Waynesburg, Albert Gallatin fall short in WPIAL Class AAA wrestling
WEXFORD – It was a case of bad news and more bad news for area wrestling as Waynesburg Central and Albert Gallatin fell short in the WPIAL Class AAA Team Tournament Wednesday.
Albert Gallatin dropped a 45-23 decision to host school North Allegheny, while Franklin Regional downed Waynesburg in the other match of the dual meet, 43-24.
“There were a few swing matches out there tonight that just didn’t go our way,” said Albert Gallatin head coach Duane Dupont. “We battled hard at the lighter weights but give North Allegheny credit, they fought hard tonight too.”
Chris Milligan put the Colonials on the board with a 10-1 major decision at 140 pounds, but by that time the Tigers held a 33-4 advantage.
“We had some stiff competition at the middle weights and nearly changed the momentum,” added Dupont. “We missed getting some back points in there that might have turned it around. Our guys in those classes are young, so they have time to improve.”
Patrick Palmer also earned a major decision with a 13-3 win at 152 and Tyler Haines also won a decision at 160 to make the score 39-11.
By then, the match was essentially over because three forfeits followed, two for Albert Gallatin and the other to North Allegheny.
North Allegheny piled up four pins from 103 pounds to 130 pounds, after struggling to a 1-0 win at 285 pounds.
“We got out to a good start at 285,” said Dupont. “Those matches at the beginning of the night were toss ups and they swept us.”
Albert Gallatin now looks to gear up for the individual tournaments, as well as the upcoming dual match at Penn State Fayette, the Eberly Campus.
“We have time for everyone to improve,” added Dupont. “Some guys are banged up so they have some time to heal as well as work on conditioning and technique. For our seniors, it’s one last go around so they have to step up just like they did tonight against some of the best wrestlers in the WPIAL.”
Both mats followed the same format, starting at 285 pounds before jumping back to 103 and working up through the classes.
Waynesburg was able to keep the bout with the Panthers close, even taking a brief lead, until Franklin Regional pulled away in the middle weights.
“We lost the close matches,” said Waynesburg head coach Joe Throckmorton. “It’s tough to win the dual matches when the close ones get away from you.”
Luke Fleck, of Franklin Regional, put the Panthers ahead at 285 with a 7-1 decision, but Raider Steven Koratich responded with a pin 53 seconds into the 103-pound bout. The win gave Waynesburg a 6-3 lead heading into the match at 112 pounds.
Franklin Regional took the lead right back at 7-6 when Conner Medlang earned a 14-4 major decision.
Tyler Smith gutted out a 3-2 win over Derek Nelson to extend the lead to 10-6, until a forfeit at 125 added another six points to the deficit.
“A couple guys had bad match-ups so we shuffled them around and gave up a forfeit,” said Throckmorton. “We bumped Zach (McGinnis) up to 130 since their guy at 125 (Nico Megaludis) is one of the top guys in the WPIAL at that weight.”
McGinnis responded with a pin of Evan Thompson 1:40 into the bout, making the match a 16-12 affair.
Franklin Regional swept through the next five matches with three decisions and a pair of pins, putting the match out of reach for the Raiders.
Adam Lis won by forfeit at 171 to make the score 43-12, before Jeremy Ellis and Kyle Gray picked up forfeit wins to round out the scoring.
“We’ll get ready for the sectionals now,” said Throckmorton. “Our guys work as hard as anyone, but we need to improve in technique.”
Just as any wrestling postseason, the work doesn’t stop once the team tournament is over.
“At the tournaments, rankings mean nothing,” said Throckmorton. “You still need to go out there and prove you are the better wrestler out there on the mat.”