Mt. Lebanon wrestlers win USMC award
Zach Bramonth and Conner Smalls were the recipients of the 2023 Paul Segalini/Stephen Patrick United States Marine Corp award.
The distinction honors senior wrestlers at Mt Lebanon who exhibited academic success, sportsmanship and respect for their teammates and coaches.
Bestowed annually, the award was named for Segalin and Patrick. They are the grandfather and father of Steve Patrick, who had two sons, Stephen and Matthew, that wrestled at Mt. Lebanon High School. Both Segalin and Patrick served in the Marine Corps and possessed the aforementioned characteristics.
Steve Patrick approached Bill Lewis, who teaches at Mt. Lebanon and was the former wrestling coach, and Marc Allemang, the current head coach, about presenting a scholarship to senior wrestlers.
“The criteria was they had to have completed the season in good standing and upheld the values of leadership, commitment to their team, and demonstrated good character throughout their years as a Blue Devil wrestler as well as demonstrated high academic achievements in the classroom,” said Allemang.
Bramonth was a newcomer to the sport, having started his career in high school after successfully competing previously in the sport of Jiu Jitsu.
“He thought it might translate well to start wrestling and combine elements of both into his grappling,” Allemang said. “Zach took to it right away and began having some early success despite not having a lot of experience.”
By his senior season, Bramonth had picked up 14 wins and finished fourth at the Eastern Area Tournament.
“Zach was a model teammate and extremely coachable.” Allemang said.
Bramonth will attend the University of Pittsburgh this fall. He is enrolled in the school’s engineering program.
Smalls grew up wrestling in the Mt. Lebanon youth program, but he walked away from the sport in sixth grade. After a five-year hiatus, he returned to the activity and wrestled for the Blue Devils his senior year.
Smalls posted a 17-14 record. He helped provide the Blue Devils with a solid core of lightweights in the line-up.
“Conner is extremely competitive and coachable,” Allemang said. “He had tons of athleticism.”
Small will wrestle at Thiel College in the fall.
“I am excited that Connoer is going to continue his career because I really feel his best days are ahead of him,” Allemang said.
Allemang noted that both Bramonth and Smalls were in a “unique” position in that they were relatively new to the varsity sport but proved to be “wonderful” additions to the team.
“They did everything the right way. They worked hard, encouraged their teammates, were respectful to their coaches, but most importantly, they represented their families and their school with respect and maturity,” Allemang said.
Allemang predicted, both grapplers will be successful long after graduating from Mt. Lebanon and college.
“They have the work ethic and ability to work through challenging situations,” he said. “They will certainly take the lessons that wrestling has taught them and apply them to regular life.”