Class AA wrestling: Down to eight
CANONSBURG — Getting to the WPIAL Class AA individual championship is one thing. Getting out of it and advancing to the Southwest Regional Championship next weekend is something entirely different.
That point was driven home in a forceful way Saturday morning and afternoon at Canon-McMillan High School. Thirty-two wrestlers from the district advanced from Friday’s section tournament at Canon-Mac, but by the time the semifinals were contested at 3 p.m. Saturday, the number of area survivors had been whittled to eight.
That number might seem a little harsh, but for those eight wrestlers, there is good news. By making it to the semis, they’ve advanced to next week’s PIAA Southwest Regional at IUP. A total of seven wrestlers in each weight class take the next stop toward a chance to wrestle in Hershey for a state title.
Mount Pleasant’s freshman 106-pounder, Damian George, ran up against top-seeded Trent Valovychik, another freshman, and was beaten 11-5. George made a strong comeback in the third period, scoring five points to make the score, 9-5, but was unable to get any closer.
Frazier’s very talented freshman Thayne Lawrence wrestled two bouts early in the day Saturday, he picked two more wins by fall, including one in 2:40 of Dan McCarthy of Burrell.
“He’s just a pretty complete wrestler,” said Frazier coach Gregg Boggs. “He’s good on his feet, good on top, good on the bottom. His balance is good. Thayen has a lot of things going for him. He’s one of those kids who doesn’t get excited about wins, he gets more focused.”
With the win, Lawrence raised his season record to 28-4.
Jefferson-Morgan’s lone survivor into the semifinals is not a stranger to that territory. Gavin Teasdale continued his inexorable march to greatness with a pair of technical falls that got him into Saturday night’s finals against Burrell senior Dillan Jeffrey.
Southmoreland’s Tyler Griffiths recorded a pair of workmanlike Saturday victories, including a 6-2 win over Ken Azzerallo of Avonworth in the quarterfinals, to secure a spot in the finals at 132. His teammate, Jaden Datz, also recorded a pair of decisions to get into the finals at 160 pounds.
Bentworth’s outstanding junior 113-pounder, Manny Dovshek, handled his quarter and semifinal opponents relatively easily, putting up a fall and decision, to make the finals.
One of the most dominant wrestlers in the tournament is Beth-Center’s Dominic Fundy and that was very evident Saturday afternoon. He spent less than two minutes to win his two matches to set up a start-studded final at 182 pounds against Anthony Marra of Burrell.
Several other area wrestlers were still alive the consolation rounds with chances to nail down one of the spots in the Southwest Regional. The consolation and championship finals were held after press time Saturday night.
The PIAA Class AA Southwest Regional will be held Friday and Saturday at IUP’s Kovalchick Center. Starting at 3 p.m. Friday, the preliminary round, quarterfinals and first round of consolations will be held. On Saturday, the semifinals will be held at 10 a.m., followed by the second, third and fourth rounds of consolations. The championship and consolation finals will be contested at 5:45.