North Journal high school sports roundup: North Allegheny wrestling on to section championships

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, January 19, 2018 | 5:34 PM

North Allegheny won't have to worry about wrestling its way into the WPIAL Class AAA playoffs. The young Tigers beat Shaler, 42-31, in a subsection 3-B match last Thursday at home.

A loss would have relegated North Allegheny into a fifth-place match. Instead, the Tigers earned a chance against Seneca Valley in the Section 3 championships Wednesday.

North Allegheny assistant wrestling coach Dan Heckert said the Tigers (4-1) faced a stiff challenge in the Raiders.

“We know we're going to have a tough match with Seneca Valley right off the bat,” Heckert said. “They dominated (the) Tool City (tournament), and we were 10th. We have a lot of ground to make up to try and beat them.”

North Allegheny, which has a roster of mostly sophomores, stumbled with a 34-32 loss to Hampton earlier in the season but has rebounded. The Tigers pasted Shaler, 50-30, last week.

North Allegheny ran into an Indians team that was missing three starters. That led to three forfeits and 18 points.

“I think it's a matter of getting mat time and having kids believe in themselves,” Heckert said. “It's unfortunate we had a tough situation in December so we didn't get as many quality matches if we hadn't gone to Beast of the East.” Results of Wednesday's game were too late for this edition.

Swimming sets records

North Allegheny's swim program left a lasting impression at the All-American Invitational. The Tigers finished with five pool records in Wilkes-Barre, and both the boys and girls picked up team titles.

Rick Mihm set pool records in the 200-yard individual medley and the 500 free. Mason Gonzalez (100 free) and Jack Wright (200 free) also set records. On the girls side, Torie Buerger picked up wins in the 200 IM and the 100 backstroke. Molly Smyers won the 200 free and 500 free.

Hockey falls in overtime

The Tigers picked up a point to maintain their second-place status in the PIHL's Class AAA. Butler edged the Tigers, 4-3, on an overtime goal by Connor Bachman. Aaron Miller, Haden Shimko and Will Parreaguirre scored for North Allegheny.

Josh Rizzo is a freelance writer.

Tags: North Allegheny