South Hills Record notebook: New look for Baldwin wrestling

By: Ray Fisher
Saturday, November 22, 2025 | 11:01 AM

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The Baldwin wrestling program has a youthful look to it this season.

Baldwin product Gehrig Hutchison, who graduated from Gannon in 2023, is the Highlanders’ new coach. He wrestled at both Baldwin and Gannon.

Baldwin has nine returning starters on this year’s team: juniors Mikey Griffiths (139), Jason Alex (127), Mahbobullah “Mo” Amini (215), Gavin Ulmer (189), Tyler Webb (152) and Dylan Flemming (127), senior Parraish Brinson (160) and sophomores Aiden Guthrie (121) and Teague Toki (133). Griffiths is the team captain.

“I expect to get better every day,” Hutchison said. “I think we can be competitive with any team in the section. We have a solid group of kids who can make an impact on an individual level.

“We co-op with neighboring Brentwood High School, so we have a few Brentwood wrestlers who are expected to compete in our lineup. Notable Brentwood names include Jason Alex, Jordan Lapen and Ayden Miller.”

Shamil Islamov, brother of Ramil Islamov, the all-time wins leader at Baldwin, also is joining the lineup as a 114-pound freshman.

“Shamil is coming off a sixth-place finish at junior high states last year,” Hutchison said. “He is expected to have an immediate impact in the WPIAL and at the state level.”

More than half (14) of the Highlanders’ 27-member roster are juniors, who are joined by five seniors, five sophomores and three freshmen.

Hutchison was an assistant coach in the Gannon wrestling program last season and spent three years (2022-25) as strength and conditioning coach for Gannon’s women’s wrestling team.

He is being helped out by assistant head coach Blake Toki, assistant Jerry Klodowski and volunteer assistant Don Kaecher.

Honors for TJ volleyball

Four members of the Thomas Jefferson girls volleyball team were honored as all-section selections in Class 3A this season — sophomore Riley Burnsworth, a 5-foot-5 setter, juniors Sophia Janosko, a 5-4 libero, and Viola MacNeil, a 5-10 outside hitter, and senior Hannah Stewart, a 5-10 middle hitter.

Janosko has started at the libero position for two years. She also is a multi-year starter on the softball team.

“I think the team really worked together and created a bond that helped us have great chemistry on the court,” Janosko said. “We worked really hard over the summer, and we had a majority of our team back from last year.

“We have four coaches that really put in their time and effort to see us succeed. Our head coach Courtney Frost started a new (concept) this year, that is to have a mind of a goldfish. I think this helps us during games to calm down and refocus, so we can start a rally or break our opponent’s runs.”

The TJ netters breezed to the Section 3-3A title with a 12-0 record this year and finished with a 14-3 regular-season record, losing to Class 4A opponents Peters Township and North Allegheny and 3A Trinity.

TJ won by a 3-0 score against every section team except for one match against Ringgold and one against Laurel Highlands.

The fourth-seeded Jaguars defeated No. 13 Central Valley, 3-0, in the first round of the WPIAL playoffs and lost a 3-1 decision to No. 5 Hampton in the quarterfinals.

Frequently final 4

Thomas Jefferson is certainly no stranger to the WPIAL football semifinals.

Since Bill Cherpak was hired as TJ’s coach in 1995, the football team qualified for the playoffs all 31 years and reached at least the semifinals 27 times.

The Jaguars advanced to the Class 4A semifinal round again this season, losing 28-3 to McKeesport on Nov. 7 at Chartiers Valley.

Cherpak’s career record in semifinals is 13-15. That includes a win last season over Aliquippa when TJ snapped the Quips’ record 16-year streak of reaching the WPIAL finals with a 38-21 semifinal victory.

The four times TJ fell short of reaching the semifinals were after a first-round loss in 1995 and quarterfinal losses in 1997, 2011 and ‘23.

All-star selections

Two senior members of the Thomas Jefferson girls volleyball team were named to play in the We Serve First Foundation’s fourth annual all-star classic Dec. 6 at Kiski Area High School.

TJ’s Hannah Stewart, a 5-foot-10 middle hitter, and Gianna Machi, a 5-5 libero/defensive specialist, were selected to participate.

The evening of volleyball will highlight the skills of 40 high school seniors from 30 schools in the Alle-Kiski Valley and beyond.

Winning habit

The WPIAL football playoff schedule included a couple of matchups with teams that know how to win.

Four of the five programs with the most victories in league history — all with more than 700 victories — were paired off Nov. 7 in two games.

That included a Class 4A semifinal pitting WPIAL wins leader Aliquippa (797) against New Castle (769), the team with the third-most victories in league history. But also Jeannette (794), with the second-most wins, had a Class A quarterfinal against Clairton (748), which ranks fifth all-time.

Combined, the four programs also have won 55 district titles.

TJ wins on ice

Junior forward Michael Burns had two goals and an assist and Lucas Blose, also a junior forward, finished with a goal and three assists to lead Thomas Jefferson to a 6-4 win over Franklin Regional in the PIHL Class 3A division.

Two defensemen, senior Jacob Simon and sophomore Ty Hartman, and senior forward Cam Lorenzi also scored goals for TJ, which improved to 4-3 overall.

Numbers game

Did you know that two players on the TJ football team were assigned uniform No. 99 this season?

The Jaguars had 100 team members in 2025 and the uniform numbers started with No. 1.

Tags: Baldwin, Thomas Jefferson