Norwin’s Phipps, North Hills’ Hillegas seek 2nd Powerade titles

By: HSSN Staff
Tuesday, December 25, 2018 | 7:12 PM

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Kurtis Phipps knows how hard it is to win the Powerade Christmas Tournament.

Last year as a sophomore, the Norwin wrestler defeated eventual PIAA Class AAA 103-pound champion, Seneca Valley sophomore Alejandro Herrera-Rondon, in the semifinals and then Maryland state champion, St. Pauls’ Will Guida in the finals.

North Hills junior Sam Hillegas is the only other returning WPIAL wrestler to win at Powerade. He was the 106-pound champion in 2016 but lost in the semifinals to Wyoming Seminary’s Beau Barlett in the semifinals. Barlett went on to hand Jefferson-Morgan’s Gavin Teasdale his first high school defeat.

The 2018 Powerade Holiday Wrestling Tournament features 52 teams, four returning champions, 18 state champions and teams from around the country.

The tournament begins 8:15 a.m. Friday at Canon-McMillan and concludes 7 p.m. Saturday with the finals.

WPIAL wrestlers love this tournament because it shows them how they rank around the country.

Phipps is moving from 106 to 120 pounds this season, and he’s ready for the challenge.

“I have to get used to wrestling at a new weight,” Phipps said. “So I’m working on different things, preparing myself for future tournaments.”

Phipps defeated Herrera-Rondon, 4-0, in the last year’s Powerade semifinals and then edged Guida, 3-2, in overtime. Herrera-Rondon and Phipps split 1-0 decision later in the season with Phipps winning his second WPIAL title and Herrera-Rondon winning the state title.

“Kurtis is working on some new stuff,” Norwin coach Vince DeAugustine said. “He has to improve on getting off the bottom and being more aggressive on his feet. I see a lot of improvement already.”

Hillegas didn’t let a loss to Barlett slow him down. He went on to win his second PIAA Class AAA title. He’s looking to become the next four-time PIAA champion.

Kiski Area and Burrell, the top-ranked teams in the WPIAL, will be looking to show why they are ranked so high.

The Cavaliers’ Darren Miller, who defeated Franklin Regional senior Colton Camacho in the Eastern Invitational final, will face some big tests, including a possible rematch with Camacho.

Franklin Regional freshman Finn Solomon is coming off a good showing at the King of the Mountain tournament. He pinned Council Rock South’s Kyle Waterman, who placed fifth in the state.

Shaler senior Ryan Sullivan, a PIAA champion last year, placed third in Powerade, defeating Burrell’s Ian Oswalt at 113.

Other WPIAL wrestlers looking for titles include Canon-McMillan junior Gerrit Nijenhuis at 182, Derry senior Dom DeLuca at 220, Hempfield sophomore heavyweight Isaiah Vance, Belle Vernon senior Scott Joll at 170, Hempfield senior Kyle Burkholder at 113, Hempfield junior Dillon Ferretti at 220 and Latrobe junior Gabe Willochell at 138.

Hempfield coach Tommy Dolde said he’s excited to see how his team competes.

“We’ve prepared well,” Dolde said. “I have a bunch of hard workers. I expect them do to well.”

Other tournaments

Action at the Southmoreland Holiday Tournament and the Steve DeAugustino Holiday Classic at West Mifflin will begin at Thursday and conclude Friday.

There are 17 teams from the WPIAL heading to Southmoreland to compete against teams from Districts 5, 6 and 10.

There are 30 teams from the WPIAL and City League heading to West Mifflin, the oldest holiday tournament in the WPIAL.

Paul Schofield is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Paul at pschofield@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Schofield_Trib.

Tags: Franklin Regional, Hempfield, Kiski School, Norwin