Chartiers Valley grappler crowned WPIAL champ
Dylan Evans stood atop the podium at 152 pounds after winning his first WPIAL championship.
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Dylan Evans demonstrates those pinning moves that earned him Almanac Grappler of the Year for the second consecutive time. The Chartiers Valley junior won the 152-pound weight class during the district, regional and state levels this winter and recorded his 100th career victory during the 2021-22 campaign.
By Eleanor Bailey/Almanac Sports Editor/ebailey@thealmanac.net
Dylan Evans works on his moves during wrestling action. The Chartiers Valley junior captured the 152-pound weight class during the WPIAL Class AAA championships.
Dylan Evans ran the gamut of emotions during the WPIAL Class AAA Wrestling Championships held March 4-5 at Canon-McMillan High School. Then he hit on a winning strategy.
“Going into the tournament, I was nervous, scared. Really in my head,” he said. “Then I remembered something somebody told me. ‘Act like you’ve been here before.'”
Evans indeed had competed, even placed in two previous tournaments to qualify for the PIAA tournament.
“So that is how I had to wrestle. Like I had been there before. I had the opportunity to show my wrestling skills and how hard I had trained.”
Evans trained hard. He even endured an injury to his ribs during the second half of the regular season. He recovered and wrestled hard, capturing a section championship before entering into the district finals, which also served as the regional tournament and qualifier for states.
“(The injury) was hard to battle. Mentally, especially, it was rough because all I could do was watch and talk wrestling and do some small shadow stuff. I worried about forgetting how to wrestle and not performing well but I was assured I would heal. I had to get better mentally because the body would heal.”
Evans showed no signs of injury as he made his way through the 152-pound bracket.
He pinned his first opponent, McKeesport’s Ben Eastman, in 70 seconds, then won a 28-14 major decision against Ethan Ansell from Connellsville in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, he decisioned West Allegheny’s Nico Taddy, 5-2.
Those matches, especially the quarterfinals, eliminated the jitters for Evans. He was wrestling well and he was fully supported by his teammates, coaches and some rivals competing on adjacent mats.
“Dylan did some really amazing work,” said Bill Evans. The CV coach also is Dylan’s dad.
“He did the things that he needed to do throughout the tournament at the right times to advance. In the earlier rounds he did a great job of getting on and off of the mat quickly, but still had a nice focus on pace and scoring points.”
Coach Evans noted that Taddy was ranked in the top 5.
So was Kelin Laffey. The Pine-Richland wrestler was Dylan’s opponent in the finals.
“Beating either one of them on a good day would be tough,” said Coach Evans. “Beating them both in back-to-back matches was quite an accomplishment.”
Dylan defeated Laffey, 5-4, to win the championship. After a scoreless first period, he took the lead, 2-1, in the second period. That set up a crazy third period. Dylan fell behind, 4-2, but he earned a stalling point to narrow the gap. He scored a late takedown and rode out the victory.
“That was a great match, regardless of the outcome,” Coach Evans said. “It was exactly what we prepared for — a back-and-forth battle that was going to be decided by a slim margin. There was almost no room for error. It was a hard fought and physical battle.”
A mental one, too. Dylan was at a psychological disadvantage because he had lost the county championships to Laffey back in January.
“Losing county left a bitter taste,” Dylan said. “So I was real happy to avenge the loss.
“Winning a WPIAL title is exciting. It’s really nice for it to happen and I’m grateful to achieve the championship. So many people have been in my corner and have supported me. I can’t thank them enough.”
Only a junior, Evans has exceeded his father on the mats. Dylan has been a two-time PIAA placewinner with eighth as a freshman and fourth as a sophomore. Dylan also has the WPIAL title. His dad was a runner-up in 1993.
“I still crush him in badminton,” Coach Evans said. “Dylan has the wrestling bragging rights now over my head and I couldn’t be more proud of that fact.
“Dylan has worked extremely hard. This was one of his goals for the season. As a coach, knowing that we are doing all of the right things in order to put wrestlers in a position to win WPIAL championships and qualify for the state tournament means we are creating a successful environment.”
Brady Joling will join the Evans family at the PIAA tournament. He finished fourth at 113 pounds to gain his state berth.