South Fayette, South Park wrestlers dominate at Char-Houston
Mike Carr upends Brandon Tenney during 145-pound action. The South Fayette senior scored a 7-2 decision to win the weight class at the Chartiers-Houston Tournament
Mike Cusick (left) and Keagan Lawson tangle up during 138-pound championship action during the Chartiers-Houston Tournament. Cusick scored a 3-2 victory to claim the title.
Upper St. Clair’s Eli Grape and Peters Township’s Alex Belack get tied up during 195-pound championship action during the Chartiers-Houston Tournament. Grape won the weight class with a 10-4 decision over Belack.
Zachary Macy turns Colin Dunn upside down during 106-pound action during the Chartiers-Houston Tournament. The Chartiers Valley freshman scored a 6-2 victory in winning the weight class.
Michael McAleavey prepares to wrestle in the Chartiers-Houston Tournament. The Peters Township grappler scored a fall in the finals and captured the 220-pound weight class.
At the Chartiers-Houston Tournament this past weekend, the wrestling season started the way it ended. Many area grapplers found themselves at the top or near the pinnacle of the podium. State champions reigned supreme as Mike Carr led South Fayette to the team title and Jake Wentzel and Greg Bulsak took home top honors for South Park. All won their weight classes.
Wentzel, who was 40-1 last year at 152, picked up three pins and a technical fall on his way to the 160-pound title. He earned both the Outstanding Wrestler Award as well as the trophy for most pins in the tournament. Bulsak, who was 34-3 last year at 170, felled all of his opponents en route to capturing the 182-pound crown.
Meanwhile Carr dispatched Brandon Tenney, a senior from Buckhannon-Upshur in West Virginia, 7-2, to win the 145-pound weight class. Carr went undefeated last year (45-0) in winning the PIAA title at 138.
So Carr knows exactly what Wentzel and Bulsak should and will expect as they all attempt to defend their titles. Opponents will be gunning for them and many will employ strategies that force the veterans to ride out matches.
“I know opponents will be circling the days on the calendar but I’ve got their name on my calendar,” Carr said. “A lot of guys are going to be running from me, like a backwards track meet, so I have to stay patient. They aren’t going to be on offense because of what I did last year, so I just work on keeping kids from backing up.”
Rick Chaussard reminds Carr of the onus being a state champion brings to the match. “I told him there was a target on his back from last year to this year, so just be willing to know everyone wants to take you down,” said the South Fayette mat boss. “He hasn’t stopped working since April.”
True. About the only time Carr took off was during recruiting visits. He committed to the University of Illinois because his idol, Jeremy Hunter, is an assistant on the coaching staff.
“I liked everything about (Illinois),” said Carr. “I wanted to go to the Big Ten. Jeremy is awesome, four-time state champion, national champion at Penn State. Just awesome.”
South Fayette was awesome in winning the team title with 197 points. Peters Township secured second place with a 157.5 score. In addition to Carr, Mike Cusick won a trophy. He took home the top prize at 138 when he scored a last-second victory, 3-2, against Keagan Lawson from North Hills.
Peters Township also placed two wrestlers on the top of the awards’ stand. Brandon Matthews won a major decision, 8-0, against Grant Walnoha from Upper St. Clair in the 113-pound final while Michael McAleavey pinned USC’s Jake Singer in 5:16 to secure the 220-pound title.
The Indians and USC had another wrestler in the finals but the Panthers reversed their losing trend when Eli Grape defeated Alex Belack for the 195-pound crown. The win coupled with the two runner-up showings enabled USC to finish fourth in the team standings with a 128 score.
Chartiers Valley captured a championship when freshman Zachary Macy decisioned South Fayette’s Colin Dunn, 6-2, in the 106-pound final.
The host Buccaneers advanced one wrestler to the finals. Trey Lober finished as the 285-pound runner-up.
Nagy wins
Michael Nagy captured a championship during the Central Catholic Invitational. Nagy edged Ben Lynch from Seneca Valley, 4-3, in the 126-pound finals. After a first-round bye, Nagy won two bouts to advance to the championship round. The Peters Township resident is a junior at Central Catholic.