WPIAL a Perfect 9-for-9 in PIAA Wrestling AAA Finals

By: Bruce Markey
Sunday, March 8, 2015 | 7:09 AM

The WPIAL came into the finals of the PIAA Championships with the opportunity to win at least nine gold medals. After the night was done, the WPIAL swept through every weight class to have nine WPIAL wrestlers come home as state champions.

{Left: Waynesburg’s A.C. Headlee received the trophy as Outstanding Wrestler of the PIAA Class AAA tournament a week after winning the same award in the WPIAL Finals}

The most impressive match of the night in AAA once again came at 132 pounds, where AC Headlee of Waynesburg and two time state champion Luke Pletcher of Latrobe would meet for a second week in a row. After being tied at two through two overtime periods, Headlee had choice in the ultimate tiebreaker. Headlee would sit back into Pletcher and pick up a reversal while putting him on his back to win the match and his first state title. For his efforts, Headlee won the Outstanding Wrestler award for the second straight week.

Outstanding doesn’t even begin to describe the performance by Spencer Lee of Franklin Regional. Spencer Lee won his first bout by technical fall in 1:48 (17-1), by fall in 1:06 in the quarterfinals, and by fall in 1:17 to make a return trip to the finals. In the championship, Lee pinned Sammy Sasso of Nazareth in 2:38 to win his second state title. Lee, a sophomore, has a current career record of 97-0.

Lee was not the only Franklin Regional wrestler to win gold on Saturday. At 113, Devin Brown won his third state title with a 5-3 win over Gage Curry of North Hills. It was the second straight week Brown beat Curry in the finals. At 145 Michael Kemerer, who finished second in the state the last three years, finally got the monkey off of his back by winning a state championship. He did it with a 3-2 decision over Patrick Duggan of Cumberland Valley. Finally at 160, Josh Shields also got his first state title after finishing second a year ago. He defeated Cody Cordes of Wyoming Valley West in the finals 5-2.

With four state champions, Franklin Regional also brought home two additional medallists. At 152, Josh Maruca grabbed a silver medal. He fell in the finals to Central Catholic’s Vincenzo Joseph, which was a rematch of last week, by the score of 12-7. For Joseph, it is his second state title. Also getting a medal was Dom Giannangeli at 138, where he placed fourth. With six medallists, Franklin Regional would capture the team individual state championship. They would total a PIAA record 152 points, outdistancing themselves from second place Bethlehem Catholic by 46 points.

Other WPIAL wrestlers to win a state championship Saturday were: Sam Krivus of Hempfield at 138, where he won his second state title. He did it with a 1-0 win over Penn Trafford’s Cameron Coy, who was also a returning state champion. For Krivus, it is his sixth win over Coy this season. TeShan Campbell of Penn Hills and Kellan Stout of Mount Lebanon were the other WPIAL wrestlers to win state gold.

For a full recap of the PIAA AAA Championships, and to hear live interviews of all nine of the WPIAL’s AAA state champions, listen in to Inside the WPIAL Wrestling Circle Monday night at 7:00 PM on the MSA Sports Network.

Medal Round Results

106

1st – Tyson Klump (Nazareth) dec. Cole Manley (Altoona) 3-1

3rd – Jakob Campbell (Boyertown) dec. Aiden Burke (Council Rock North) 5-4

5th – Matt Parker (Pennridge) dec. Geo Barzona (Central Mountain) 4-1

7th – Chris Wright (Central Dauphin) dec. Louis Newell (Seneca Valley) 5-2

113

1st – Devin Brown (Franklin Regional) dec. Gage Curry (North Hills) 5-3

3rd – Dustin Steffenino (Upper Perkiomen) dec. Daniel Moran (Northampton) 6-5

5th – Austin DeSanto (Exeter Township) dec. Devin Schnupp (Warwick) 3-2

7th – KJ Fenstermacher (Liberty) dec. Hunter Baxter (Pine Richland) 6-3

120

1st – Spencer Lee (Franklin Regional) fall Sammy Sasso (Nazareth) 2:38

3rd – TyShawn White (Central Dauphin) dec. Brett Kulp (Exeter Township) 4-2 OT

5th – Derek Wilson (South Western) inj. def. Derek Gulotta (Owen J. Roberts) 0:00

7th – Zach Hartman (Belle Vernon) maj. dec. Jake Reigel (Bethlehem Catholic) 10-0

126

1st – Luke Karam (Bethlehem Catholic) dec. Zack Trampe (Council Rock South) 5-2

3rd – Ethan McCoy (Latrobe) dec. Wade Cummings (Downingtown East) 5-3

5th – Lucas Miller (Boyertown) dec. Chandler Olsen (Shippensburg) 3-1

7th – Joe Blumer (Kiski Area) dec. Roshaun Cooley (Williamsport) 2-0 OT

132

1st – AC Headlee (Waynesburg) dec. Luke Pletcher (Latrobe) 7-2 OT UTB

3rd – Evan Fidelibus (Easton) dec. DJ Fehlman (Warren) 2-1

5th – Jake Hinkson (North Allegheny) dec. Brock Port (Bellefonte) 3-2

7th – Josh Ridgeway (Norwin) dec. Lucas Schaf (Emmaus) 6-4

138

1st – Sam Krivus (Hempfield) dec. Cameron Coy (Penn Trafford) 1-0

3rd – Zach Elvin (Central Dauphin) dec. Dom Giannangeli (Franklin Regional) 3-0

5th – Demetri DOrsaneo (Owen J. Roberts) dec. Stephen Maloney (Bethlehem Catholic) 3-1

7th – David Rump (Chambersburg) dec. Dan Ritz (Crestwood) 3-1

145

1st – Michael Kemerer (Franklin Regional) dec. Patrick Duggan (Cumberland Valley) 3-2

3rd – Hayden Hidlay (Mifflin County) dec. Jarod Verkleeren (Belle Vernon) 4-2

5th – Jonathan Ross (Northern York) inj. def. Chase Gallik (Wallenpaupack) 0:00

7th – James Saylor (Easton) dec. Alex Klucker (East Pennsboro) 3-2

152

1st – Vincenzo Joseph (Pgh Central Catholic) dec. Josh Maruca (Franklin Regional) 12-7

3rd – Michael Labriola (Bethlehem Catholic) dec. Kaleb Young (Punxsutawney) 5-3 OT UTB

5th – Kazim Bakhriyev (Scranton) dec. Nino Bonaccorsi (Bethel Park) 8-5

7th – Hadyn Swartwood (Jersey Shore) dec. Zach Dellicompagni (Coatesville) 6-2

160

1st – Josh Shields (Franklin Regional) dec. Cody Cordes (Wyoming Valley West) 5-2

3rd – Paul Dunn (Bethel Park) dec. Noah Stewart (Mifflin County) 6-5

5th – Tony Palumbo (Central Catholic) dec. Bailey Shutt (Lower Dauphin) 3-1 OT

7th – Frankie Krauss (SpringFord) dec. Alex Elliott (Sun Valley) 6-4 OT

170

1st – TeShan Campbell (Penn Hills) dec. DJ Hollingshead (Altoona) 4-2

3rd – Austin Bell (Belle Vernon) dec. Jake Shaffer (Latrobe) 5-2

5th – Kyle Gentile (Pennridge) dec. Jared Siegrist (Manheim Central) 1-0

7th – Matthew Mirth (Southern Lehigh) dec. Chance Norris (Garden Spot) 7-3

182

1st – Kellan Stout (Mount Lebanon) dec. John Jakobsen (Stroudsburg) 1-0

3rd – Casey Glunt (James Buchanan) dec. Evan Wilson (Central Bucks East) 3-1

5th – Josh Colello (Cedar Cliff) dec. Gregg Harvey (Boyertown) 3-2

7th – Josh Bahr (West Allegheny) dec. Jayden Reyes (Dieruff) 5-1

195

1st – Jan Johnson (Governor Mifflin) dec. Tommy Rayhart (Big Spring) 3-1

3rd – Drew Phipps (Norwin) dec. Zach Smith (North Allegheny) 2-1 2OT

5th – Matt Wagner (Delaware Valley) dec. Francis Duggan (Cumberland Valley) 6-3

7th – Trey Hartsock (Mifflin County) dec. Eli Grape (Upper St. Clair) 3-2

220

1st – Jordan Wood (Boyertown) dec. Seth Janney (South Western) 4-0

3rd – Omar Haddad (Parkland) dec. Tyler Worthing (Kiski Area) 4-3

5th – Andrew Gunning (Liberty) dec. Fred Mantsch (Hempfield) 3-2

7th – Ezra Outlaw (Pennridge) dec. Zeb Pfeiffer (Penn Manor) 6-3

285

1st – Andrew Dunn (Bethlehem Catholic) dec. Bo Spiller (Solanco) 5-3

3rd – Ryan Monk (Dallas Area) dec. Tyler Mears (Latrobe) 5-2

5th – Bruce Graeber (Neshaminy) dec. Tommy Killoran (Boyertown) 8-2

7th – Zach Jablonski (Montour) fall Ben Bish (Meadville) 2:25