Regional Tournaments Full of Surprises
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Penn Hills junior Te’Shan Campbell upset #2 State Ranked Dom Scalise (Greater Latrobe) in the WPIAL quarterfinals.
Any wrestling fan will tell you – regional tournaments are some of the most exciting bouts of the season. It is the period where wrestlers, no matter their ranking or seed, lay it all on the mat in hopes of continuing their season and often times their high school wrestling careers.
The 2014 Regional Tournaments are now in full swing as the top wrestlers clash in a last ditch effort to move on to Hershey next week. As always there were several surprising results from across the State in both Class AA and AAA. Below is a look at each region and how they are developing.
Class AA
The top five (5) wrestlers advance to the PIAA State Tournament
At 106 lbs. freshman John Pipa (Bishop McDevitt) and Jake Riegel (Bethlehem Catholic) will meet in the Championship semifinals. At 113 lbs. Luke Karam (Bethlehem Catholic) shows no signs of letting up in the semifinals and Palisades Jacob Wasser will meet Coy Campbell (Upper Dauphin) in the other semifinal match. At 126 lbs. Colin Mashack (Tamaqua Area) earned an impressive victory over Josh Giorgio (Schuykill Valley) in the quarterfinals (5-0) to advance to the semifinals where he will meet Dante Albanese (Pius X). At 132 lbs. Ian Brown (Hanover) remains undefeated and Andrew Sutton (Pen Argyl) will take on Boiling Springs Kyle Shoop in the semifinals. At 152 lbs. Calvary Christian Academy senior Richie Cerebe will have a tough semifinals match against Ryan Ramich (Schuykill Valley). The 170 lbs. bracket is loaded with talent and the semifinals will feature four of the top nine ranked wrestlers in the State. At 182 lbs. undefeated senior Stephen Loiseau (Lancaster Catholic) will face Guy Zimmerman (Pine Grove Area) in the semifinals. At 285 lbs. Brady Mutton (Pen Argyl) picked up a fall over Noah Davis (Boiling Springs) in the quarterfinals.
The top three (3) wrestlers advance to the PIAA State Tournament
Eight of the fourteen weight classes will feature all District 4 semifinals as multiple rematches are set to take place. Things at Williamsport High School went as planned as no real surprised occurred at the North East Regional. At 220 lbs. Canton Area senior Connor Route earned a fall in overtime to give GAR Memorial junior Zach Faust just his second defeat on the season.
The top three (3) wrestlers advance to the PIAA State Tournament
At 113 lbs. District 10 runner-up Preston Hoover (Mercer) scratched. At 132 lbs. Dalton Zimmerman (Brookville Area) needed overtime to get past Seneca sophomore Chris Hibbler (6-4 SV). At 138 lbs. Brock Zacherl (Brookville Area) rolled into the semifinals where he will face Saegertown sophomore Nick Monico. At 160 lbs. #9 in the State Gage Gladysz (Greenville) needed tiebreaker to get past Keshon Truitt (Redbank Valley) to advance (3-2 TB). In a battle of two seniors Forest Tuttle, who just recently made his season debut, took on returning PIAA State Qualifier Ryan Morris (Corry Area). Morris was able to hang on for a (8-6 TB) victory and advance to the semifinals where he will face Marquis Spence (Lakeview) who he lost to last weekend (4-3). At 220 lbs. Brookville Area sophomore and #13 State ranked Bryce Town was upset by Andrew Phelps (Northeast) in the quarterfinals (9-7). On the opposite side of 220 lbs. #14 State ranked Cal Haines (Redbank Valley) fell to Jamestown senior Jason Shappee (8-4). At 285 lbs. #11 State ranked Gene Ringer (Reynolds) dropped a (2-1) decision to Jack Karsten (Cameron County).
The top five (5) wrestlers advance to the PIAA State Tournament
A 106 lbs. undefeated freshman Max Murin (Central Cambria) leads the way in a stacked bracket. The 113 lbs. bracket is even more impressive with five wrestlers ranked top ten in the State. Undefeated sophomore Collin Glorioso (Huntingdon) downed Jefferson Morgan junior Brendan Howard (7-2) to advance to the semifinals where he will meet rival Austin Griffiths (Southmoreland). On the opposite side Burgettstown junior and #4 State ranked Austin McDermitt will meet Bedford sophomore #9 Jonathan Gabriel. Returning PIAA State Champion George Phillippi (Derry Area) used a (4-2) decision to get past Penns Valley freshman Curtis Decker. #7 State ranked Triston Law (Forest Hills) will try to take down #4 State ranked Joey Swank (Berlin Brothersvalley). Undefeated wrestlers John Demaske (Jefferson Morgan) at 126 lbs. and Mike Carr (South Fayette) at 132 lbs. both advanced to the semifinals. In one of the most impressive wins of the Tournament thus far senior John Andrejcik (Burrell) upset the #3 ranked wrestler in the State when he defeated 2013 PIAA State runner-up Ryan Easter (Bedford) in tiebreaker (2-1 TB). At 138 lbs. former PIAA State Qualifier Richie McGinnis (Chartiers-Houston) upset #9 State ranked Derrick Claar (Chestnut Ridge) by a score of (6-2). Yet another loaded South West Regional bracket is 152 lbs. which features six wrestlers ranked top ten in the State. At 195 lbs. Valley senior and #13 State ranked Marcus Davenport was upset in the first round falling (3-2) to Somerset’s Logan Eller.
Class AAA
The top three (3) wrestlers advance to the PIAA State Tournament
There were very few surprises in the first rounds of the Tournament as semifinals feature majority of expected match-ups. At 120 lbs. undefeated sophomore Wade Cummings (Downingtown East) slipped by Council Rock South freshman Zack Trampe (3-2) and advanced to the semifinals.
The top three (3) wrestlers advance to the PIAA State Tournament
At both 106 lbs. and 113 lbs. its an all District 11 semifinals featuring some of the States top wrestlers in Tyrone Klump (Nazareth Area) and Dan Moran (Northampton) at 106 lbs. and Michael Scheetz (Northampton Area), Jacob Lizak (Parkland), and freshman stud KJ Fenstermacher (Liberty) at 113 lbs. At 126 lbs. freshman Kyle Gorant (Southern Lehigh) had an impressive (9-1) win over Bob Hawkins (James M. Coughlin) to advance to the semifinals. At 132 lbs. its a pair of District 11 wrestlers vs. a pair of District 2 wrestlers in a battle of four top 15 State ranked wrestlers. Northampton senior Bobby Fehr, ranked #3 in the State, needed overtime to get past Scranton junior Kazim Bakhriyez (6-4 SV).
The top three (3) wrestlers advance to the PIAA State Tournament
At 106 lbs. Carmen Ciotti (Strong Vincent) had an impressive victory over freshman Cole Manley (Altoona Area) by a (4-0) score. At 120 lbs. undefeated junior Roshan Cooley (Williamsport Area) will meet freshman Brock Port (Bellefonte Area) in an exciting semifinal match-up. In the toughest weight of the region, 138 lbs. semifinals will feature four wrestlers ranked in the top 20 in the State. Equally as impressive is 152 lbs. where three wrestlers ranked in the top 25 in the State will meet in the semifinals.
The top three (3) wrestlers advance to the PIAA State Tournament
Year after year the WPIAL Tournament is a meat grinder of talent and 2014 is no different. Franklin Regional’s studs have had no problems advancing into the semifinals and North Allegheny has had an impressive first day. The 126 lbs. weight class is the toughest region in the State as four wrestlers ranked top 5 in the State will clash. State Champion Sam Krivus (Hempfield Area) will meet returning PIAA State Medalist AC Headlee (Waynesburg Central) and 2x PIAA State Medalist Dom Forys (North Allegheny) takes on returning PIAA State runner-up Dalton Macri (Canon-McMillan). From 132 lbs. to 152 lbs. the semifinals will feature a variety of top ranked State wrestlers all in the semifinals.
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