Quaker Valley wrestlers make impact at WPIAL team tournament

By: Ray Fisher
Sunday, February 9, 2025 | 11:01 AM

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Quaker Valley advanced to the WPIAL Class 2A wrestling dual meet tournament as the No. 4 seed.

The Quakers finished with a 2-2 record in the tournament, beating Elizabeth Forward, 54-18, and Freedom, 48-23, before suffering semifinal and consolation-round losses to No. 1 Burrell, 55-13, and No. 3 McGuffey, 44-21.

“I thought the team battled hard and had some nice individual wins,” QV coach Austin Heinl said. “It may not be the results we trained for, but I’m sure we would feel a lot worse if we didn’t earn our way to this point.”

QV was led by senior Bruce Anderchak at 114 pounds and freshman Brennan Breisinger at 215/285, both with 4-0 tournament records.

“Bruce and Brennan went undefeated in the district duals,” Heinl said. “Bruce beat the No. 2-ranked wrestler in the WPIAL from Elizabeth Forward. Brennan beat the No. 1 wrestler in the WPIAL from Burrell.

“Bruce and Brennan have some similarities with their styles of wrestling even with their size difference. The techniques they use are, obviously, different. Each uses his length to their advantage in their wrestling. They both have long arms that help them dominate and pin their opponents in the top position. They both are also pretty agile on their feet. Both are able to move faster than most of their opponents to get takedowns.”

Anderchak registered two quick falls — 30 and 49 seconds — and two shutouts (1-0, 3-0) to go to 38-2 on the year. He has been dominant with 31 wins in a row that included 16 pins, five technical falls, two major decisions, four decisions and four forfeits.

Breisinger clicked for two pins, an 11-8 decision and added a forfeit victory to improve to 29-9. He has posted a 16-4 record with six pins and five technical falls since the start of the new year.

“I was happy with my overall performance,” Breisinger said. “I had to wrestle up at heavyweight for one match and won a tough match against a state qualifier for Burrell. My goal hasn’t changed since our first tournament of the year. I want to qualify for the state tournament as a freshman. There’s plenty I still need to work on, but I’m feeling more comfortable wrestling at the high school level now.

“I’m very grateful for the support system I’ve had around me during the season, which has helped me become a better wrestler. I have exceeded my initial expectations for this season, and I’m very thankful for my coaches that have helped me do that.”

QV junior Matt Danna (139/145) and seniors Jack Diemert (152) and Marcus Richey (172/189) won three times each to boost their season records to 38-4, 30-9 and 36-10, respectively.

“Matt had a good showing going 3-1,” Heinl said. “He beat the No. 2-ranked wrestler in the WPIAL from Burrell and lost a close match against the No. 1 wrestler from McGuffey.”

Anderchak and Richey ranked one-two in falls this season with 18 and 17, followed by Danna (16) and Diemert (15).

Sophomore Trey Dunlap (172), senior Sebastian Juarez-Safran (285), junior Eoin Parnell (121) and sophomore Harper Sipes (133) picked up two victories apiece at the district tournament.

Dunlap, Juarez-Safran and Sipes secured two falls apiece, and Parnell won two major decisions. Dunlap and Parnell snagged their 20th victories, and Sipes went to 19-13.

“I’m glad our wrestlers got to compete against quality competition in those matches,” Heinl said. “Those matches will provide a lot of experience and feedback heading into the individual season.”

Burrell defeated No. 2 Derry, 33-27, in a battle of Westmoreland County schools Feb. 1 to claim its 19th WPIAL title and 17th in 19 years. The Bucs improved to 14-1 overall.

Derry (18-3), which suffered its first loss to a WPIAL opponent this season, beat McGuffey (16-5) by a 46-21 score in the semifinal round.

QV ended the WPIAL team competition with a 12-6 record. The Quakers have made the playoffs eight years in a row and have reached the semifinals seven consecutive years.

“The team fought really hard,” Breisinger said. “We didn’t get the results we wanted, but we were missing some wrestlers from the lineup. I’m happy we made it to the semifinals.”

Next up for the Quakers, who were WPIAL champs in 2022, is an appearance in the Class 2A North section tournament Feb. 15 at Keystone Oaks.

Tags: Quaker Valley