WPIAL Class AA wrestling sectionals on tap today
Phase 2 of the high school wrestling season begins this morning as Class AA wrestlers face off in four sectional tournaments for the opportunity to earn one of three berths into next Saturday’s WPIAL Class AA Individual Championship at Charleroi High School. The Section 2-AA tournament with Belle Vernon, Brownsville, Charleroi, Derry, Jeannette, Mount Pleasant, South Allegheny, Southmoreland and Yough will be held at Yough High School. The Section 4-AA tournament with Avella, Bentworth, Beth-Center, Chartiers-Houston, Jefferson-Morgan, South Park, Washington and West Greene will be held at Chartiers-Houston High School.
Mount Pleasant is considered the team to beat in Section 2-AA with the Vikings expecting all 13 wrestlers to advance out of the section tournament. The Vikings are coming off the WPIAL Class AA team title and a fourth-place finish in the state championships.
Allen Park (103, 20-13), Lee Vanella (125, 31-5), Joe Geary (130, 21-3), Nic Harr (135, 19-14), Stefan Firmstone (140, 17-13), Donnie Ament (145, 33-3) and Dan Cavalcante (189, 10-3) are top seeded for the Vikings.
Southmoreland has had an uncharacteristic down year with the Scotties bringing only six wrestlers to today’s sectional. Senior Steve Zubach is the defending section champion and is the top seed at 215 pounds. Zubach is the top-seeded wrestler.
Other Southmoreland hopefuls include Eric Frund (152), Chris Skovira (130) and Jeremiah Bossart (125).
Belle Vernon moved down to Class AA this year, earning a spot in the team playoffs. Jason Weslager (27-2) is the top seed at 119 pounds for the Leopards. Zach Bell (125, 21-9) is seeded second along with Jacob Weslager (130, 23-8) and Dan Sauritch (140, 23-10).
The Pioneers are the defending Section 4-AA champions and have four No. 1 seeds in the tournament in Garett Johnston (103, 25-6), Justin Blumer (112, 31-4), Stew Guthrie (130, 32-3) and Price Cheek (215, 22-5).
Kory Bissett (25-7) is seeded second at 119 pounds as is Tucker Conklin (140, 23-8), Cody Renner (145, 24-7) and Cody Miller (160, 20-11).
Beth-Center has No. 2 seeds in Rodd Allison (125, 8-5) and Zach Catalina (130, 11-9).