Penn Hills senior using extra energy to turn in memorable senior season

By: Josh Rizzo
Saturday, February 7, 2026 | 11:01 AM

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All of the pieces seem to have settled into place for Penn Hills wrestler Daemon Phipps. The 121-pound senior feels comfortable at his weight class and with his skillset.

By spending less energy cutting weight, Phipps has found he is more prepared when someone tries to drag him into deep waters in the third period. Phipps picked up a win by fall over McKeesport’s Isaiah Johnson on senior night Feb. 2 at home during a nonsection dual meet.

“It’s important to have that extra burst of energy during matches,” Phipps said. “Just my health is better. Having a healthy weight cut has allowed me to stay on top of things way better.”

Phipps improved to 21-5 during the Indians’ 48-24 loss to the Tigers. Phipps, who is 85-36 during his career, has stacked up a number of accolades this season.

He placed seventh at the Allegheny County Tournament and won the Bo Wood Tournament in Indiana and the Eastern Area Invitational at Gateway. Penn Hills coach Jeremy Packer said Phipps bumping up from 114 pounds has made a big impact.

Phipps went 1-2 at the WPIAL Class 3A tournament at that weight last season.

“By the end of the year, the weight cut was getting to him, and you could tell it was affecting him,” Packer said. “It was affecting his performance. He’s just a different wrestler this year, and he is more comfortable with it. We’re always putting him out there for the contested match. He loves to wrestle.”

Phipps, who was pinned 19 times during his first three seasons, hasn’t been stuck this season. All five of his losses have come by decision.

“I feel like I improved so much from last year,” Phipps said. “I’ve been going the distance in all my matches. I haven’t been bonused this year. I’m really excited to see how far I can go.”

While Penn Hills (0-4) didn’t win any duals this season because of low numbers, the Indians showed they have competitive wrestlers in the lineup. During the loss to McKeesport, Penn Hills won four of the five contested bouts.

Xavier Nicholas (127 pounds) and Tony Gay-Scott (172) won by fall against the Tigers. Zakariyaa Lahujjiddin (285) won by injury default.

Packer said he hopes to build off the three or four wrestlers the team returns from this season to fill things out next year.

“We actually have 14 or 15 kids on the roster, so we’re only losing three of them,” Packer said. “We’re hoping we can add four or five from junior high. We’ll see what else we get. We get a lot of first-year kids who want to try it. We’re hoping we can build a deeper team next year.”

Phipps said he was happy to get a pin in his final home match.

“It’s amazing for all my friends and family here watching me,” Phipps said. “I love putting on a show for them.”

Tags: Penn Hills