Redinger claims Quaker Valley’s 1st WPIAL title

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, February 19, 2018 | 11:00 PM

For a program in just its second year of existence, Quaker Valley sending six wrestlers to the WPIAL Class AA tournament was impressive in itself.

The Quakers took it a step further Saturday at Canon-McMillan, however, as Conner Redinger captured the first championship in program history, and five other wrestlers also advanced to the PIAA regional.

Redinger, a highly accomplished freshman, won gold in the 106-pound weight class with a 4-0 decision against South Park's Joseph Fischer in the finals. The grapplers were familiar with each other, as Redinger and Fischer practice together for a club team and are friends. That familiarity did not stop Redinger from scoring a pair of takedowns, including one in the first period that allowed him to gain command.

Quaker Valley first-year coach Mike Heinl credited his freshman for the performance but noted Redinger still has bigger goals within reach.

“It's pretty impressive for a freshman to come into a competitive weight class and win a WPIAL championship. I'm happy with his effort, the way he wrestled throughout the whole sectional and the WPIAL,” Heinl said.

“But we're not satisfied with that WPIAL championship. Our goal is to win a state title, and this is just part of the process we have to go through to achieve that.”

With the triumph, Redinger advances to the Class AA Southwest Regional, to be held at IUP on Friday and Saturday. From there, the top six wrestlers in each class advance to the PIAA finals in Hershey.

Heinl also noted that several of Redinger's teammates from middle school and even elementary school showed up to support him in his quest to win the first wrestling title in QV history.

“He's the first ever, so I guess these kids are going to look up to him and hopefully want to achieve what he just did,” Heinl said.

Additionally, the Quakers had a pair of third-place finishers: juniors John Rocco Kazalas at 132 and Geoff Magin at 182.

Kazalas lost his semifinals bout against Mt. Pleasant's Alex Miscovich, prompting Heinl to say Kazalas has another level he has yet to reach.

“In our eyes, he's not performing to his full potential. We want him to go out into a gymnasium and perform the way he is in practice. He's a little bit hesitant,” Heinl said.

To secure third place, however, Kazalas defeated Burrell's Anthony Corrado, a wrestler who had previously defeated him. That win came via a 4-2 decision in overtime.

“He was better mentally prepared. In that third-place match, it was the old JR that we were accustomed to seeing,” Heinl said.

Meanwhile, Heinl was effusive in his praise of Magin, who lost in overtime in his semifinals bout against McGuffey's Luke Shingle. Magin, who his coach dubbed the hardest worker on the team, bounced back with a decisive 11-2 triumph against Burrell's Ricky Feroce in the consolation.

“That kid is a machine,” Heinl said of Magin. “He's mean. He's physical, and he tried to break kids.”

At 152, sophomore Austin Dohl achieved a fourth-place finish. Dohl showed significant improvement this season, after he failed to place last year as a freshman, but there's more work ahead of him over the next few days.

“I know he's not satisfied with that fourth place, and our goal is to get everybody to Hershey, and I believe we can do that,” Heinl said.

Another wrestler who still has hopes to reach Hershey is senior Keegan Forsythe. Forsythe, who wrestled in a competitive 170-pound bracket, secured the final spot to advance to the regional.

“He wrestled great for the whole tournament, and he finished seventh, which is not indicative of the way he wrestled. He should've been higher,” Heinl said.

After losing close matches, Forsythe responded with a pin in the seventh-place match. Although he'll receive a tough draw at the regional, he has the ability to upset some of the top competitors, his coach said.

“If he can wrestle six minutes of fundamentally sound wrestling, he can beat anybody. He's right there with that weight class,” Heinl said.

The other Quaker who competed in the WPIAL tournament was Brad Fadeley in the 220-pound bracket. Fadeley, a junior, suffered a heartbreaking defeat. With four seconds left in the consolation semifinals against Washington's Cody Weber, Fadeley was called for a penalty, which sent the match to overtime. Weber eventually won, and Fadeley finished the tournament in eighth.

He did, however, earn a spot at regionals after another wrestler had to pull out because of injury.

While the WPIAL tournament appeared to be a success for the Quakers, Heinl believes it's just the beginning, and much better results are on the horizon.

“I am happy for the Quaker Valley program. But I don't want to settle for this,” he said. “We have a plan, and it's a great foundation, but we got to start changing the attitudes.”

Sean Meyers is a freelance writer.

Tags: Quaker Valley