PIAA Team Wrestling Championships – Day One Highlights

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, February 9, 2012 | 5:48 PM

The WPIAL saved its strongest team for last, the Class AAA District 7 champion Canon-McMillan Big Macs (20-0). After a rough day that resulted in four successive losses at Hershey’s GIANT Center for WPIAL participants, the state’s top ranked team cruised past District 11 runner-up and #9-ranked Parkland for a 53-10 victory tonight at the 2011-12 PIAA Team Wrestling Championships.

With the dual meet starting at 160 pounds, the Big Macs’ upper weights won the first six bouts of the dual meet to jump out to a 25-0 lead. Parkland (19-4) then won its only contested bout at 106 pounds, a 10-0 major decision by returning state runner-up and #1-ranked Ethan Lizak over Brendon Price. Not to be outdone by their larger counterparts, the remaining Canon-McMillan lightweights promptly reeled off another half dozen wins before head coach Chris Mary decided to forfeit the final bout at 152 pounds to the Trojans.

Registering falls for the Big Macs were William Pihiou (junior, 160 pounds), Cody Klempay (senior, 285 pounds), Dalton Macri (sophomore, 113 pounds), and Soloman Chishko (sophomore, 138 pounds). Senior Dario Dobbin added a technical fall at 145 pounds. Major decisions were recorded by Zach Thomas (senior, 182 pounds), Conner Schram (junior, 120 pounds), and Colt Shorts (senior, 126 pounds). Contributing victories by decision were Cody Wiercioch (junior, 170 pounds), Ian Binotto (senior, 195 pounds), Alex Campbell (junior, 220 pounds), and Malachi Krenzelak (sophomore, 132 pounds).

Canon-McMillan advances to the quarterfinals Friday at 2:00pm against District 2 champion Delaware Valley (18-4). The #12-ranked Warriors had to win the final bout of their first round dual meet with DuBois to pull out 28-25 nail-biter over the Beavers. DuBois and Parkland will meet in a first round consolation match tomorrow morning at 10:00am.

In the other two first round Class AAA matches of the first day’s fourth and final session, #2-ranked Central Dauphin had little problem getting past Norristown, 47-20, and LaSalle College defeated Jersey Shore, 48-27.

NOTES – Schram (12-0), Chishko (28-0), and Wiercioch (29-0), all ranked #1 in the state in their respective weight classes, continued their unblemished seasons for the Big Macs. Central Dauphin, the District 3 champion, extended its state-record win streak to 94 matches. The Rams are attempting to win an amazing fifth state title in a row. Barring an upset of major proportions in the quarterfinals, Canon-McMillan and Central Dauphin should meet in the semi-finals Friday night at 8:00pm for the second straight year. The Rams flipped the Big Macs, 36-20, last season. Cody Klempay, Canon-McMillan’s senior heavyweight recently told MSA’s Greg Warnock that a Central Dauphin flag has hung as a reminder of that loss all season long in the team’s wrestling room. Check out the entire interview at the MSA Sports Center Stage video link on our front page.

North Allegheny, Greensburg-Salem Suffer First Round Losses

The WPIAL’s second and third place Class AAA teams, North Allegheny and Greensburg Salem, both dropped first round dual meets at the 2011-12 PIAA Team Wrestling Championships this evening at the GIANT Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania. North Allegheny (17-5) lost, 27-20, to District 10 champion McDowell (15-1) for the second time in less than three weeks. Greensburg Salem (13-5), wrestling at the same time and just two mats away from its WPIAL counterpart, was no match for District 1 champion Owen J. Roberts (15-0), losing 43-21.

In the second bout of the dual meet, North Allegheny junior Alex DiCiantis recorded a 13-6 decision at 170 pounds over Anthony Forne to tie the match at 3-3. The next bout at 182 pounds featured two of the top wrestlers in the state, North Allegheny’s #2-ranked Jarred Lux and the Trojans’ Khlique Harris, a senior ranked at #3. On January 21st, Lux recorded a 3-1 win over Harris in the Tigers’ 28-23 loss to McDowell. This time it was Harris getting the best of the North Allegheny senior, recording an 8-5 win and handing Lux (31-1) his first loss of the season to give the Trojans a 6-3 lead.

Tigers’ freshman Zach Smith scored a 7-2 decision at 195 pounds over Andrew Bradley to tie the score again at 6-6, but McDowell would win the next two matches at 220 and 285 pounds to give McDowell a 12-6 advantage. North Allegheny’s lightweights, sophomores Scotty Stossel and Dominic Forys registered major decision at 106 pounds and 113 pounds to give the Tigers’ their first lead of the evening, 14-12. Another North Allegheny sophomore, Blynn Shideler, won by decision at 120 pounds over Coleman Cousins to give the Tigers their biggest lead of the dual meet, 17-12.

McDowell then recorded wins by decision and major decision in the next two bouts to take a 19-17 lead. North Allegheny sophomore Jesse Rodgers chipped in at 138 pounds with an 8-1 decision over Logan Hammer to give the Tigers their final lead at 20-19. McDowell closed out the win with major decisions at 145 and 152 pounds to give the Trojans the  seven point win, the largest margin enjoyed by either team all evening.

North Allegheny will try to bounce back Friday morning at 10:00am in a first round consolation bout against the third place team out of District 3, Big Spring (17-4). At 2:00pm on Friday, McDowell, ranked #4 in the state, will take on #3-ranked Easton, a 48-13 winner over Big Spring.

Greensburg Salem sophomore 170-pounder Anthony Cable gave his team its only lead of the evening, 6-5, with a first period pin of Owen J. Roberts’ Tyler Rogers. The Golden Lions, however, could only muster three more wins over the final twelve bouts as the #5-ranked Wildcats won going away, 43-21.

Joining Cable in the win column for Greensburg Salem were juniors Zach Voytek (152 pounds) and Tanner Hahn (220 pounds), both by fall, and senior Austin Caldwell, a 4-2 overtime winner at 106 pounds over Aston White.

Greensburg Salem will wrestle Friday morning at 10:00am on the mat right next to North Allegheny. The Golden Lions will face District 6 champion Central Mountain (15-1). Owen J. Roberts moves forward to the quarterfinals to face #7-ranked Mechanicsburg, a 30-23 winner over Central Mountain.

NOTES – North Allegheny and Greensburg Salem will both have to win their next two matches in order to meet in a third round consolation dual meet on Saturday morning. The two teams have not faced each other this season. McDowell’s top wrestler, senior Steve Spearman, ranked #2 in the state at 138 pounds and a state champion as a sophomore, did not wrestle against North Allegheny.

Bison Stampede Jefferson-Morgan, 41-27

WPIAL Class AA runner-up Jefferson-Morgan (15-3) got off to a good start, winning four of the dual meet’s first six bouts to build a 21-12 lead over District 10 champion Fort LeBoeuf (11-2). But the Bison would win the next six matches in succession, including three by way of pin and one by technical fall, to speed away from the Rockets, 41-27, Thursday at the 2012 PIAA Team Wrestling Championships at the GIANT Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
With the match beginning at 195 pounds, the two squads traded falls with Jefferson-Morgan senior Joe Phillips and Fort Leboeuf junior 220-pounder Evan Daley both flattening their opponents to knot the score at 6-6. The Rockets then built a 15-6 lead with a third period pin by senior heavyweight Brian Rush and a close 4-2 decision by Brendan Howard (freshman, 106 pounds) over the Bison’s Tyler Kuzma.

Fort LeBoeuf sophomore George McGuire then stunned Jefferson-Morgan’s John Demaske, ranked #1 in the WPIAL and boasting a 27-1 record entering the bout at 113 pounds. With just one second remaining in the first period, McGuire pinned the Rockets’ sophomore with a cradle to cut the Jefferson-Morgan lead to 15-12. The Rockets bounced back with their own fall as sophomore Jason Miller pinned his opponent midway through the first period in the 120-pound bout to give Jefferson-Morgan a nine point edge.
The Rockets’ lead slipped away quickly, however, as the Bison piled up 29 points over the next half dozen matches to lead 41-21. The dual meet then culminated with Jefferson-Morgan junior Dustin Conti (33-0 and ranked #1 in the WPIAL) receiving a forfeit at 170 pounds and no bout being contested at 182 pounds.

Jefferson-Morgan falls into the consolation round to battle District 3 runner-up Bermudian Springs (25-3) tomorrow morning at 8:00am. Fort Lebeouf advances to a quarterfinal showdown at noon tomorrow with District 11 champion Bethlehem Catholic, ranked #1 in the state and the prohibitive favorite to win this tournament for a second straight year. Bethlehem Catholic (9-0) rolled over Bermudian Springs in the first round, 47-9.

NOTES – With both WPIAL Class AA participants, Jefferson-Morgan and Burrell, falling into the consolation round, the 2007-08 Burrell team remains as the WPIAL’s only Class AA state duals champion. The PIAA held its first team tournament during the 1998-99 season. The other Session #2 first round matches in Class AA ended with Brookville demolishing Lower Moreland, 72-0, and Wyalusing Valley defeating West Branch, 36-15.

Burrell Drops First Round Match to Pen Argyl, 42-27

The WPIAL Class AA team champion Burrell Bucs (15-9) knew District 11 runner-up Pen Argyl would be looking for revenge. One year removed from beating the Green Knights not once, but twice, at last season’s state team dual meet tournament, Burrell fell 42-27 this afternoon to a determined Pen Argyl squad at the 2011-12 PIAA Team Wrestling Championships at the GIANT Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

After Burrell grabbed an early 3-0 lead on the strength of a 2-0 decision by senior J.J. Davidson over Andrew Salamone at 195 pounds, Pen Argyl (21-4) ran off six straight victories to jump out to a commanding 30-3 advantage. But three successive major decisions by the Bucs’ Steven Edwards (sophomore, 132 pounds), Phil Marra (junior, 138 pounds) and Corey Falleroni (sophomore, 145 pounds) slowed the Green Knights’ momentum, cutting the margin to 30-15 with four bouts remaining in the dual meet.
Unfortunately for the Bucs, that’s as close as they would get to recapturing the lead as Pen Argyl junior Mike Racciato, ranked #2 among PIAA Class 145-pounders with an impressive 34-1 individual season record, jumped up to 152 pounds and scored a third period fall over Burrell senior Kevin Best to seal the victory for the Green Knights.

Burrell drops into the consolation bracket for an early 8:00am, Friday morning meeting with District 2 champion Western Wayne (15-7). Pen Argyl, meanwhile, moves on to the quarterfinals to take on District 5 champion Bedford (16-0) tomorrow at noon. Bedford defeated Western Wayne in the first round, also by a 42-27 score.

NOTES – As previously noted, Burrell defeated Pen Argyl twice at last year’s team tournament in Hershey, 35-27 in the first round and also 36-29 in a fourth round consolation match. Despite the loss, Burrell did finish off the afternoon’s action on a positive note as sophomore Derrick Beattie (170 pounds) and Dakota DesLauriers recorded falls for the Bucs in the final two bouts of the dual meet. DesLauriers, a junior ranked #2 in the state at 182 pounds, continued his perfect season, improving his individual mark to 32-0. The Bucs will now have to win five straight dual meets in the consolation bracket to match last season’s third place finish at Hershey. The other two Session #1 first round matches in Class AA had Central Columbia defeating Mount Union, 34-21, and Boiling Springs nipping Reynolds, 31-30.

Day 1 WPIAL Box Scores:

Canon-McMillan 53 – Parkland 10
106 Ethan Lizak (Parkland) Major Brendon Price (Canon-McMillan) 10-0
113 Dalton Macri (Canon-McMillan) Fall Tom Yankanich (Parkland) 1:43
120 Conner Schram (Canon-McMillan) Major Ian Evans (Parkland) 14-5
126 Colton Shorts (Canon-McMillan) Major Billy Hoh (Parkland) 10-1
132 Malachi Krenzelak (Canon-McMillan) Dec Grady Millick (Parkland) 3-1; OT
138 Solomon Chishko (Canon-McMillan) Fall Josh Ortman (Parkland) 1:38
145 Dario Dobbin (Canon-McMillan) TF Michael Marano (Parkland) 15-0
152 Bryson Berard (Parkland) For (Canon-McMillan) For
*160 William Pihiou (Canon-McMillan) Fall Pablo Ramos (Parkland) 4:24
170 Cody Wiercioch (Canon-McMillan) Dec Nezar Haddad (Parkland) 9-2
182 Zach Thomas (Canon-McMillan) Major Ryan Irwin (Parkland) 9-0
195 Ian Binotto (Canon-McMillan) Dec Dennis Atiyeh (Parkland) 5-3
220 Alex Campbell (Canon-McMillan) Dec Shaun Heist (Parkland) 5-0
285 Cody Klempay (Canon-McMillan) Fall Joe Canelon (Parkland) 2:23
* – match began at 160 pounds

McDowell 27 – North Allegheny 20  (Class AAA First Round)
106 Scotty Stossel (North Allegheny) Major Benji Yates (McDowell) 12-4
113 Domenic Forys (North Allegheny) Major Paul Deitz (McDowell) 11-3
120 Blynn Shideler (North Allegheny) Dec Coleman Cousins (McDowell) 4-2
126 Noah Burkhart (McDowell) Dec Salvatore Peluso (North Allegheny) 4-0
132 Nick Gibson (McDowell) Major Mike Wanner (North Allegheny) 16-5
138 Jesse Rodgers (North Allegheny) Dec Logan Hammer (McDowell) 8-1
145 Cody Nolan (McDowell) Major Vincent Leschak (North Allegheny) 13-4
152 Tyree Spearman (McDowell) Major Ben Schweiger (North Allegheny) 20-7
*160 Jimmy Paulson (McDowell) Dec Colton Byerly (North Allegheny) 5-3
170 Alex DeCiantis (North Allegheny) Dec Anthony Forne (McDowell) 13-6
182 Khlique Harris (McDowell) Dec Jarred Lux (North Allegheny) 8-5
195 Zach Smith (North Allegheny) Dec Andrew Bradley (McDowell) 7-2
220 Luke Dehart (McDowell) Dec Kevin Clemens (North Allegheny) 6-3
285 Scott Augustine (McDowell) Dec Dan Watson (North Allegheny) 5-2
* – match began at 160 pounds

Owen J Roberts 43 – Greensburg-Salem 21  (Class AAA First Round)
106 Austin Caldwell (Greensburg Salem) Dec Aston White (Owen J Roberts) 4-2; OT
113 Derek Gulotta (Owen J Roberts) Major Carl Kelley (Greensburg Salem) 12-1
120 Colby Frank (Owen J Roberts) Dec Austin Shaw (Greensburg Salem) 9-2
126 Dominick Petrucelli (Owen J Roberts) TF Graham Schaller (Greensburg Salem) 15-0
132 Demetri D'orsaneo (Owen J Roberts) Fall Tyler Reinhart (Greensburg Salem) 2:57
138 Adam Moser (Owen J Roberts) Major Zach Mattucci (Greensburg Salem) 16-5
145 Andrew Kinney (Owen J Roberts) Dec Zachary Sistek (Greensburg Salem) 11-5
152 Zach Voytek (Greensburg Salem) Fall Daniel Garges (Owen J Roberts) 3:38
*160 Michael Lenge (Owen J Roberts) TF Trey Hahn (Greensburg Salem) 15-0
170 Anthony Cable (Greensburg Salem) Fall Tyler Rogers (Owen J Roberts) 1:29
182 Gordon Bolig (Owen J Roberts) Dec Josh Falatovich (Greensburg Salem) 7-3
195 James Warta (Owen J Roberts) Major Raistlin Willett (Greensburg Salem) 11-0
220 Tanner Hahn (Greensburg Salem) Fall Nick DeAngelo (Owen J Roberts) 0:35
285 Brad Trego (Owen J Roberts) Fall Nicholas Klofta (Greensburg Salem) 0:55
* – match began at 160 pounds

Fort Leboeuf 41 – Jefferson-Morgan 27 (Class AA First Round)
106 Brendan Howard (Jefferson-Morgan) Dec Tyler Kuzma (Fort Leboeuf) 4-2
113 George Mcguire (Fort Leboeuf) Fall John Demaske (Jefferson-Morgan) 1:59
120 Jason Miller (Jefferson-Morgan) Fall Adam Borgia (Fort Leboeuf) 1:05
126 Brandon Puckly (Fort Leboeuf) TF Shane Black (Jefferson-Morgan) 19-2
132 Brad Malinowski (Fort Leboeuf) Dec Ryan Zalar (Jefferson-Morgan) 6-3
138 Riley Smith (Fort Leboeuf) Fall Alexander Agnew (Jefferson-Morgan) 1:04
145 kody pace (Fort Leboeuf) Fall Joe Arezmendi (Jefferson-Morgan) 0:46
152 Taylor Harrington (Fort Leboeuf) Fall Jason Perkins (Jefferson-Morgan) 1:21
160 Taylor Fox (Fort Leboeuf) Dec Brandon Lesko (Jefferson-Morgan) 6-2
170 Dustin Conti (Jefferson-Morgan) For (Fort Leboeuf) For
182 (Jefferson-Morgan) (Fort Leboeuf)
*195 Joe Phillips (Jefferson-Morgan) Fall Jake Heynoski (Fort Leboeuf) 3:51
220 Evan Daley (Fort Leboeuf) Fall Ryan Mayfield (Jefferson-Morgan) 1:10
285 Brian Rush (Jefferson-Morgan) Fall Nate Conti (Fort Leboeuf) 4:56
* – match began at 195 pounds

Pen Argyl 42 – Burrell 27 (Class AA First Round)
106 Philip Meyers (Pen Argyl) TF Jason Roberts (Burrell) 19-2
113 Matt Williams (Pen Argyl) For (Burrell) For
120 Tyler Knapik (Pen Argyl) Fall Logan Fitzmaurice (Burrell) 1:48
126 Andrew Sutton (Pen Argyl) Fall Carl Samuels (Burrell) 1:52
132 Steven Edwards (Burrell) Major Stephen Burriesci (Pen Argyl) 16-7
138 Phillip Marra (Burrell) Major Ryan Lobb (Pen Argyl) 10-0
145 Corey Falleroni (Burrell) Major Jarett Stoelzl (Pen Argyl) 14-1
152 Michael Racciato (Pen Argyl) Fall Kevin Best (Burrell) 4:54
160 JD Rabenold (Pen Argyl) Fall Zachery Smith (Burrell) 1:47
170 Derrick Beattie (Burrell) Fall Kyler Kutzler (Pen Argyl) 4:53
182 Dakota Deslauriers (Burrell) Fall Dylan Evans (Pen Argyl) 3:13
*195 John Davidson (Burrell) Dec Andrew Salamone (Pen Argyl) 2-0
220 Brady Mutton (Pen Argyl) Dec Cory Klems (Burrell) 6-3
285 Kirby Mutton (Pen Argyl) Major Joseph Naviglia (Burrell) 10-1
* – match began at 195 pounds

Tags: Burrell, Canon-McMillan, Greensburg Salem, Jefferson-Morgan