Mt. Lebanon shines in wrestling sectional
Mt. Lebanon placed 10 wrestlers on the podium and crowned three champions during an impressive showing at the Section 2 championships held Feb. 23 at Connellsville.
The top five finishers in each of the four sectionals advanced to the WPIAL championships held this weekend (after deadline) at Canon-McMillan.
Jackson Gray (27-8) captured his second title and with one year remaining could become only the fifth Blue Devil to become a three-time champion. The junior defeated Colin Franks of Connellsville, 7-5, in the 145-pound final. Despite missing a most of the year with an injury, Franks was the section runner-up in 2018.
”We knew Colin was a good wrestler,” said Lebo mat boss Marc Allemang, “but Jackson wrestled a great tournament. He stayed on his attacks and was pretty dominate in all three positions.”
The Stout brothers joined Gray on top of the podium as both took their first section crowns. Mac decisioned Hunter Milligan of Albert Gallatin, 8-2, while Luke dispatched Belle Vernon’s Scott Joll, 9-5.
Mac, who improved to 29-8 overall, wrestled in a tough bracket that included Donovan McMillon from Peters Township. Because of lineup shifting, McMillon ended up moving up from 152 to 160 for sectionals.
”Mac had a few good takedowns and was able to control him when they were on the mat,” Allemang said.
A freshman, Mac also wrestled well against Milligan, a senior.
”(Milligan) was a strong wrestler who has had a pretty solid career,” said Allemang. “Mac was dominate on his feet and secured several take downs to keep Milligan off his own attacks. When Mac is wrestling in positions he is best at he can beat anyone in his bracket.”
In capturing the 182-pound crown, Luke improved to 35-1 on the season. He also faced a familiar foe as he and Joll battled in the consolation match at Powerade in December.
”Though this match was a little closer, Luke was in control. Although he was reversed at one point, Luke kept his cool and continued to attack like the veteran that he is,” Allemang said.
Allemang also noted it was nice to see his junior grappler finally win a section title. He had been in tough matches over the years and this time the finals went his way. Allemang also was excited to see the brothers experience similar success.
”It’s fun to watch Luke and Mac do great things like winning section titles together. We are looking forward to more great things from them,” he said.
Lebo received great things from eight other wrestlers during sections as Nathan Hoaglund finished runner-up at heavyweight, Sean McKinney (126), Mikey Kail (138) and Regis Wintermantel (195) took thirds; Louie Petragallo (113) finished fourth and Darvish Kapitonov (132) and Everett Lefever (170) secured sixth places.
Five other area wrestlers captured section championships and advanced to the WPIAL tournament held March 1-2 at Canon-McMillan.
Upper St. Clair put two grapplers on top the podium in the Section 2AAA tournament held at Connellsville with Jake Slinger and Quinn Murray winning titles in the 220- and 285-weight classes.
Slinger’s championship win against Hoaglund, 8-0, leaves him one away from tying the school’s record for all-time wins. The George Mason recruit sits at 131 victories for his career.
Murray pinned Andy Mellinger from McKeesport (2:23) in his championship match.
Also in Section 2, Jeff Markert of Peters Township decisioned Hunter Milligan from Albert Gallatin, 8-2, to win at 170.
Zachary Macy capped his four-year run to the finals by winning the 132-pound weight class during the Section 4AAA tournament held at Canon-McMillan.
The Chartiers Valley senior, who already is in the Century Club for more than 100 career victories, pinned Trinity’s Danny Boardley in 67 seconds for the title.
Quentin Franklin aslo captured a Section 4 championship. The South Fayette senior edged Giomar Ramos from Canon-McMillan, 2-1, and won the 285-pound weight class.
Other qualifiers for the WPIAL championships included:
• From Bethel Park: Luke Montgomery, who lost to Thomas Jefferson’s Max Shaw, 11-4, in the 195-pound finals; Jake Dowell (third at 220); Bryon Bench (third, 106); Riley O’Mara (fourth, 182); and Kevin Collins (fifth, 113)
• From Chartiers Valley: freshmen Josh Sarasnick (second, at 195), Luke Potts (second at 120), Ashton Sadowski (fourth, 106) and CC Beatty (fifth, 126); sophomore Donovan O’Malley (fifth, 182); juniors Murat Zaynullaev (fifth, 170) and Cody Trout (fourth, 138) and senior Tony Montgomery (third, 113).
• From Peters Township: Coltin Jezioro and Bryce Wilkes, who were runner-ups at 170 and 120 pounds respectively; Donovan McMillon (third, 160); Brandon Matthews (third, 183), Will Kail (fourth, 126) and Grant Nelson (fifth, 285).
• From South Fayette: Eli Brinsky (second, 152); Logan Shaffer (fourth, 113); Luke Finestone (132), Dalton Hirt (145) and Michael DeDi (160), all of whom finished fifth.
• From Upper St. Clair: Grant Walnoha (second, 170); Sean Martin (third, 120); Dan Kyle (fourth, 132) and Aidan Nichols (fourth, 145)