By: Greg Macafee 
Sunday, February 28, 2021 | 9:01 AM

In the short history of Quaker Valley’s wrestling program, only three wrestlers had the opportunity to have a WPIAL gold medal placed around their neck before this season. On Feb. 20, after trips to the finals the past two years, 189-pound junior Patrick Cutchember joined the ranks as he captured his first WPIAL championship.

After defeating Freedom’s Trent Schultheis, who was going after his fourth WPIAL title, in the Section 2 finals, Cutchember pinned Washington’s Mike Ewing in 24 seconds in the first round of the WPIAL tournament on Saturday.

In his championship match, Cutchember handed Burgettstown’s Shane Kemper his first loss of the season with a 6-0 decision. He took advantage of a takedown in the first period, a reversal in the second and another takedown in the third to earn his six points.

“It feels great, and I’ve been in the WPIAL finals the past three years and I was finally able to get it done in the finals,” Cutchember said. “It’s kinda like a little chip off my shoulder.”

As a freshman, Cutchember lost to Thayne Lawrence, who was another four-time WPIAL champion. Then, after bumping up two weight classes to 182 pounds, Cutchember fell to Ellwood City’s Austin Walley, who went on to win the PIAA title.

Cutchember didn’t have a cakewalk this year, having to go through both Schultheis and Kemper, who combined for 46 wins and just five losses this season.

“I really enjoyed being able to do that because I like facing good competition,” Cutchember said. “I don’t want to win something and not feel like I didn’t face good enough competition or test myself. So, it was really nice to have to go through Kemper and Schultheis and really have to prove myself to win it.”

Last season, Cutchember’s older brother Donovan became the third wrestler in Quaker Valley wrestling history to earn a WPIAL title when he defeated Burrell’s Mikey Scherer in the WPIAL finals. As older brothers do, Patrick said Donovan teased him a little about the fact that they could’ve both gone home with a WPIAL title.

So, Patrick pushed himself this year as well to bring one home for his older brother.

“He kind of made fun of me last year for winning a WPIAL title and me not winning one,” Cutchember said. “So, I had to go out and get one for him. It was really nice because all the former WPIAL champions said their little congratulations to me, which means a lot because I want to contribute to help this program compete.”

In his first two seasons, Cutchember went a combined 70-17. He won a total of 45 matches via pin and only 11 by decision. This season, with an overall record of 24-4, Cutchember said he’s been wrestling a lot looser on the mat.

In the past, Cutchember was a more defensive wrestler, but he’s gotten more aggressive. He’s implemented more shots into his strategy and has just let things fly.

“I really started picking it up on my feet, starting getting after it, started shooting a lot more,” Cutchember said. “I wrestled a lot more defensively the first two years, and this year I just started opening it up a little bit and that’s helped me score more points.” 

Cutchember isn’t done yet, and he’s already earned high regards for his performance this season. After winning the WPIAL tournament, he was named the No. 1 seed for the PIAA Class AA Southwest Regional at IUP’s Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex on Feb 27.

Cutchember was set to wrestle Tommy Hicks from Tyrone Area in the first round of the Southwest Regional. With the covid-19 pandemic still ongoing, wrestlers will have to go through an extended postseason as well. 

After regionals on Feb. 27, they’ll compete in a Super Regional tournament on March 6 in order to limit the number of wrestlers that will head to the state tournament on March 12-13.

Greg Macafee is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Greg by email at gmacafee@triblive.com or via Twitter .

By: Paul Schofield 
Tuesday, March 2, 2021 | 11:23 AM

Here’s a look at this week’s Trib HSSN individual wrestling rankings:

Class AA

106: 1. Cooper Hornack, Burrell, fr. (25-1); 2. Jack Kazalas, Quaker Valley, fr. (27-5) ; 3. Parker Sentipal, Burgettstown, fr. (21-6); 4. Seth Burns, West Greene, fr. (18-3).

113: 1. Chris Vargo, Bentworth, fr. (14-0); 2. Damon Michaels, Elizabeth Forward, fr. (27-3); 3. Colin Bartley, Laurel, so. (21-10); 4. Logan Richey, Quaker Valley, so. (19-10).

120: 1. Nico Ferra, Burrell, so. (21-8); 2. Bryce Rodriguez, Carlynton, jr. (22-5); 3. Gaven Suica, Burgettstown, fr. (23-7); 4. Charles Perkins, Valley, fr. (9-7)

126: 1. Joey Fischer, South Park, sr. (17-0); 2. Joey Sentipal, Burgettstown, so. (20-6); 3. Peter Chacon, Montour, so. (15-4); Shawn Szymanski, Burrell, jr. (13-7).

132: 1. Kyle McCollum, Beth-Center, jr. (26-4); 2. Jamison Poklembo, Mt. Pleasant, fr. (26-12); 3. Dion Lyons, Valley, jr. (15-9); 4. Nick Salerno, Burrell, jr. (16-4).

138: 1. Ian Oswalt, Burrell, sr. (21-1); 2. Ryan Harbert, Ligonier Valley, jr. (22-7); 3. Tyler Debnar, Beth-Center, so. (22-6); 4. Luke Hollywood, Avonworth, fr. (13-3).

145: 1. Kenny Duschek, Blackhawk, sr. (22-2); 2. Ty Cymmerman, Derry, sr. (30-5); 3. Tyler Berish, Beth-Center, so. (26-5); 4. Henry Orlandini, Montour, jr. (17-3).

152: 1. Grant Mackey, Laurel, so. (34-3); 2. Justin Richey, Quaker Valley, jr. (20-9); 3. D.J. Slovick, Burgettstown, (18-8); 4. Damian Barr, Burrell, jr. (15-9).

160: 1. A.J. Corrado, Burrell, sr. (27-0); 2. Oleg Melnyk, Carlynton, sr. (24-4); 3. Trevor Pettit, Beth-Center, jr. (24-7); 4. Rocco Ferraro, McGuffey, sr. (15-4).

172: 1. Rune Lawrence, Frazier, fr. (24-1); 2. Ethan Barr, McGuffey, sr. (17-6); 3. Noah Gnibus, Mt. Pleasant, jr. (29-11); 4. Colby Christie, Burrell, sr. (16-10).

189: 1. Trent Schultheis, Freedom, sr. (30-4); 2. Patrick Cutchember, Quaker Valley, jr. (26-5); 3. Shane Kemper, Burgettstown, sr. (19-3); 4. Mike Ewing, Washington, jr. (12-6).

215: 1. Dayton Pitzer, Mt. Pleasant, jr. (36-2); 2. Eli Reese, Knoch, sr. (13-3); 3. Collin Milko, Avonworth, sr. (19-7); 4. Tasso Makripodis, McGuffey, (14-4).

285: 1. Mitch Miles, Laurel, sr. (30-6); 2. Ian Fasano, Mt. Pleasant, sr. (33-12); 3. Nick Murphy, Elizabeth Forward, jr. (20-6); 4. Joey Baronick, Burgettstown, (17-6). 

Paul Schofield is a Tribune-Review Staff Writer. You can contact Paul by email at pschofield@triblive.com or via Twitter .

By: Greg Macafee 
Sunday, February 14, 2021 | 9:01 AM

When the Quaker Valley wrestling team faced off with Mt. Pleasant on Jan. 23 at the Hampton Dawg Duals, they came away with a 42-21 loss after only winning four contested matches.

So when the Quakers were matched up with the Vikings in the WPIAL Class AA quarterfinals on Feb. 10, some may have counted the young program out without even giving them a chance.

The Quakers knew what they were capable of, though.

“I told them all the way out here on the bus today that I believed in them,” Quaker Valley coach Mike Heinl said. “Anybody that wasn’t on that bus didn’t think we had a chance, but they believed in themselves and they went out and wrestled hard.”

Quaker Valley was two wins away from punching their ticket to the WPIAL finals for the first time in program history. But their first obstacle was the Vikings, and they overcame them in a big way.

After falling behind 14-0 in the first three matches, the Quakers reeled off four straight pins. Dom Floro started the streak at 152 pounds, then Justin Richey followed suit with a pin in 1 minute, 6 seconds. The momentum really swung when Conner Redinger, who had only wrestled three matches this season heading into the matchup, pinned WPIAL Class AA No. 3 Noah Gnibus in 1:15.

“Redinger goes out and locks in his cradle and sticks him, and you could see the momentum change,” Heinl said. “We just built off of it, and I’ll be honest with you, for our young program to respond the way it did tonight, it’s starting to show what we’ve been working on.”

Over the past five years, the Quakers have been building up their program slowly but surely, and they’ve recently started to have success. Their victory over the Vikings sent the Quakers to the semifinals for the third season in a row. They’ve also won their section the past three seasons.

They’ve been building it the right way, and Heinl has been happy with the success they’ve had.

“We’ve been trying to build a program like Burrell’s,” Heinl said. “We don’t like losing, so we want to compete against them and it’s been a lot of fun. These kids that I have the pleasure of coaching are phenomenal. They are great young men, well behaved, I have no issues, and they come into practice and go to work. They know what we want, and we want to win.”

Unfortunately for the Quakers, they ran into the Bucs in the semifinals the last two years. After losing to the Bucs 57-15 in the semis last year, the Quakers showed their growth in this year’s semifinals.

With four straight victories, including three pins, between 189 and 106 pounds, the Quakers had the Bucs on the ropes and held a 27-22 lead with four matches to go.

The Bucs have won 14 straight WPIAL championships for a reason, and they battled back to win the final four weight classes in convincing fashion with two pins, a decision and a major decision.

“Nobody gave us a shot to compete against Mt. Pleasant, but we had confidence coming in here that we could compete against Mt. Pleasant and Burrell and we wanted the shot at Burrell. I mean, everybody does,” Heinl said. “I’m really happy with how our team performed. We had a couple of close matches, and it was a great night for us.”

The Quakers know they have work to do, but with three straight WPIAL semifinal appearances, they are trending in the right direction.

“It’s been a fun ride, and this is probably the first time I have zero stress with these kids,” Heinl said. “Before I was always putting out fires, but it’s all fun now. We go to practice and we work. It’s been enjoyable, and I wish things would’ve worked out differently, but when you wrestle Burrell, you’re going to get exactly what you get.”

Greg Macafee is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Greg by email at gmacafee@triblive.com or via Twitter .

By: Paul Schofield
Tuesday, February 16, 2021 | 5:04 PM

Here’s a look at this week’s Trib HSSN individual wrestling rankings:

Class AA

106: 1. Cooper Hornack, Burrell, fr. (17-1); 2. Jack Kazalas, Quaker Valley, fr. (20-3); 3. Parker Sentipal, Burgettstown, fr. (14-3); 4. Anthony Orlandini, Montour, fr. (8-2).

113: 1. Colin Bartley, Laurel, so. (18-6); 2. Dylan Slovich, Burgettstown, fr. (16-3); 3. Chris Vargo, Bentworth, fr. (6-0); 4. Tyler Clark, Frazier, fr. (10-4).

120: 1. Nico Ferra, Burrell, so. (15-6); 2. Gaven Suica, Burgettstown, fr. (16-4); 3. Bryce Rodriguez, Carlynton, jr. (16-2); 4. R.J. Cusato, South Side, fr. (7-2).

126: 1. Joey Fischer, South Park, sr. (10-0); 2.Joey Sentipal, Burgettstown, so. (15-3); 3. Chase Brandebura, Carlynton, so. (15-3); 4. Chase Frameli, Jefferson-Morgan, fr. (8-0).

132: 1. Nick Salerno, Burrell, jr. (15-3); 2. 2. Kyle McCollum, Beth-Center, jr. (16-2); 3. Ambrose Boni, Central Valley, jr. (8-0); 4. Jamison Poklembo, Mt. Pleasant, fr. (23-9).

138: 1. Ian Oswalt, Burrell, sr. (11-0); 2. Anthony Lancos, Burgettstown, jr. (10-4); 4. Andrew Johnson, Southmoreland, jr. (21-6); 4. Ryan Harbert, Ligonier Valley, jr. (11-3).

145: 1. Kenny Duschek, Blackhawk, sr. (12-2); 2. Ty Cymmerman, Derry Area, sr. (23-3); 3. Tyler Berish, Beth-Center, so. (16-2); 4 Aaron Edwards, Burrell, sr. (18-6).

152: 1. Grant Mackey, Laurel, so. (25-3); 2. Justin Richey, Quaker Valley, jr. (13-4); 3. Damian Barr, Burrell, jr. (9-6); 4. D.J. Slovick, Burgettstown, (14-5).

160: 1. A.J. Corrado, Burrell, sr. (19-0); 2. Trevor Pettit, Beth-Center, jr. (15-3); 3. Oleg Melnyk, Carlynton, sr. (16-2); 4. Bryson Robinson, Southmoreland, jr. (19-10).

172: 1. Rune Lawrence, Frazier, fr. (14-1); 2. Noah Gnibus, Mt. Pleasant, jr. (20-8); 3. Ethan Barr, McGuffey, sr. (9-1); 4. Colby Christie, Burrell, sr. (12-7).

189: 1. Shane Kemper, Burgettstown, sr. (14-0); 2. Trent Schultheis, Freedom, sr. (20-2); 3. Patrick Cutchember, Quaker Valley, jr. (19-4); 4. Collin Milko, Carlynton, sr. (10-5); 4. Mike Ewing, jr. (7-2).

215: 1. Dayton Pitzer, Mt. Pleasant, jr. (27-2); 2. Jake Barabella, Avonworth, sr. (8-0); 3. Collin Milko, Avonworth, sr. (105); 4. Jonathan Wolfe, Jefferson-Morgan, sr. (4-3).

285: 1. Mitch Miles, Laurel, sr. (21-5); 2. Ian Fasano, Mt. Pleasant, sr. (23-9); 3. Nick Murphy, Elizabeth Forward, jr. (13-1); 4. Eli Reese, Knoch, sr. (5-0).

Paul Schofield is a Tribune-Review Staff Writer. You can contact Paul by email at pschofield@triblive.com or via Twitter .

By: Greg Macafee
Wednesday, February 10, 2021 | 9:23 PM

Although it might’ve been a little closer than they would’ve liked, the WPIAL Class AA defending champion Burrell Bucs will have the opportunity to defend their crown.

Behind pins from freshman Cooper Hornack (113), junior Nicholas Salerno (132) and seniors Ian Oswalt (138) and AJ Corrado (160), the Bucs (11-1) held off a surge from Quaker Valley (12-6) and punched their ticket to the WPIAL championship with a 41-27 victory.

“We’re striving to be one of the top four teams in the state, and I think our team this year wants it more than any other team that I’ve been on in the past four years,” Oswalt said. “This win means a lot to us, for sure, and we just want to keep the momentum rolling.”

Burrell will face Burgettstown at noon Saturday at Canon-McMillan. The Blue Devils defeated Beth-Center, 48-11, on the opposite side of the bracket.

Oswalt started off Wednesday’s match by pinning Quaker Valley’s Jamir Steffey in 1 minute, 44 seconds. Then Aaron Edwards (145) followed up with a major decision for the Bucs to go up 10-0.

Quaker Valley 152-pounder Justin Richey earned a close 5-4 decision over Burrell’s Damian Barr before Corrado stopped the momentum with a 23-second pin.

Burrell 172-pounder Colby Christie earned a victory due to injury default before the Quakers rattled off four straight wins to take a 27-22 lead.

Conner Redinger (189), Patrick Cutchember (215) and Amir McCracken (285) all picked up pins and freshman Jack Kazalas won by forfeit at 106 pounds.

With four matches remaining, the 14-time defending WPIAL champions had their back against the ropes. But Oswalt had faith in the lighter weights.

“I was a little bit nervous because anything could happen, but I was super confident in our lighter weights coming through,” Oswalt said. “I’d trust those guys with my life.”

Burrell’s lower weights won the final four bouts to pull out the 41-27 victory with two pins, a decision and a major decision.

“This is always an accomplishment and always something that we work for as a team, and it’s good to be back wrestling for another WPIAL championship, especially in a year like this,” Burrell coach Josh Shields said.

The match may have come down to the 120-pound match between Burrell’s Niko Ferra and Quaker Valley’s Logan Richey. Both had prime opportunities to pin the other on multiple occasions, but both wrestlers were able to avoid the fall.

After almost being pinned twice, Ferra pulled out the 10-9 decision. Quaker Valley coach Mike Heinl was proud of the way Richey performed.

“Logan hasn’t shown us that very often, but we know it’s inside of him,” Heinl said. “It was great to see him do that.”

The Quakers have won their section the past three seasons and have made it to the WPIAL Class AA semifinals all three years. They lost to Freedom two years ago and dropped a 57-15 decision against Burrell last season, but that didn’t matter to them this season.

They wanted another shot, and they showed they could compete.

“We had confidence coming in here that we could compete against Mt. Pleasant and Burrell, and we wanted the shot at Burrell. I mean, everyone does,” Heinl said. “I’m really happy with how our team performed, and with a couple of close matches there, it was a great night for us.”

In the first match of the evening, the Quakers defeated Mt. Pleasant, 36-32. After going down 14-0, Dom Floro (152), Justin Richey (160), Redinger, and Cutchember all picked up pins to go up 24-14 and they never looked back. Mt. Pleasant had beaten Quaker Valley, 41-27, during the Hampton Dawg Duals on Jan. 23.

Burgettstown 48, Beth-Center 11 – Parker Sentipal (106) and Dylan Slovick (113) won by major decision and Gaven Suica won by fall as host Burgetttown jumped out to a 14-0 lead and never looked back in a WPIAL Class AA semifinal. Joey Sentipal (132) won a close 9-8 decision over Kyle McCollum and Ryan Green (172) added a pin for Burgettstown. Tyler Debnar, Tyler Berish and Trevor Pettit won bouts for Beth-Center, which defeated Montour, 45-28, in the quarterfinals.

Greg Macafee is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Greg by email at gmacafee@triblive.com or via Twitter .

By: Paul Schofield
Tuesday, February 9, 2021 | 5:07 PM

Class AA

Rank, Team, record, previous

1. Burrell, 10-1, 1

2. Burgettstown, 12-0, 2

3. Beth-Center, 14-2, 6

4. Mt. Pleasant, 10-6, 3

5. Quaker Valley, 12-5, 4

6. Montour, 5-2, NR

7. Laurel, 13-4, 7

8. McGuffey, 6-2, 5

9. Fort Cherry, 10-8, NR

10. Freedom, 10-3, 8

Out: Knoch (4-1, 9), Avonworth (4-3, 10)

By: Paul Schofield
Tuesday, February 9, 2021 | 5:14 PM

Class AA

106: 1. Cooper Hornack, Burrell, fr. (13-1); 2. Jack Kazalas, Quaker Valley, fr. (16-3); 3. Parker Sentipal, Burgettstown, fr. (11-2); 4. Anthony Orlandini, Montour, fr. (5-1).

113: 1. Colin Bartley, Laurel, so. (17-6); 2. Dylan Slovich, Burgettstown, fr. (12-3); 3. Shane Momyer, Yough, sr. (2-0); 4. Tyler Clark, Frazier, fr. (10-4).

120: 1. Nico Ferra, Burrell, so. (11-6); 2. Gaven Suica, Burgettstown, fr. (13-3); 3. Julian Moore, Fort Charry, so. (12-2); 4. Chris Vargo, Bentworth, fr. (6-0).

126: 1. Joey Fischer, South Park, sr. (10-0); 2. Joey Sentipal, Burgettstown, so. (11-3); 3. Chase Brandebura, Carlynton, so. (15-3); 4. Chase Frameli, Jefferson-Morgan, fr. (8-0).

132: 1. Nick Salerno, Burrell, jr. (11-3); 2. Kyle McCollum, Beth-Center, jr. (13-1); 3. Ambrose Boni, Central Valley, jr. (7-0); 4. Jamison Poklembo, Mt. Pleasant, fr. (21-9).

138: 1. Ian Oswalt, Burrell, sr. (8-0); 2. Anthony Lancos, Burgettstown, jr. (9-4); 3. Andrew Johnson, Southmoreland, jr. (19-6); 4. Cole White, Quaker Valley, sr. (9-8).

145: 1. Kenny Duschek, Blackhawk, sr. (11-2); 2. Ty Cymmerman, Derry, sr. (18-3); 3. Tyler Berish, Beth-Center, so. (12-2); 4 Aaron Edwards, Burrell, sr. (14-6).

152: 1. Grant Mackey, Laurel, so. (24-3); 2. D.J. Slovick, Burgettstown, (13-2); 3. Jake Tkach, Fort Cherry, sr. (15-2); 4. Aaron DeLuca, Montour, jr. (5-1).

160: 1. A.J. Corrado, Burrell, sr. (15-0); 2. Trevor Pettit, Beth-Center, jr. (11-3); 3. Oleg Melnyk, Carlynton, sr. (16-2); 4. Bryce Robinson, Southmoreland, jr. (18-9).

172: 1. Shane Kemper, Burgettstown, sr. (10-0); 2. Rune Lawrence, Frazier, fr. (14-1); 3. Noah Gnibus, Mt. Pleasant, jr. (19-7); 4. Owen Petrisek, Bentworth, sr. (5-1).

189: 1. Trent Schultheis, Freedom, sr. (19-2); 2. Patrick Cutchember, Quaker Valley, jr. (15-4); 3. Collin Milko, Carlynton, sr. (10-5); 4. Alex Lange, Beth-Center, sr. (12-1).

215: 1. Dayton Pitzer, Mt. Pleasant, jr. (25-2); 2. Jake Barabella, Avonworth, sr. (7-0); 3. Robbie West, Fort Cherry, sr. (15-2); 4. Jonathan Wolfe, Jefferson-Morgan, sr. (4-3).

285: 1. Mitch Miles, Laurel, sr. (20-5); 2. Ian Fasano, Mt. Pleasant, sr. (21-9); 3. Nick Murphy, Elizabeth Forward, jr. (12-1); 4. Eli Reese, Knoch, sr. (5-0).

Note: Email pschofield@triblive.com with corrections or adjustments.

By: Greg Macafee
Saturday, January 23, 2021 | 8:01 AM

Quaker Valley wrestlers wanted to come into this season and test themselves against the best teams around. So far, the Quakers have done just that.

On Jan. 16, WPIAL Class AA No. 5 Quaker Valley traveled to the Seneca Valley Duals and came away with a record of 3-2 in five matches, losing to WPIAL Class AAA No. 2 Seneca Valley (52-9) and No. 5 Franklin Regional (36-31).

As the only Class AA team at the duals, the Quakers came away with wins over Mt. Lebanon (36-33), Plum (43-25) and Hampton (42-27). Quaker Valley assistant coach Austin Heinl was happy with how his team performed over the course of the day.

“We have our guys that have been around the sport for a long time, and they know the top teams, and they know what it kind of takes to wrestle at the top level, so I think it’s really good for our guys who haven’t seen that level,” Heinl said. “We want to show our young guys that we can be a program like Seneca Valley or Franklin Regional in the future if we can focus and get our priorities right on the mat and in the classroom.”

Throughout the beginning of the season, wrestlers such as freshman 106-pounder Jack Kazalas and 189-pound junior Patrick Cutchember have stood out.

Kazalas is the younger brother of John Rocco Kazalas, who tallied a career record of 134-33, won a WPIAL title and placed fifth in the PIAA tournament as a senior. Heinl wants Jack to develop a name for himself, and so far, he’s doing that.

He’s produced a record of 6-1. His only loss a 3-2 decision to Seneca Valley’s Connor Smith.

“We have high hopes for him, and we love the Kazalas family as his brother JR was a huge part of this program,” Heinl said. “Jack, he has some big shoes to fill, but we just try to tell him he is his own wrestler, he’s going to have his own goals and his own things to accomplish. He just needs to go wrestle one match at a time.”

Cutchember has recorded the same record early on this season, tallying six wins and just one loss with four pins and one major decision. A season ago, he finished second at WPIALs, second at regionals and seventh at states. He’s looking to take it one step further this season.

His only loss of the season came against Hampton’s Justin Hart as the two 189-pounders battled to a 3-2 decision on Jan. 16.

“I wish we had a bunch of Patricks in the room,” Heinl said. “He’s a natural leader, he comes into practice every day and puts the work in, and he’s got the skill and talent to try and take it all the way this year.”

Outside of the Seneca Valley Duals, the Quakers also took down Carlynton (60-18) in their first match of the season and then defeated Montour (45-19) on Jan. 18.

Heinl said he likes the way his team trending. As of Jan. 20, the Quakers had also been competing without Conner Redinger, but Heinl said that he would be back in the coming weeks to strengthen the lineup even further.

Greg Macafee is a Tribune-Review staff writer. 

By: Paul Schofield
Tuesday, January 12, 2021 | 6:34 PMTeam rankings

Team Rankings - Class AA

1.Burrell (0-0)

2.Freedom (0-0)

3. Quaker Valley (0-0)

4. Mt. Pleasant (2-0)

5. Burgettstown (0-0)

6. McGuffey(0-0)

7. Laurel (0-0)

8. Derry (1-0)

9. Beth-Center (0-1)

10. Elizabeth Forward (0-1)

Individual rankings

Class AA

(Preseason rankings, based on 2019-20 finish)

106: 1. Chase Brandebura, so., Carlynton (34-6); 2. Colin Bartley, so., Laurel (32-10); 3. Logan Richey, Quaker Valley, so. (21-11).

113: 1. Cooper Hornack, Burrell, fr. (0-0); 2. Shane Momyer, Yough, sr. (28-11); 3. Julian Moore, Fort Cherry, so. (31-5). .

120: 1. Joey Fischer, South Park, sr. (44-3); 2. Niko Ferra, Burrell, so. (34-20); 3. Micah Hughes, Valley, jr. (24-13).

126: 1. Nick Salerno, Burrell, jr. (30-12): 2. Joey Sentipal, Burgettstown, so. (40-15); 3. Matt Schultheis, Freedom, so. (29-13).

132: 1. Tyler Cymmerman, Derry, sr. (39-8); 2. Kyle McCollum, Beth-Center, jr. (30-12); 3. Dylan Bruce, Elizabeth Forward, jr. (18-8).

138: 1. Ian Oswalt, Burrell, sr. (45-7); 2. Luke Geibig, Mt. Plesant, sr. (44-3); 3. Nate Yagle, McGuffey, sr. (39-18).

145: 1. Kenny Duschek, Blackhawk, sr. (43-8); 2. Trevor Pettit, Beth-Center, jr. (31-13); 3. Noah Weston, Bentworth, jr. (32-14);

152: 1. Rocco Ferraro, McGuffey, sr. (37-5); 2. Jake Tkach, Fort Cherry, sr. (22-16); 3. Logan Bechtold, Burrell, so. (21-20).

160: 1. A.J. Corrado, Burrell, sr. (45-8); 2. Grant MacKay, Laurel, so. (39-12); 3. Connor Redinger, Quaker Valley, sr. (34-8).

172: 1. Shane Kemper, Burgettstown, sr. (39-13); 2. Rune Lawrence, Frazier, fr. (0-0); 3. Noah Gnibus, Mt. Pleasant, jr. (29-14).

189: 1. Trent Schultheis, Freedom, sr. (39-6); 2. Patrick Cutchember, Quaker Valley, jr. (40-11); 3. Collin Milko, Carlynton, sr. (32-15).

215: 1. Dayton Pitzer, Mt. Pleasant, jr. (43-1); 2. Jake Barabella, Avonworth, sr. (31-9); 3. Robbie West, Fort Cherry, sr. (39-10).

285: 1. Mitch Miles, Laurel, sr. (37-3); 2. Cameron Carter-Green, Washington, jr. (28-13); 3. Nick Murphy, Elizabeth Forward, jr. (33-8).

By: Chris Harlan
Sunday, December 20, 2020 | 4:03 PM

The WPIAL wrestling committee wants subsection tournaments added to the individual postseason schedule this winter as the league adjusts to covid-19 restrictions.

The move would let additional wrestlers compete in the postseason while also complying with a PIAA directive to limit brackets to no more than eight athletes.

“Everybody would have an opportunity to wrestle,” said wrestling committee chairman Frank Vulcano, athletic director at Canon-McMillan.

“There are some (PIAA) districts that are only taking so many kids and others just aren’t going to be able to compete in the postseason. We’re fortunate. With these subsections, we’re able to get at least one qualifier from each school (in each weight class) into the postseason.”

WPIAL wrestling teams are divided into seven sections. Those sections are divided into two subsections apiece, with no more than six teams in any of them.

The subsectionals would be one-day tournaments. The WPIAL would still need to decide how many wrestlers advance from each subsection.

The WPIAL board will discuss that proposal and other postseason changes when it meets online Monday. The steering committees for WPIAL winter sports met in recent days to make recommendations.

The WPIAL sponsors wrestling, basketball, gymnastics, swimming, rifle and competitive spirit in the winter.

The board will take their recommendations under consideration, said WPIAL executive director Amy Scheuneman, who declined to discuss specifics until after the board can review the proposals.

However, she said, the WPIAL is looking at slightly later dates for its playoffs — particularly for basketball — since the PIAA pushed back the start date for its condensed state tournament.

Winter sports are in the midst of a three-week shutdown ordered by Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration to reduce covid-19 cases. The statewide “pause” of interscholastic and recreational sports started Dec. 12 and ends Jan. 4.

Extending the regular season would give schools additional time to reschedule section contests.

“We’re looking at the latest dates for all sports,” Scheuneman said. “We’re going to try to go as late as possible.”

The WPIAL meeting comes one day before the PIAA board meets Tuesday.

The PIAA wants wrestling tournaments limited to eight-person brackets to minimize the risk of coronavirus spread, a restriction that prompted the WPIAL to consider subsectionals. If the proposal is approved, a WPIAL wrestler would enter a subsection tournament, advance to the section tournament and then to the WPIAL individual championship.

The WPIAL also must finalize a format for its basketball tournaments but that decision may be delayed until later in the season. An open tournament with all teams included is an option under consideration.

Chris Harlan is a Tribune-Review Staff Writer. You can contact Chris by email at charlan@triblive.com or via Twitter .

By: Greg Macafee
Sunday, December 13, 2020 | 8:40 PM

Over the past few years, the Quaker Valley wrestling team has taken the necessary steps to build a successful program from the bottom up.

The Quakers won section titles each of the past two seasons and are looking to do so again. They want to take it one step further, though, and they have the team to do it.

The Quakers return plenty of talent, including two-time WPIAL champion Conner Redinger (152 pounds), who has recorded at least 34 wins in each of his three seasons. Junior Patrick Cutchember, who was 40-11 last season and placed second at the WPIAL and Southwest Regional tournament, also is back.

Having experienced and accomplished athletes like that in the practice room has helped the Quakers grow as a program.

“When we go to practice you can hear a pin drop. There’s no drama. There’s nothing,” Quaker Valley coach Mike Heinl said. “They just go into practice, they go through their covid plan and they start working. They don’t say a word. The leadership on the team is great, and we rely heavily on these kids.”

With the opportunity the Quakers have in front of them, there is a sense of focus within the team, and they are ready to put in the work to have success.

Along with Redinger and Cutchember, Heinl also returns juniors Amir McCracken (195) and Justin Richey (132) and sophomores Michael Carmody (113) and Logan Richey (106). Heinl also is excited about the prospects for freshman Jack Kazalas.

Kazalas’ older brother, John Rocco, was a key piece in building the Quaker Valley program from scratch and placed fifth in the PIAA tournament in the 145-pound weight class in 2018-19.

Having talent is one thing. Having the motivation to become a successful team is another, and the Quakers are short on neither.

“This has been one of our best seasons in the practice room,” Heinl said. “These kids have all stepped up their game and are taking all of these obstacles in stride, and they are dealing with it. I’m happy with where we are at in early December, and this year has been a real pleasure coaching these kids.”

Quaker Valley’s hard work won’t stop in the practice room. Before all Pennsylvania high school sports were put on pause last week, the Quakers had scheduled matchups against some of the top teams in the area, including Waynesburg, Canon-McMillan, Connellsville, Thomas Jefferson and Seneca Valley. They also were scheduled to compete in the Powerade tournament.

“I want to wrestle these better high school teams,” Heinl said. “I want to put our kids in difficult situations so they can get back to the wrestling room and work harder and say I want to be where they are at. If we just ride around and beat teams that don’t have quality wrestlers or they have a lot of forfeits, what do we get out of it?”???????

Greg Macafee is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Greg by email at gmacafee@triblive.com or via Twitter.

By: Paul Schofield 
Tuesday, December 8, 2020 | 5:32 PM

Preseason top 10 WPIAL Class AA wrestling teams:

No. 1 — Burrell

Burrell has won 14 consecutive Class AA titles, and it doesn’t look like the streak will end very soon.

The Bucs return eight starters, which includes four PIAA qualifiers.

Two of those qualifiers, seniors Ian Oswalt (132) and AJ Corrado (152), placed second in the state. The other qualifiers were sophomore Nikolas Ferra (106) and junior Nick Salerno (120).

Also returning are junior Shawn Szymanski (113), junior Aaron Edwards (120), sophomore Logan Bechtold (138) and junior Cole Clark (170).

No. 2 — Freedom

Freedom returns PIAA placewinning senior Trent Schultheis (170, fourth). Another placewinner, senior Kenny Duschek, who took third at 138 pounds, is back at his home district school — Blackhawk. Freedom had a co-op with Quigley, but Quigley closed, leaving Duschek without a school.

The Bulldogs return nine starters.

No. 3 — Quaker Valley

Quaker Valley returns 11 starters including PIAA placewinning junior Patrick Cutchember (182, seventh).

Also back is senior Conner Redinger, a previous PIAA placewinner who got eliminated in the Southwest Regional last season. Look for Redinger to come back strong. He’s a two-time WPIAL champion with a 107-20 record.

No. 4 — Mt. Pleasant

Mt. Pleasant could be the surprise team in Class AA.

The Vikings return nine starters, including 2019 PIAA champion junior Dayton Pitzer (182). Pitzer, 43-1 as a freshman, missed his sophomore season while recovering from knee surgery.

Also back is PIAA qualifier junior Luke Geibig (113). Junior Noah Gnibus (138) and senior Ian Fasano (220) also return.

No. 5 — Burgettstown

Burgettstown returns 10 starters from a team that was runner-up to Burrell.

Back are PIAA qualifiers sophomore Joey Sentipal (120), senior Shane Kemper (152, sixth) and junior D.J. Slovick (170). Kemper was one of the top pinners in 2019-20.

No. 6 — Elizabeth Forward

Elizabeth Forward returns nine starters including junior Dylan Bruce (126), a PIAA qualifier. Another key starter is junior heavyweight Nick Murphy, who couldn’t wrestle in the Southwest Regional because of an injury.

No. 7 — McGuffey

McGuffey returns 12 starters including PIAA qualifiers in senior Nate Yagla (132) and Ethan Barr (160). Also back is WPIAL champion senior Rocco Ferraro (145).

No. 8 — Laurel

Laurel returns two PIAA qualifiers, sophomore Colin Bartley (106 pounds) and senior heavyweight Mitch Miles, and added a third PIAA Class AAA qualifier from North Allegheny, sophomore Grant MacKay. Miles is a returning WPIAL champion.

The Spartans bring back 11 starters, eight who were freshmen.

No. 9 — Derry

Derry returns 10 starters including PIAA placewinning senior Tyler Cymmerman (126, sixth). Cymmerman is a three-time WPIAL champion. Also back is Southwest Regional qualifier junior Brayden Mickinac (195).

No. 10 (tie) — Beth-Center

Beth-Center returns seven starters including Southwest Regional qualifiers junior Kyle McCollum (120), junior Tyler Fisher (126), sophomore Tyler Berish (132) and junior Trevor Pettit (145).

No. 10 (tie) — Southmoreland

Southmoreland returns 10 starters, including PIAA Southwest Regional qualifier junior Anthony Govern (182).

Four returning wrestlers had more than 21 victories.

Paul Schofield is a Tribune-Review Staff Writer. You can contact Paul by email at pschofield@triblive.com or via Twitter .

By: Chris Harlan
Thursday, July 16, 2020 | 1:37 AM

PIAA wrestling is dropping weight.

The PIAA board gave final approval Wednesday to a plan that reduces the number of weight classes from 14 to 13 starting next season.

The vote was unanimous.

The PIAA will maintain weight classes 106, 113, 120, 126, 132, 138, 145, 152 and 160 pounds. However, it will modify the upper weights. Rather than 170, 182, 195, 220 and 285, the PIAA will use 172, 189, 215 and 285.

The move is intended to reduce “the huge number of forfeits” in regular-season dual meets, PIAA executive director Bob Lombardi said.

“I think last year, in 93 percent of our wrestling matches we had a forfeit,” Lombardi said. “That’s ridiculous. That means you don’t have kids to fill weight classes. You’ve got too many.”

The board heard from critics in June who argued eliminating a weight class would cost athletes opportunities and possibly pose health risks. However, once the PIAA Sports Medicine Advisory Committee said health risks were unfounded, the PIAA board moved ahead with the initiative.

Wednesday’s vote finalized a multiyear effort by the PIAA wrestling steering committee that started with an idea to eliminate two weight classes. That 12-class plan eventually stalled, but this 13-class proposal gained traction with support from the wrestling coaches association, Lombardi said.

“The support of the coaches association and the sports medicine committee was huge,” Lombardi said. “They think this is the right thing to do. I agree, and the board agrees.”

The PIAA had asked the National Federation of State High School Associations to consider making a weight-class reduction nationwide, but the NFHS didn’t include the PIAA request when it released its updated rule book in May.

Therefore, the PIAA made the change itself.

“I’ll be candid with you: I’m disappointed with some of the other levels where we tried to get this addressed,” Lombardi said.

“Things happened, and I understand that, but to wait five years to get a change that our people have been clamoring for, it’s counterproductive to the young people who are wrestling.”