PIAA Team Wrestling Playoffs – Day One Recap

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, February 11, 2016 | 10:51 PM

WPIAL qualifiers Belle Vernon, Canon McMillan and Kiski Area all won opening round matches at the PIAA Class AAA Team Wrestling Championships on Thursday evening at the GIANT Center in Hershey. The trio now advances to the:quarterfinal round scheduled to start at 2:00 pm on Friday.

District 7 champion Belle Vernon (16-1) easily defeated Exeter Township, the third place squad from District 3, 57-17. The Leopards recorded an impressive eight falls by Jacob Dunlop (106 pounds), Logan Seliga (113), Tyler Seliga (126), Brock Godzin (138), Jarod Verkleeren (145), Mitchell Hartman (160), Austin Bell (170) and Milton Kobaly (182). Belle Vernon will face Council Rock South, the second place team from District 1, in the quarterfinals. The Leopards remain on a much anticipated collision course with Bethlehem Catholic, a match that would pit the two top ranked teams in the state in a possible Friday night semifinal match.

Canon McMillan (11-2) also rolled to a relatively easy first round win over District 4 champion Jersey Shore, 46-21. With the match tied 15-15, the Big Macs won seven of the last eight bouts of the match to win going away. Canon-McMillan was led by Nick Konyk’s technical fall at 195 pounds and major decisions by Tommy James (182) and Michael Binni (106). The WPIAL runner-up will face a big challenge against District 1 champion Boyertown the quarterfinals. The Bears are ranked third in the state.

Kiski Area undoubtedly faced the evening’s biggest challenge and the Cavaliers (21-1) were up to the task. Trailing 28-7, the WPIAL’s third-place representative won five of the last six bouts, four by fall, to grab a 35-31 comeback win over District 3 champion Cumberland Valley, ranked #5 in the state and last year’s state runner-up. Falls by Vinny Romano (170), Tyler Worthing (182), Isaac Reid (285) and a major decision win by Darren Miller (106) shaved the Eagles’ lead to 31-29. Talented freshman Cam Connor then played the role of the hero, pinning Cumberland Valley’s Russell Zimmerman at 1:25 of the 113-pound bout for the final margin of victory. The Cavaliers will battle Nazareth, the District 11 runner-up and #4 ranked team in the state in the quarterfinal round.

NOTE: Kiski Area earned its trip to Hershey by easily defeating Pittsburgh City League champion Carrick, 64-11, on Monday night in a preliminary round state playoff contest.

Belle Vernon Leopards 57 – Exeter Township Eagles 17

120- Austin Desanto (Exeter Twp) TF Jake Fine (Belle Vernon) 22-7 1:44
126- Tyler Seliga (Belle Vernon) Fall James Harkness (Exeter Twp) 1:08
132- Zachary Hartman (Belle Vernon) Dec Brett Kulp (Exeter Twp) 5-4
138- Brock Godzin (Belle Vernon) Fall Justin Landis (Exeter Twp) 0:24
145- Jarod Verkleeren (Belle Vernon) Fall James Harkness (Exeter Twp) 2:29
152- Tyler Bagoly (Exeter Twp) Fall Derek Verkleeren (Belle Vernon) 3:29
160- Mitchell Hartman (Belle Vernon) Fall John Harrell (Exeter Twp) 3:11
170- Austin Bell (Belle Vernon) Fall Dominic Caccese (Exeter Twp) 1:55
182- Milton Kobaly (Belle Vernon) Fall Michael Crane (Exeter Twp) 1:07
195- Dennis Karas (Exeter Twp) Fall Hunter Ferrara (Belle Vernon) 3:46
220- Michael Fine (Belle Vernon) Dec Jonathan Greenleaf (Exeter Twp) 8-1
285- Billy Korber (Belle Vernon) Dec Oscar Daniels (Exeter Twp) 8-7
106- Jacob Dunlop (Belle Vernon) Fall Brandon Borton (Exeter Twp) 2:27
113- Logan Seliga (Belle Vernon) Fall Ryan Watts (Exeter Twp) 2:23

Canon McMillan Big Macs 46 – Jersey Shore Bulldogs 21

120- Hunter Zondory (Jersey Shore) Fall Skyler Adams (Canon McMillan) 2:41
126- Matt Oblock (Canon McMillan) For (Jersey Shore) For
132- Tim Hritsko (Canon McMillan) Dec Austin Bouse (Jersey Shore) 8-2
138- Anthony Matrangelo (Canon McMillan) Dec Allen Saar (Jersey Shore) 2-1
145- Declan Lewis (Canon McMillan) Dec Collin McLaughlin (Jersey Shore) 6-3
152- Seth Young (Jersey Shore) Dec Micah Kusturis (Canon McMillan) 7-4
160- Hayden Swartwood (Jersey Shore) Fall Blaze Kansco (Canon McMillan) 3:10
170- Thomas James (Canon McMillan) Major Hunter O`Connor (Jersey Shore) 13-4
182- James Zeremenko (Canon McMillan) Fall Brett Kepler (Jersey Shore) 3:45
195- Nick Konyk (Canon McMillan) TF Blake Neal (Jersey Shore) 16-0 2:34
220- Max Mason (Jersey Shore) Fall David Ainscough (Canon McMillan) 2:50
285- Brendan Furman (Canon McMillan) For (Jersey Shore) For
106- Michael Binni (Canon McMillan) Major Jeremy Zydallas (Jersey Shore) 14-6
113- Logan Macri (Canon McMillan) For (Jersey Shore) For

Kiski Area Cavaliers 35 – Cumberland Valley Eagles 31

120- Noah Levett , (Kiski) Major Jake Barrick , (Cumberland Valley) 16-3
126- Matt Siszka , (Kiski) Dec Connor Smith , (Cumberland Valley) 8-5
132- Wyatt Long , (Cumberland Valley) TF Collin Murray , (Kiski) 17-2 4:56
138- William Kaldes , (Cumberland Valley) Dec Joey Blumer , (Kiski) 2-1
145- Cal Reichart , (Cumberland Valley) Major Logan Pollick , (Kiski) 14-1
152- Felix Belga , (Cumberland Valley) Fall Danny Starr , (Kiski) 1:37
160- Quentin Milliken , (Cumberland Valley) Major Tom Starr , (Kiski) 8-0
170- Trent Cook , (Cumberland Valley) Fall Jordan Laero , (Kiski) 0:55
182- Vinny Romano , (Kiski) Fall Jake Schalles , (Cumberland Valley) 1:23
195- Tyler Worthing , (Kiski) Fall Austin Kupko , (Cumberland Valley) 1:22
220- Dayne Ross , (Cumberland Valley) Dec Chad Kuhn , (Kiski) 10-4
285- Isacc Reid , (Kiski) Fall Jake Black , (Cumberland Valley) 1:11
106- Darren Miller , (Kiski) Major Cade Reichart , (Cumberland Valley) 13-4
113- Cam Conner , (Kiski) Fall Russell Zimmerman , (Cumberland Valley) 1:25

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Burrell (12-5), the ten-time defending WPIAL Class AA champions, got off to a fast start at the PIAA Team Wrestling Championships with a 46-11 first-round victory over Lake Lehman on Thursday afternoon at the GIANT Center in Hershey. The Bucs now move on to a Friday quarterfinal match at noon against defending state champion Boiling Springs. The District 3 runner-up Bubblers advanced with a 33-27 upset win over Chestnut Ridge, the third ranked team in the state and District 5 champion.

Burrell’s big men built a 28-0 advantage in the win over the District 2 champion Knights by winning the first six bouts of the match. After Damon Greenwald kicked things off with a major decision at 152 pounds, falls by Shaun Gates (160 ponds), Nico Barone (170) and Robert Scherer (195) helped the Bucs jump out to the comfortable lead. Burrell wrestlers won ten of the thirteen contested bouts against Lake Lehman. Ethan Awes (126) also recorded a fall for the Bucs.

NOTE: The WPIAL’s two other Class AA state qualifiers were eliminated this past Monday night in preliminary round action. Second place Freedom (15-3) fell at home to Greenville, 42-24, while third place South Fayette (16-8) traveled to Fort LeBeouf, falling 47-12.

Burrell Buccaneers 46 – Lake Lehman Knights 11

Tags: Belle Vernon, Burrell, Canon-McMillan, Kiski School