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BP preps for WPIAL team wrestling tournament

Hawks claim second in county championships

By Eleanor Bailey 6 min read
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The Bethel Park wrestling team finished runner-up in the Allegheny County Championships. The Black Hawks put 10 grapplers on the podium.

Bethel Park prepared for the WPIAL team wrestling tournament by finishing runner-up at the Allegheny County Championships and by beating Upper St. Clair to claim its second straight section championship.

The Black Hawks placed second (231.5 points) in the team standings during the county championships held Jan. 17 at Fox Chapel. Thomas Jefferson, which enters district team tournament action undefeated overall, won the team title with a 292.5 score. The Jaguars had four individual champions while Bethel Park produced one gold medalist and a pair of runners-up.

With the triumph over the Panthers, the Black Hawks finished first in the Section III standings with a 4-0 mark.

“Both individually and in team competitions, TJ is very, very tough and they will do well,” predicted BP mat boss Tyler Nauman.

Nauman added, “We will wait and see the seed the WPIAL gives us and wrestle whoever is in front of us. I feel if the Hawks wrestle like we can, then we can wrestle with anyone in the WPIAL and most teams in the state.”

After the WPIAL steering committee met to decide the pairings in the team tournament, the Black Hawks were seeded No. 3 behind Connellsville and unbeaten Franklin Regional. TJ earned the other top seed.

Bethel Park will host a first-round match as well as the quarterfinals set for Jan. 29. The Black Hawks wrestle the winner of the Belle-Vernon vs. Butler bout scheduled for Jan. 27 while Canon-McMillan will face Norwin. After the 6 p.m. matches, the winners meet to determine who will advance tot he semfinals set for 1:30 p.m. Feb. 1 at AHN Arena on the Peters Township High School campus. The championships follow the semifinal matches.

The Black Hawks, who finished fourth in last year’s WPIAL team tournament, enter the postseason on a high note as they have several wrestlers hitting their stride. During the county championships, they placed 10 grapplers on the podium.

Pierce Reinhart reached the pinnacle. The sophomore was crowned champion in the 121-pound weight class after he pinned Mt. Lebanon’s Jonathan Emma in 2:55 of the finals.

Reinhart edged Avonworth’s Auston Kosanovic, 5-4, in the semifinals. He used first-period pins against Plum’s Karter Gilliland and Logan Millgan from North Hills to reach the quarterfinals where he scored a tech fall against West Mifflin’s Lashawn Haley.

“Pierce had one goal and that was to come home as the county champion,” said Nauman. “He went out and did just that.

“Pierce wrestled very well putting himself in positions that he liked, could score off of, and wasn’t in danger of surrendering points. He also stayed offensive,” Nauman continued. “When Pierce is wrestling like this and like he can, he is challenging to beat.”

The fact that Reinhart is a 10th grader doesn’t matter. Nauman says that once his wrestlers are in high school, age or grade is insignificant.

“Freshman wrestle seniors all the time,” Nauman stressed. “Therefore, no matter if you’re a sophomore or a senior you shouldn’t care. It doesn’t matter what grade the person you are wrestling is in as you’re going to wrestle freshmen through seniors all the time.

“Even though Pierce is a sophomore we think highly of him and expect him to wrestle like a senior and like he is the oldest and or the best.”

Nauman predicts future success for Reinhart as he heads into the postseason with a 22-5 record. Reinhart, who is ranked in the Top 5 in the 121-weight class, should fare well particularly when the individual tournaments commence with sectionals at South Fayette on Feb. 15.

The WPIAL and Southwest Regionals will be held Feb. 21-22 as well as Feb. 28 to March 1 at Canon-McMillan High School. The PIAA championships are scheduled for March 6-8 at the Giant Center in Hershey.

“We look for Pierce to continue to dominate and improve,” Nauman said. “We know if he believes in himself and keeps improving he can do big big things this year. We look for a section title and high places in WPIALs, regionals and states.”

Expectations are high for Colton Fisher and Seth Miller once they make adjustments that proved the difference between first and second at the county championships.

A sophomore, Fisher dropped a 1-0 decision to Lebo’s Evan Sala and finished runner-up in the 127-pound weight class. He had opened competition with back-to-back pins against West Mifflin’s Tim Eads and Moon’s Roman Markovich, then scored a tech fall against South Park’s Lucas Guzek as well as a major decision against Shaler’s Ayden Tavella to reach the championship match.

A senior, Miller dropped a 7-0 decision to Moon’s Cael Yanek in the 133-pound championship bout. To reach the finals, Miller recorded tech falls against Brashear’s Spranjal Gurung, Luke Krishinski and Shaler’s Jonah Cable as well as a 7-3 decision against South Fayette’s Peter Leventis.

“Colton and Seth wrestled well but came up short,” Nauman said. “Sometimes, especially in the WPIAL, opponents get the better of you. In the end that leads to a loss but both these individuals work their butts off. Their final matches didn’t go their way due to small things that they will need to look out at and improve.”

Nauman added that he is “confident” Fisher and Miller will tweak their technique, particularly when they are on the bottom as well as their individual skills to reverse their outcomes. He also expects both grapplers to see many of their opponents again throughout the postseason.

Once they make the “small” fixes, Nauman said, “I expect big things from both Seth and Colton as well. Like with Pierce, we look for both of them to look for sectional titles and have high place finishes at WPIALs, regionals and states.”

As a freshman, last year, Fisher finished fifth in the section. Miller, who was 32-17 last year, placed sixth in the section and fifth in the regional, just missing a berth in the PIAA tournament.

In addition to Reinhart, Fisher and Miller, Ethan Higgins took the bronze at 145 with a fall over Moon’s Elijah Thomas in the consolation bout. Hunter Goelz took fourth at 215 after being edged, 3-2, by Carleton’s Braiden Sudor.

While Michael Gibson finished fifth at 285, Aden Stout (139), Caleb Crawford (145) and Ian Bucheli (152) won big in their consolation bouts. Stout and Crawford pinned their opponents while Bucheli recorded a tech fall to secure their seventh-place standings.

“The Hawks wrestled pretty well,” Nauman said. “We went after our opponents in the majority of our matches looking to score points and secure falls.

“We need to continue to work and improve on our wrestling and belief in ourselves during those tight matches that become more of a fight of your will to pull those out. Those are the matches that we need to and can win from here through team and individual postseason.”

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Pierce Reinhart had his hand raised as the victor and champion again this wrestling season. After winning a title in the Chartiers-Houston Tournament to kick off the 2024-25 campaign, the Bethel Park sophomore won the 121-pound weight class during the Allegheny County Championships.

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