High school roundup for Jan. 8, 2020: North Hills’ Sam Hillegas provides another highlight

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, January 9, 2020 | 12:55 AM

Two-time state champ Sam Hillegas was presented with a bobblehead featuring his own likeness during Senior Night ceremonies on Wednesday at North Hills.

Once he took the mat, the Virginia Tech recruit with a 143-3 career record gave another reminder of why his accomplishments won’t soon be forgotten.

Wrestling the last match of the night at 138 pounds, Hillegas won by fall to give North Hills a 34-33 victory over Indiana in Section 3B-AAA. The final score was tied, 33-33. North Hills won on criteria D by virtue of winning eight bouts to Indiana’s six.

Trailing by 12 points with three matches to go, North Hills got wins from Matt Serwatka (126) and Jeremy MacPherson (132) to set up Hillegas’ heroics.

Jack Turner (145), AJ Ryan (182) and Tannor Smith (285) had pins for Indiana (2-2, 1-2). Ethan Mikovitz (170) and Damon Thompson (220) won by fall for North Hills (3-4, 1-2).

Kiski Area 66, Plum 12 — Kiski Area received three consecutive pins from Jack Blumer (160 pounds), Nick Delp (170) and Jared Curcio (182) en route to a Section 1-AAA win. Blumer pinned Jared Citrano 1 minute, 55 seconds into his match. Delp got his pin at the 1:04 mark of his bout with Damon Bracco, and Jared Curcio won by fall 2:27 into his match with Browndon Wafo. Cavaliers heavyweight Jack Dilts also had a pin The Cavaliers received seven victories via forfeit. For Plum, Vince Citrano (113) won via technical fall, 17-2, over Conner Murray, Cole Yocca (126) scored a 9-0 major decision over Vince LaPiana and Andrew Claassen (145) won a 6-2 decision over Grant Smith.

Norwin 54, Penn-Trafford 20 — Gabe Conboy, Kurtis Phipps, John Altieri, Chase Kranitz and Frankie Gill recorded consecutive pins from 132 to 160 pounds as Norwin (6-2, 1-1) pulled away from Penn-Trafford for a Section 1A-AAA win. Troy Hohman (106) won by tech fall and Boaz Chishko (12) by decision as Penn-Trafford (0-3, 0-3) jumped out to a 14-6 lead. Norwin 195-pounder Clayton Morris (195) and Penn-Trafford heavyweight Peyton Kelly also won by fall.

Franklin Regional 72, Central Catholic 12 — Mason Spears (152), Gavyn Beck (160), Brett Fricke (170), Mason Christo (182) and Anthony Alesi (195) recorded pins in the first five bouts of the match to lead Franklin Regional (3-0, 3-0) past Central Catholic (1-10, 0-2) in Section 1A-AAA. Later, Kaleb Sheetz (113), Carter Dibert (120), Ben Pekarcik (126), Dalton Oneil (132), Garret Thompson (138) and Travis Hall (145) strung together six straight pins for the Panthers.

Hempfield 75, Woodland Hills 0 — Heavyweight Isaiah Vance recorded a pin in five seconds as Hempfield (8-2, 3-0) blanked Woodland Hills (0-3, 0-3) in Section 1B-AAA. Ethan Berginc (120), Trevor Verkleeren (152) and Coby Stepanik (182) also had pins for the Spartans. Van Payton (138) won by decision.

West Mifflin 43, Albert Gallatin 30 — Howard Congdon (195), Ryan Fisher (113) and Tony Salopek (138) won by fall and Jesse Galioto (126) and Nyzair Burt (132) had major decisions to lead West Mifflin (2-1, 2-1) to a Section 2A-AAA victory. Shawn Loring (285), Alexander Simon (106) , Alec Serock (145) and Tyler Frezzell (152) had pins for Albert Gallatin (1-2, 1-2).

Mt. Lebanon 50, Bethel Park 21 — Nick Busalacchi (145), Jackson Gray (152), Louie Pietragallo (126) and Eli Crittenden (132) recorded pins to lead Mt. Lebanon (8-1, 3-0) to a Section 2B-AAA win. Mac Stout (170) won by tech fall and Luke Stout (195) took a 6-2 decision from Luke Montgomery. Riley O`Mara (182) and Tyler Thimons (220) had pins for Bethel Park (3-5, 1-2).

Ringgold 48, Baldwin 30 — Logan Vickers (152), Jacob Duncan (160), Joe Black (195), Isaiah Jenkins (220) and Dante Compagni (285) won by fall as Ringgold (1-2, 1-2) came back from 21-6 down to win in Section 2B-AAA. John Starusko (126), Nariman Niyazov (132), Cody Randal (138) and Jamil Robinson (170) had pins for Baldwin (0-3, 0-3).

Seneca Valley 73, Mars 4 — Antonio Amelio (145), Michael Adamson (170) and Patrick Johnson (182) recorded pins and Alejandro Herrera-Rondon (132) and Chanz Shearer (138) won by tech fall for Seneca Valley (5-0, 3-0) in a Section 3A-AAA win over Mars (1-2, 1-2).

North Allegheny 62, Fox Chapel 12 — Luke O’Connor (182) and Eddie Farrell (220) had pins for Fox Chapel (4-5, 1-3) in a Section 3-AAA loss to North Allegheny (4-0, 4-0). Nick Marcenelle (195), Ben Grafton (285), and Sam Horton (106) tallied pins in under a minute for the Tigers. Drew Duchi (113), Dylan Coy (126), Maximus Stedeford (138) and Freddy Junko (145) also had pins for North Allegheny.

Pine-Richland 45, Armstrong 22 — Led by pins from Nathan Lukez (145), Cole Spencer (152), Joseph Schneck (285) and Anthony Ferraro (113), Pine-Richland (7-1, 2-1) won in Section 3A-AAA. Josh Shaner (195) won by fall for Armstrong (1-2, 1-2).

Canon-McMillan 69, Ambridge 6 — Jacob Gardner (126), Jimmy Baxter (132) and Blake Joseph (160) had first-period pins and Tanner Rohaley (152) won by decision as Canon-McMillan (5-0, 3-0) topped Ambridge (0-7, 0-2) in Section 4A-AAA.

Chartiers Valley 45, Moon 30 — Shabur Karimov (160), Murat Zaynullaev (170), Donovan O`Malley (182) and Josh Sarasnick (220) had four consecutive first-period pins to lead Chartiers Valley (1-3, 1-2) to a Section 4B-AAA win. Dylan Evans (126) and Cody Trout (132) also won by fall for Chartiers Valley. Sennaca Harney (285), Charles Trimber (120) and David Ifedigbo (152) had pins for Moon (2-6, 0-3).

South Park 48, Fort Cherry 23 — Noah Pritchard (132) and Anthony Weil (145) had pins to help South Park (8-1, 2-1) to a Section 1A-AA win. Nasier Sutton (138) had a tech fall for Fort Cherry (2-2, 1-2).

McGuffey 66, Bentworth 11 — Kyle Brookman (132), Eric Donnelly (152) and Seth Burgdolt (170) won by fall to lead McGuffey (8-0, 3-0) to a Section 1B-AA victory. Terrance Woods (126), Noah Weston (138) and Owen Petrisek (182) won for Bentworth (1-2, 1-1).

Freedom 48, Ellwood City 36 — Thomas Young (132), Kenny Duschek (138), Kendal Komara (152) and Ethan Wolfe (182) recorded first-period pins to lead Freedom (3-2, 3-1) to a Section 2A-AA win over Ellwood City (2-1, 2-1).

Laurel 60, Central Valley 21 — Aiden Pearce (126), Jacob Moore (152), Ryan DiMuccio (170), Samuel Moore (182), Braden Strohecker (195) and Mitch Miles (285) won by fall as Laurel (4-0, 4-0) stayed undefeated in Section 2A-AA with a win over Central Valley (0-3, 0-3).

Blackhawk 30, Beaver 24 — Andrew Culley (220) won by fall to help Blackhawk (2-7, 1-2) to a Section 2A-AA win. Alec Coulter (145), Mark Ramer (285) and John Hall (120) had pins for Beaver (0-3, 0-3).

Quaker Valley 57, Keystone Oaks 21 — Christian Brown (106), Michael Carmody (120), Mason Diemert (170) and Donovan Cutchember (220) had first period pins as Quaker Valley (9-4, 3-0) topped Keystone Oaks (6-2, 2-1) in a matchup of top teams in Section 2B-AA.

Avonworth 36, Carlynton 28 — Anthony Mundorf (145) and Jake Barbabella (285) won by fall to help Avonworth (4-4, 2-1) to a Section 2B-AA win. Oleg Melnyk (160) and Bryce Rodriguez (120) had pins for Carlynton (1-2, 1-2).

Hopewell 45, South Side 21 — Led by pins from Dawan Lockett (132), Gianni Bertucci (138), Alex Obeldobel (152) and Adam Ware (195), Hopewell (1-3, 1-2) won in Section 2B-AA. Timothy Cafrelli (126) had a pin for South Side (0-3, 0-3).

Highlands 66, Riverview 6 — Charles DeAngelo (160) and Nate Riddell (182) accrued pins for Highlands (11-2, 3-1) in a Section 3-AA win over Riverview (0-4, 0-4). The Golden Rams won nine matches via forfeit. Isaac Murphy had a pin 49 seconds into his match for Riverview’s lone victory.

Burrell 76, Summit Academy 6 — The Burrell Bucs (4-1, 4-0) routed Summit Academy (4-4, 3-1) in a Section 3A-AA match, using falls in nine matches. Shawn Szymanski (113), Nicholas Salerno (120), Logan Bechtold (138), Simon Slahtovsky (145), Anthony Corrado (152), Noah Linderman (160), Dominic Holmes (170), Cole Clark (182) and Richard Feroce (195) all scored wins with pins.

Derry 60, Frazier 24 — Ty Cymmerman (126) received a forfeit to record his 100th career victory as Derry (5-4, 2-1) picked up a win over Frazier (0-8, 0-4) in Section 3B-AA. Colton McCallen (120), Garret Lenhart (152), Austin Siko (160), Eric Catone (195) and Noah Cymmerman (285) won by fall for the Trojans.

Southmoreland 62, Yough 13 — Seniors Dakota Kaylor (113), Nick Yeskey (145), Austin Mcbeth (152) and Bret Huffman (220) picked up victories as Southmoreland (7-2, 2-1) retained the Crosstown Cup with a win over Yough (5-4, 1-2) in Section 3B-AA.

Elizabeth Forward 48, Mt. Pleasant 35 — Ryan Michaels (132), Caden Brock (138) and Noah Hunnel (152) picked up three straight pins to lead Elizabeth Forward (4-0, 4-0) to a Section 3B-AA win. Tristan Zawalsh (120) and Ian Fasano (220) recorded pins for Mt. Pleasant (3-5, 1-2). Pat Brewer (160) won by tech fall.

Boys basketball

Sto-Rox 87, Winchester Thurston 47 — Malik Smith scored 20 points and Aujore Nelson added 18 as Sto-Rox (5-6, 4-1) cruised to a Section 1-2A win. Langston Moses led Winchester Thurston (6-5, 3-2) with 22 points.

Riverview 62, St. Joseph 48 — Thanny Black had a game-high 31 points and connected on four 3-pointers to help Riverview (6-6) top St. Joseph (3-10) in a nonsection game. Aiden Sebastian added 19 points for the Raiders and made five 3-pointers. Andrew Sullivan scored 18 points for the Spartans and Dom Fellowes had 13 points.

Hopewell 60, New Brighton 48 — Roman Gill hit five 3-pointers and scored 17 points and Enzo Palumbo added 15 points to help Hopewell (6-6) to a nonsection win. JoJo Reynolds had 19 for New Brighton (1-10).

Freedom 74, South Side 65 — Tyler Borgman scored 19 points and Cole Beck added 15 to carry Freedom (4-6) to a nonsection victory. Brandon Barber had 22 for South Side (4-8).

Thomas Jefferson 64, Ringgold 58 — Shane Stump and Noah Pierce scored 17 points apiece as Thomas Jefferson (8-4) picked up a nonsection win. Luke Wyvratt had 19 for Ringgold (7-4).

Serra Catholic 74, West Mifflin 56 — Jayden Bristol had 14 points and Josiah Pais added 13 to help Serra Catholic (6-5) to a nonsection win. Braden Moore had 14 for West Mifflin (1-8).

East Allegheny 43, Carrick 39 — Nico Pugliano scored 16 points to lead East Allegheny (7-4). Ashton Giannetti led Carrick with 12 points.

Jefferson-Morgan 70, Bentworth 49 — Tahj Jacobs scored 31 points, including four 3-pointers, and Tyler Kniha added 18 to help Jefferson-Morgan (3-9) to a nonsection win. Shawn Dziak had 20 for Bentworth (0-11).

Mohawk 62, Beaver County Christian 39 — Josh Kurtz scored 19 points to lead Mohawk (2-11) past Beaver County Christian.

Girls basketball

Thomas Jefferson 64, Montour 30 — Alyssa DeAngelo and Graci Fairman scored 21 points each as Thomas Jefferson (10-2, 5-0) jumped out to a 32-2 lead in the first quarter and won a Section 1-5A game. Raegan Kadlecik led Montour (6-6, 1-5) with 15 points.

Gateway 50, Hempfield 41 — Alexis Margolis scored 20 points, hitting six 3-pointers, and Lexi Jackson added 15 as Gateway (9-3) picked up a nonsection win. Sarah Liberatore led Hampfield (5-5) with 17 points.

Monessen 40, Frazier 37 — Qitarah Hardison scored 16 points, Kendelle Weston had 12, and Monessen (8-3) jumped out to a 17-5 lead in the first quarter en route to a nonsection victory. Sierra Twigg led Frazier (3-9) with 15 points.

Bentworth 53, Geibel 27 — Caroline Rice scored 32 points to lead Bentworth (3-8) to a nonsection win. Gayle Pokol led Gibel (1-7) with 12.

Waynesburg 45, Carmichaels 32 — Clara Paige Miller scored 19 points to lead Waynesburg (5-6) in a nonsection contest. Sophia Zalar had 10 for Carmichaels (2-10).

Aquinas Academy 39, St. Joseph 27 — Patricia Blume scored 14 points as Aquinas Academy (4-5, 2-1) won a Section 3-A matchup over St. Joseph (1-10, 1-2). Elizabeth Russell scored 13 for Aquinas Academy. Trinity Lockwood-Morris led the way for the Spartans with nine points.

Westinghouse 48, West Mifflin 42 — Khamille Andrews had 12 points and Dajanae Glover added 10 to lead Westinghouse. Shelby Genes had 15 for West Mifflin (5-6).

Homer Center 75, Ligonier Valley 32 — Macy Sardone scored 21 points and Marlee Kochman added 13 to lead Homer Center (9-3) to a Heritage Conference win. Haley Boyd led Ligonier Valley (1-9) with 14 points, seven rebounds, four steals and three assists. Carol Woods added 10 points. Katie Lawson had nine rebounds.

Tags: North Hills