Two achieve milestones
Ethan Higgins of Bethel Park and Payton Collins of Mt. Lebanon recently reached significant milestones in their athletic careers.
A senior, Higgins entered the Century Club by winning his 100th career wrestling match during the Powerade Tournament held Dec. 27-28 at Canon-McMillan High School.
Higgins opened with a 7-1 decision over Altoona’s Gavin Ciampoli for the distinctive victory.
“Reaching 100 wins is a great milestone and we are beyond proud of Ethan for doing this,” said BP mat boss Tyler Nauman. “He joined a club with some talented wrestlers.”
During the Powerade event, which showcased the premier talent from across the county, Higgins also scored victories against Julian Ruggieri from Connellsville, 5-0, and Max Firestine from Franklin Regional, 4-1, to raise his career record to 102-46.
Higgins dropped a 4-3 decision to Central Bucks West’s Patrick Kelly, preventing him from reaching the medal-rounds of the tournament.
“Ethan wrestled well at Powerade,” Nauman said. “He would have loved to pull out his round of 12 match and have gotten on the stand but that one didn’t end his way.”
Higgins wrestled at 145 during the Powerade Tournament, a drop from his previous 152.
“I think this weight fits Ethan a bit better,” Nauman said.
Being the first time down a weight and first two day weigh-in losing a little bit of weight sometimes affects how a wrestler feels, says Nauman.
“But Ethan handled it well and performed at a high level,” he said. “Ethan is off to a great start.”
Heading into 2025, Higgins held a 19-5 record. He is prepared to repeat as a section champion and improve upon his fifth-place showing at regionals as well as help the Black Hawks advance in the team tournaments. Last winter, Bethel Park reached the WPIAL semifinals and fell one match short of advancing to the state tournament in the team competition.
“We look for Ethan to continue to lead the team as captain and for him to continue to improve individually and win when it counts. Pick up wins, place high at sectionals, WPIALS, regionals and look for a medal at states,” Nauman said.
Bethel Park started the new year at 7-0 overall. After non-league matches at home against Derry on Jan. 6 and away against University in West Virginia on Jan. 10, the Black Hawks return to section action on Jan. 15 when they host Baldwin at 7 p.m. The Allegheny County Championships follow Jan. 17-18 at Fox Chapel.
Meanwhile, in girls basketball, Collins surpassed the 1,000-point plateau on Dec. 27 during a 44-40 victory against Seneca Valley in the Peter Sauer Memorial Tournament played at Shady Side Academy. The senior guard converted a free throw in the fourth quarter to top the mark. Collins finished with 17 points in the triumph
Earlier, on Dec. 19, Collins also knocked down her 200th 3-point field goal in her playing career during a 42-40 win against Hempfield.
A senior, Collins is committed to continuing her career at Bowdoin College.
After starting 2025 with games against Canon-McMillan, Norwin and Connellsville, the Blue Devils will host arch rival Upper St. Clair at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 13. The Blue Devils were 6-3 overall heading into the new year while the Panthers were 6-2.