2011 MSA SPORTS ALL-MAT WRESTLING TEAM

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, March 23, 2011 | 12:00 AM

Last weekend put a stamp on the end of yet another season of fantastic wrestling. The WPIAL produced 5 state champions and 48 total medallists (24 in both AA and AAA) over that time in Hershey. While there were many great wrestlers to watch and follow throughout the season, the MSA Sports Network had whittled the superb list down to the top ten wrestlers of 2010-2011 for our All-Mat Team.

MSA Sports Network's Wrestler of the Year:
Nico Megaludis, Franklin Regional, Senior, 125, 51-0

Megaludis capped his senior season by winning his third state championship, a 16-4 victory over Jeremy Minich of Boyertown, to cap what has been an amazing wrestling career. Megaludis, who hasn't lost since his freshman season (135 straight wins), has picked up 4 WPIAL and Section Championships, 3 PIAA Titles, 4 Westmoreland County Coaches Association Championships, and 4 Powerade Wrestling Titles among other accolades. For his career Megaludis went 170-1, with his only loss coming to eventual state champion Mark Rappo of Council Rock South 1-0 in the semi-finals of the PIAA tournament his freshman season at 103 pounds. Megaludis would come back to place third that year.
With his third state championship, Megaludis became the 38th wrestler in PIAA history to accomplish the feat. His 4th WPIAL Championship made him the 21st wrestler in history to join the elite club. Megaludis will be attending Penn State University this fall where he will look to wrestle 125 pounds.

The rest of the squad:

Jason Nolf, Kittanning, Freshman, 103, 44-0
One year in and Nolf has already accomplished what very few wrestlers in history can do. He went perfect throughout his freshman season, winning every match he stepped on the mat for. Nolf was a Section, WPIAL, Southwest Regional, and PIAA Champion, winning his final match by a 4-2 decision over Joseph Byers of Boiling Springs.

Jimmy Gulibon, Derry, Junior, 119, 36-1
Gulibon wrestled just like everyone expected in 2010-2011, winning a Section, WPIAL, Southwest Region, and PIAA Title (his 3rd of each). His last match may have been as tough as the one blemish on the season (a 4-3 loss to Nico Megaludis at the Westmoreland County Coaches Association Tournament). Gulibon, after winning his first 3 matches in Hershey by tech. fall, won a close 6-5 match over Randy Cruz of Bethlehem Catholic. Next season Gulibon will look to be the 22nd wrestler with 4 WPIAL championships and the 10th wrestler with PIAA titles.

Travis Shaffer, Derry, Senior, 140, 37-4
With so much talk around Gulibon in Derry, Shaffer was able to fly under the radar a bit. But he was every bit impressive as his teammate throughout the season, winning his first PIAA championships with an impressive 8-0 victory over Austin Matthews of Reynolds. In his career, Shaffer was able to grab his 4th PIAA medal, 3 WPIAL, Southwest Regional, and Section Championships, plus 4 Westmoreland County Coaches Association Titles. He will be wrestling at the University of Pittsburgh this fall.

Travis McKillop, Burrell, Senior, 160, 52-2
There may not have been a better rivalry in wrestling over the last 2 years, especially in the WPIAL, than Travis McKillop and Cody Wiercioch of Charleroi. Both guys wrestled 7 total times, including in the finals of the last 3 weekends of the season. In the end McKillop got the best of Wiercioch (and winning the series 4-3) by beating him in overtime 7-3 after a Peterson roll off of a shot to pick up his first PIAA championship. McKillop was the anchor of a great Burrell team, where he won 4 Section, 2 WPIAL, 2 Southwest Regional, and 1 Westmoreland County Coaches Association Championship while adding 3 PIAA medals. McKillop will wrestle at the University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown this fall.

Cody Wiercioch, Charleroi, Sophomore, 160, 39-3
Three total losses for Wiercioch, all of which came to Travis McKillop of Burrell. Wiercioch was tough as nails for a second straight year, dominating many of his opponents. He won his 2nd Section Title and 1st WPIAL Championship, while finishing 2nd in both the Southwest Region and PIAA Tournaments.

Geoff Alexander, Shady Side Academy, Senior, 125, 47-4
Alexander capped a great wrestling career by adding a 4th PIAA medal to his resume, a 3rd place finish in Hershey. Although falling just short of an illustrious state title by losing to eventual champion Mason Beckman of Reynolds in the semi-finals, Alexander capped a great career by winning his 4th Section, WPIAL, and Southwest Regional Titles this season. He will be heading to Maryland this fall to wrestle.

Nick Bonaccorsi, Bethel Park, Senior, 171, 44-1
After having a successful wrestling career, Bonaccorsi was set to win a pair of titles that were missing from his resume. Although he was a 3 time Section Champion, the WPIAL and PIAA gold seemed to always avoid him. This year he was able to get his first WPIAL gold medal, defeating Cole Baxter of Butler 5-0. But Bonaccorsi came up short in Hershey, falling by a narrow 5-3 decision to eventual champion JM Staudenmayer of Plymouth Whitemarsh. Bonaccorsi would battle back in the consolations after suffering his first defeat of the season, winning 4 matches to grab 3rd place. He will wrestle at the University of Pittsburgh starting this fall.

Cody Klempay, Canon-McMillan, Junior, 285, 47-1
Last year Klempay came on to the wrestling season by picking up a Section Championship before getting hurt at the WPIAL tournament that forced him to default out of the tournament. This season, Klempay wasn't ready to lose again, adding a Section Title to a WPIAL Championship and going undefeated into Hershey. But after a tough 8-3 loss to Dawson Peck of Chambersburg in the semi-finals, Klempay was forced to battle back through the consolations. He did so by picking up 3rd place and something to build on going into his senior season.

Nick Catalano, Canon-McMillan, Senior, 145, 47-2
While many Canon-McMillan wrestlers shined, it was Catalano's leadership as a senior that helped the Big Macs nab another WPIAL Team title. But he didn't simply stop there. Catalano added his 4th Section Championship, his 4th WPIAL medal and first title, and made it to the finals of the PIAA tournament before coming up just short to Brian Brill of Central Mountain by a score of 6-2. It was Catalano's 3rd PIAA medal overall and it helped cap a great career for the senior. He plans to attend the University of North Carolina to wrestle this fall.

Tags: Bethel Park, Burrell, Canon-McMillan, Charleroi, Derry Area, Franklin Regional, Kittanning