Surprises Under Tree at Southmoreland Holiday Classic
ALVERTON – No. 15 Christian Sequete posted a pair of upsets on his way to the 182-pound title at the Southmoreland Holiday Classic as well as the Outstanding Wrestler Award.
The Butler senior started the day by beating Beth-Center’s Dominic Fundy, who is ranked No. 2 in AA at 195 pounds.
Sequete followed that up by pinning Hollidaysburg’s Mason McCready, who is No. 11 in AAA, in the finals.
Fundy, who went 39-1 last season with his lone loss coming in the state finals, rebounded to take third at Southmoreland with a 5-2 victory over the Scotties’ Jaden Datz.
Another 2017 state finalist, Ligonier Valley’s Robert Patrick, had a much easier time. Top-ranked Patrick scored three falls before beating Greensburg Salem’s Jesse Quatse 9-0 in the finals to claim his fourth Southmoreland title. The two practice together at All-American, and the major decision was Patrick’s closest match of the season so far.
His Ligonier Valley teammate, Alex Caldwell, was knocked off by South Side’s Joe Demor in the 145-pound final. Despite being ranked seventh in AA, Demor entered the tournament as the No. 6 seed and needed an impressive run through the 1, 2 and 3 seeds to win the title. In the quarterfinals, he beat third-seeded Jack Codispot for the second time this season. He edged AAA No. 9 Nathan Swartz of Hollidaysburg 2-1 in the semis, then used a three-takedown performance to beat Caldwell, a fifth-place medalist in AA, 6-3 in the finals.
Thayne Lawrence, a third-place medalist at 138 last season, won the title at 152, but it wasn’t easy. Lawrence, No. 2 in AA, managed just a second-period escape in his 1-0 victory over AAA No. 16 Ty McGeary of West Allegheny.
Lawrence beat Southmoreland state runner-up Tyler Griffiths earlier this season, but there was no chance for a rematch, as Griffiths is out with a leg injury.
Rocky McGeary, Ty’s older brother, picked up a huge win at 220 pounds, as he scored at the buzzer to beat second-ranked Jake Slinger of Upper St. Clair.
Luke Ewing was Greensburg Salem’s lone champion, but the Golden Lions ran away with the team title thanks to a deep lineup that included 12 placewinners.
Freedom, which had back-to-back champs in Kenny Duscheck (120) and Z.J. Ward (126) finished second in the team race.
Team standings and key:
1. Greensburg-Salem (GS) 214. 2. Freedom (FR) 165.5. 3. West Allegheny (WA) 144.5. 4. Butler (BUT) 130. Upper St. Clair (USC) 118. 6. North Star (NS) 114.5. 7. Mount Pleasant (MP) 112.5. 8. Hollidaysburg (HOL) 109.5. 9. Marion Center (MC) 109. 10. Hickory (CHK) 108.5. 11. Corry (COR) 104.5. 12. Ligonier Valley (LV) 96.5. 13. South Side (SS) 93. 14T. Beth-Center (BC), Meyersdale (MY) 90.5. 16. Ellwood City (EC) 67.5. 17. Burgettstown (BRG) 64. 18T. Valley (VAL), United (UN) 53. 20. Southmoreland (SMD) 50. 21. Northern Bedford (NB) 46. 22. South Park (SP) 36. Frazier (FRZ) 32. 24. West Greene (WG) 28. 25. Somerset (SOM) 27. 26. Chartiers-Houston (CHAR) 13.
Championships
106-Joey Fischer, SP, dec. Damian George, MP, 2-0.
113-Jordan Watters, WA, dec. Doug Bittner, MP, 6-2.
120-Kenny Duschek, FR, dec. Jimmy Gwyer, BC, 6-2.
126-Z.J. Ward, FR, dec. Keaton Furry, NS, 7-4.
132-Al Miscovich, MP, dec. Donavin Chambers, EC, 7-4.
138-Charlie Beatty, MC, dec. Tom Kyle, USC, 8-2.
145-Joe Demor, SS, dec. Alex Caldwell, LV, 6-3.
152-Thayne Lawrence, FRZ, dec. Ty McGeary, WA, 1-0.
160-Luke Ewing, GS, dec. Alex Fouse, NB, 5-0.
170-Robert Patrick, LV, maj. dec. Jesse Quatse, GS, 9-0.
182-Christian Sequete, BUT, pinned Mason McCready, HOL, 5:30.
195-Hunter Tremain, NS, dec. Bryson Miller, FR, 7-2.
220-Rocky McGeary, WA, dec. Jake Slinger, USC, 5-3.
285-Bishop McCoy, SS, dec. David Schuffert, VAL, 2:32.
Third Place
106-Hunter Armstrong, MC, pinned Cody Kaufman, GS, 4:05.
113-Nico Williams, GS, dec. Richard LaRosa, BC, 6-0.
120-Shane Kemper, BRG, dec. Nick Ackerman, MY, 6-2.
126-Cody Dively, HOL, dec. Matt Himes, MC, 5-0.
132-Trent Schultheis, FR, pinned Aidan Thompson, HCK, 3:19.
138-Dejauhn Hertzog, GS, dec. Jake Pail, FR, 5-1.
145-Jack Codispot, BUT, dec. Cole Ruffo, HCK, 7-3.
152-Michael Muron, FR, dec. Alec Supanick, NS, 7-4.
160-Nico Flati, WA, dec. Nathan Fisher, HOL, 7-4.
170-Noah Hutcherson, VAL, dec. Dan Clements, WA, 4-3.
182-Dominic Fundy, BC, dec. Jaden Datz, SMD, 5-2.
195-John Meyers, GS, pinned Harvey Rauch, USC, 4:42.
220-Connor Main, WG, dec. Riley Miller, UN, 6-2.
285-Cody Vokes, MP, dec. Trent Patrick, GS, 6-3.
Fifth Place
106-Eli Brougher, NS, pinned Jake Alberts, EC, 3:32.
113-Lucas Peterson, COR, forfeit over Derrick Talley, SOM.
120-Colton Spohn, BUT, dec. Dan Kyle, USC, 4-2.
126-Tyler Baird, EC, dec. Tyler Curtiss, USC, 8-6.
132-Mike Turner, MC, maj. dec. Steve Green, BUT, 13-0.
138-Braelin Stewart, HCK, 5-1.
145-Ian Ewing, GS, forfeit over Nathan Swartz, HOL.
152-Joseph Williams, GS, pinned A.J. Hammond, HCK, :40.
160-Justin stewart, BUT forfeit over Kyrie Miller, LV.
170-Austin Walley, EC, dec. Garrett Boone, SS, 2-1.
182-Nick Faulk, WA, pinned Levi Sheeler, NS, 3:16.
195-Troy Scurry, HCK, dec. Jacob Baker, BC, 8-5.
220-Riley Kemper, BRG, dec. Ryan Mauro, SMD, 5-4.
285-Jalen Stephens, MY, pinned Tyler Cover, MC, 1:26.
Seventh Place
106-Colin Smilnak, HOL, dec. Clayton Dressler, BUT, 7-2.
113-Mitchell Dishong, UN, forfeit over Thomas Young, FR.
120-Mason Jobe, GS, dec. Derek Hurd, COR, 6-4.
126-Jake Jones, WA, dec. bill Brown, BRG, 7-4.
132-Kyle Minerd, UN, forfeit over Tyler Hughes, GS.
138-Nick Lapinski, COR, dec. Clayton Matson, LV, 5-1.
145-Joe Perry, COR, dec. Chase Eller, NB, 7-3.
152-Sean Martin, USC, pinned Chris Reeher, SS, 1:29.
160-Lyle Moody, MY, pinned Aaron Luteri, SOM, 1:45.
170-Tyler Burlew, COR, dec. Tanner Krause, MY, 3-1.
182-Easton Broadwater, MY, dec. Quinn Murray, USC.
195-Zach Charlesworth, MP, dec. Matt Manglona, COR, 4-2.
220-Mason Augustine, NS,dec. Will Gongaware, GS, 3-2.
285-Trevor Mitchell, HOL, pinned Trevor Lightner, HCK, :29.