Furman, Bonaccorsi add titles to collection
Brendan Furman celebrates after winning the heavyweight match at the Powerade finals. Furman added to his medal collection by winning his fourth straight section title. He is now qualified for the WPIAL championships set for March 2-5 at Canon-McMillan.
Nino Bonaccorsi
Brendan Furman from Canon-McMillan and Nino Bonaccorsi of Bethel Park added more gold medals to their already cluttered trophy cases after winning consecutive section wrestling titles. For Furman, his Section 4 crown was his fourth while Bonaccorsi earned his third consecutive Section 2 title.
Both wrestlers lead a contingent of local grapplers into this week’s WPIAL Class AA championships to be held March 3-5 at Canon-McMillan High School.
During the Section 4 finals held at Trinity, Furman took advantage of four penalty points to record a 5-3 victory against Montour’s Roman Macek, 5-3, in the heavyweight championship bout.
While Furman has won four straight section crowns, the senior has yet to medal at districts. Furman, however, is focused on the WPIAL finals.
“To say the least, I’ve stumbled a little bit in the WPIALs but this year’s different. I’ve committed to college,” the Cornell recruit said. “So it’s just for fun now.
“Wrestling for fun is a lot different than wrestling with pressure to win. In the years before, I was too worried that I had to win to get to the next level, to win the WPIAL, to get to states. Now, I’m just having fun wrestling, which I’ve found is a way better way to do it.”
For Bonaccorsi, wrestling has always been fun. The senior has more than 100 career victories and plenty of pins this season. In winning his third straight section title, the 182-pound senior, who is committed to Pitt, felled Thomas Jefferson’s Luke Petruzzi in 70 seconds.
Furman leads 11 Big Macs into the WPIAL finals. Kenny Hayman and Gerrit Nijenhuis each won their first titles at 113 and 152 respectively while Logan Macric and Matt Oblock were repeat winners at 120 and 126. Tim Hritsko (138) and Blaze Kansco (170) finished as runners-up while Jacob Gardner (106), Anthony Mastrangelo (132), Dimitri Pihiou (145), Bryan Milligan (182) took third-place honors.
Hunter Kernan joined Bonaccorsi in the winner’s circle when he claimed the 145-pound title at the Section 2 finals held at Connellsville. Kernan defeated Tyler Seliga of Belle Vernon, 9-1.
Three other BP grapplers advanced to the WPIAL championships. Jason Montgomery took third at 160 while Ben Yantek and Luke Montgomery both finished fourth at 132 and 152 respectively.
Eli Grape successfully defended his title. The Upper St. Clair senior won the 195-pound weight class with a 9-3 win against Nate Ansell of Connellsville in the finals.
Thomas Kyle also claimed a championship for USC. He won the 138-pound weight class with a narrow victory, 3-2, against TJ’s Alex Weber.
Among USC’s other qualifiers for the WPIAL tournament include: Tyler Curtiss (126), Jake Slinger (220), Dan Kyle (120), Grant Walnoha (132) and Harvey Rauch (182).
For Peters Township, Bryce Wilkes won a title at 106. He pinned Shawn Thomas of Connellsville in 69 seconds for the championship. Seven other Indians advanced to the WPIAL finals including: Coltin Jezioro, second at 126; Brandon Matthews, second at 132; Will Kail, fourth at 113; Luke Mary, third at 152; Daniel Florentino, fifth at 138; Jeff Markert, fifth at 170.
For Chartiers Valley, Shamil Zaynullaev captured the 220-pound title with a 12-8 win against Connor Main of Waynesburg. His teammate, Zachary Macy, was the runner-up at 113, falling to Hayman, 7-4, in the finals. CV’s Daniel McGeough took third at heavyweight while Collin Eger claimed the bronze at 170. Tony Montgomery (106), David Yurchak (126) and Colton Bateman (195) all finished fifth for the Colts.
For Mt. Lebanon, Luke Stout (152) and Turner Gray (160) earned runner-up laurels. Sean McKinney and Nathan Hoaglund took thirds at 120 and 220. Jackson Gray finished fourth at 132. Eli Crittenden (106) and Regis Wintermantel (182) were sixth-place finishers.
CH advances three
Three wrestlers from Chartiers-Houston advanced to the PIAA Class AA wrestling championships to be held March 9-11 at the Giant Center in Hershey, PA. All are seniors.
Josh Kuslock and R.J. Hall both brought home bronze medals while Trey Lober secured sixth place during the Southwest Regional Tournament held Feb. 24-25 at Indiana University.
In the 138-pound consolation bout, Kuslock edged Ligonier Valley’s Alex Caldwell, 7-6. In the 170-pound consolation match, Hall decisioned West Branch’s Kyle Myers, 7-1. Though Lober lost his consolation battle with Everett’s Kyle Peterson, he earned the final spot in the state tournament.