Norwin sends program record 10 wrestlers to WPIALs; 2 capture titles

By: Nathan Smith
Friday, March 8, 2019 | 7:33 PM

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The Norwin wrestling team walked away from the WPIAL Class AAA individual tournament with some serious hardware.

The Knights had two wrestlers capture gold at the tournament: junior Kurtis Phipps at 120 pounds and junior Ryan Weinzen at 220.

“I thought we wrestled well as a team,” Norwin coach Vince DeAugustine said. “We got 10 guys to the tournament, and eight made it to the second day. I am proud of how we competed.”

Phipps dominated his way to the finals. In his first match, he scored a pin over Moon’s Charles Trimber in 41 seconds. He then scored a 14-1 major decision over Kiski Area’s Dom Giordano. In the semifinals, Phipps topped Pine-Richland’s Kelin Laffey, 9-0, in a major decision.

“The big thing with Kurtis is he has wrestled well all year, but he is peaking at the right time,” DeAugustine said. “This is his third WPIAL title, and he did it dominantly.”

In the final, Phipps (34-2) topped Bell Vernon’s Logan Seliga, 4-1.

“Kurtis is a leader for us in all three phases,” DeAugustine said. “The first is academically, the second is in the wrestling room and the third is as an individual.”

In the opening rounds of the tournament, Weinzen (32-4) scored a 6-2 decision over Ed Farrell of Fox Chapel and a fall in 2:59 over Waynesburg’s Ryan Howard. In the semifinals, he scored a 6-2 decision over Hempfield’s Dillon Ferretti.

In the finals, Weinzen captured a 2-1 decision over top seed and previously undefeated Ogden Atwood. Weinzen used a takedown with 46 seconds left to secure the win.

“It was a great feeling,” Weinzen said. “It was even better because of all the work I put in. I struggled with injuries during my sophomore year. The coaches have helped get back to this point.”

Phipps and Weinzen advanced to the PIAA tournament in Hershey. Results were unavailable at press time.

Norwin was one of three schools with multiple WPIAL champions. Seneca Valley led the way with three, and Kiski Area finished with two.

It has been a strong first season for DeAugustine as Norwin’s coach. The Knights qualified a total of 10 wrestlers to the WPIAL Class AAA tournament — an all-time high for the program.

“He has changed the culture of the program,” Weinzen said. “I don’t think our team would be as successful without him and the assistants. They have come in and really changed our mindsets.”

Sophomore John Altieri (32-9) fell just short of reaching the PIAA tournament at 132 pounds. He reached the semifinals with a 5-3 sudden victory over Chartiers Valley’s Zachary Maycy in the quarterfinals. But two straight losses ended his tournament.

“Knowing John, he will use this as motivation,” DeAugustine said. “It was a great tournament for him. He will need to have a good offseason to get stronger and faster.”

It was also the final tournament for four senior wrestlers. Luke Merkovsky (152 pounds; 12-21) Bryce Long (160; 30-10), Jon Ireland (170; 11-16) and Zack Cypher (285; 23-10) were all intricate in making DeAugustine’s first season with the Knights a successful one.

“These guys should be proud,” DeAugustine said. “Their leadership helped the entire team be successful. They embraced their roles as seniors and what we expected of them. I am really proud of them.”

Junior Frankiee Gill (138; 15-10), junior Clayton Morris (182; 25-12) and freshman Josh Page (195; 12-15) also competed at the tournament.

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