Bulldogs鈥� Layhue leads local trio of WPIAL Class 2A champs
West Greene蘑菇视频 Whyte wins 2nd title; Frazier蘑菇视频 Erdely grabs 1st
HEIDELBERG — When you are the top seed in the weight class, a lot is expected of you.
Just ask Noah Layhue.
The senior from Beth-Center, who is a student at California but wrestles for the Bulldogs as part of a co-op, was picked as the No. 1 seed in the 215-pound weight class in the WPIAL Class 2A Individual Championships over the weekend. In a cool, calm and collected way, Layhue was one of three local champions.
The top eight wrestlers from each weight class advanced to the PIAA Class 2A championship at Altoona. Layhue, Frazier’s Jonah Erdely and West Greene’s Colin Whyte will compete as district champions.
“I came in with a full-game mindset,” said Layhue, who chalked up his 104th career win Saturday at Chartiers Valley High School. “The whole season, I got the No. 2 seed. When I came in and found I was the No. 1, I felt this is my time to shine at the No. 1.”
Layhue stopped Kolton Carlson, 8-1, in a rough match.
“Being the No.1 seed puts pressure on you, especially since the No. 2 seed is the one that is the returning state qualifier,” said Beth-Center coach Gary Welsh. “They crossed paths at the Moon Duals but didn’t wrestle.”
Whyte was the No. 1 seed in the 285-pound weight class, and he had to battle to come away with a 4-2 decision over Laurel’s Casey Wilson for his second WPIAL gold.
“It was good to win it again,” Whyte said. “I wrestled him earlier this season and it was the same score.”
Whyte’s teammate Noah Collins was third at 133.
Erdely, a senior, scored a takedown with three seconds remaining to edge Elizabeth Forward’s Lucas Boyer, 5-3, for the championship at 152. Erdely won his first district title. Boyer was the No. 1 seed in the tournament and Erdely the second.
The Commodores’ Derek Diamond was seventh at 215.
Alek Palko of Jefferson-Morgan saw his chance for a gold medal dissolve in a 5-1 loss to Ewan Olson at 160 pounds. Palko knocked out Owen Ivcic of Bentworth, the top seed in the weight class, with an 11-4 victory in the semifinal.
Beth-Center’s Malachi Peak, who like Layhue, is a California student who competes for the Bulldogs, was the runner-up at 189 to Derry’s Brady Brown.
Peak’s classmate Mason Wright was fourth at 139 to qualify for the southwestern regional tournament. Beth-Center’s Shane Cronin was seventh at 127.
The Rockets’ Brayden Hanning (4th/107), Caleb Dulaney (4th/114), Landon Heath (5th/285) and James Dulaney (6th/127) qualified for the regional tournament.
Mount Pleasant’s Tristan Wtorkiewicz (4th/152) and Payton Schaum (7th/285) will compete in Altoona next Friday and Saturday.
Southmoreland had one regional qualifier in Kaden Shannon, who placed sixth at 285.
蘑菇视频 sports writer Jonathan Guth contributed to this report.