WPIAL
All-Stars Throttle D-10 43-18
The
WPIAL All-Stars won 10 of 14 bouts to take the 1st annual North-South
Senior All-Star Wrestling Match Saturday evening at the new
Born 2 Run Sports Complex in Grove City.
Ft.
LeBoeuf's State Champ, Kody Hiner got the D-10 All-Stars off
on the right foot with a 3-2 win over Dubois Brandon Dixon.
Dixon got the first takedown, but Hiner stepped over and reversed
Dixon at the first period buzzer to make it 2-2. Hiner rode
Dixon out in the second stanza and it remained 2-2. Dixon cut
Hiner loose to start the third to make it 3-2 and Hiner held
on for the win.
John
Bittinger used a series of cradles to take a commanding 13-4
lead over Cranberry's Cory Slye before getting the fall at the
5:24 mark. That gave WPIAL a 6-3 lead. At 119, GM's Jake Keene
used a second period reversal and an escape to take a 3-2 lead
over Trinity's Spencer Kharing. Kharing escaped with 1:17 remaining
in the third period to tie the score. Keene nearly won the bout
when Kharing attempted a throw and ended up on his back briefly.
Kharing managed to fight his way back to the neutral position
and regulation ended 3-3. Kharing won the bout, 8-3 in overtime
when Keene attempted a shot and was taken to his back.
The
WPIAL won the next three bouts, two by fall and took a 24-9
lead. At 140 lbs., in the most exciting bout of the evening,
Jeff Wozniak pinned Waynesburg's Bart Wylie in 3:58. Wozniak
hit a picture perfect fireman's carry in the first, to take
a 2-0 lead. A wild scramble followed with each wrestler reversing
the other. Wozniak's escape at the buzzer gave him a 4-3 lead
at the end of one. Wylie tied the score with a second period
escape. Wozniak took a 6-4 lead on a takedown, when another
wild scramble ensued. Wozniak came out on top and got the fall
just before the buzzer.
At
152, Reynold's Travis Battles took a 5-0 first period lead over
Greensburg Central Catholic's Justin Smith and then won by injury
default, when Smith was unable to continue due to a badly cut
lip. Hayden Harrison was in the unenviable position of having
to bump up a weight class and face Shaler's State Runner-Up,
Mickey Moran at 160. Harrison made several tentative shots,
but the obviously bigger Moran came out on top each time and
took a 10-2 lead into the 3rd. Harrison started to connect and
hit 3 consecutive takedowns to cut the lead to 12-8, before
he ran out of time.
At
171 lbs. Warren's Jake Lauffenberger was down by a single point
in the final period against Beth Center's Mike Morgan. Lauffenberger
attempted a takedown and nearly tied it at the buzzer, but ended
up on the losing end of a 3-2 score. Prep's Sean Connole got
the final District 10 win with a solid 5-1 decision over Burrell's
Zach Jenniches.
Kiski,
State Runner-Up, Scott McKillop pinned Sheffield's Jim Mosher
in the final bout of the evening to make the final score, WPIAL-43
D-10-18.
Ft.
LeBoeuf's Paul Cousins and Reynold's Brian Hills coached the
District 10 All-Stars.
~~~~~~~~~~
WPIAL-43
District 10-18
103-Kody
Hiner (FLB) dec. Brandon Dixon (DuB) 3-2
112-John Bittinger (Alb Gallatin) pinned Cory Slye (Cranb)
5:24
119-Spencer Kharing (Trinity) dec. Jake
Keene (GM) 8-3 (OT)
125-Lee Beatty (Chart Hust) pinned Andrew Jones (Greenv)
:23
130-Mark Throckmorton (Waynesb) pinned Chad George (McD)
:47
135-Sal Lascari (N Star) dec Josh Peters (Youngsv) 8-3
140-Jeff Wozniak (Prep) pinned Bart Wylie (Waynesb) 3:58
145-Andrew Sherry (Pittsb Cen Cath) maj dec Bryan Kuhn (McD)
12-0
152-Travis Battles (Reyn) won by inj def over Justin
Smith (Greenb Cen Cath)
160-Mickey Moran (Shaler) dec Hayden
Harrison (GM) 12-8
171-Mike Morgan (Beth Cent) dec Jake Lauffenberger (War)
3-2
189-Nick Padezan (Penn Traff) dec Nick Sommerfeld (Reyn)
6-5
215-Sean Connole (Prep) dec Zach Jenniches (Burrell)
5-1
275-Scott McKillop (Kiski) pinned Jim Mosher (Shef) :58
04-25-04
Hayden
Harrison Wins AAU National Title
Branden Stearns Claims 3rd Place
Hayden
Harrison added to a long list of career accomplishments when
he won General McLane's first ever National wrestling title,
Saturday in Detroit, MI. Harrison won four straight bouts to
claim the AAU Folkstyle Nationals, Elite Division 152 lbs. title.
Harrison
pinned Michigan's Travis Ferry in the opening round and then
followed up with a 14-4 major decision over Jim Boyce of Ohio
in the quarterfinals. In the semis, Harrison pinned Lewistown's
Mike DePellegrini. DePellegrini, a 4th placer at this year's
AAA PIAA Championships at 140 lbs. tried to turn Harrison with
a "cement job" in the second period, but Harrison
caught him on his back during the roll through and got the fall.
In
the finals, Harrison won a scary 11-5 decision over Forrest
Hills, PA wrestler, Art Moss, a 4th placer at this year's AA
PIAA Championships. Harrison used 4 takedowns and two back points
to build a commanding 10-2 lead through 2 periods. But Moss
chose top in the 3rd stanza and demonstrated why he is one of
PA's most feared mat wrestlers. Moss forced a crossface cradle,
took the McLane wrestler to his back and nearly pinned him.
Harrison managed to fight his way out of the predicament and
escaped with seconds remaining to claim the title.
Branden
Stearns lost his opening round bout, 11-5 to eventual runnerup,
Trevor Perry of Michigan, then rattled off five straight wins
to claim 3rd place in the 189 lbs. Elite Division. Stearns scored
a second period fall over William Lewis of Illinois in the first
consolation round and then picked up a come from behind, 5-4
win over Michigan's Drew Polidan. Polidan held a 4-3 lead with
just seconds remaining when Stearns made three consecutive takedown
attempts at the edge of the mat. He connected on the third one
with just 5 seconds remaining to nail down the win.
Stearns
scored an 11-2 win over Ohio's Seth Curtis in the consolation
semi round and followed up with a 5-0 shutout over Bill Rewitzer
of Michigan in the consy medal round. He claimed 3rd place with
a solid 4-1 win over Michigan's Cody Waters.
Travis
and Kyle Goss both won their opening round bouts and then bowed
out with lost two straight losses. Travis Goss wrestled in the
189 lbs. Elite Division and won his opening round bout, a 9-7
overtime thriller over Ohio's Matt Meiring. In the quaterfinals
Goss ran into eventual champ, Luke Winterhalter of Illinois
and lost by fall. He was eliminated when he dropped a 5-1 decision
to Ohio's Seth Curtis in the second consy round.
Kyle
Goss wrestled in the 171 lbs. Elite Division and scored a first
period pin over Michigan's Nathan Browning in the first round.
He bowed out of the tournament when he dropped a 10-4 decision
to Illinois wrestler, Mike Scwartz and a 20-3 technical fall
to Michigan's Dan Funk.
Joel
Stearns went 0-2 in the 215 lbs. Cadet Division and Hadley Harrison
dropped two straight bouts in the 125 lbs. Elite Division. Ft.
LeBoeuf wrestler, Denton Sauers went 2-2 in the 171 lbs. Elite
Division. He won his opening round bout with a 2nd period fall
over Michigan's Charles Horvath and scored a 10-8 overtime win
over Missouri's Johnathon Ard. Sauers lost a 9-7 overtime heartbreaker
in the quarterfinals to eventual finalist Josh Brettranger of
Michigan and was elliminated from the tournament when he lost
by tech fall to Michigan's Nathan Browning.
Notes
from AAU Folkstyle Nationals:
Branden
Stearns showed a lot of poise in his 5-4 second consolation
round decision over Drew Polidan. Stearns was down, 4-3 when
he surprised his Michigan opponent with three consecutive takedown
attempts at the edge of the mat. He connected on the last one
to win the do or die bout.
Forrest
Hills, PA's. Art Moss may be one of the best mat wrestlers I've
ever seen. He forced Hayden Harrison into a tight crossface
cradle and nearly decked the McLane wrestler. Harrison knew
it was coming and still couldn't stop it. Hayden showed a lot
of grit and determination by fighting his way out of the near
disaster.
Denton
Sauers wrestled a great match in a 9-7 OT loss to Michigan's
Josh Brettranger. Brettranger was a 4th placer at this year's
Michigan high school wrestling championships. Sauers nearly
won the bout, but Brettranger hit a late flurry and tied the
score.
Hats
off to Ryan Cook who put in a lot of volunteer coaching hours
in the post-season. Cook went to Michigan this past weekend
and did a great job of coaching and scouting. The wrestlers
really appreciated his presence in their corners...and so did
the wrestler's parents. Thanks Ryan!
Many
thanks also to Dan Harrison for his coaching role at the AAU
tournament. The wrestlers appreciated his presence as well.
Coach Harrison was always there after each bout to help our
wrestlers improve their technique with a tip or two.
Also,
thanks to John Mukina for making the trip at the last minute,
to North East on April 3rd to coach seven GM wrestlers at the
NHSCA Qualifier.
04-11-04
7 McLane
Wrestlers Place at NHSCA Qualifier in North East
Seven
GM Wrestlers placed at the National High School Coaches Association
Qualifier at North East Middle School this past Saturday. The
top four placers in each weight class earn the right to wrestle
in the NHSCA National Championship Tournament.
Eric
Zelina and Louie Decker both claimed titles in the Middle School
Division (grades 7-9). Zelina pinned Peters from Sheffield and
then claimed the title when he pinned North East's Kyle Eissener.
Decker also claimed his crown with a pair of falls over Sean
Smith of North Hills and Nick Stafford of Harborcreek.
Brandon
Stearns won the 189 lbs. High School Division (grades 10-12)
with a 9-4 win over Maplewood's Paul Proper and a come from
behind, 8-6 decision over teammate, Travis Goss. Travis Goss
finished 2nd in the 189 lbs. class. He pulled out a 6-4 overtime
win over Silvercreek, NY's, Josh Lancaster when he scored a
double leg takedown with 1 second remaining in the first overtime
period. Goss then dropped the 8-6 decision to Stearns in the
finals.
Don
Osinski took 2nd in the 130 lbs. class. He pinned Garrett Boyer
in 1:28 and then dropped a 7-4 decision to North East's Jeff
Langdon. Osinski led most of the bout and was only down by 1
point with seconds left, when he made desperate attempt to win
the bout with a takedown. Langdon countered and scored the final
points himself.
Joel
Stearns finished 2nd in the 215 lbs. weight class. Stearns beat
Jim Beech, 4-0 and then lost by fall to last year's D-10 Champ,
Chris Koziarski of Prep. Kyle Goss lost his first bout to Josh
Serene of Greensburg Central Catholic and then bounced back
with a fall over Harborcreek's Matt Pakela to claim 3rd place.
The
NHSCA National Open Wrestling Championships will be held in
Virginia Beach, VA., June 26-30th, 2004. McLane's Donald Osinski
and Travis Goss have both placed in the national event. Osinski
was 3rd in 2003 and Goss took 5th in 2002.
04-03-04
