Seven WPIAL wrestlers win Junior High state titles

By: Paul Schofield
Monday, March 4, 2019 | 7:50 PM

Frazier junior Thayne Lawrence is headed to Hershey on Thursday to compete in the PIAA Class AA wrestling championships. He is the returning 152-pound champion.

His younger brother, Rune, a seventh grader, already picked up his state title in the Pennsylvania Junior High tournament in Johnstown. Now, the Lawrences have won two state titles, and this might not be the last.

Lawrence was one of seven wrestlers from the WPIAL to win titles. The others were Waynesburg’s Mac Church (102 pounds) and Rocco Welsh (117), Trinity’s Bodie Morgan (124) and Ty Banco (212), North Allegheny’s Grant Mackey (147) and McKeesport heavyweight Dale Moehring.

Lawrence won the 132-pound title by defeating Washington’s Cael Nicolella, 2-0.

Also placing second were Hempfield’s Lucas Kapusta (112); Kiski Area’s Mark Gray (124), who fell to Morgan, 6-2; and Canon-McMillan’s Gabriel Stafford (140).

Here is a list of the WPIAL placewinners and their final results.

Pennsylvania Junior High state tournament

Finals

102: Mac Church, Waynesburg dec. Kamdyn Williams, Manheim Township, 3-2.

112: Conner Harer, Muncy dec. Lucas Kapusta, Hempfield, 5-0.

117: Rocco Welsh, Waynesburg m.d. Scott Johnson, Muncy, 11-2.

124: Bodie Morgan, Trinity dec. Mark Gray, Kiski Area, 6-2.

132: Rune Lawrence, Frazier dec. Cael Nicolella, Washington, 2-0.

140: Jake Jones, Saucon Valley dec. Gabriel Stafford, Canon-McMillan, 2:47.

147: Grant Mackey, North Allegheny pinned Sonny Sasso, Nazareth, 0:50.

212: Ty Banco, Trinity dec. Matt Burton, Nazareth, 5-3.

252: Dale Moehring, McKeesport pinned Jsean Cassignol, Waynesboro, 1:29.

Third-place match

82: Andrew Binni, Canon-McMillan dec. Cooper Hornack, Burrell, 3-2.

97: Ty Watters, West Allegheny dec. Levi Donnel, Butler, 7-0.

107: Nico Taddy, West Allegheny m.d. Connor Saylor, Hickory, 11-0.

124: Nathan Stone, Franklin Regional dec. Dagen Condomitti, Northampton, 4-2 (SV)

157: Matt Furman, Canon-McMillan m.d. Damien Galentine, Central Mountain, 13-4.

187: Ryan Hamer, Belle Vernon pinned Alex Lukaschunis, Saint Marys, 2:54.

212: Gunner Treibley, Meadowbrook Christian School ded. Luke Rumpler, North Allegheny, 5-2.

252: Nick Murphy, Elizabeth Forward pinned Emmanuel Deas, Mifflinburg, 2:25.

Fifth-place match

82: Vincent Kilkeary, Latrobe ded. Tyler Chappell, Seneca Valley, 6-1.

97: Kaden Milheim, Warrior Run dec. Blake Reihner, Trinity, 5-2.

112: Branden Wentzel, Jersey Shore dec. Nathan Roth, Latrobe, 10-5.

117: Luke Sipes, Altoona dec. Broxon Dean, Canon-McMillan, 2:36.

140: Ethan Ansell, Connellsville dec. Wyatt Schmucker, Latrobe, 4-1.

147: Gavyn Beck, Franklin Regional m.d. Abraham Keep, Girard, 13-0.

157: Jeremiah Lugo, Manheim Township dec. Frank Macioce, Plum, 5-2.

187: Tyler Yurick, Seneca Valley won by forfeit Jason Barr, Tyrone.

252: Gavin Thompson, Brockway dec. Wyatt Horne, Trinity, 7-3.

Seventh-place match

77: Weston Pisarchick, Brockway dec. Connor Smith, Seneca Valley, 4-0 (SV).

87: Mason Kernan, Bethel Park t.f. Lane Whitmer, Trinity, 17-2 (3:51).

92: Nick Jones, West Allegheny pinned Seamus Mack, Hempfield, 2:41.

112: Dylan Evans, Chartiers Valley dec. Griffin Gonzalez, Lebanon, 4-3.

117: Bryson Vaughn, Easton dec. Hunter Claycomb, Connellsville, 6-4 (SV).

147: Dustin Flinn, Forest Hills pinned Derrick Lavender, Derry, 4:25.

157: Georhe Shultz, Connellsville dec. Seth Stewart, Brockway, 6-2.

167: Caden Hagerman, Danville dec. Nick Curci, Apollo-Ridge, 6-0.

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.

Tags: Canon-McMillan, Connellsville, Derry Area, Franklin Regional, Frazier, Hempfield, Kiski School, Latrobe, North Allegheny, Seneca Valley, Trinity, Washington, Waynesburg, Waynesburg Central