Vulcano, Carr, Zanetta finish as PIAA Class AA state runners-up
While it wasn’t the ending they anticipated, Garrett Vulcano, Seth Carr and Nick Zanetta closed out their scholastic careers with silver medals in the PIAA Class AA championships held this past weekend at the Giant Center in Hershey.
A Chartiers-Houston senior, Vulcano succumbed to Milton’s Ryan Solomon, 7-0, in the 195-pound championship match. Carr, a South Fayette senior, suffered the same fate, a shutout, 1-0, against Derry’s George Phillippi in the 113-pound final. Meanwhile, Zanetta from Keystone Oaks dropped a 4-2 decision to his nemesis Jason Nolf from Kittanning in the 132-pound bout.
Coaches for Vulcano and Carr summed up the emotions for all the state runners-up.
“Right now, it’s very disappointing,” said SF mat boss Rick Chaussard. “I told (Seth) that in a day or so, he’ll be very proud of what he accomplished.”
CH’s Bill Sutton concurred. “I’m sure (Garrett’s) not happy but he’ll realize what a great year it was.”
For Vulcano, it was a season in which he set the standard for future Buccaneers. The school’s all-time winningest grappler won sectional, district and regional titles before securing second in the state. He finished his scholastic career with a 154-38 record.
Vulcano will compete March 17 in the 39th annual Dapper Dan Wrestling Classic at the University of Pittsburgh’s Fitzgerald Field House. Vulcano will wrestle at 220 pounds for the WPIAL team versus Virginia at 4 p.m.
Vulcano advanced through the state tournament with decisions of 10-1, 5-1 and 5-2 against Hamburg’s Austin Bashore, Conner Rosensweet of Western Wayne and Trinity’s Adam Geiger before he met his match.
“The better man won,” said Sutton of Solomon, who scored his first takedown 46 seconds into the final. “But, Garrett finished second in the state and we’ll take that.”
South Fayette took Carr’s second-place showing and parlayed that into an eighth-place finish in the team competition. To reach the finals, Carr scored a 10-8 overtime decision against Claysburg-Kimmel’s Josh Brown. Carr had won his previous bouts by decision, 8-3 against Stephen Maloney, by default (5:58) versus David Pipa of Bishop McDevitt.
Though Carr had won the Southwest Regional title, he was unable to avenge his WPIAL loss to Phillippi. After scoring an escape in the final 13 seconds of the second stanza, the Derry freshman rode Carr for the final two minutes of the match.
Of Phillippi’s leg technique, Chaussard commented, “(George) is pretty much the only guy who can keep Seth down. He rides with a lot of pressure and uses his legs.”
Carr used his talents to post a 39-5 record this winter. While he did not duplicate his brother Nick’s 2010 feat of a state title, Carr finished his career with a 126-40 record. He, too, will compete in the Dapper Dan Wrestling Classic for the WPIAL team at 113 pounds.
Likewise, Zanetta failed in his attempt to replicate his brother’s state championship, but like his sibling, he will continue wrestling at the University of Pittsburgh. In his career, Zanetta just couldn’t seem to beat Nolf, who won at the district and regional level as well.
En route to facing Nolf, Zanetta toppled Hanover’s Ian Brown in a tiebreaker during the 132-pound semifinals. In the early rounds of the tournament, Zanetta registered 6-1 and 5-0 decisions over Brookville’s Dalton Zimmerman and Lake Lehman’s Austin Harry.
Zanetta, who finished 35-5 on the year, will wrestle at 132 pounds for the WPIAL team in the Dapper Dan Classic. Zanetta finished his high school career with a 132-26 record.
In other tournament action, Carr’s teammates Mike Fetchet and Jared Walker brought home fourth- and seventh-place medals to contribute to the Lions’ eighth-place showing.
Carr’s younger brother, Mike, competed at 120 but lost both of his bouts in the tournament.
Meanwhile, Tanner Sutton closed out his scholastic career at states. He beat Schuylkill Valley’s Zach Homan, 14-6, in the 145-pound opener but then succumbed to Blake Bowman of Tri Valley, 8-3, and Burrell’s Phil Marra, 4-3.