South Fayette leads list of sectional winners
While Class AAA wrestlers are just beginning their quest for individual titles with section tournaments this weekend, Class AA grapplers bid for WPIAL championships has already commenced and several area athletes will participate in the tournament set for Feb. 20-21 at South Fayette High School.
The host Lions will be well represented as 11 have qualified and six emerged as champions during the Section 1 tournament held this past weekend at Ellwood City.
J.J. Walker leads the list. The senior is a three-time defending district champion. The Kent State recruit won his third section title and improved his season record to 30-3 and his career overall record to 143-29.
Shane Ging (132), Mike Carr (138), Brett Beltz (182) and Rasuan Culberson (195) joined Walker (160) on the podium during the sectionals.
Carr, like Walker, is a defending WPIAL champion. The junior is 34-0 at 138 pounds this season. Carr is a recent member of the Century Club with more than 100 career victories, as is his teammate, Beltz.
Other top finishers for South Fayette during the section tournament included: Andrew John (second, 113) Jasper Wolf (second, 120) Colin Dunn (third, 106), Joe Bastoroli (third, 170) Ben Previte (fourth, 145) and Chris Dedi (fourth, 152).
South Park’s Greg Bulsak and Jake Wentzel claimed section titles and return to the district finals as defending champions. Wentzel is 30-1 at 152 this year and Bulsak is 22-3 at 170. Dallas Bulsak is unable to defend his title. The 106-pound champion missed the Section 1 tournament due to an elbow injury.
Josh Kuslock captured the 126-pound weight class. The Chartiers-Houston sophomore scored a fall 26 seconds into the finals to claim the title.
In Section 3, Joe Kazalas finished runner-up at 285. After scoring consecutive falls to reach the finals, the Keystone Oaks junior was pinned by Al Beattie of Burrell.
Jake Diskin earned runner-up honors at 145. The KO senior lost to Noah Hanna from Burrell in finals.
The top seven finishers from in each weight class in the WPIAL AA event advance to the Southwest Region Tournament set for Feb. 27-28 at Canon-McMillan High School.
Meanwhile, in Class AAA, this weekend’s sectional tournaments will be held at Kiski Area (Section 1), Ringgold (2), Fox Chapel (3) and Trinity (4). The top five finishers in each weight class from each section advance to the WPIAL/Southwest Regional Tournament to be held Feb. 26-28 at Penn Hills.