Kiski Area rallies to defeat Hempfield for 24th section title

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, January 23, 2019 | 10:21 PM

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As the Kiski Area wrestling team was lining up for a photo after winning its 24th section title, assistant coach Chuck Tursky turned to the squad and said, “this never gets old.”

Kiski Area, the No. 1 team in the Trib HSSN Class AAA rankings, claimed the title by rallying to defeat No. 2 Hempfield, 40-24. Earlier in the day, the host Cavaliers defeated Greensburg Salem, 57-15.

When the WPIAL releases the team tournament matchups Thursday, look for the two-time returning champion Cavaliers to be seeded No. 1.

While three consecutive pins by Cam Connor (160 pounds), Jack Blumer (170) and Nick Delp (182) clinched the win, it was wins by Brayden Roscosky (195) and Troy Kuhn (220) that won the match.

They were two toss-up matches Hempfield needed if it was going to defeat Kiski.

“That’s an 18-point swing,” Hempfield coach Tommy Dolde said. “We’ve beaten both wrestlers before, and we actually pinned Kuhn in the counties and we got pinned. We also left some points on the mat.

“But we’ll learn from this. We have to. Hopefully, we’ll get another shot at them.”

Roscosky edged Justin Cramer, 3-2, in the first match of the night, and Kuhn followed with a pin late in the third period against Dillon Ferretti to give the Cavaliers a 9-0 lead.

Kiski Area coach Chris Heater rested Roscosky, Kuhn and Enzo Morlacci against Greensburg Salem to keep them fresh, and it paid off as all three earned wins.

“I thought we’d win at 195, and I was hoping for a win at 220 but (Kuhn) wrestled a great match,” Heater said. “Sometimes he goes big, and he didn’t this time. He wrestled smart and scored when he got his opportunities. It was amazing and a great match, maybe one of his best.”

Even though Hempfield won the next five matches to take a 21-9 lead, which included a 10-second pin by heavyweight Isaiah Vance and a forfeit win to Kyle Burkholder (113), the Spartans failed to get bonus points from the lightweights.

“I thought our lightweights did a great job saving points for the team,” Heater said. “We bumped a few guys to give us better matchups.”

Ty Linsenbigler gave Hempfield a 24-13 lead with a 11-9 win against Sammy Starr at 138. Collin Murray started Kiski’s final run with a pin at 145, and Morlacci edged Trevor Verkleeren, 2-1, in ultimate tiebreaker to trim the lead to 24-22.

“When Brayden got the win, it motivated me,” Kuhn said. “We were the toss-up matches. They could have gone either way. My pin set the tone for the rest of the match.”

In the semifinals, Hempfield defeated Norwin and former coach Vince DeAugustine, 40-19. In the match, the Spartans got pins from Burkholder, Linsenbigler, Julian Chillinsky (170), Cramer and Vance.

Kiski Area dispatched Greensburg Salem, 57-19, behind pins from Darren Miller (132), Conner, Blumer, Dylan Mullen (170), Delp and Jack Dilts (220).

Paul Schofield is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Paul at pschofield@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Schofield_Trib.

Tags: Greensburg Salem, Hempfield, Kiski School, Norwin