Mt. Pleasant freshman scores clutch win to top Derry in WPIAL quarterfinal thriller

By: Nathan Breisinger
Wednesday, January 31, 2024 | 10:46 PM

The nervous energy mounted in front of a packed crowd at Derry. The seventh-ranked Trojans were mounting a comeback against No. 4 Mt. Pleasant as they trailed by three points, and it came down to the final bout.

It was seasoned Trojan junior Giovanni Beatrice against Vikings freshman Tristan Wtorkiewiecz in the 127-pound matchup.

With the spotlight shining on the middle of the mat, and all eyes on the two competitors, it was the rookie who stayed calm and took a 5-3 decision that sealed the 37-31 quarterfinal victory for Mt. Pleasant.

“It was pretty scary at first, but when they said it was up to me and they supported me, it felt pretty good,” Wtorkiewiecz said. “It felt pretty good once I got the takedown.”

With the weight on his shoulders and the score tied 3-3 midway through the third period, Wtorkiewiecz got a 2-second near fall, and that’s all that was needed in the biggest moment of the night.

“He stays in the moment, and he just wrestles,” Mt. Pleasant coach Tom Dolde said. “He’s one of those kids that are the first to come to practice and the last to leave, and it’s good for him to get that win.”

After establishing a 34-19 advantage, the Vikings (12-2) started to see that lead diminish because of a forfeit at 114 and a pin from Derry’s Anthony Mucci (121) in the second-to-last bout.

Mucci climbed a weight class to check in at 121 and force the key bout against Lowen Springer.

“Mucci is a stud,” Derry coach Troy Dolan said. “We knew if we could get the lineup where we could get him in there, we were pretty confident in him to get the pin. That’s what we wanted. The crowd was in it, and it came down to the wire.”

Although Derry (11-4) made a push at the end, it wasn’t enough as the Vikings received crucial performances, and one individual came up big in both the first round and quarterfinals.

Senior Charles Blanchard (189) battled with Derry’s Ethan Bendel in a matchup Dolan felt his Trojans could seize.

“On paper, we thought we could win that one. Record wise, I thought we had the better wrestler,” Dolan said.

Blanchard entered the bout with a 1-3 record on the year in comparison to Bendel, who was 9-8. Blanchard, however, was aggressive through the full six minutes and won a major decision 16-6.

Not only did Blanchard grab a decisive victory against Bendel, he also recorded a massive pin against Indiana’s Dom Donatelli in the first round.

As Blanchard held the advantage, he quickly found himself in a precarious position underneath Donatelli as he tried to survive till the final horn. Then, Blanchard pulled out a reversal and pinned Donatelli at 5:18, igniting the Vikings’ run to win that match.

“I could feel he was a strong kid,” Blanchard said. “In the end, putting my weight on him wore him down, and he made a fatal mistake. I had enough gas to finish him off.”

Along with that major decision against Derry for Blanchard, the Vikings added critical pins from Joseph Longhi (139), Jamison Poklembo (145), Stephen Predajna (160), Dylan Pitzer (285) and Nick Stabile (107).

In the first round, Derry rolled to a 47-19 victory over Southmoreland with pins from Brett Klim (133), Jeremiah Gess (145), Nate Barkley (172), Mucci (114) and Chris Kubisteck (121).

Mt. Pleasant survived a first-round battle from Indiana to win, 32-20. The Indians received consecutive pins from Nico Fanella (127) and Carter Putt (133) to begin the match.

Then, the Vikings got technical falls from Longhi and Poklembo. Blanchard’s pin at 189 set the Vikings up for a successful finish as Pitzer added a first-period fall.

Quarterfinals

Mt. Pleasant 37, Derry 31

133: Brett Klim (D) m.d. Duncan Blose, 12-4.

139: Joseph Longhi (MP) p. Zander Nuttal, 1:04

145: Jamison Poklembo (MP) p. Jeremiah Gess, 1:41.

152: Mason Horwat (D) d. Greg Shaulis, 3-1.

160: Stephen Predajna (MP) p. Max Doperak, 4:35.

172: Nate Barkley (D) p. Ty Hornick, 5:16.

189: Charles Blanchard (MP) m.d. Ethan Bendel, 16-6.

215: Brady Brown (D) p. Matthew Mazzowiecki, 0:29.

285: Dylan Pitzer (MP) p. Levi Haase, 1:39.

107: Nick Stabile (MP) p. Teryn Nuttal, :36.

114: Jaden Gess (D) wbf

121: Anthony Mucci (D) p. Lowen Springer, 0:21.

127: Tristan Wtorkiewiecz (MP). d. Giovannie Beatrice, 5-3.

First round

Mt. Pleasant 32, Indiana 30

127: Nico Fanella (IN) p. Tristan Wrtorkiewcz, 1:31.

133: Carter Putt (IN) p. Duncan Blose, :47.

139: Joseph Longhi (MP) t.f. Tuscan Blystone, 16-1.

145: Jamison Poklembo (MP) t.f. Jacob Snyder, 17-2.

152: Greg Shaulis (MP) t.f. Graham McFarlane, 18-3.

160: Will Turner (IN) d. Stephen Predajna, 8-4.

172: Dom Fanella (IN) d. Ty Hornick, 6-1.

189: Charles Blanchard (MP) p. Dom Donatelli, 5:18.

215: Jackson Higgins (IN) p. Matthew Mazzowiecki, 2:32.

285: Dylan Pitzer (MP) p. Cash Allhouse, :55.

107: Nick Stabile (MP) t.f. Hunter Williams, 21-4.

114: No contest

121: Connor Sevajian (IN) p. Lowen Springer, 3:22.

Derry 47, Southmoreland 19

127: Giovanni Beatrice (D) p. Kolten Lewandowski, 1:28.

133: Brett Klim (D) p. Landyn Queer, 5:13.

139: Kashton Bish (SM) d. Zander Nuttal, 11-9.

145: Jeremiah Gess (D) p. Cam Lee, 5:30.

152: Mason Horwat (D) t.f. Shawn Hollis, 24-9.

160: Landon Delara (SM) p. Max Doperak, :59.

172: Nate Barkley (D) p. Wyatt Corvin, :48.

189: Lewis Mains (SM) m.d. Ethan Bendel, 11-3.

215: Brady Brown (D) d. Kaden Shannon, 6-2.

285: Jake Govern (SM) p. Aiden Piper, 1:30.

107: Teryn Nuttal (D) d. Bryce Grecco, 5-2.

114: Anthony Mucci (D) p. Nick Lubecki, 1:38.

121: Chris Kubisteck (D) p. Micah McGeary, 5:46.

Tags: Derry Area, Indiana, Mt. Pleasant, Southmoreland