Trib HSSN rewind: A look back at the 2018-19 wrestling season

By: Paul Schofield
Wednesday, July 3, 2019 | 11:01 PM

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Kiski Area and Burrell again dominated the WPIAL team wrestling tournament this past season.

Kiski Area defeated Seneca Valley to win the Class AAA title and Burrell took down Freedom in Class AA.

It was the third consecutive season Kiski won the title, and Burrell won for the 13^th consecutive time and 15^th time in school history. Kiski now has won five WPIAL titles.

The Cavaliers went on to place third in the state tournament.

The WPIAL ended up with seven total PIAA individual champions. Winning for the second time were Frazier junior Thayne Lawrence and Seneca Valley’s Alejandro Herrera-Rondon. The the other winners were Franklin Regional’s Carter Dibert, Kiski Area’s Darren Miller, Canon-McMillan’s Gerrit Nijenhuis, Hopewell’s Jacob Ealy and Mt. Pleasant’s Dayton Pitzer.

Here are some highlights from the 2018-19 wrestling season:

PIAA Class AAA team championship: 1. Bethlehem Catholic; 2. Northampton; 3. Kiski Area; 4. Council Rock South.

PIAA Class AA team championship: 1. Reynolds; 2. Southern Columbia; 3. Chestnut Ridge; 4. Brookville.

WPIAL Class AAA team championship: 1. Kiski Area; 2. Seneca Valley; 3. Canon-McMillan; 4. Waynesburg.

WPIAL Class AA team championship: 1. Burrell; 2. Freedom; 3. Beth-Center; 4. Quaker Valley.

WPIAL section champions: Class AAA: Section 1: Kiski Area; Section 2: Thomas Jefferson; Section 3: Seneca Valley; Section 4: Canon-McMillan.

WPIAL section champions: Class AA: Section 1: Burgettstown; Section 2: Quaker Valley; Section 3: Burrell.

WPIAL subsection champions: Class AAA: Section 1A: Kiski Area; 1B: Hempfield; Section 2A: Thomas Jefferson; 2B Mt. Lebanon; 3A: Seneca Valley; 3B: North Allegheny; Section 4A: Canon-McMillan; 4B: Waynesburg.

PIAA Class AAA individual champions: 106: Carter Dibert, Franklin Regional; 113: Alejandro Herrera-Rondon; 126: Darren Miller, Kiski Area; 170: Gerrit Nijenhuis, Canon-McMillan.

PIAA Class AA individual champions: 138: Jacob Ealy, Hopewell; 160: Thayne Lawrence, Frazier; 182: Dayton Pitzer, Mt. Pleasant.

Other noteworthy storylines:

*The WPIAL had 11 finalists in the PIAA Class AAA individual championships and four title winners. There were three finals bouts that matched WPIAL wrestlers — Dibert defeated Seneca Valley’s Dylan Chappell; Herrera-Rondon defeated Franklin Regional’s Finn Solomon; and Miller edged Franklin Regional’s Colton Camacho.

*Ealy became Hopewell’s first PIAA champion in wrestling; Lawrence became a two-time champion for Frazier; and Pitzer finished an amazing freshman season, only losing to Joll in the Westmoreland County Coaches’ Association finals.

*Shaler senior Ryan Sullivan was a defending PIAA Class AAA champion, but a hand injury in the section tournament prevented him from participating. North Hills’ junior Sam Hillegas became a three-time WPIAL champion, along with Norwin junior Kurtis Phipps, but Hillegas’ shot at a third PIAA title was stopped when he lost to Northampton’s Julian Chlebove in the PIAA quarterfinals.

*McGuffey senior Christian Clutter and Lawrence became three-time WPIAL champions in Class AA. Kiski Area’s Cam Connor and Jack Blumer became two-time champions in Class AA. Derry’s Dom DeLuca, who lost in the PIAA Class AA 220-pound final, finished with more than 150 career wins.

For more information

*Click here for archived broadcasts of games on Trib HSSN

*Visit the Trib HSSN wrestling page for more content

Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.

Tags: Burrell, Kiski Area, Seneca Valley