WPIAL wrestling notebook: Bethel Park, Plum headline Eastern Area Invitational

By: Paul Schofield
Tuesday, December 6, 2022 | 5:29 PM

Bethel Park had one champion and 10 placewinners to grab the team title at the Eastern Area Invitational on Saturday at Gateway High School.

The Black Hawks finished with 212 points. Plum followed with 195 and Penn-Trafford was third with 174.5.

Bethel Park’s champ was Mason Kernan (133 pounds). Placing second were Ethan Higgins (139), Dheyaa Danyan (152) and Landon Hartman (215).

• Plum: The Campbells walked away with three Eastern titles: Owen Campbell (107), Rylen Campbell (114) and Charlie Campbell (152). Heavyweight Orlandis Freeman finished second. The Mustangs had 10 placewinners.

• Penn-Trafford: The Warriors ended up with nine placewinners, including four finalists. Winning titles were Hayden Coy (127) and Owen Ott (215). Placing second were Dylan Clayton (145) and Tasso Whipple (172). Coy defeated Kiski Area’s Ryan Klingensmith, 4-2, in sudden victory. Dylan Barrett (107) and Logan Matrisch (133) placed third and Dominic Hartman (160) was fourth.

• Kiski Area: The Cavaliers placed fourth with 155.5 points and had two champions; Mark Gray (172) and Cooper Roscosky (189). Ryan Klingensmith (127) placed second. Kiski Area had eight placewinners. Clayton Cramer (114) and Donavin Harbison (215) each placed third while Ezra Keitzer (152) placed fourth.

• Other winners: DuBois’ Davey Aughenbaugh (139), Mt. Lebanon’s Cole Gibbons (145), Highlands’ Brayden White (160) and Kiski School heavyweight Aden Roe.

Wildcats finish 2nd

Latrobe had five finalists and three champions at the Hickory Invitational on Saturday at Hermitage.

Winning titles were sophomore Luke Willochell (114 pounds), sophomore Leo Joseph (121) and two-time PIAA champion Vinny Kilkeary (127), a senior. Willochell and Kilkeary each recorded four pins.

Senior Corey Boerio (215) and senior heavyweight Wyatt Held placed second. Boerio dropped a 2-1 decision to Fort LeBoeuf’s Danny Church on tiebreaker 2.

Placing fifth were Braden Bronson (152) and Wyatt Schmucker (160). Austin Laidacker (121) placed seventh while Brady Cole (145) and heavyweight Marco Scarton placed eighth.

The Wildcats finished second to Fort LeBoeuf, 241-202.5.

Spartans take 3rd

Hempfield had three finalists and two champions Saturday at the Tom Best Memorial Top Hat Tournament at Williamsport.

Seniors Ethan Lebin (133) and Lucas Kapusta (152) were the champions while Nico Kapusta (107) placed second.

The Spartans placed third with 163 points behind Saucon Valley (174) and Montoursville (171). Connellsville placed sixth with 151 points.

Eli Carr (145) and Elijah Binakonsky (215) placed third, Owen Caracciolo (121) fifth and Nathan Caracciolo (114) seventh.

Connellsville had one finalist, Gabriel Ruggieri (133), who fell to Lebin, 4-1.

Landon Lynn (107) placed third while Jacob Layton (121), Evan Petrovich (127) and Lonzy Vielma (145) finished fourth. Christopher Cook (215) placed fifth, Nicholas Rohal (172) finished sixth while Chad Jesko (152) and Tyler Gallus (285) finished seventh.

Butler wins CH Invitational

Butler had one champion and seven other placewinners in winning the annual Chartiers-Houston Invitational on Saturday with 180.5 points.

The Golden Tornado champion was Santino Sloboda (107). Landon Christie (215) placed was second while Levi Donnell (160) was third.

Placing second was the top Class 2A team in the WPIAL, Burgettstown, with 169.5 points.

The Blue Devils had three finalists and one champion. Parker Sentipal (121) defeated Chartiers Valley’s Brady Joling, 1-0, in the finals. Placing second were Joey Sentipal (139) and heavyweight Joey Baronick.

Dylan Slovick (127) and Gaven Suica (133) placed third and Daniel Smith (114) was fifth.

General McLane was third with 155 points and Pine-Richland, which had three champions, was fourth with 148.

Winning titles for the Rams were Dominic Ferraro (133), Anthony Ferraro (139) and heavyweight Joseph Schneck.

• Other winners: Oak Glen’s (W.Va.) Logan Davis (114), Bentworth’s Chris Vargo (127), Beth-Center’s Tyler Berish (152), Chartiers Valley’s Dylan Evans (160), Fort Cherry’s Braedon Welsh (172), General McLane’s Magnus Lloyd (189) and Armstrong’s Connor Jacobs (215)

Ironman highlights weekend

The annual Walsh Jesuit Ironman Tournament at Stow, Ohio will highlight the tournament action this weekend. Three WPIAL teams – Waynesburg, Canon-McMillan and Frazier – will have wrestlers competing.

There are numerous dual meet tournaments scheduled. They include:

• Babbit Duals (Blairsville): Derry, Southmoreland and River Valley

• Chartiers Valley: Carlynton, Carrick, Franklin Regional, Frazier, Highlands, Mars and Yough

• Hampton Dawg Duals: Altoona, Fox Chapel, Kiski Area, Ligonier Valley, Mt. Pleasant, Plum, Seneca Valley and Thomas Jefferson

• John Marshall (W.Va.) Invitational: McGuffey

• Moon: Ambridge, Beth-Center, Bethel Park, Blackhawk, Fort Cherry, Freedom, Laurel, Mount Lebanon, Palmyra, Quaker Valley and West Allegheny

• North Hills: Avonworth, Gateway, Greensburg Salem, Central Catholic and Upper St. Clair

• Trinity: Erie Cathedral Prep, Latrobe, North Allegheny, North Catholic and Penn-Trafford

Belle Vernon and Ringgold are scheduled to compete in the North Coast Classic in Independence, Ohio, while Hempfield is competing in the Rick Link Invitational in Union Local, Ohio.

Milestones

Beth-Center senior Tyler Berish reached the 100-win milestone by winning a title at the Chartiers-Houston Invitational, going 4-0.

Also reaching that milestone was Latrobe senior Corey Boerio with his second-place finish at the Hickory Invitational.

There are three wrestlers who could reach that milestone this weekend. Here is a list of the top records in the WPIAL.

• 100 wins: Grant MacKay, Laurel (119-17); Mac Church, Waynesburg (116-10); Rocco Welsh, Waynesburg (116-14); Vinny Kilkeary, Latrobe (106-12); Dylan Evans, Chartiers Valley (106-24); Tyler Berish, Beth-Center (100-23); Corey Boerio, Latrobe (100-36)

• 90 wins: Tyler Chappell, Seneca Valley (99-22); Lucas Kapusta, Hempfield (94-29); Ethan Lebin, Hempfield (89-25); Anthony Ferraro (88-18); Niko Ferra, Burrell (88-51)

Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.