High school wrestling notebook: Intriguing matchups possible during section tournaments

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, January 24, 2018 | 10:26 AM

The start of the postseason team wrestling tournaments got underway Tuesday with Trinity defeating Ambridge, 72-3, in the Section 4-AAA fifth-place match.

The rest of the section tournaments will be held Wednesday.

Two of the big questions are can anyone beat Burrell (5-5) in Class AA and is Kiski Area (11-1) the team to beat in Class AAA with the return of heavyweight Isaac Reid to the lineup?

Top-ranked Canon-McMillan (5-0), which might be without sophomore Gerrit Nijenhuis for personal reasons, defeated No. 2 Kiski Area before the holidays with Reid missing. Canon-McMillan also defeated No. 4 Waynesburg during the regular season. They could face each other for the Section 4-AAA title Wednesday.

Kiski Area and No. 3 Hempfield (15-0) could square off in the Section 1 final as long as Kiski Area defeats Greensburg Salem and Hempfield beats Armstrong. Action begins at 6 p.m. with the final scheduled around 7:15.

“Getting Isaac back makes them even tougher,” Hempfield coach Vince DeAugustine said. “The key to beating Kiski is getting bonus points and staying away from pins.”

A possible rematch in Section 2-AA between No. 2-ranked Derry (16-1) and No. 4 McGuffey (13-4) also could be one to watch. The two squared off last year with McGuffey winning the section title and Derry winning a week later in the quarterfinals.

“If we're healthy, I believe we can compete with anybody,” Derry coach Mike Weinell said. “Hopefully, we'll be close to full strength.”

Coaching milestones

McGuffey coach Mark Caffrey and Weinell reached victory milestones last week.

Caffrey reached the 400-win plateau when his Highlanders (13-4) defeated Beth-Center to clinch first place in Class AA, Section 1A. Caffrey is 400-90 in 34 seasons.

He trails only Fox Chapel's Ron Frank among active coaches. Frank (36 years) is at 405-278. He passed Seneca Valley coach Ken Lockey, who finished 392-158-13, earlier this year.

The all-time WPIAL leader is current Kiski Area assistant coach Chuck Tursky, who finished 505-143-2. Tursky and Caffrey, who is fourth, were teammates and roommates at Slippery Rock.

Second all-time is late Connellsville coach Tom Dolde Sr., who was 448-137-6. Frank is third.

Weinell reached the 100-win mark Saturday at the Strasburg, Va. Duals when the Trojans edged Liberty, 40-39.

Pins galore

The officials who worked the 17th annual Allegheny County Wrestling Tournament might have walked away with sore hands.

That's because they were constantly slapping the mat for pins.

There were 385 pins out of 640 matches over the two days.

Quaker Valley junior John Rocco Kazalas had the most pins in shortest amount of time — five pins in 8 minutes, 11 seconds.

Tigers win team title

North Allegheny walked away with the team title at the Allegheny County tournament even though the Tigers were 0-4 in the finals.

Falling in the finals were Max Stedeford (106), Freddy Junko (120) Jacob Downing (126) and Derek Devine (285).

The Tigers finished with 207.5 points and nine placewinners. Thomas Jefferson was second with 183 points and Hampton edged Bethel Park for third, 177-175.

Wrestlers to watch

Here are some wrestlers who opened some eyes at the ACWT over the weekend.

Quaker Valley freshman Connor Redinger and South Park freshman Joe Fischer performed well at 106 pounds. Redinger won the title and Fischer, who was seeded No. 1 and was upset in the opening round, placed third.

Two other freshmen to watch in Class AAA are Pine-Richland's Cole Spender, who won the 152-pound title, and Hampton's Justin Hart, who won at 182.

Spencer may be the top candidate to replace Phil Jurkovec at quarterback next fall for the Rams.

“I wouldn't say that,” Spencer said with a laugh. “I'm just hoping to get a shot at the position.”

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

Tags: Burrell, Canon-McMillan, Hempfield Area, Kiski School, McGuffey, North Allegheny, Pine-Richland, Quaker Valley, South Park, Waynesburg, Waynesburg Central