Franklin Reg Beats Latrobe in PIAA AAA Finals; Burrell Wins AA Consolation

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, February 8, 2014 | 10:12 PM

The WPIAL showcased why they are so deep in AAA on Friday night, with all three PIAA qualifiers (Franklin Regional, Latrobe, North Allegheny) wrestling in the semi-finals. With Franklin Regional and Latrobe advancing to Saturday’s final, the WPIAL had its first ever all District 7 final in the PIAA tournament.

The matchup was against two familiar foes, with Franklin Regional and Latrobe already wrestling each other twice over the last two weeks. In the first meeting in the Section 1 Championships, Franklin Regional beat Latrobe 46-28. In the WPIAL finals a week ago, Franklin Regional again was victorious, winning 42-19.

It was more of the same in Hershey on Saturday, with Franklin Regional coming out on top. The match started in a favorable spot for Franklin Regional at 285. Despite Tyler Mears picking up a fall for Latrobe to give the Wildcats a 6-0 lead, it was Franklin Regional who then went on a roll. The Panthers would win 7 of the next 8 matches, two of which by fall and one by technical fall, to take a commanding 31-9 lead. After Latrobe picked up a win at 160, Franklin Regional would only need one more win to clinch the PIAA title. At 170, Nate Painter of Franklin Regional picked up a 5-3 decision over Justin Short of Latrobe to clinch the gold for Franklin Regional.

Franklin Regional would win its third straight match over Latrobe to win the PIAA Championship with a 37-23 victory. This is the first ever PIAA Wrestling Championship for Franklin Regional. This was also the first time Latrobe had made an appearance in the PIAA finals. With the win by Franklin Regional, the WPIAL has now won the last three PIAA Championships in AAA. Canon McMillan won the first two before Franklin Regional won this season.

PIAA AAA Finals
Franklin Regional 37 – Latrobe 23
285 Tyler Mears (Latrobe) Fall Charlie Mazon (Franklin Regional) 3:33
106 Devin Brown (Franklin Regional) Fall Carson Palmer (Latrobe) :17
113 Spencer Lee (Franklin Regional) TF Ethan McCoy (Latrobe) 19-3;2:06
120 Luke Pletcher (Latrobe) Dec Augusten Solomon (Franklin Regional) 4-3
126 Dom Giannangeli (Franklin Regional) Dec Joel Cawoski (Latrobe) 3-2
132 Tyler Smith (Franklin Regional) Major Ethan Stas (Latrobe) 19-7
138 Mike Kemerer (Franklin Regional) Major Jake Willochell (Latrobe) 17-5
145 Josh Maruca (Franklin Regional) Fall Ethan Smith (Latrobe) 1:16
152 Josh Shields (Franklin Regional) Dec Jake Shaffer (Latrobe) 5-0
160 Dominic Scalise (Latrobe) Dec Brandon Yant (Franklin Regional) 5-2
170 Nate Painter (Franklin Regional) Dec Justin Short (Latrobe) 5-3
182 Zachary Zavatsky (Latrobe) TF John Wohlin (Franklin Regional) 22-7; 2:23
195 Logan Carns (Latrobe) Fall Jake Pickup (Franklin Regional) 1:55
220 Justin Rose (Franklin Regional) Dec Travis Schmeling (Latrobe) 9-7

After wrestling so well during the first two days of the PIAA tournament, North Allegheny did not get the opportunity to bring home a medal from Hershey. They would face a familiar foe in the consolation semi-finals in District 3 Champion Cumberland Valley. North Allegheny defeated Cumberland Valley 29-28 in the preliminary round on Thursday, a match that North Allegheny had to win the final two bouts to advance.

In the re-match, North Allegheny could not pull off the win. The match started at 220 pounds, where Zach Smith picked up a fall to make it 6-0 North Allegheny. Cumberland Valley would win two matches, one by fall, to go up 10-6. North Allegheny would win the next three matches, including a technical fall by Dom Forys at 126 to make it 17-10 North Allegheny. But Cumberland Valley answered, winning the next five bouts to take a 31-17 lead with three matches to go.

At 170 pounds, North Allegheny’s Jake Woodley looked to add bonus points but was unsuccessful, winning by decision to cut the lead to 31-20. North Allegheny would need a pair of falls in the final two weight classes to advance but came up short, as Colton Byerly of North Allegheny at 182 could only win by a 9-2 decision. With the decision, Cumberland Valley had clinched the win and would go on to pick up the victory with a 31-28 win.

Cumberland Valley would fall short of winning the third place match as District 11 Champion Nazareth, who lost to Franklin Regional 38-22 in the semi-finals, won the match with a 39-18 final.

4th Round Consolations
Cumberland Valley 31 North Allegheny 28
220 Zach Smith (North Allegheny) Fall Jake Black (Cumberland Valley) :20
285 Jackson Stanford (Cumberland Valley) Fall David Probert (North Allegheny) 4:25
106 William Kaldes (Cumberland Valley) Major Zack Stedeford (North Allegheny) 15-4
113 Luke Landefeld (North Allegheny) Dec Wyatt Long (Cumberland Valley) 5-0
120 Scotty Stossel (North Allegheny) Dec Cal Reichart (Cumberland Valley) 5-2
126 Domenic Forys (North Allegheny) TF Saurab Faruque (Cumberland Valley) 16-1; 3:33
132 Alex Wolfe (Cumberland Valley) Dec Jake Hinkson (North Allegheny) 3-0
138 Patrick Duggan (Cumberland Valley) Fall AJ Boeh (North Allegheny) 2:50
145 Felix Belga (Cumberland Valley) Dec Drew Landefeld (North Allegheny) 4-3
152 TC Warner (Cumberland Valley) Fall Sean Kalmeyer (North Allegheny) 2:43
160 Brandon Rudy (Cumberland Valley) Dec Blynn Shideler (North Allegheny) 5-0
170 Jake Woodley (North Allegheny) Dec Dayne Ross (Cumberland Valley) 10-4
182 Colton Byerly (North Allegheny) Dec Brendon Rigney (Cumberland Valley) 9-2
195 Clay Byerly (North Allegheny) Forfeit (Cumberland Valley)

—————————————————————————————

After Burrell lost in their opening match on Thursday, it looked like the WPIAL was once again going to struggle to bring home a PIAA medal in AA. The WPIAL Champion had lost a tight 35-33 match to District 3 Runner-Up Hamburg in preliminary round action, thus falling down to the consolation bracket. However after winning a pair of matches on Friday, the Bucs were only two more wins of assuring themselves of a medal.

The first match was against District 6 Champion Huntingdon, a team that beat South Fayette 43-15 on Thursday in the preliminaries. Burrell would jump out to a big lead early, going up 21-0 thanks in part to a pair of falls by Corey Arabia at 220 and Dean Edwards at 106. Huntingdon would battle back, winning 5 of the next 6 bouts, cutting the Burrell lead to 24-18. But Burrell would pick up two big wins, a major decision by Steven Edwards at 152 and a decision by Derrick Beattie at 160, clinching the win for the Bucs with a 31-18 win with two matches to go. Burrell would advance with a final score win of 31-27.

The win would setup a rematch for Burrell against Hamburg with the winner assuring themselves the opportunity bring home a medal from Hershey. Burrell would come out red hot, winning the first four matches, including a fall at 113 by Dillan Jeffery, to take a 15-0 lead. Hamburg would win 2 of the next 3 matches to cut the lead to 18-10. But Burrell would dominate the middle weights, winning five straight matches, two of which by fall, to take a commanding 42-10 lead. Burrell would lose the final two matches, but it wouldn’t matter, as Burrell would win its fourth straight match to advance to the medal round of the PIAA Championships.

Burrell would remain red hot in their final match at Hershey. After splitting the first 6 matches, Burrell took control of the match, winning 5 straight and 6 of the final 7 matches to steam roll District 3 Champion Boiling Springs 45-20. Picking up falls for Burrell in their final match were Alan Beattie at 285, Dillan Jeffery at 113, Steven Edwards at 152, Derrick Beattie at 160, Alex Moses at 182, and Corey Arabia at 220.

After losing a tight match in the opening round, Burrell stayed focused and wrestled to the best of their ability. The Bucs put together five straight wins over a two day period in the consolations to win 3rd place in the PIAA in AA.

The PIAA Champion in AA was Bethlehem Catholic. They dominated the PIAA tournament and beat Reynolds 41-15 for the title. For Bethlehem Catholic, this is their 4th straight PIAA Championship.

3rd Round Consolations
Burrell 31 Huntingdon 27 
195 Robert Scherer (Burrell) Dec Mitchell Lauer (Huntingdon) 1-0
220 Corey Arabia (Burrell) Fall Tyler Morningstar (Huntingdon) 2:42
285 Allan Beattie (Burrell) Forfeit (Huntingdon)
106 Dean Edwards (Burrell) Fall John Kline (Huntingdon) :47
113 Collin Glorioso (Huntingdon) Fall Dillan Jeffery (Burrell) :50
120 Tyler Scott (Huntingdon) Dec Jason Roberts (Burrell) 2-0
126 Matt Wilson (Huntingdon) Dec Anthony Marra (Burrell) 2-0
132 John Andrejcik (Burrell) Dec Devon Green (Huntingdon) 17-10
138 Nathan Russell (Huntingdon) Dec Damon Greenwald (Burrell) 10-4
145 Jacob Oliver (Huntingdon) Dec Corey Falleroni (Burrell) 4-2 OT
152 Steven Edwards (Burrell) Major Jon Wagner (Huntingdon) 14-5
160 Derrick Beattie (Burrell) Dec Eric Lynn (Huntingdon) 7-0
170 Logan Fisher (Huntingdon) Dec Nicholas Pattock (Burrell) 1-0
182 Matt Norris (Huntingdon) Fall Denver Shrum (Burrell) 1:37

4th Round Consolations
Burrell 42 Hamburg 22
220 Robert Scherer (Burrell) Dec Logan Lackey (Hamburg) 2-0 OT
285 Allan Beattie (Burrell) Dec Blake Roberts (Hamburg) 4-0
106 Dean Edwards (Burrell) Dec Romeo Eaddy (Hamburg) 4-1
113 Dillan Jeffery (Burrell) Fall Mike Eicher (Hamburg) 1:36
120 Sean Stanish (Hamburg) Fall Jason Roberts (Burrell) 3:49
126 Anthony Marra (Burrell) Dec Kerry Mega (Hamburg) 7-1
132 Chris Kummerer (Hamburg) Major John Andrejcik (Burrell) 13-4
138 Damon Greenwald (Burrell) Dec Nick Oswald (Hamburg) 4-3
145 Corey Falleroni (Burrell) Fall Andrew Kochel (Hamburg) 3:50
152 Steven Edwards (Burrell) TF Matt James (Hamburg) 24-9; 4:51
160 Derrick Beattie (Burrell) Fall Ronnie Lavigne (Hamburg) :35
170 Nicholas Pattock (Burrell) Major Ronnie Lavigne (Hamburg) 10-1
182 Cody Miller (Hamburg) Fall Alex Moses (Burrell) 2:00
195 Austin Bashore (Hamburg) Forfeit

Consolation Finals
Burrell 45 Boiling Springs 20
285 Allan Beattie (Burrell) Fall Noah Davis (Boiling Springs) 1:27
106 Jonathan Day (Boiling Springs) Dec Dean Edwards (Burrell) 9-4
113 Dillan Jeffery (Burrell) Fall Devin Crum (Boiling Springs) :43
120 Korbin Myers (Boiling Springs) Fall Jason Roberts (Burrell) 2:36
126 Anthony Marra (Burrell) Dec AJ Kostyak (Boiling Springs) 4-3
132 Grant Bond (Boiling Springs) Dec John Andrejcik (Burrell) 9-3
138 Kyle Shoop (Boiling Springs) TF Damon Greenwald (Burrell) 15-0; 3:08
145 Corey Falleroni (Burrell) Dec John Vaughn (Boiling Springs) 5-1
152 Steven Edwards (Burrell) Fall Tyler Kauffman (Boiling Springs) 4:07
160 Derrick Beattie (Burrell) Fall Travis Wickard (Boiling Springs) 1:47
170 Nicholas Pattock (Burrell) Dec Connor Murphy (Boiling Springs) 5-3
182 Alex Moses (Burrell) Fall Nathan Gouhin (Boiling Springs) 5:57 OT
195 Kyle Taylor (Boiling Springs) Dec Robert Scherer (Burrell) 6-1
220 Corey Arabia (Burrell) Fall Nathan Dixon (Boiling Springs) 2:13

Tags: Burrell, Franklin Regional, Latrobe