Stout leads Mt. Lebanon wrestlers in sectional
Peters Township had seven placewinners during the Section 4-AAA wrestling tournament. All qualified for the WPIAL championships held March 4-5 at Canon-McMillan High School. Freshman Darius McMillon (second from left) captured the 113-pound weight class. Joining McMillon on the podium were: Noah Schratz, (runner-up at 145), Chris Cibrone (138) and Phillip Nave (215) both brone medalists, as well as Henry Meyers (120) AJ McGarrity (132) and Aaron Slizik (160), all fourth-place finishers.
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Mac Stout
Mac Stout of Mt. Lebanon captured his third section title and advanced to the WPIAL Class AAA Wrestling Championships held March 4-5 at Canon-McMillan High School.
(Results of the district finals were too late for publication in this edition of The Almanac.)
Stout dominated the 189-pound weight class. After pinning his first-round opponent and picking up a forfeit win in the semifinals, the Pitt recruit scored a tecnical fall, 17-2, over Brody Evans of Waynesburg.
“Mac continues to stay focused and is ready to wrestle every time he steps on the mat,” said Lebo mat boss Marc Allemang. “He knows what it takes to reach the highest levels of the sport and he is driven to achieve great things.”
Stout was one of four Lebo grapplers to advance to the regionals.
Ejiro Montoya and Nick Busalacchi earned bronze medals in their respective weight classes of 106 and 152.
For Montoya, it was his first section tournament as he did not wrestle last year as a freshman. He was second on the team with a 27-7 record.
“We are excited to watch Ejiro compete. He has come on strong and has given himself an opportunity to qualify for the PIAA tournament.
“With every match, he improves,” Allemang continued. “Even in the matches that he has lost this year he takes something away from it and works to make corrections. For a young kid he shows a lot of maturity in his training and discipline.”
A senior, Busalacchi displayed resiliency as he rebounded from a first-round fall to medal.
“Nick was able to reset himself and refocus,” Allemang said. “He battled back and gained great momentum to take him into the next tournament.
“Nick is a great teammate and leader,” Allemang added. “He has wrestled consistently all season and we are very excited that as a senior he got the opportunity to compete in the WPIAL championships.”
Ben Lloyd was one of Lebo’s three freshmen to enter the postseason. He finished fourth in the heavyweight division to earn a berth in the WPIAL championships.
“Ben has really matured a lot throughout the course of this year,” Allemang said. “He was able to put a lot of things together at the right time. Ben will continue to develop and physically mature into a really good wrestler for us over the next couple seasons.”
Frosh leads PTAs a freshman, Darius McMillon led a contingent of seven wrestlers from Peters Township into the regionals. He dominated the 113-pound weight class.
McMillon won the gold medal by scoring a decision, 11-6, against Canon-McMillan’s Brandon Dami. He pinned Trinity’s Zane Garner in the semifinals.
Noah Schratz nearly followed McMillon to the top of the podium. He dropped an 8-3 decision in the finals and settled on silver at 145.
Chris Cibrone and Phillip Nave brought home bronze medals at 138 and 215 respectively while Richard Meyers (120), A.J. McGarrity (132) and Aaron Slizik finished fourth to earn their berths in the WPIAL tournament.
BP qualifies 9Bethel Park advanced eight wrestlers to the WPIAL tournament.
Mason Kernan was the top finisher, securing silver at 120.
Ethan Higgins (132) and Ryan Walsh (172) earned bronze medals.
While Cordan McDonnell placed fourth at 145, Seth Miller (106), Aden Stout (126), Landon Hartman (189), Anthony Zaborowski (215) and Logan Pettigrew (285) all finished fifth.
SF places 4South Fayette had four placewinners.
While James Anderson and Jonathan Baiano took third at 120 and 126, Talan Mizenko finished fourth at 138. Jacob Potts followed in fifth at 132.
Upper St. Clair’s Ben Cedar was the silver medalist at 152. A nagging injury forced him to default to Evans in the championship match.
Tyler Shields finished fifth at 172.
The top finishers in the WPIAL/Southwest Regional advance to the Southwest Regional, which also serves as the qualifier for the PIAA championships set for March 10-12 at the Giant Center in Hershey.