Penn Hills wrestlers build confidence with success at early season tournament

By: Josh Rizzo
Sunday, December 10, 2023 | 11:01 AM

Penn Hills wrestling coach Jeremy Packer set up the team’s schedule so things would get progressively tougher. Competing at the Southwest Kickoff Classic at Valley High School was the right way to build confidence.

Penn Hills had three wrestlers — Daemon Phipps (121 pounds), Julian Lavender (127) and Jacen Wright (189) — reach the finals of their respective weight classes. Phipps captured the championship, beating Valley’s Xavier Ross, 5-4 in the finals.

“I thought we did well for our first competition of the year,” Packer said. “We had seven kids earn medals. It wasn’t the traditional Eastern Area tournament, but our kids wrestled well enough to earn themselves spots in the top six. It’s been a while since Penn Hills has done that.”

Penn Hills finished in seventh place as a team with 107 points. Highlands won the team title with 187 points. The Indians also had their first dual match of the season Dec. 6. Penn Hills lost to Central Catholic, 66-6. Cameron Patterson picked up the lone win for the Indians via fall.

Patterson (145) leads the team with five wins. He finished last season 10-13.

“It shows that if you keep training and keep working hard, it will pay off,” Packer said. “Cam was in the toughest weight class at that tournament and ended up battling back to take third.”

Wright making the finals was a pleasant surprise for Packer. After taking a few years off, Wright returned to the team this season. Wright ended up getting pinned by the Kiski School’s Zachary Silnutzer in the finals.

“He wrestled well,” Packer said. “We didn’t have any expectations. These are some teams we hadn’t seen much before. We were just hoping for good quality matches.”

What stood out about Wright was his toughness.

“He’s very physical,” Packer said. “He’s never lost his physicality from when he wrestled before. He’s retained a lot of the skills he had from when he wrestled in junior high.”

Phipps, who missed the Central Catholic match due to illness, is expected to have a strong season for Penn Hills. In the finals, Phipps was able to finish off the match by showcasing his conditioning.

“He did his conditioning and was good on top,” Packer said. “He rode the kid for a period and a half to get the win. That’s how we train them and what we like to do. We want to hold them down and finish periods on top.”

Julian Lavender got pinned by Highlands’ Bryce Black in his finals match, but Packer said he is on the right path.

“I was really impressed with Julian,” Packer said. “He caught a bad break in the finals. He was winning that match and got thrown to his back and pinned. He was a period and a half away from winning the tournament. He learned that making a mistake could cost you the match.”

Tags: Penn Hills