WPIAL wrestling notebook: Covid protocols shut down Waynesburg

By: Paul Schofield
Tuesday, January 12, 2021 | 11:38 PM

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No. 1 Waynesburg got off to a fast start to the season by defeating Chartiers Valley, 65-3, in a Section 4-A match.

The Raiders won 12 of 13 bouts highlighted by Wyatt Henson’s 14-4 win over Chartiers Valley’s Dylan Evans at 145 pounds. Henson is a returning Class AAA state champion and Evans, who bumped up for the match, placed eighth in the state at 126.

That’s the good news.

The bad news: The program was shut down Monday because of covid-19 protocol. It forced the team to bow out of the Canon-McMillan Duals on Saturday, where it was expected to face Latrobe, Connellsville and Cleveland St. Edwards.

St. Edwards and Erie McDowell also pulled out, which reduced the field to four teams. Erie Cathedral Prep, Connellsville, Latrobe and Canon-McMillan will each wrestle each other.

Canon-McMillan athletic director Frank Vulcano Jr. said he advertised an opening for a few weeks and didn’t hear much from schools.

Hempfield has five champions

Hempfield crowed five champions and had seven finalists at the North Allegheny Invitational on Jan. 9.

Winning titles were returning state champion senior Ethan Berginc at 126 pounds, junior Briar Priest at 132, sophomore Lucas Kapusta at 138, senior Ty Linsenbigler at 152 and senior heavyweight Isaiah Vance.

Placing second were sophomore Ethan Lebin at 120 and sophomore Eli Binakonsky at 189.

“I saw some good things,” Hempfield Area coach Vince DeAugustine said. “And there were a lot of things we have to work on. We’re not close to being a finished product.”

Burrell had two champions, freshman Cooper Hornack at 113 and senior A.J. Corrado at 160. Finishing second for the Bucs was junior Nick Salerno at 132. Senior Ian Oswalt missed the tournament while he recovered from an injury.

North Allegheny had three champions — junior Dylan Coy at 120, senior Max Stedeford at 145 and senior Brody Leczo at 215.

Thomas Jefferson junior Brian Finnerty won at 172.

Mt. Pleasant opens with sweep

No. 4 Mt. Pleasant opened Section 3-B action by sweeping Yough and Southmoreland.

The Vikings defeated Yough, 72-3, and Southmoreland, 58-12.

Second-year coach Zach Snyder welcomed back 2019 PIAA Class AA champion Dayton Pitzer to the lineup. Pitzer missed the 2020 season will recovering from a knee injury.

The Vikings return to action Wednesday at Elizabeth Forward, and then they’ll compete in the Mid-Winter Mayhem on Saturday at the Monroeville Convention Center.

Westmoreland County Tournament

There will be a Westmoreland County Wrestling Tournament this year; it just won’t be hosted by the Westmoreland County Coaches’ Association.

The tournament will be Feb. 5-6 at Kiski Area High School.

Kiski Area athletic director John Peterman said all county teams are expected to compete.

Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.