Lawrence, Michaels, Pitzer win first SW Wresting Regional Championships
Jonathan Guth | Herald-Standard
Frazier’s Thayne Lawrence has Saint Joseph’s Catholic Academy’s Tyler Stoltzfus in trouble during their 160-pound bout in the finals of the PIAA Class AA Southwest Regional Wrestling Championships at Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s Kovalchick Complex inside the Ed Fry Arena. Lawrence won the bout, 8-2, for his first regional championship.
Frazier's Thayne Lawrence earns back points on Saint Joseph's Catholic Academy's Tyler Stoltzfus during their finals bout at 160 pounds in the PIAA Class AA Southwest Regional Wrestling Championships at Indiana University of Pennsylvania's Kovalchick Complex inside the Ed Fry Arena.
Mount Pleasant's Dayton Pitzer works to keep Ellwood City's Austin Walley from escaping during their bout in the 182-pound finals on Saturday at Indiana University of Pennsylvania's Kovalchick Complex inside the Ed Fry Arena.
Elizabeth Forward's Ryan Michaels attempts to work out of a scramble and score against Forest Hills' Jackson Arrington during their bout in the 113-pound finals on Saturday at the PIAA Class AA Southwest Regional Wrestling Championships at Indiana University of Pennsylvania's Kovalchick Complex inside the Ed Fry Arena.
Mount Pleasant's Dayton Pitzer controls Ellwood City's Austin Walley during their bout in the 182-pound finals on Saturday in the PIAA Class AA Southwest Regional Wrestling Championships at Indiana University of Pennsylvania's Kovalchick Complex inside the Ed Fry Arena.
Beth-Center's Jimmy Gwyer attempts a switch against Mount Pleasant's Noah Teeter during their third-place bout at 120 in the Southwest Regional Wrestling Championships on Saturday at Indiana University of Pennsylvania's Kovalchick Complex inside the Ed Fry Arena.
Elizabeth Forward's Ryan Michaels has his hand raised after beating Forest Hills' Jackson Arrington to win the 113-pound PIAA Class AA Southwest Regional Wrestling Championship on Saturday at Indiana University of Pennsylvania's Kovalchick Complex inside the Ed Fry Arena.
INDIANA — Elizabeth Forward’s Ryan Michaels, Frazier’s Thayne Lawrence and Mount Pleasant’s Dayton Pitzer won their first regional titles on Saturday in the PIAA Class AA Southwest Wrestling Tournament at Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s Kovalchick Complex inside the Ed Fry Arena.
Michaels, a junior, earned a 6-1 decision over Forest Hills’ Jackson Arrington at 113 pounds, and Lawrence, also a junior who has won a state title and three district championships, decisioned Saint Joseph’s Catholic Academy’s Tyler Stoltzfus, 8-2, at 160. Pitzer is only a freshman, but he won the gold at 182 with a 9-6 decision over Ellwood City’s Austin Walley.
Lawrence (24-3, 91-11) finally got the monkey off his back and won his first regional in typical Lawrence fashion; using turns for near-falls, a reversal and takedown in his finals bout. The junior broke the ice in scoring two near-fall points in the second period after a scoreless first for a 2-0 lead.
Lawrence allowed an escape heading into the third but scored a reversal and two more back points for a 4-1 advantage. Stoltzfus (38-6, 120-23) escaped again but Lawrence finished him off with a late takedown.
“In the beginning, he got me with the underhook, and I wasn’t expecting that, because I had been watching a lot of his matches and he hadn’t been doing that, but after I got him down, I started working on him and kept scoring points from there,” Lawrence said. “He went down first in the second, but what I do on top is what I do in the practice room every day. It is a big part of my wrestling to score points on top and I feel like I can really work on a kid from there and break him and tire him out.”
Lawrence was runner-up at the regional to Central Cambria’s Max Murin as a freshman and to Chestnut Ridge’s Justin McCoy last year. Lawrence avenged the loss to McCoy to win his first state title last season. Murin, who is now wrestling at Iowa, was a two-time state champion, and McCoy, who is wrestling at the University of Virginia, was a one-time state champion.
“It is really cool to finally win this,” Lawrence said. “I was wrestling the top guys in the state those first two years, and they just beat me here.”
Lawrence came into the finals ranked first in the state in Class AA while Stoltzfus was second, and the two could potentially meet again in Hershey.
“I feel a lot better if I faced him again, and I hope I get to,” Lawrence said. “I want to see if I can put a bigger gap between us or maybe he closes it some.”
Lawrence is the Commodores’ first Southwest Regional Champion.
Pitzer (39-1) hasn’t been in trouble in too many matches this season, but he had an early scare in the first when Walley (33-3, 91-22) took him down and to his back for a 5-0 led with 44 seconds remaining in the period. Pitzer collected himself and scored an escape to cut the deficit to 5-1 heading into the second.
“It was a little bit closer than I would like it to be,” Pitzer said. “In the first period, he had double underhooks and threw me to my back. I have been on my back wrestling high school guys at Coach (Rob) Waller’s since I was in seventh grade, so there have been times when I had to fight off my back. Every wrestler gets in that position at one time or another during their career. You just have to avoid getting pinned and start working.”
Walley chose neutral to start the second and Pitzer scored a takedown and rode the junior out the remainder of the period to trail by two heading into the third. The final period belonged to Pitzer as he escaped and scored a takedown for his first lead at 5-4 with 1:51 remaining. He extended his lead with three near-fall points before allowing Walley to escape with 13 seconds left.
Pitzer’s accomplishments can bring up discussions regarding if he can be a “four-timer,” but he is seasoned enough to know that anyone can be beat at any time in wrestling and to not overlook your next opponent.
“I just want to focus on getting better the next week and a half before states,” Pitzer said. “My coaches do a great job of helping to prepare me.”
Pitzer is the seventh Viking to win a Southwest Regional Championship, but the program had spent many years in Class AAA.
Michaels (38-1, 73-7) hopes his regional title can help springboard him to a gold in Hershey. Michaels was one win away from placing at the Giant Center last season.
Michaels was in control of Arrington (37-4) from the first whistle. He scored a takedown for a 2-0 lead with 36 seconds left in the first period, added a reversal in the second, and after allowing an escape in the third, scored another takedown with 1:18 remaining and rode Arrington out the rest of the period.
“I was more aggressive in this match tonight, and when I stayed aggressive, he didn’t get a chance to work his stuff,” Michaels said. “I never wrestled him before.”
Michaels’ lone loss this season came to South Park’s Joey Fischer (35-0). Fischer wrestles at 106 and won his first regional title Saturday.
“I think if I keep wrestling the way I have been, I have a good chance at winning a state title,” Michaels said. “I have put in a lot of hard work in the offseason and I think my mindset is better.”
Michaels is the first Southwest Regional Champion in program history. The Warriors have been successful, but the program had wrestled in Class AAA.
Mount Pleasant’s Luke Geibig (106) and Noah Teeter (120) will join Pitzer in Hershey. Geibig was fifth and Teeter placed third. The Vikings only had seven wrestlers on their roster and four made it to regionals, but coach Zack Sheridan’s team finished in sixth place in the team standings with 60 points.
Beth-Center’s Jimmy Gwyer will be making his second trip to states after finishing fourth at 120. Bentworth’s Jon Vargo will also be headed to Hershey for a second time after taking fifth at 195.
The state championships will be held March 7-9 at the Giant Center in Hershey. Class AAA wrestling will hold the WPIAL Championship, which serve as both the district and regional tournament, this Friday and Saturday at Canon-McMillan High School.