Wrestling
Class AA Southwest Regional
Results from Saturday's individual tournament at Pitt-Johnstown. Top 4 advance to the PIAA Championships at Hershey.
Championships: 103: Ulysses Davis (Beth-Center) p. Tony Beal (Southmoreland) 1:26; 112: Justin Owens (West Branch) d. Chris Musselman (Claysburg-Kimmel) 3-1, OT; 119: Cam Plocus (Marion Center) d. Brad Yoder (Southmoreland) 12-5; 125: Erick Frick (Central) d. Shawn Whyte (West Greene) 3-2; 130: Luke Kaylor (Southmoreland) p. Andrew Courtwright (West Greene) 3:37; 135: Josh Weyandt (Chestnut Ridge) d. Tommy Nagle (Cambria Heights) 8-2; 140: John Givler (Tyrone) d. Shawn Depta (Southmoreland) 7-3; 14 5: Sean Thomas (Washington) d. Randy Mort (Beth-Center) 7-5; 152: Nick Frick (Central) d. Scott Belcastro (Washington) 4-3, 2 OT; 160: Todd McCoy (United) d. Corey Shaw (Chartiers-Houston) 5-2; 171: John Paxton (Berlin) d. Jared Shippey (Chestnut Ridge) 5-0; 189: Brock White (Burrell) d. Derek Tipton (Claysburg-Kimmel) 1-1, 30-second overtime rideout; Hwy: Tim Bennett (Fort Cherry) d. Derek Merrifield (Burrell) 10-2.
Consolation finals: 103: Brock Link (Cambria Heights) d. Thad Walstrom (Moshannon Valley) 4-3; 112: Dan Butera (Carlynton) d. Aaron Maldet (Westmont Hilltop) 4-3; 119: Erick Glass (Chartiers-Houston) d. T.J. Mickel (Central) 10-5; 125: D.J. Clark (West Branch) d. Mark Farrell (Southmoreland) 5-1; 130: Dustin Ziegler (Bedford) d. Sam Carroll (Everett) 3-0; 135: Matt LoPresti (Washington) d. Stephen Kaylor (Southmoreland) 4-2, OT; 140: Travis Horne (Bedford) d. Jeremy Rafferty (Jefferson-Morgan) 7-0; 145: Andy Hull (Bald Eagle Nittany) p. John Burda (United) 4:32; 152: Jess LeMaster (Burgettstown) p. Chad Bickford (Glendale) 4:03; 160: Barry Rhodes (Chestnut Ridge) d. Adam Cummins (Avella) 2-1; 171: Tom Kerin (West Branch) d. Matt Maggs (Bald Eagle Nittany) 3-2; 189: Brian Guzek (South Park) p. Ken Varoli (South Fayette) 2:58; Hwy: Josh Baker (Bedford) d. Jeremiah McClenahan (Penns Valley) 12-4.
Team Top 10: 1. Southmoreland 83. 2. Washington 48. 3. Central 47. 4. (tie) West Branch and Chestnut Ridge, 45. 6. Beth-Center 38. 7. West Greene 36. 8. Bedford 35. 9. Burrell 32. 10. Claysburg-Kimmel 31.
Southmoreland to be well represented in Hershey
By Sam Ross Jr.
TRIBUNE-REVIEWJOHNSTOWN - Southmoreland's wrestling team turned the Pitt-Johnstown Sports Center into a ticket booth Saturday, booking passage to Hershey and the state wrestling tournament with a strong showing in the PIAA Class AA Southwest Regional.
Coach Jon Banko's team claimed the team championship with 83 points to 48 for runner-up Washington, advanced six of seven wrestlers to Hershey, had four wrestlers in the finals and produced one individual champion, Luke Kaylor at 130 pounds. "Losing three of four finals, that's tough," Banko said. "But, at the same time, you stress advancing. Every year there's a kid who gets by in the WPIALs, gets by in the regionals and ends up in the state finals. The name of the game is Hershey. That's what you shoot for all year long."
Kaylor made it to Hershey last year as a junior. He's going back as the Southwest regional champion after reversing his WPIAL championship loss to West Greene's Andrew Courtwright. "I'd lost pretty bad to him, 8-2," Kaylor said.
"He got beat up pretty badly in that one," Banko confirmed.
But Kaylor got a confidence boost from beating Bedford's Dustin Ziegler, 4-3, in the regional semifinals. Kaylor's bout with Courtwright was tied at 2-2 in the second period when Kaylor scored the pin at 3:37. "I had a whizzer on him and the ref said `one of you guys better start moving in about two seconds or I'm going to blow the whistle,' " Kaylor said. "I heard coach say `elevate your leg' and I elevated it and he went straight to his back. I got double grapevines on him and he couldn't move."
Earlier, two Southmoreland wrestlers had come up short in championship matches. Tony Beal was pinned by Beth-Center's Ulysses Davis in 1:26 at 103 pounds and Brad Yoder had fallen, 12-5, to unbeaten (31-0) Marion Center 119-pounder Cam Plocus. "I felt some pressure to get a win," Kaylor said. "I didn't want to disappoint coach."
Later, Southmoreland's Shawn Depta, the WPIAL champion, dropped a 7-3 decision to Tyrone's John Givler at 140. Also advancing from the consolation round for Southmoreland were Mark Farrell, fourth place at 125, and Stephen Kaylor, fourth at 135. "We've got to be thinking positively taking six kids to Hershey," Banko said. "We've got to have a realistic goal of finishing pretty high out there."
Kaylor is optimistic about his individual chances in the wake of the regional championship. "I went up there to states last year as a small 30-pounder," he said. "I started off at 40 this year and dropped to 30 so I feel more confident. More strength. I should be able to place up there this year."
Four-time WPIAL champion Shawn Whyte of West Greene came up short in the 125-pound regional final, losing to a 3-2 decision to 33-0 junior Erick Frick of Central.
Washington's Sean Thomas, the WPIAL champion and a third-place PIAA finisher last season again defeated WPIAL runner-up Randy Mort of Beth-Center, this time a 7-5 decision for regional gold.
Martinsburg Central was the only school to produce two regional champions, the Frick brothers. Erick Frick's 125-pound win and Nick Frick's overtime decision over Washington's Scott Belcastro at 152 gave the family two golds.
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