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Lebo leads list of area top seeds for county tournament

4 min read

Mt. Lebanon received the top seeds in three weight classes as 40 teams prepare to participate in the 13th annual Allegheny County Wrestling Tournament set for Jan. 17-18 at Fox Chapel High School.

Kellan Stout, who is 12 wins away from passing Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle as the school’s all-time winningest grappler, earned the No. 1 seed in the 182-pound weight class. A junior, Stout is 79-16 in his career. He was 13-2 overall to start the week’s action.

Also favored to win their weight classes at 195 and 285 respectively are cousins Bakhtiyar Zaynullaev and Zenynul Zaynullayev. Zaynullayev was ranked No. 2 in the WPIAL behind Shane Kuhn from Kiski Area (Westmoreland County) with a 13-3 record. Zaynullaev is No. 5 with a 14-3 record heading into tonight’s (Jan. 15) dual match at Bethel Park.

The other Blue Devils gaining top seeds for the tournament were Kevin Kinyua, third at 120 and Sean Perri, fourth at 132. Sam White is seeded tenth at 126.

Mike Carr leads a strong contingent of wrestlers from South Fayette into the Allegheny County battle. The sophomore is seeded No. 1 in the highly-competitive, 132-pound weight class. In addition to Perri, Nino Bonaccorsi is another top local seed. The Bethel Park freshman, is seeded third in the division.

In addition to Carr, other top-seeded Lions include: Andrew John, fifth at 106; Grant Fetchet, sixth at 152; Brett Beltz, seventh at 145; J.J. and Zared Walker, second and fourth respectively at 160 and 195.

The Lions are coming off a victory at the South Side Beaver Duals. South Fayette ran the table in Pool C action, beating Sharon, 51-16, Ambridge, 66-16, and Seneca Valley, 40-27. The Lions defeated Bethel Park, 53-22, in the semifinals and dispatched Butler, 40-25, in the finals.

Noah Wilps leads Chartiers Valley into tournament action. The senior is favored to win the 170-pound weight class. He was 12-1 overall heading into the Colts’ final Section 4A dual meet at Moon on Jan. 15.

Upper St. Clair has a strong complement of wrestlers vying for county titles. Top contenders include: John Wertz at 120, Vinny Palm at 126, Garrett Walnoha at 138, Andrew Troy (152), Jarrod Browne (195), Corey and Brooks Wilding. At 145, Corey is rated No. 2 while Brooks is No. 6 at 160.

Michael Roper and Jake Paris join Wilps among the other top seeds from CV at 220 and 195 respectively.

Sam Gercak and Paul Dunn from Bethel Park (220 and 152) as well as Jake Walker and Joe Kazales from Keystone Oaks (182 and 285) are among the other local wrestlers to watch in the Allegheny County Tournament. Dunn is seeded No. 2 at 152.

Brendan Price won his 100th career match and in the process won a championship for himself and his Canon-McMillan wrestling team during the Tri-County Athletic Directors Association Tournament held this past weekend at Ringgold High School.

The senior defeated Brendan Howard, 9-6, in the 113-pound finals. Price is 100-22. He was section champion, district bronze medalist and a PIAA qualifier last winter for the Big Macs, who won the county team title with 234.5 points.

Matt Oblock joined Price on the podium. The Big Mac freshman won the 120-pound weight class. After knocking off the No. 1 seed, Austin McDermitt of Burgettstown in the first round, Oblock beat the No. 2 seed, Jake Rothka from Bentworth, 4-2, in the finals.

Alex Hutchin and Jesse Lesko earned runner-up honors for the Big Macs at 138 and 182 respectively.

Defending state champion Solomon Chishko and Dalton Macri did not wrestle in the tournament for the Big Macs during to illness and injuries.

Canon-McMillan, which is the defending WPIAL and PIAA team champion, will close out Section 4A dual meet action tonight (Jan. 15) when the Big Macs visit Trinity. Both teams are undefeated at 4-0. The Big Macs are 10-0 overall.

Mt. Lebanon split a pair of matches during a triangular meet at North Allegheny. The Blue Devils dropped a 51-12 decision to the Tigers, but defeated North Hills, 38-33.

Against NA, Kevin Kinyua (120) knocked off Scott Stossel, 6-2. Kellan Stout (182) decisioned Clay Byerly, 6-1 and Zeynul Zaynullayev (285) pinned Mark Littlefield at heavyweight.

Sean Perri’s 4-1 overtime win at 138 sealed Lebo’s victory over the Indians.

Other big wins included: Bakhtiyar Zaynullaev’s 7-1 decision at 195, Sam White’s 5-4 victory at 126, Stout’s tech fall at 182. John Marshall (152) and Zeynul Zaynullayev (285) recorded falls while Kinyua and Chris Marshall (132) won by forfeits.

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