Mt. Lebanon’s Stout set to defend title at Allegheny County wrestling tournament

By: HSSN Staff
Tuesday, January 16, 2018 | 4:18 PM

During the 16-year history of the Allegheny County Wrestling Championship, only four wrestlers have become four-time champions.

While no one is in line to capture a fourth in 2018, Mt. Lebanon sophomore Luke Stout is on the path of joining that distinguished club. A championship on Saturday will get him halfway to that exclusive club.

Stout (16-2) is seeded No. 1 at 160 pounds for the 17th annual county tournament, which will begin at noon Friday at Fox Chapel. The finals are scheduled for 6 p.m. Saturday.

Past four-time winners are Plum’s Sean Clair (2002-05), Shaler’s Nick Nelson (2004-07), North Allegheny’s Dom Forys (2011-2014) and North Hills’ Gage Curry (2013-16).

Stout defeated Shaler junior Jake Pollak, who is seeded third at 160, 3-1 in sudden victory in 2017.

Stout went on to finish fourth in the WPIAL and qualified for the PIAA tournament. He went 1-2 in Hershey and finished the season 34-7.

“Luke is focused and working hard,” Mt. Lebanon coach Marc Allemang said. “He knows what he wants. We were a little surprised he won last year, but he’s very good and he keeps improving. There is no reason why he can’t win another title.”

Stout is only one of five returning Allegheny County champions. The others are Moon seniors Frank Bonura and Nick Acuna, Penn Hills senior Justin Perkins and Baldwin senior Gehrig Hutchinson.

Bonura (17-2) is seeded No. 2 at 113 points behind Shaler junior Ryan Sullivan (18-1). He won the 106-pound title in 2017 after defeating Hampton sophomore Tyler Kocak, 13-6. Sullivan finished fifth at 106 in 2017.

Acuna (14-2) is seed No. 1 at 145 pounds. He won the 138-pound title by defeating Pine-Richland’s Garrett Burnham, 3-0, last year.

Perkins (6-2) won the 126-pound title by defeating Quaker Valley junior John Rocco Kazalas, 8-1, a year ago. He is seeded No. 2 behind No. 1 Sam Hillegas (7-1) of North Hills, a returning PIAA champion who did not compete in last year’s event.

Hutchinson (12-3) is the top seed at 195 pounds. He claimed the 170 title in 2017 by defeating Montour’s Dante Presutti, 4-2.

“This tournament has turned out better than expected,” Fox Chapel coach and tournament director Ron Frank said. “The only disappointing thing is not every team in the county participates.”

The three WPIAL teams from Allegheny County not entered are Elizabeth Forward, South Fayette and West Allegheny. City League teams Perry and Westinghouse also are not participating.

Paul Schofield is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at pschofield@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Schofield_Trib.

Tags: Baldwin, Moon, Mt. lebanon, North Hills, Penn Hills