Class AAA Brackets Released as Regional Fireworks Erupt
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Penn Trafford Freshman Cameron Coy Defeats Returning State Champion Tyler Smith (Franklin Regional).
The Class AAA Regionals concluded on Saturday night and the PIAA has released Championship brackets in all 14 weights. Below are links to brackets and a recap of last nights Regionals.
#1 Devin Brown (Franklin Regional) faced off against #2 Gage Curry (North Hills) in a battle of the two top wrestlers in the State. Brown captured his first career WPIAL Championship earning a (2-1) decision over Curry. Brown, a defending Class AA State Champion, remains undefeated on the season entering the PIAA State Tournament. Curry, a PIAA fourth place medalist last season, showed that he can is more than capable of hanging the Brown and these two could meet again next week. Freshman #9 Hunter Baxter (Pine-Richland) claimed third place and punched his ticket to Hershey. #4 Tyson Klump (Nazareth Area) was unable to duplicate a victory over Northampton Area freshman Dan Moran from a week ago, falling in the finals to #5 Moran by a score of (6-4). Liberty freshman #12 Luke Werner was able to bounce back from a semifinal defeat to Klump and finish in third place to advance to the PIAA State Tournament. Sophomore Kordell Rush (Pennridge) earned his first trip to Hershey by winning a talented South East Regional. In the finals #14 Rush defeated #17 Jakob Campbell (Boyertown Area) with a (3-1) decision. Returning PIAA eighth place medalist #7 Edgar Garcia (Avon Grove) saw his career come to an end as he fell to #13 Riley Palmer (Council Rock South) in the consolation finals. Returning PIAA State Qualifier #8 Charlie Lenox (McDowell) captured his first North West Regional title downing District 10 foe Carmine Ciotti (Strong Vincent) in the finals (3-0). Altoona Area freshman #18 Cole Manley earned a (1-0) decision in the consolation finals to finish in third place and advance to his first career PIAA State Tournament.
#1 Spencer “The Kid” Lee (Franklin Regional) remained undefeated at (45-0) and appears to be unstoppable. It will be a surprise if anyone at the PIAA State Tournament can hold Lee to a only major or regular decision. In the WPIAL Finals Lee dominated freshman #6 Luke Landefeld (North Allegheny) by fall in (2:47). In the WPIAL consolation finals #22 Doug Gudenburr (Ringgold) won at the right time defeating senior #14 Brendan Price (Canon-McMillan) by a score of (3-1), which ironically, Gudenburr lost to Price in the Championship quarterfinals (2-1). 2x PIAA State Medalist #4 Derek Gulotta (Owen J. Roberts) is peaking at the right time as he remained in control of the South East Regional with a (9-3) win over #11 Ryan Hayes (Spring-Ford) in the finals. Upper Perkiomen junior #23 Dustin Steffinino improved on his fourth place finish from a season ago at Regionals and placed third in the South East Region to advance to the PIAA State Tournament. The North East Regional proved to be a gauntlet at 113 lbs. District 11 Champion and super frosh #5 KJ Fenstermacher (Liberty) was unable to keep his season alive falling to Nazareth Area junior #10 Travis Smith in the semifinals and dropping his consolation bout to Archbishop Wood junior Chad Haegele in overtime (4-2 SV). In the Championship finals Travis Smith fell to sophomore #8 Jacob Lizak (Parkland) who earned his first Regional Championship and second straight PIAA State Tournament berth. Returning PIAA fourth place medalist #9 Michael Scheetz (Northampton Area) bounced back to finish in third place over Chad Haegele by a score of (8-1). General McLane senior #2 Joe Wheeling earned his third straight PIAA State Tournament birth by winning the North West Regional over former PIAA State qualifier #20 Damian Huff (Hollidaysburg Area) by a (5-3) score. Philipsburg-Osceola Area senior #21 Chris Thompson gained his first PIAA State Tournament qualification finishing in third place.
Returning PIAA State Champion #1 Luke Pletcher (Greater Latrobe) had no issues winning his second WPIAL Championship defeating Belle Vernon Area senior #17 Brendan Hasson by major decision (11-3). It will be Hasson’s first trip to Hershey as well as WPIAL third place finisher and senior #16 Kevin Kinyua (Mount Lebanon). Pennridge senior #2 Scott Parker was able to hold on for a hard fought (1-0) victory over previously unbeaten sophomore #8 Wade Cummings (Downingtown East) in the South East Regional Finals. Returning PIAA State sixth place medalist Mike Marino (Garnet Valley) will make his third trip to Hershey a the senior finished in third place at the South East Regional. #3 Ethan Lizak (Parkland) will be in search of his third straight PIAA State Championship and fourth career PIAA State finals. Lizak, who has lost to both Luke Pletcher and Scott Parker this season, was able to earn his fourth career North East Regional Championship with a (8-3) victory over returning PIAA State third place finisher #5 Tyrone Klump (Nazareth Area). It will be Klump’s third career trip to Hershey. Talented freshman #13 Jimmy Hoffman (Hazleton Area) held on for a third place finish and earn his first trip to the PIAA State Tournament. 3x PIAA State medalist Jake Gromacki (Cathedral Prep) earned a (7-0) decision over previously unbeaten junior Roshan Cooley (Williamsport Area) in the finals. Another decorated freshman, Brock Port (Bellefonte Area) earned his first trip to Hershey by finishing in third place at the North West Region.
One of the deepest weights in the State is 126 lbs. and more specifically in the WPIAL. Returning PIAA State Champion #1 Sam Krivus (Hempfield Area) made the drop from 132 lbs. and faced his nemesis #2 Dalton Macri (Canon-McMillan) in the WPIAL Finals. Krivus defeated Macri in the State Finals last season and combined the two have met six (6) times in the last two season with Krivus winning all of those meetings. It was the first time the pair faced off this season but it was the one Dalton Macri’s hand was raised for the first time in seven meetings with Krivus. There is a good chance these two meet in their second PIAA State Finals next week. Krivus was ahead in the match late in the third period but after the Hempfield Area junior was hit with a stall warning, Macri was able to press the action and earn a takedown at the buzzer. 2x PIAA State Medalist #3 Dom Forys (North Allegheny) was the unfortunate odd wrestler out of the PIAA State Tournament when he fell to returning PIAA State Medalist #5 A.C. Headlee in the consolation finals. Headlee hit a hard headlock after the two exchanged reversals and was able to pull away (10-5) to earn his second trip to Hershey. 2x PIAA State Medalist Zach Valley (Northampton Area) cruised to the North East Regional Championship compiling a tech-fall (18-2) in the finals over #19 Evan Fidelilbus (Easton Area). Liberty junior John Ritter barley qualified for the North East Regional Tournament – finishing in sixth place at the District 11 Tournament – but he rattled off four straight wins in the consolation round to finish in third place. Ritter used a overtime win over junior Bob Hawkins (James M. Coughlin) in the consolation finals (12-10 SV) to earn his first trip to Hershey. #9 Ben Ross (Pennridge), a PIAA State fifth place medalist last season, avenged a loss from a week ago when the senior downed #7 Kolton Veit (Souderton) in the finals (5-1). Finishing in third place was former PIAA State Medalist #8 Dan Martoccio (Council Rock South) who outlasted #10 Pat Callaghan (Marple Newtown) in the consolation finals (3-1). DuBois Area sophomore #22 Shea Bloom earned his second trip to Hershey shutting out #11 D.J. Fehlman (Warren Area) in the finals (7-0). Clearfield Area junior Noah Cline finished third at the North West Regional.
Franklin Regional senior #1 Tyler Smith earned his fourth qualification to the PIAA State Tournament on Saturday but left without earning a career first WPIAL Championship. The 2013 PIAA State Champion was upset by touted freshman #7 Cameron Coy (Penn Trafford). Coy used a series of funks and rolls to come out on top (5-2) over the previously unbeaten Smith. It was revenge for Coy who lost to Smith last week in the Section 1 Finals (2-1). Peters Township senior #10 Tyler Bucksio held on for an overtime win over freshman Nino Bonaccorsi (Bethel Park) in the consolation finals (3-1 SV) to earn his second career trip to Hershey, PA. 2x PIAA State Medalist #2 Chase Zemenak (Nazareth Area) dominated the North East Regional Tournament outscoring his three Tournament opponents (37-7) including a (9-0) major decision over #22 Todd Hetrick (Northampton Area) in the finals. Returning PIAA State Medalist #6 Jalen Palmer (Delaware Valley) was able to bounce back to finish in third place and qualify for his second straight PIAA State Tournament. In a battle of the #3 and #4 ranked wrestlers in the State Boyertown Area senior #3 Eddie Kriczky outlasted former PIAA State Medalist #4 Tommy Stokes (Bensalem) in the finals (4-2 SV). Pottstown sophomore Bryant Wise finished in third place at the South East Regional and earn his first trip to Hershey. Bellefonte Area junior #19 Trevor Corl punched his second straight PIAA State Tournament ticket with an impressive (3-1) victory over #11 Joel Bowers (Punxsutawney Area). Senior Joel Bowers, despite finishing as the runner-up, qualified for his third straight PIAA State Tournament. Strong Vincent junior John Ciotti joined his younger brother in qualifying for his second career PIAA State Tournament by finishing in third place at the North West Regional.
Two-time PIAA State runner-up #1 Michael Kemerer (Franklin Regional) met for the second time in his career rival #3 Vincenzo Joseph (Central Catholic) in the WPIAL finals. As a freshman at 106 lbs. Kemerer defeated Jospeh (3-2) to earn his first career WPIAL Championship. Overall the pair met four times in their careers, all being won by Kemerer, but the fifth time was a charm for Joseph. The junior jumped out to an early lead with a takedown and never looked back holding on for a (5-2) decision to earn his first career WPIAL Championship. Hempfield Area senior #8 Joey Allensandro qualified for his first ever PIAA State Tournament by finishing in third at the WPIAL Tournament. In a loaded North West Regional bracket sophomore #5 Hayden Hidlay (Mifflin County) defeated previously undefeated wrestler and fellow sophomore #6 Kaleb Young (Punxsutawney Area) in the finals (4-2). For both sophomore it is their second trip to Hershey. State College Area senior #12 Mike Kauffman finally returned to the PIAA State Tournament after qualifying as a freshman in 2011. Kauffman finished in third place at the North West Regional picking up a (11-6) win over #19 Keller Watkins (General McLane) in the consolation finals. East Stroudsburg Area South senior #7 Colby Ems is no stranger to the PIAA State Tournament and he punched his third straight ticket to Hershey with an impressive (14-5) major decision over #9 Jimmy Saylor (Easton Area) in the finals. In the consolation finals a pair of juniors battled in search of their first PIAA State Tournament birth. #11 Frank Carrozza (Delaware Valley) fell to #18 Greg Konieczny (LaSalle College) by a score of (6-2). It was the first District 12 wrestler to earn a trip to Hershey thus far. Owen J. Roberts junior #20 Demtri D’Orsaneo captured his first career South East Regional Championship and earned his first trip to Hershey with a (10-3) victory over West Chester Henderson senior Brad Patton in the finals. Central Buck East junior #17 Evan Wilson improved on his fourth place finish at the South East Regional Tournament a year prior and earned his first trip to Hershey by placing third.
Returning PIAA State Champions and undefeated senior #1 Solomon Chisko (Canon-McMillan) and #2 Joey Galasso (Father Judge) both excelled in their Regional finals. It was Chisko’s fourth WPIAL Championship earning a (9-4) decision over 2x PIAA Sate fifth place medalist #3 Josh Maruca (Franklin Regional) in the finals. Belle Vernon Area freshman #7 Jarod Verkleeren needed overtime to get past Central Catholic junior #14 Tony Palumbo to place third and earn his first trip to Hershey. Returning PIAA State Champion Joe Galasso earned a major decision over sophomore #8 Charles Sell (Bangor Area) in the finals (19-8). Wyoming Valley West senior #4 Nathan Cheek earned his first trip to Hershey by finishing in third place at the North East Regional after falling to Sell (1-0) in the Championship semifinals. Returning PIAA State medalist #11 Francesco Fabozzi (Central Bucks East) dominated #13 Shane Rhunke (Great Valley) in the finals (16-6). For Rhunke the senior earned his second straight trip to Hershey. General McLane senior Deane Twitchell captured his first North West Regional Championship over Central Mountain senior #18 Demtri Probst (3-1 OT). Jersey Shore Area sophomore Hayden Smartwood finished in third place picking up an overtime victory in the consolation finals. All three North West Regional wrestlers will be making their first trip to the PIAA State Tournament.
#2 Josh Sheilds (Franklin Regional) captured his first WPIAL Championship and earned his third trip to the PIAA State Tournament where he has twice brought home hardware. In the finals Sheilds cruised to a (9-4) decision over sophomore and returning PIAA State Qualifier #7 Jake Shaffer (Greater Latrobe). Bethel Park junior #21 Paul Dunn wrestled all the way back after falling in the first round to place third and earn his first trip to Hershey. #3 D.J. Hollingshead (Altoona Area) earned his first North West Regional Championship with a (4-2) win over #9 Noah Stewart (Mifflin County) in the finals. Taylor Allderdice junior #23 Cameron Jacobson earned his first trip to Hershey and the first District 8 Qualifier of 2014 with a (1-0) victory in the consolation finals. Norristown Area senior #6 Mikey Springer advanced to his third straight PIAA State Tournament with a (7-0) win over returning PIAA State Qualifier Jeff Reimel (North Penn) in the finals. Pottsgrove senior #12 Nico Demetrio was able to earn his first trip to Hershey finishing in third. Easton Area senior #8 Elijah Brown won a loaded North East Regional bracket with a (3-1 SV) win over returning PIAA State Medalist #10 Josh Ortman (Parkland). It is Brown’s first trip to Hershey and Ortman’s third straight. After upsetting #5 Joe DePhillipo (Monsignor Bonner) Nazareth Area senior #20 Tyler Tarsi earned his second straight trip to Hershey by placing third.
#2 Dom Scalise (Greater Latrobe) suffered a quarterfinal defeat to #11 Te’Shan Campbell (Penn Hills) but was able to rebound to finish in third place and qualify for his first PIAA State Tournament. Belle Vernon Area sophomore #6 Austin Bell captured his first South West Regional Championship and earn his first trip to Hershey with a (8-2) decision over North Hills senior #13 Jonathan Avon. #3 Bobby Fehr (Northampton Area) held on for a (2-1) decision over #8 Cody Cordes (Wyoming Valley West). Fehr will be making his second trip to the State Tournament after finishing in sixth place last season while Cordes will be making his first appearance. Joining Cordes in earning his first trip to Hershey is Abington Heights senior #9 Matthew Carr who finished in third place. #4 Ehrin Lee (Titusville) earned his rankings by defeating #5 Chad Reese (Central Mountain) in the finals (3-2). Freshman Ethan Laird (General McLane) had an impressive North West Regional Tournament finishing in third place and qualifying for his first career PIAA State Tournament. Sophomore #16 Kyle Gentile (Pennridge) has continued to impress throughout the season and at the South East Regional Tournament he defeated fellow sophomore #17 Gregg Harvey (Boyertown Area) by a (6-2) score. Both sophomores will be making their first trip to Hershey while senior #20 Nick Giangiulio (Perkiomen Valley) finished in third place earning his second straight trip to the GIANT Center.
Central Catholic senior #3 Kyle Coniker improved on his fourth place finish from a season ago at the WPIAL Tournament to down #2 Noah Wilps (Chartiers Valley) in the finals (3-2). It will be Coniker’s first trip to Hershey while Wilps will look to improve on his sixth place finish a season ago at the PIAA State Tournament. Ringgold senior #12 Devin Fallenstein earned his first trip to the PIAA State Tournament by finshing third at the WPAL Tournament. Sophomore #7 John Jackobsen (Stroudsburg) improved on his fourth place finish at the North East Regional in 2013 and captured his first Regional Championship over #4 Idris White (Father Judge) in the finals (5-3). White, a junior, will also be making his first appearance in Hershey. #25 Connor Martinez (Dallas) capitalized on four wins in the consolation round to earn a third place finish and qualify for the State Tournament in his senior season. Garnet Valley senior #9 John Dambro will be making his second trip to Hershey by capturing the South East Regional Championship over #10 Gabe Hale (Downingtown East) in the finals (8-0). Norristown Area sophomore #11 Rashon Lusane made it two for two in his career by finishing in third place at the South East Regional and earning a second trip to the GIANT Center. #24 Trent Zdarko (Oil City) earned a North West Regional Championship by downing McDowel senior Coleman Cousins in the finals (7-2). Central Mountain junior Gavin Caprio was able to survive the consolation bracket and place third earning his first trip to the PIAA State Tournament.
Undefeated senior #1 Zach Zavatsky (Greater Latrobe) took down #3 Kellon Stout (Mount Lebanon) for the second time this season and advanced to his fourth career trip to the PIAA State Tournament. Zavatsky already has two PIAA State Medals to his name. Stout will look to improve on his trip to Hershey last season where he went (1-2). North Allegheny junior #13 Clay Byerly had an impressive WPIAL Tournament finishing in third palce and earning his first trip to Hershey. In one of the biggest upsets of the Regional Tournaments, Mifflin County sophomore #20 Trey Hartsock, was able to upset returning PIAA State Medalist #2 Tyree Spearman (McDowell) in the semifinals and capture the Championship title over #21 Dennis Lumadue (Philipsburg-Osceola Area). Both District 6 wrestlers will make their first trip to the GIANT Center. Spearman bounced back from his upset to Hartsock and finished in third place to advance to his second straight PIAA State Championship. Returning PIAA State eighth place medalist #4 Nicolino Sevi (Nazareth Area) rolled to a North East Regional Championship picking up a major decision, tech-fall, and earning pin in the finals over senior Dennis Rivas (Louis E. Dieruff). Rivas earned his first Regional medal and will enter his first PIAA State Tournament. Wallenpaupack Area junior #23 Jared Wehrmann improved on his fourth place finish at the North East Regional a season ago to finish in third place and qualify for his first PIAA State Tournament. North Penn #7 Alex Price captured his first career South East Regional Championship and qualified for his second straight PIAA State Tournament with a (4-2) win in the finals over Avon Grove senior #8 Caleb Edwards. #19 Kody Lupher (Neshaminy) earned his first South East Regional medal to qualify for the PIAA State Tournament with a third place finish.
#1 Tom Sleigh (DuBois Area) remained undefeated on the season by dominating #9 Chris Laird (General McLane) in the finals by tech-fall (15-0). It will be Sleigh’s fourth career trip to Hershey and Laird’s second. Mifflin County senior #21 Tim Pierce earned third place to advance to his first career State Tournament. Talented senior #3 Nezar Haddad (Parkland) continues to dominate the North East Region as he won (6-2) over senior #16 Orlando Miller (Liberty). It will be Haddad’s third straight PIAA State Championship and Miller’s first. The Liberty senior is one of the most improved wrestlers in the State as he went (10-17) as a junior. After being upset by Miller in the semifinals PIAA State medalist #4 Jovon Rayes (Louis E. Dieruff) rebounded to finish in third place. The WPIAL finals set senior #5 Cole Macek (Montour) vs. sophomore #6 Drew Phipps (Norwin) in a battle of the #5 and #6 ranked wrestlers in the State. The bout went into overtime as Macek was able to secure his first WPIAL Championship with a (3-1 SV) win. It will be Macek’s third straight PIAA State Tournament and Phipps second. Big time junior #8 Alex Smith (North Allegheny) bounced back to finish third place after falling to Phipps (5-3 SV) in overtime. It was Smith’s second WPIAL Regional medal but his first career trip to Hershey.
The 220 lbs. weight-class should bring PA Wrestling fans loads of excitement, especially if there is a rematch of the South East Regional finals. In that match one of the best sophomores in the Nation, #1 Jordan Wood (Boyertown Area), put his undefeated season on the line against fellow undefeated wrestler #2 Mike Boykin (Coatesville Area). Last season as a freshman Wood finished as a PIAA State runner-up falling to 3x State Champion Thomas Haines (Solanco) in the finals. In the 2013 South East Regional finals Wood faced Boykin and won a close (4-3) match. Boykin would go on to finish as the PIAA State third place medalist at 220 lbs. This time around, however, Boykin proved he should be considered on the Nation’s top 220 lbs. wrestlers as he defeated Wood (5-2) to earn his third straight trip to Hershey and second South East Regional Championship. #6 Marc Isaac (William Tennent) also entered the South East Regional undefeated but left with one defeat as he finished in third place and qualified for his second straight PIAA State Tournament. Bethlehem Liberty senior #3 Jake Gunning continued to impress as he captured the North East Regional Championship defeating #5 Antonio Pelusi (LaSalle College) in the finals (6-2). Pelusi used a (5-3 UTB) win over Parkland junior #4 Omar Haddad in the semifinals to improve on his fourth place finish a season ago at the North East Regional. It is Gunning’s second trip to Hershey and Pelusi’s first. #4 Omar Haddad used a (3-2 UTB) win in the consolation finals over #10 Thomas Alcro (Emmaus) to secure his second straight PIAA State Tournament appearance. #9 Tyler Worthing (Kiski Area) continued his dominance up a weight at 220 lbs. to capture his first WPIAL Championship with a (14-3) major decision over junior #21 Dylan Davis (Greater Latrobe) in the finals. Hempfield Area junior Fred Mentsch bounced back to finish third and earn his first trip to Hershey. Shikellamy senior Dwayne Pepper captured the North West Regional title with a (9-4) win over junior Ian Malory (General McLane). Selinsgrove Area junior Andrew Boob used a (3-1) win over #23 Nick Gray (Philipsburg-Osceola Area) for third place. All three North West Regional place winners will be making their first trip to Hershey.
2x PIAA State Medalist #2 Shane Kuhn (Kiski Area) earned his second straight WPIAL Championship with a (5-2) win over Mount Lebanon junior #15 Zeynul Zaynullayev in the finals. Zaynullayev earned his first trip to Hershey in addition to third place WPIAL medalist #17 Stephen Turchick (Plum). Returning PIAA State sixth place medalist #4 Tracey Green (Methacton) defeated for the third straight week #5 Pat Finn (Pottsgrove) in the finals. Finn, a junior, will be making his first trip to Hershey. #8 Sean Snodgrass earned his second straight trip to Hershey by finishing third in the South East Regional. In the North East Regional finals #9 Ryan Monk (Dallas) slipped past #10 Brandon Lance (Nazareth Area) as both juniors earned their first trip to Hershey. In a unique turn of events Joe Hansbury (Archbishop Ryan) captured third place in the North East Region with an (11-9) win over #11 Cody Cooper (Stroudsburg). The 2013-2014 Season is the first time Archbishop Ryan has a wrestling team and it was the first time Joe Hansbury competed in high school. The senior did wrestle as a youth and has helped develop the first year team. Former PIAA State Qualifier #3 Scott Augustine (McDowell) will return to Hershey after finishing fourth last season at the North West Regional and falling one win shy of qualifying. Augustine earned a (3-1) win over Josh Fye (Bald Eagle Area) in the finals. Clearfield Area senior Jacob Verchick will join Fye as a first time State Tournament qualifier after finishing third in the North West Region.
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