Feb 23, 2015 5 min read

With a come-from-behind victory, Jared Walker joined an exclusive club. The South Fayette senior is now one of 25 wrestlers to capture four WPIAL championships.

“I’ve seen the list (of four-time champions),” said Walker. “They are all great wrestlers. The all did something great. It’s amazing that I get to be on it.”

Thanks to a third-period takedown and escape, Walker defeated Jason Stay of Beth-Center, 3-1, in the 160-pound finals to claim his third straight title at that weight. He won at 152 as a freshman.

“After I won the first one as a freshman, I thought maybe I can be on that list,” Walker said. “This year, I tried not to think of it at all.”

Since hanging up his cleats after helping South Fayette claim its second straight PIAA title in football, Walker has been all business.

“His work ethic is awesome,” said South Fayette head coach Rick Chaussard. “He goes seven days a week, 365 days a year. What’s interesting is that there is not a lot of full-time football players who have done this. He wrestles three-quarters of the year and football for the other quarter of the year. Five days after we won the state football title, he was stepping into the wrestling room.”

This Feb. 27 and 28 at Canon-McMillan High School he will be stepping on the mats to begin his quest for a Southwest Regional title and a berth in the PIAA championships.

“When I was a freshman,” Walker said. “I thought it was a big thing to be a Junior Olympic champion.”

Now, the Kent State recruit wants to be a state champion. Walker, who earned Wrestler of the Match honors, was a state runner-up last year.

With his fourth district title out of the way, Walker can focus on the bigger picture. “Now that this is done,” he said, “it’s going to be easier to go ahead. I have a state championship to work for.”

So does his teammate Mike Carr. The junior remained undefeated (37-0) after winning the 138-pound weight class with a 7-1 decision against Evan Myers from Southmoreland.

South Fayette produced two runners-up in Shane Ging at 132 and Brett Beltz at 182. Other top finishers for the Lions included: Colin Dunn (seventh at 106); Andrew John (seventh at 113); Jasper Wolfe (fifth, 120); Joe Bastaroli (seventh, 170) and Rasaun Culberson (fifth, 195).

Jake Wentzel (152) and Greg Bulsak (170) from South Park both earned championships and advanced as the top seeds out of the district in their weight class for the Southwest Regional.

Top finishers from Chartiers-Houston included: Josh Kuslock (seventh at 126); Ben Hritsko (fourth, 138) and Garrett Grimm (sixth, 182). Dan Black from Keystone Oaks finished eighth at 170.

Florentino wins

Peters Township sophomore Daniel Florentino knocked off top-seeded Jacob Dunlop of Belle Vernon to win the 106-pound title at the Section 2-AAA wrestling tournament held at Ringgold High School.

Florentino, who finished second in the section as a freshman, earned a 1-0 decision over Dunlop to take his first section title.

Florentino’s title was the only one won by the Indians as senior Phil Mary lost a 1-0 decision to Connellsville’s Tyler Kenney in the 126-pound championship bout.

They were two of five Indians who qualified for the WPIAL Championships, set to begin Feb. 26 at Penn Hills High School. The top five placewinners from each section tournament advanced.

Also moving on were PT’s Mike McAleavey, who finished fourth at 182 pounds, and Sal Merante and Alex Belack, who finished fifth at 160 and 195, respectively.

Four More Champs

Four more area champions were crowned during the Section 2-AAA wrestling tournament held at Ringgold.

Two of the winners hailed from Bethel Park. Paul Dunn won the 160-pound title while Nino Bonaccorsi claimed the 152-pound crown with a fall in the finals. The pair will be joined at this week’s WPIAL championships by teammates: Korey Patterson (fourth at 120), Jason Montgomery (third at 138), Jeremy Huwe (third at 170), Adam Montgomery (third at 220) and Chris Pauley (third at 285)

Kellan Stout from Mt. Lebanon repeated as a section champion. The senior won at 182. Eli Grape from Upper St. Clair captured the 195-pound title with a 5-3 decision over Lebo’s Bakhtiyar Zaynullaev. Grape’s teammates Vinny Palm and Brooks Wilding finished as runners-up at 132 and 170 respectively.

Other Lebo qualifiers for the WPIAL championships include: Sean Perri (third, 145); Darrell Sanders (fourth, 170); Shamil Zaynullaev (fourth, 220) and Turner Gray (fifth, 152). USC qualifiers also include: Ryan Dawson (fourth, 113) and Jay Pollock (fourth, 285).

Qualifiers out of Section 4-AAA from Canon-McMillan include: Logan Macri (second, 106); Tim Hritsko (third, 120); Camden Fontenot (first, 126); Matt Oblock (third, 132); Micah Kusturiss (first, 145); Tommy James (second, 182); James Zeremenko (third, 195); Jared Hladycz (fifth, 220); Brendan Furman (first, 285)

Qualifiers from Chartiers Valley out of Section 4-AAA included: Justin Sullivan (fourth, 126); Michael Resignalo (third, 145) and Nicholas Canton (fourth, 285).

Nagy qualifies

Michael Nagy of Peters Township qualified for the WPIAL Class AAA championships. The Central Catholic grappler finished fifth at 113 in Section 3. He is a two-time district qualifier.