Southwest Regional wrestling notebook: Elizabeth Forward, South Park lightweights earn redemption

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, February 23, 2018 | 9:31 PM

Before Friday night, Elizabeth Forward sophomore Ryan Michaels and South Park freshman Joey Fischer had never beaten their quarterfinal opponents.

That all changed at the PIAA Class AA Southwest Regional at IUP's Kovalchick Conference and Athletic Complex.

The two 106-pound wrestlers posted impressive wins that not only earned them a berth in the semifinals against each other Saturday, but also secured a trip to Hershey on March 8 for the PIAA tournament.

Both called their wins, “redemption.”

Michaels (32-2) pinned District 6 champion Amonn Ohl of St. Joseph's Catholic Academy with a second left in the match. Michaels, down 4-3 with 30 seconds left, worked a two-point reversal and put Ohl on his back before getting the fall.

Fischer (33-5), the WPIAL runner-up, pounded District 5 champion Kai Burkett of Chestnut Ridge, 11-2.

“Getting this win was huge,” Michaels said. “My goal was to reach the state meet, and now the pressure is off. Now I can relax and focus to the semifinal match. Joey beat me 3-0 last week, but I think I can get him this time.”

Michaels said he had lost to Burkett in the summer a couple of times, but when Michaels rode him the entire second period, even though he almost pinned himself, it gave him the confidence he needed to win.

“I like to scramble,” Michaels said. “I get myself into some scary situations, but I was able to work out of them.”

Fischer dominated his match against Burkett. It was the third time the two had wrestled, and Ohl had won the previous meetings.

“Every time we wrestled, it got closer each time,” Fischer said. “Getting the win just helped my confidence. Once I got the momentum, I knew I had him. At this level, momentum is important.”

The semifinals are scheduled to begin at noon Saturday.

We meet again

There are a couple anticipated rematches that will occur Saturday.

• The 126-pound semifinal between Derry senior Shawn Broadway and Freedom junior Z.J. Ward is a rematch from the WPIAL semifinals; Broadway won, 1-0. Ward earned the 100th win of his career in the first round.

• In the 132-pound consolation match, Burrell freshman A.J. Corrado will face Quaker Valley junior John Rocco Kazalas for the fourth time. Corrado won the first two meetings and Kazalas won last week in the WPIAL third-place match.

• At 138, the WPIAL finalists from a week ago — Freedom junior Jake Pail and Derry junior Onreey Stewart — will square off. Pail won last week's final 3-1 in sudden victory.

Back in wrestling

Former Steelers offensive guard and six-time NCAA heavyweight champion (three in Division I and three in Division II) Carlton Haselrig is coaching his alma mater, Johnstown.

Haselrig's son, Carlton Haselrig Jr., is senior heavyweight. He dropped a 3-1 sudden victory decision to South Fayette sophomore Quentin Franklin on Friday.

Surprise upset

One of the biggest upsets of Day 1 of the tournament was South Fayette senior Mike Cusick's 7-4 win against Ligonier Valley senior Alex Caldwell, the District 6 champion.

Caldwell placed fifth in the PIAA tournament in 2017, while Cusick qualified for his first trip to Hershey.

Paul Schofield is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at pschofield@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Schofield_Trib.

Tags: Burrell, Elizabeth Forward, Freedom, Ligonier Valley, Quaker Valley, South Fayette, South Park