Derry sophomore Cymmerman captures second WPIAL wrestling title

By: Paul Schofield
Saturday, February 16, 2019 | 8:42 PM

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Ty Cymmerman ended up with a bloody lip from the WPIAL Class AA Individual Wrestling Tournament on Saturday at Canon-McMillan.

It’s not the only thing he earned.

The Derry sophomore won his second consecutive gold medal, this time in the toughest weight class (126 pounds) of the tournament.

Cymmerman, who won the 120-pound title as a freshman, beat two of the three former champions during the two-day tournament. He used his quickness to defeat McGuffey senior Jett Pattison, 8-3, in the finals. Pattison won the 120-pound WPIAL title in 2017.

The other former champion he defeated was Burrell junior Trent Valovchik, 3-2, in the Section 3 finals Friday. Valovchik won the 106-pound title in 2017.

“It feels great to be one of the young ones to win a WPIAL championship and having four former champions in my weight class means something,” Cymmerman said. “This title was much harder to win because of the competition.”

Cymmerman never had wrestled the former champions before the tournament. But he said he learned from watching.

“I knew what to expect,” Cymmerman said. “It was a lot of fun competition.”

He wasn’t the only Derry wrestler to win a second title. Senior Dom DeLuca won the 220-pound title with an 8-0 major decision against Hopewell senior Connor Forrest.

“It’s huge to win another title,” DeLuca said. “The WPIAL is one of the toughest districts in the state and the country. It was a big tournament, and I felt good and it’s good to move on.”

DeLuca, a PIAA runner-up at 220 last year, dominated his opponents during the two days with four pins and a major in the finals.

“My goal coming in was to score points, have fun and try to get pins,” DeLuca said. “I didn’t get a pin in the finals, but I still have a lot to work on the next few weeks.”

Derry had a third wrestler in the finals, but senior Jason Baker was pinned by Quaker Valley sophomore Conner Redinger in the first period after a flurry of action saw Redinger catch Baker on his back in the 132 final.

Two wrestlers earned their third WPIAL titles, which grew the list to 77. They were Frazier junior Thayne Lawrence (160) and McGuffey senior Christian Clutter (170).

Lawrence, a returning PIAA champion at 152, scored a 12-3 win against Quaker Valley freshman Patrick Cutchember, and Clutter rolled to an 11-0 win against Valley senior Noah Hutcherson.

Also claiming their second titles were Burrell sophomore Ian Oswalt at 120, Freedom sophomore Trent Schultheis at 152 and Bentworth senior Jon Vargo at 195.

Oswalt edged Beth-Center senior Jimmy Gwyer, 1-0; Schultheis toppled McGuffey sophomore Ethan Barr, 9-1; and Vargo was too much for Quaker Valley senior Geoff Magin, 17-2.

Winning their first titles were South Park sophomore Joey Fischer at 106; Elizabeth Forward junior Ryan Michaels at 113; Hopewell senior Jacob Ealy at 138; Quaker Valley senior John Rocco Kazalas at 145; Mt. Pleasant freshman Dayton Pitzer at 182; and Burgettstown senior heavyweight Riley Kemper.

Pitzer turned in a dominating performance in winning his title. He knocked off Ellwood City junior Austin Walley, 8-4, in the finals, and earlier in the day he took down two-time WPIAL 195-pound champion Bryson Miller of Freedom, 11-5, using a five-point pancake mover midway through the third period to secure the win.

“I watched the film against Austin from our first meeting with my coaches and we came up with a game plan,” Pitzer said.

“The key was getting the first takedown. I felt better on my feet, but I need to work on my conditioning.

“Against Miller I could tell he was strong, but I had to keep up the pace and try to wear him down. I did a good job.”

The top seven wrestlers in each weight class (14) advance to the PIAA Southwest Regional Friday and Saturday at IUP’s Kovalchick Complex.

Burrell has 10 wrestlers advancing, Derry five, Mt. Pleasant four, Southmoreland two and Yough one.

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: Derry Area