Top seeds mostly reign at WPIAL Class 2A wrestling

By: Ted Sarneso
Saturday, February 22, 2025 | 8:15 PM

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Although there were some surprises peppered in the semifinals of the WPIAL Class 2A wrestling championships Saturday at Chartiers Valley, the finals were another story.

Twelve of the 13 finals matches had the No. 1 seed in each weight class as a competitor, and all but one came away with a victory.

Elizabeth Forward freshman Preston Bubash, the No. 2 seed at 114, scored a takedown with 1 minute, 10 seconds left in the third period to secure an upset win over top seed junior Bruce Anderchak of Quaker Valley.

“It feels really good to win a gold medal,” said Bubash, who also said he knew he would take Anderchak down. “It was just a matter of time.”

Fellow Warrior, sophomore Lucas Boyer, won a 7-0 decision over Knoch’s Owen Layhew at 145.

In the only match that didn’t feature a top seed, No. 5 Ryan Celaschi of Frazier faced off against No. 2 seed Isaac Ivcic of Bentworth and lost by a 10-2 major decision. Celaschi defeated top seed Gabe Lilly of Ellwood City by a 5-2 decision in the semifinals.

Coming into Saturday’s action, there were three teams with four or more representatives in the semifinals.

Burrell came in with the most with five wrestlers. Three made the finals, but none came away with gold.

Seniors Calio Zanella (152) and Luke Boylan (215) were bounced in the semifinals.

Bucs sophomore Carter Thomas (121) was defeated in a 13-1 major decision by Avonworth junior Auston Kosanovic, who becomes the first WPIAL champion wrestler for the Lopes.

Burrell’s Julian Bertucci, a No. 3 seed, upset No. 2 Matt Danna of Quaker Valley on his way to the finals but fell short, losing a 10-4 decision to McGuffey junior Lucas Barr, who was the only Highlander to make the finals.

The Bucs’ Isaac Lacinski (172) lost a 10-6 decision to top seed Jackson Angelo of Frazier.

Even though not all the Burrell wrestlers were champions, they all advance as the top eight wrestlers in each weight class will try their hand in the SWAA Regional Tournament at Altoona High School on March 1.

For the Bucs, Bertucci, Zanella, Boylan, Thomas, Lacinski as well as Jacob Stewart (133), Ben Catullo (160) and Ayden Kun (285) advanced.

Three teams — Derry, Beth-Center and McGuffey — had four wrestlers make the semifinals.

Derry senior Anthony Mucci and sophomores Mason Horwat and Brady Brown claimed gold medals in back-to-back years.

Mucci scored a second-round takedown and held on for a 3-2 victory over Drake McClure of Bentworth at 133. Mucci earned a medal at 114 last year.

“It’s an honor to win gold medals in back-to-back seasons,” Mucci said. “I took the lead after the takedown. There was no point in me trying to score any more points and possibly give him an opportunity. I knew I wasn’t going to turn.”

Horwat won with a 21-5 tech fall over Frazier’s Jonah Erdely at 152. Horwat also won at a different weight class, claiming gold at 145 last year.

“I try to score as many points as possible, and the more you score, eventually your opponent will break,” Horwat said. “It feels good to win back-to-back, and it feels like I’m doing all the right things.”

Brown took down the surprise of the tournament: South Side senior Slayton Williams. Brown is proud of what he and his teammates accomplished over the course of two season.

“It’s exciting for the team,” Brown said. “It says a lot about what we’re building up in Derry.”

Brown wrestled Williams last season and knew what kind of wrestler he would face.

“He’s a good wrestler, so it didn’t surprise me that he was in the finals,” Brown said. “I try to go out and get as many points as possible, and I did it there.”

Brown defeated Williams by a 19-4 tech fall at 189 pounds, but Williams, who went from being unseeded all the way to the finals, was proud of how he wrestled over the weekend.

“I saw my bracket and felt good. I came in here without any doubts,” Williams said. “I didn’t think too much, I just went out and did it, which is what you have to do to be successful.”

Williams defeated the No. 2 seed, Ligonier Valley’s Jake Mundroff, in the semifinals.

“It was a good match,” Williams said. “I knew it was going to be a big challenge, him being the two seed. He was seeded there for a reason. I went out, controlled the match, wrestled my way and walked away with the win.”

Williams is looking forward to doing more of the same next weekend at Altoona.

“Going out there for one more run as a senior,” he said. “It would be nice to wrestle well enough to place top seven and make it Hershey and wrestle under the bright lights.”

Giovanni Beatrice was the only Trojan not to make the finals, falling in the 127-pound semis to Danny Smith of Burgettstown.

The Trojans who will travel to Altoona are Mucci, Horwat, Brown, Beatrice, Rocco Decario (107), Dylan Bateman (121), Brett Klim (139), Jeremiah Gess (145) and Ewan Olson (160).

Opening the championship matches at 107, top-seeded junior Javeon Chambers of Highlands defeated Darius Simmons from Burgettstown by a 10-0 major decision. Chambers and Simmons grappled to a stalemate at the beginning of the first round.

On their second square off, Chambers shot quickly to the feet of Simmons and got a take down, then followed up with a reversal. Chambers finished the match up with a takedown and another reversal in the third.

“When we were hand fighting, I recognized that his leg was open and I took advantage of it,” Chambers said. “I took a low shot and got ahold of his leg and just kept on circling to finish it.”

At 127, Central Valley’s top-seeded junior Antonio Boni won by a 13-2 major decision over Burgettstown’s Smith, who was the No. 3 seed.

Braedon Welsh of Fort Cherry was the top seed at 215 pounds, and he bested No. 6 seed Braiden Sudor of Carlynton by a 19-2 tech fall to claim gold. Sudor beat No. 2 seed Kolton Carlson form Laurel by a 5-2 decision in the semifinals.

Top seed Colin Whyte of West Greene continued his dominance at 285, winning a 10-4 decision over No. 2 seed Henry Babisch of Carlynton.