Waynesburg leads WPIAL contingent with 4 in semifinals at Powerade

By: Greg Macafee
Friday, December 27, 2019 | 11:09 PM

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After an exciting Friday of wrestling, the field for the semifinals at the 2019 Powerade wrestling tournament is set.

Four teams from the WPIAL find themselves in the top 10 teams and each team has at least two wrestlers remaining in the championship round. In total, 23 WPIAL wrestlers made it to Saturday’s semifinals.

Waynesburg sits in third and leads the group of WPIAL teams with four wrestlers as Mac Church (106), Rocco Welsh (126), Wyatt Henson (138) and Luca Augustine (160) are all still in the hunt for a Powerade title.

Canon-McMillan moved up two spots after the quarterfinals and sits in fourth with two wrestlers, Gerrit Nijenhuis (182) and Giomar Ramos (285), still contending for a championship.

The Seneca Valley Raiders also have two wrestlers remaining in the championship round with Alejandro Herrera-Rondon looking to protect his No. 1 seed in the 132-pound weight class and 138-pounder Chanz Shearer continuing his tear through his weight class. He earned three pins, with his third coming in 47-seconds to punch his ticket to the semis.

The Kiski Area Cavaliers also find themselves among the top 10 teams as they sit in eighth place with two wrestlers remaining in the championship bracket.

Jack Blumer continued his dominating senior season on Friday and earned two pins, along with a 7-0 decision over Camden Catholic’s (N.J.) Harrison Hinojosa to earn his spot in the semis. Heavyweight Stone Joseph also earned a semifinal spot with three pins on Friday as he gets a matchup with No. 1 seed Isaiah Vance from Hempfield on Saturday.

No. 1 seeds stand tall

To begin the tournament, the WPIAL had eight wrestlers listed as No. 1 seeds in their respective weight classes and seven of those wrestlers still remain.

Mac Church, Alejandro Herrera-Rondon, North Hills’ Sam Hillegas (138), Jack Blumer, Gerrit Nijenhuis, Mt. Lebanon’s Luke Stout (195) and Isaiah Vance all remain as top contenders in their bracket.

Seneca Valley’s Dylan Chappell was knocked off in the round of 16 by Aidan Lewis from Cedar Cliff in a 3-1 sudden victory decision.

Must see wrestling

For fans looking to catch some exciting wrestling, Canon-McMillan is the place to be Saturday as the semifinals get started.

Some of the top wrestlers in the WPIAL will test themselves against some of the best from across the country, but they will also test themselves against each other. Here are a few matches to keep an eye out for tomorrow.

285: No. 1 Isaiah Vance, Hempfield vs. No. 5 Stone Joseph, Kiski Area

182: No. 2 Ryan Weinzen, Norwin vs. No. 3 Cole Rees, Wyoming Seminary

160: No. 2 John Martin-Best, Parkersburg (WV) vs. No. 3 Luca Augustine, Waynesburg

145: No. 3 Erik Gibson, Forrest Hills vs. No. 2 Ty Linsenbigler, Hempfield

138: No. 1 Sam Hillegas, North Hills vs. No. 4 Wyatt Henson, Waynesburg

132: No. 1 Alejandro Herrera-Rondon, Seneca Valley vs. No. 4 Ian Oswalt, Burrell

126: No. 2 Kurtis Phipps, Norwin vs. Rocco Welsh, Waynesburg

Greg Macafee is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Greg by email at gmacafee@triblive.com or via Twitter .

Tags: Canon-McMillan, Kiski Area, Mt. lebanon, North Hills, Seneca Valley, Waynesburg