South Fayette wins wrestling tournament
Despite not having a single individual winner, South Fayette walked away with the big prize during this weekend’s Chartiers-Houston Invitational.
The Lions captured the team title by edging USC by three points, 158-155. Peters Township followed in third place (146.5) in the team standings.
“We were looking for individual titles, but the match-ups overall did not favor us,” said SF head coach Rick Chaussard. “We weren’t worried about individuals winning the tournament because it’s just December. We were looking at getting on the mat and seeing where we have to go against certain competition.”
As a team, the Lions are expected to challenge for the Class AA title. They are ranked second behind Burrell, which has won 11 straight WPIAL championships.
The Lions advanced three wrestlers to the finals. Colin Dunn (126), Eli Brinsky (145) and Mike Cusick (152) all finished as runners-up. Heavyweight Quentin Franklin took third while Noah Broyles finished fourth at 106. Dalton Hirt and Mark Kurchena both secured sixth-place medals.
Meanwhile, Upper St. Clair advanced two wrestlers to the finals and came away with two champions.
Tom Kyle claimed the 138-pound title. The senior edged Zachary Macy from Chartiers Valley, 3-2, to claim his championship.
Jake Slinger dominated 220-pound action. He used a major decision, 11-2, against West Greene’s Connor Main, to score his title.
While Harvey Rauch (195) took third and Grant Walnoha (145) finished fourth, USC added four, fifth-place finishers: Dan Kyle (120), Tyler Curtiss (126), Sean Martin (152) and heavyweight Jack Burton; to the mix.
Peters Township advanced three grapplers to the finals.
Donovon McMillion came closest to reaching the top spot on the podium. The freshman held 5-0 and 10-6 advantages but succumbed to Freedom’s Trent Solthius, another freshman, 11-10, in the 132-pound final.
“For his first tournament, (Donovon) was pretty impressive,” PT head coach Jason Carpetta said. “He will learn to protect (his leads). We’re excited to have him in our lineup.”
Brandon Matthews and Luke Mary are more seasoned members of the PT line-up. A junior, Matthews finished runner-up at 160 and Mary secured second at 170. In a tightly contested match, tied 0-0 after two periods, Mary, who was a returning champion, fell to Peyton Hearns of Conneaut, 3-1.
Coltin Jezioro (152) and Jeff Markert (182) were third-place finishers for the Indians.
Joe Tuscano contributed to this story.