Dec 13, 2016 By Eleanor Bailey 3 min read

Four area grapplers started the season on a positive note, capturing championships in the Chartiers-Houston Wrestling Tournament. With two winners, Upper St. Clair led the way to the top of the podium. Eli Grape won the 195-pound weight class and Jake Slinger followed with the title at 220.

After pinning his first three opponents, Grape scored a major decision, 8-0, against Butler’s Tom Greaves.

“He was a good wrestler,” Grape said of Greaves. “He was strong so it was hard for me to ride him and I only turned him once. I knew that I was able to take him down so I wanted to work on my tilts and some of my riding because in the past my biggest weakness was riding kids.”

Slinger, likewise, rode pins to the championship. The sophomore felled his first three opponents, then edged Ian Edenfield from Laurel Highlands, 4-3, in the final.

Luke Mary from Peters Township wrestled up to his ranking. Seeded first in the weight class, he captured the 152-pound weight class. He edged Seth Shubert, 2-1. The Mapletown senior had won 27 matches last season.

After trimming eight pounds from his frame, Mary was ready for competition and is prepared for a strong season.

“I’ve gotten in better shape in the room. I’ve turned up the intensity,” said the junior, who scored three falls on the way to this title. “This was definitely a good start. I just need to improve.”

Josh Kuslock has improved to the point that he is back on top. After overcoming injuries and illness over the past two years, the Chartiers-Houston senior repeated as champion. He decisioned Garrett Burnham of Pine-Richland, 4-2, to capture the 138-pound division.

Unseeded in the weight class, Kuslock knocked off No. 3 Coltin Jezioro from Peters Township and top-seeded Burnham on his way to victory.

“I never wrestled anyone in my weight before,” Kuslock said. “I just went out there and I knew my hard work would pay off.”

With three champions and seven additional place-winners, North Hills won the team title with 201.5 points. Freedom (165) and Butler (156) took second and third while USC finished seventh in the team standings. The Panthers had two other medalists in Sean Martin (fourth at 152) and Thomas Kyle (sixth at 145)

Char-Houston and Peters finished eighth and 10th. RJ Hall took runner-up honors at 170 for the Bucs while Trey Lober was fifth at 285. For the Indians, Will Kail and Brandon Matthews finished fifth at 106 and 132 respectively while Shane Clark secured sixth at 195.

South Fayette finished sixth with a 116.5 score. Among the Lions’ place-winners were: Noah Broyles (fourth, 106), Colin Dunn (fifth, 113), Gary Loeffler (fourth, 120), Erin Brinsky (fifth, 126) , Mike Cusick (third, 145), Camdon Hoover (sixth, 160) and Joe Bastaroli (sixth, 182).

C-M fourth

Canon-McMillan finished fourth in the Cumberland Valley Tournament.

Brendan Furman and Gerrit Nijenhuis won titles at heavyweight and 152 respectively.

Logan Macri and Tim Hritsko claimed runner-up honors at 120 and 138. Blaze Kansco took third at 170 and Michael Binni secured sixth at 113.

Nino wins

Nino Bonaccorsi captured the 182-pound weight class during the Eastern Area Invitational held at Gateway. The Bethel Park senior, who recently committed to the University of Pittsburgh, scored a major decision against Altoona’s Brinton Simington, 17-4, in the championship match.

Jason Montgomery scored runner-up honors at 160 while Hunter Kernan and Noah Seeberger took third at 152 and 170 respectively. Other place-winners for the Hawks included: Korey Patterson (fifth, 138), Luke Montgomery (fourth, 145) and Jake Dowell (fifth, 220).