Five things to watch at the PIAA Class AA Southwest Regional wrestling tournament

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, February 22, 2018 | 6:48 PM

The PIAA Class AA Southwest Regional wrestling tournament is set to begin at 2 p.m. Friday at IUP's Kovalchick Conference and Athletic Complex.

There are plenty of storylines for this weekend's event. Here's a look at five things to watch:

1. Going after their fourth

Jefferson-Morgan senior Gavin Teasdale (32-2) and Ligonier Valley senior Robbie Patrick (27-0) are chasing their fourth regional titles to match their four district titles.

Teasdale, a Penn State recruit, is a heavy favorite to win the 126-pound weight class and build on his 154-2 career record. He surpassed the 150-win milestone on Feb. 16.

Patrick, a Virginia recruit, is the favorite to win the 170-pound title. Southmoreland senior Jaden Datz and McGuffey junior Christian Clutter are his WPIAL obstacles. Datz would be a semifinal match and Clutter a finals match.

2. Watch out for the WPIAL freshmen

It will be interesting to see how a couple freshmen from the WPIAL fare against the talented wrestlers from Districts 5 and 6.

At 106 pounds, Quaker Valley's Cody Redinger (31-1) is seeded No. 1. He is ranked No. 2 in the state by PaPowerWrestling.com. South Park freshman Joey Fischer (31-5) also has a chance to advance to Hershey.

At 113, Burrell freshman Ian Oswalt (39-7) has already faced a lot of tough competition this season. He is seeded second behind Mt. Union's Josh Boozel (30-3). Oswalt is behind Boozel and Glendale's Brock McMillan (35-2) in the state rankings.

Other freshmen to keep an eye on are Derry's Ty Cymmerman (38-3) at 120 and Burrell's A.J. Corrado (31-11) at 132.

Cymmerman is seeded third behind St. Joseph Catholic Academy's Zack Whitmer (36-2) and Westmont-Hilltop's Derek Christie (25-8).

Don't look too much into Corrado's record. All of his losses are to past PIAA qualifiers.

3. Still undefeated

There are four wrestlers in the tournament who still have perfect records this season.

Someone is going to leave with at least one loss.

The group includes Patrick at 170, Chestnut Ridge's Justin McGill (38-0) and West Branch's Derek Yingling (32-0) at 160 and Bishop McCort's Anthony Walters (27-0) at 220.

Will Burrell's Shaun Gates (34-9), the third seed at 160, play the spoiler?

4. Eyeing possible rematch

When Derry competed at the PIAA team tournament, Dom DeLuca, who was ranked No. 1 in the state at 220, was pinned by Huntingdon's Landor Fisher (37-4). After the pin Fisher jumped to his feet and flexed to the crowd.

DeLuca (42-3) has a picture of Fisher's celebration to remind him of the moment. The two could meet in the semifinals Saturday.

5. Possible matches to watch

Quaker Valley junior John Rocco Kazalas is in a good spot to make a run at the 132-pound title. Kazalas (32-4), seeded eighth, will face Forest Hills' Trey Templeton (25-12) in the first round and then could get a shot a top seed Jacob Powers (25-2) of St. Joseph's Academy.

• Southmoreland's Tyler Griffiths (18-5) and Ligonier Valley's Alec Caldwell (26-2) could meet in the semifinals.

• Frazier's Thayne Lawrence (23-1) could face Chestnut Ridge's Justin McCoy (38-1) in the 152 final.

• South Side Beaver heavyweight Bishop McCoy (35-1) might meet Bishop McCort's Josiah Jones (28-1) in the finals. Jones is an Oklahoma recruit.

Paul Schofield is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at pschofield@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Schofield_Trib.

Tags: Burrell, Frazier, Jefferson-Morgan, Ligonier Valley, Quaker Valley, South Side, Southmoreland