Nine WPIAL wrestlers earn top seeds in state tournament

By: Paul Schofield
Sunday, March 3, 2019 | 8:41 PM

The PIAA released the pairings for the individual wrestling championships, which begins Thursday at Giant Center in Hershey, and nine WPIAL wrestlers earned No. 1 seeds.

The PIAA used a new point system to determine the top seeds from the regional champions.

Returning PIAA champions from the WPIAL, Seneca Valley sophomore Alejandro Herrera-Rondon (44-1) at 113 and North Hills junior Sam Hillegas (38-0) at 132, along with Norwin junior Kurtis Phipps (34-2) at 120, Franklin Regional senior Colton Camacho (37-3) at 126 and Kiski Area senior Cam Connor (46-2) at 152 received No. 1 seeds.

Herrera-Rondon won the 106 title last season by defeating Phipps, 1-0, in the ultimate tiebreaker. Hillegas toppled Central Dauphin’s Chris Wright, 4-2, to win the 126 title.

“It’s hunting season, and it’s time to hunt,” Hillegas said. “I’m looking forward to the tournament. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

Camacho was the 132 runner-up last season, falling to Jeffrey Boyd of Erie McDowell, 5-4. Camacho earned the top spot thanks to his 4-2 win against Kiski Area senior Darren Miller on Saturday.

Connor finished seventh at 145 last season.

Earning No. 2 seeds were Penn-Trafford senior Nick Coy (34-4) at 138, Kiski Area junior Jack Blumer (41-3) at 160, Canon-McMillan junior Gerrit Nijenhuis (40-3) at 170, Mt. Lebanon junior Luke Stout (39-1) at 182 and Thomas Jefferson senior Max Shaw (33-0) at 195.

This is the fourth time Coy has qualified for the state tournament.

“I haven’t achieved my goal of becoming a state champion yet,” Coy said. “That’s what I’m working on this week.”

The No. 3 seeds were Seneca Valley sophomore Dylan Chappel (39-4) at 106 and Upper St. Clair senor heavyweight Jake Slinger (36-0).

In Class AA, Burrell sophomore Ian Oswalt (45-2) was seeded No. 1 at 120 pounds. Hopewell senior Jacob Ealy (38-2) at 138, Frazier junior and returning state champion Thayne Lawrence (25-3) at 160 and Derry senior Dom DeLuca (36-1) at 220 also earned No. 1 seeds.

Lawrence defeated Chestnut Ridge’s Justin McCoy, 8-1, at 152 las season to become Frazier’s first state champion in any sport.

Ealy placed fifth in Class AAA at 126, Oswalt finished fourth at 113 and DeLuca was a runner-up at 220.

Freedom sophomore Trent Schultheis (33-4) at 152 was the only No. 2 seed among WPIAL Class AA wrestlers, and South Park sophomore Joey Fischer (35-0) at 106 and Elizabeth Forward junior Ryan Michaels (39-1) and Mt. Pleasant freshman Dayton Pitzer (39-1) at 182 were seeded third.

The three-day tournament will conclude Saturday with the finals. The top eight finishers in each weight class will receive medals.

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.