursome. “They lead by example in the practice room and out in competitions.”

Kazalas wrestles at 139 pounds and passed the 100-win mark in career victories earlier this season. As of Jan. 15, his career record stood at 128-22.

Richey competes at 160, Anderchak at 107 and Danna at 145.

It may not be long until the four QV grapplers are joined in the 20-win club by junior Jack Diemert, freshman Aris Haniotas and senior Isaac Maccaglia.

Diemert, with a 17-5 record at 152 pounds, Haniotas, 16-6 at 215, and Maccaglia, 15-6 at 114, were near the mark in mid-January.

These seven wrestlers with their lofty credentials have provided the Quakers with a formidable lineup in 2023-24.

The unyielding Quakers thrashed visiting South Park, 60-15, on Jan. 10 to improve to 4-0 in Section 3-2A and 8-1 overall. QV racked up five pins along with five forfeit wins to run away with the victory.

Falls were achieved by Haniotes, 121-pound junior Grant Castaldo, 133-pound sophomore Eoin Parnell, Kazalas and Richey.

Anderchak, Maccaglia, Danna, and sophomores Logan Benedict (152) and Kris Brown (189) accepted forfeits.

“Our underclassmen and novice wrestlers are showing a lot of growth since the start of the season,” Heinl said. “Big contributors are Aris Haniotes, Matt Danna, Kris Brown and Grant Castaldo. Others that have shown a lot of improvement are Eoin Parnell, John McHenry, Harper Sipes and Trey Dunlap.

“If we win our next two dual meets, the QV varsity wrestling program will achieve its 100th dual meet win. And we expect to win the section for the sixth year in a row.”

The Quakers were scheduled to travel to South Allegheny on Jan. 17 and host Carlynton on Jan. 24 in their final two section matches this season.

QV placed second at the Ed Driscoll MAC Tournament earlier this month at Freedom.

Anderchak, Kazalas and Danna earned tournament titles while Maccaglia was a runner-up. Richey and Haniotes secured third place. Brown and senior Chase Kretzler (285) finished fourth.

Rounding out the QV scoring, senior John McHenry took fifth at 127 and Castaldo ended up in sixth place at 121.

Tags: Quaker Valley