Penn Hills wrestler Butler keeps momentum going

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, January 27, 2018 | 3:36 AM

Penn Hills senior wrestler Deshawn Butler continued his strong season Jan. 19-20 at Fox Chapel's Allegheny County Tournament.

Butler (19-4) finished third in the 285-pound weight class after a 5-1 decision over Mt. Lebanon's Nathan Hoaglund.

“I knew I could escape pretty easily and get out quick from bottom,” Butler said. “I knew if I could get out quick and hold him down for 30 seconds, I could win.”

Butler, who finished seventh at counties last season, opened with pins of Hampton's Tommy Rengers and Class AA No. 4 Keystone Oaks' Tyler Caragein.

Butler's run in the winners' bracket ended when Class AAA No. 2 West Mifflin's Gerald Brown pinned Butler at 1 minute, 26 seconds in the semifinals.

Brown defeated Butler by a 3-0 decision in the 285-pound championship bout at the Steve DeAugustino Holiday Classic at West Mifflin.

“It feels good to know what I do in practice is paying off. I've just got to keep working on what I do,” Butler said.

In December, Butler finished fourth after losing to North Allegheny's Derek Devine by a 2-0 decision in the third-place bout at the Eastern Area Invitational.

Penn Hills senior Luqman Luhujjiddan (195) finished seventh at Fox Chapel after defeating Hampton's Zach Boggs by an 18-5 major decision.

Luhujjiddan opened the tournament with a pin of Moon's Christian Tanner at 4:24 before losing to Chartiers Valley's Shamil Zaynullaev by pin at 2:07 in the quarterfinals.

In the consolation bracket, Luhujjiddan defeated Montour's Reno DiCesare by a 10-2 major decision and lost to Upper St. Clair's Harvey Rauch by a 6-3 decision.

Luhujjiddan (14-11) finished fourth at West Mifflin and sixth at Eastern Area.

Freshman Hunter Shields (113), sophomore Mike DeVito (126), sophomore Dom Burden (160) and sophomore Robert Harris (170) won matches at the county tournament.

Even though Penn Hills won't participate in the team portion of the postseason, the Indians will work to prepare themselves for the individual playoffs.

The WPIAL Section 1-3A tournament is Feb. 24, and the WPIAL Class AAA tournament is March 2-3.

Butler wants to make sure he leaves it all on the mat in his final postseason appearance.

“I need to keep working on everything, and I can't stop until I reach my main goal,” Butler said.

Last season, Butler finished with a 29-12 record and qualified for WPIALs after being pinned by Kiski Area's Isaac Reid in the 285-pound championship bout of the Section 1-3A individual championships.

At last season's WPIAL Class AAA/Southwest Regional, Butler lost to Indiana's Brent Johnson by a 5-4 decision in the third-round consolations.

Andrew John is a freelance writer.

Tags: Penn Hills