Mt. Pleasant’s Greg Shaulis breaks out, reaches WPIAL wrestling semifinals
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Friday, February 23, 2024 | 9:48 PM
Mt. Pleasant freshman Stephan Predajna (left) hand fights with Burrell senior Nico Zanella during a 160-pound match at the WPIAL Class 2A championships Friday.
Frazier junior Ryan Celaschi picks up Laurel freshman Domenic Willis during a 160-pound match at the WPIAL Class 2A championships Friday.
Derry freshman Brady Brown pins Indiana freshman Jackson Higgins at 189 pounds at the WPIAL Class 2A championships Friday.
Southmoreland junior Landon Delara attempts to throw Derry senior Nate Barkley with a headlock during a 160-pound match at the WPIAL Class 2A championships Friday.
Mt. Pleasant’s Joe Longhi controls South Side’s Ryder Goe during a 139-pound bout at the WPIAL Class 2A championships Friday.
Belle Vernon’s Giovanni Weightan controls Indiana’s Tuscan Blystone in a 139-pound match at the WPIAL Class 2A championships Friday.
Mt. Pleasant’s Greg Shaulis attempts to take Montour’s Danny Brandl to his back at the WPIAL championships.
Burrell’s Cam Baker takes down Beth-Center’s Geoffrey Douglas during the WPIAL championships Friday.
When the Mt. Pleasant wrestling team was mentioned the past few seasons, Dayton Pitzer, Jamison Poklembo and Dylan Pitzer stole the headlines.
That didn’t bother senior Greg Shaulis.
That’s because he knows it’s his time to shine at the WPIAL Class 2A championships at Chartiers Valley.
Shaulis (32-4) advanced to the WPIAL Class 2A 152-pound semifinals by pinning Montour junior Denny Brandl and defeating Highlands junior Kyren Veasley, 4-2. He’ll face Elizabeth Forward senior Damon Michaels at 11:30 a.m. Saturday.
He also qualified for the PIAA Southwest Regional at Altoona on March 1 and 2.
“I’m just going to let it fly,” Shaulis said. “I wrestle in the toughest section, the toughest district and toughest regional in the state. The goal is to be wrestling March 8, 9 and 10 in Hershey.”
Shaulis said it didn’t bother him that the Pitzers and Poklembo earned a lot of the headlines.
“They deserve what they got because they are extraordinary wrestlers,” Shaulis said. “I was a little overlooked, but I learned a lot watching them and going against Jamison in practice. We make each other better. I want to get ready to compete in college.”
Shaulis said he’s interested in Saint Vincent, Seton Hill and Mercyhurst. He’d like to major in sports medicine.
“He’s a great kid,” Mt. Pleasant coach Tommy Dolde said. “He’s a hard worker, and I’m confident he can achieve his goals.”
Said Shaulis: “I want sports medicine to be part of my life, giving back to the sport. My mentality is better, and I know what works against younger because I’m older.”
Poklembo and Dylan Pitzer joined Shaulis in the semifinals.
Advancing for Derry were junior Anthony Mucci (114) and freshmen Mason Horwat (145) and Brady Brown (189).
Advancing for Belle Vernon were Giovanni Weightman (139) and Elijah Brown (172).
Action resumes 10 a.m. Saturday. The finals are slated for 3:30 p.m.
All the quarterfinal winners have qualified for the regionals. The top eight finishers in each weight class also advance.
WPIAL Class 2A team champion Burrell sent five to the semifinals and has seven left in the consolation round.
Still alive for a medal are Cam Baker (107), Luca Rosa (121), Cooper Hornack (139), Isaac Lacinski (172) and Luke Boylan (215).
Three teams advanced four to the semifinals. They were Bentworth, Burgettstown and Frazier. Central Valley, Derry, Indiana, McGuffey and Mt. Pleasant advanced three.
Highlands had two advance and Valley one.
Highlands junior Aiden Burford and Hopewell senior Isaiah Pisano each reached the 100-win milestone.
Burford got his in the first round when he pinned South Allegheny sophomore Dylan Mains.
He followed that with a 7-0 victory against Quaker Valley sophomore Matthew Danna in the quarterfinals and will face Burrell senior Hornack in the semifinals.
Burford is 32-9 and qualified for the Southwest Regional.
Pisano (33-2) got his milestone in the quarterfinals with a 6-0 win against Mt. Pleasant freshman Stephen Predajna. Earlier, he pinned Greensburg Salem junior Ethan Miller in the first round.
Pisano will face Indiana senior Will Turner in the semifinals.
Two Scotties pulled off upset victories in the first round.
Southmoreland junior Landon Delara defeated No. 5 Nate Barkley of Derry, 9-6, and sophomore Jake Govern pinned No. 4 seed Casey Wilson of Laurel.
Both, however, lost in the quarterfinals.
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.
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