South Fayette, BP, Lebo wrestlers win county titles
Jake Wetzel has a solid lock on Nino Bonaccorsi and a victory in this 152-pound championship bout during the Allegheny County Tournament. The South Park grappler decisioned the Bethel Park wrestler, 2-0. Wetzel was awarded the trophy for fastest falls in the least amount of time during the tournament, which featured some 36 teams.
Kellan Stout was awarded the Brotherhood of Wrestling by Paul Garrison. The award, voted upon by the coaches, is given to the wrestler demonstrating sportsmanship during the Allegheny County Tournament. Stout won the 182-pound weight class.
Mike Carr earned his second straight title during the Allegheny County Wrestling Tournament.
Jake Wentzel of South Park earned the award for fastest falls in the least amount of time during the Allegheny County Wrestling Tournament.
Bethel Park senior Paul Dunn (right) was honored recently for recording his 100th victory in his scholastic wrestling career. Dunn went on to capture the 160-pound weight class during the Allegheny County Tournament. Dunn is pictured here with his coach, Bob Stewart.
After a big wrestling weekend, many area grapplers turn their focus to the WPIAL team tournament.
Allegheny County wrestling champions Mike Carr, Jake Wentzel, Paul Dunn and Kellan Stout lead their teams into sectional tournaments Jan. 21. These will determine the seeds for the WPIAL tournament. The top five teams from each section meet will qualify for the district tournament, which begins Jan. 26. The WPIAL team championships will be held Jan. 31.
Canon-McMillan and Belle Vernon will host Class AAA section tournaments while South Fayette will entertain Section 1 contenders in Class AA. The Lions are the defending section champion as well as the WPIAL runners-up.
Carr leads the Lions (15-1) into battle against Freedom (7-4) at 6 p.m. Jan. 21 while Chartiers-Houston challenges Burgettstown. The winners meet at 7:30 p.m. in the finals.
Carr is coming off his second straight championship in the Allegheny County Tournament held at Fox Chapel. The senior blanked David Kelly of Pine-Richland, 7-0, for the 138-pound title. Carr won the 132-pound crown last year.
“It wasn’t very hard,” Carr said of winning this year’s title. “It’s just wrestling. You wrestle the best you can against the competition you have, but I think I could have wrestled better.
While South Fayette wrestled fourth best out of the competition, the three teams ahead of the Lions were all Class AAA clubs. North Allegheny won the team title with 210 points, followed by Pine-Richland (165.5) and Shaler (151). The Lions finished with 144 points.
“As a team,” Carr continued, “I think we are wrestling well. This year, we want to get that [WPIAL] team title.”
Jared Walker surely will help the Lions in their endeavors. The senior finished as the 170-pound runner-up at the county tournament. Walker succumbed to Te’Shan Campbell, 6-2, in the finals. The Penn Hills senior was named the tournament’s outstanding wrestler. Campbell was a champion last year at 160.
Walker, who is a three-time WPIAL Class AA champion and PIAA runner-up, also faced stiff competition in the weight class as Greg Bulsak of South Park was a champion last year at 152. Bulsak edged Brooks Wilding of Upper St. Clair, 7-3, in the consolation match for third place.
Meanwhile, Mt. Lebanon hopes to use its fifth-place showing at the county championships as a springboard for the WPIAL team tournament. The Blue Devils face host Belle Vernon at 6 p.m. while Peters Township squares off against Connellsville in the Section 2-AAA tournament.
“We’re pleased with our showing. We were shooting for a Top 10 finish,” said Lebo mat boss Bill Lewis. “There is a lot of talent in Allegheny County and the folks out here at Fox Chapel do a fantastic job running this tournament. We’re hoping this is a good tune-up for the WPIAL team tournament for us as well as the individual sectional and other tournaments coming up.”
The Allegheny County tournament was another opportunity for Kellan Stout to showcase his abilities. The Penn State recruit is the first Lebo grappler to garner more than 100 career victories as well as win the Powerade Tournament. Stout followed up that late-December showing with his second straight championship in the county event.
In the 182-pound final, Stout decisioned Josh Bahr from West Allegheny, 7-2. In addition, Stout earned the Brotherhood of Wrestling Award. He was chosen from all the coaches in the 38-team tournament for demonstrating outstanding sportsmanship.
“We are extremely proud of Kellan,” said Lewis. “It’s nice to see Kellan receive accolades for his athletic achievements, but it’s more important to us that our wrestlers are good people, too. This award speaks to the person Kellan is and we couldn’t be more pleased.”
Other Blue Devil performances at the county tournament pleased Lewis. Bakhtiyar Zaynullaev finished runner-up at 195. Sean Perri finished fourth at 145 while Turner Gray (152) and Shamil Zaynullaev (220) took home fifth-place trophies. In the process, Stout, Perri and Zaynullaev all reached the 20-win benchmark for the season.
Lebo secured its spot as the second seed behind Peters Township in the team tournament by defeating Bethel Park, 40-33, in the final dual meet of the regular season.
Perri secured the victory with a fall in 92 seconds in the final bout at 145. Prior to that, Sam White posted a major decision at 138 to secure Lebo’s comeback. Stout (182) and Parker Reed (113) recorded falls, while Brian Perri netted a decision. Cam Giometti and Robert Wingold won with forfeits.
Meanwhile, Bethel Park faces an uphill battle in the Section 2-AAA tournament. The Hawks visit Thomas Jefferson at 7 p.m. in an effort to secure a berth in the WPIAL team tournament.
The Hawks recovered from their loss to Lebo with a strong sixth-place showing in the county tournament. Dunn, who registered a fall in the dual meet against Lebo, won the 160-pound weight class. The Lehigh recruit used a third-period reverse to decision Nate Hall of West Allegheny, 2-0, in the final.
Dunn was one of two county finalists for the Hawks. Nino Bonaccorsi was the other. Bonaccorsi, who also recorded a pin against Lebo, dropped a 2-0 decision to Jake Wentzel in the 152-pound final. The South Park grappler garnered the award for fastest falls in the least amount of time.
In addition to Dunn and Bonaccorsi, Chris Pauley, Jason Montgomery, Korey Patterson and Jeremy Huwe earned spots on the podium. Pauley and Montgomery finished fifth at heavyweight and 138 respectively. Patterson secured sixth place at 120 and Huwe was eighth at 170.
Two other area wrestlers fared well at the Allegheny County Tournament including:
• Michael Nagy of Peters Township. The Central Catholic sophomore edged Dom Devine from Thomas Jefferson, 7-6, in the third-place consolation match, earning the bronze at 113. A two-time placewinner, he finished seventh at 106 last year.
• Eli Grape of Upper St. Clair. He slipped past Keegan Harris, 3-2, and place third at 195.
NOTES: Canon-McMillan hosts the Section 4-AAA tournament. The Big Macs battle Hopewell at 6 p.m. while West Allegheny squares off against Waynesburg. The finals are set for 7:30 p.m.