2016 WPIAL Class AAA Wrestling Day Two Recap & Results
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Saturday, March 5, 2016 | 11:33 PM
Some of the best wrestlers in the state of PA, as well as the country, were on display on Saturday at Penn Hills for the AAA WPIAL Championships and they did not disappoint. 11 out of the 14 top seeds in each weight class found themselves on the top of the podium, with the lone exceptions being at 106, 132, and 285.
At 106 pounds, top seed Job Chishko of Penn Trafford dropped a hard fought 6-4 decision to Louis Newell of Seneca Valley. 132 pounds ended a lot quicker then most expected. Top seed Luke Kemerer of Hempfield jumped out to an early lead, but Zach Hartman of Belle Vernon would battle back, cradling Kemerer in the second period and pinning him in 3:30. The final top seed to not win a title was Canon McMillan’s Brendan Furman at 285, and he was the lone wrestler to not find himself in the finals. That’s because Furman actually lost in the semi finals to eventual champion Hayden Rice of Norwin, 2-1 in double overtime. Furman had a tough time coming back from that loss, as he dropped a 6-3 double overtime loss to Connellsville’s Louis Mauro in the consolations that ended his season.
A pair of wrestlers won their third WPIAL Championships on Saturday. The first was Spencer Lee of Franklin Regional at 120 pounds, who won by technical fall 17-2 in 4:23 over Hunter Baxter of Pine Richland. The second was Luke Pletcher of Latrobe, who jumped out early to cruise to a 5-3 win at 138 pounds. We have interviews posted on our MSA Sports Center Stage, where we chatted with both guys about winning their third title.
Winning a second WPIAL Championship was Penn Trafford’s Cameron Coy. He did it by technical fall over Jake Hartman of Shaler at 145, 19-4 in 4:20. For his efforts, Coy was named the outstanding wrestler of the tournament. Also winning a second WPIAL gold was Jacob Robb of Armstrong. Robb pinned Michael McAleavey of Peters Township in 1:27. The dominance of both of these wrestlers showed even in the outstanding wrestler balloting, as Robb missed out on the award by one vote. The final wrestler to win a second WPIAL Championship was Norwin’s Drew Phipps. It took overtime to do it, but Phipps was able to defeat Upper St. Clair’s Eli Grape with a last second takedown to claim the victory, 3-1.
For a full recap of the AAA WPIAL Championships, plus a preview of the PIAA Championships, listen in to Inside the WPIAL Wrestling Circle Monday night at 7:00 PM. Special guest Jeff Upson of PA Power Wrestling will join us on the show to help with the breakdown.
Championship Finals
106 – Louis Newell (Seneca Valley) dec. Job Chishko (Penn Trafford) 6-4
113 – Gage Curry (North Hills) dec. Logan Macri (Canon McMillan) 3-1
120 – Spencer Lee (Franklin Regional) tech. fall Hunter Baxter (Pine Richland) 17-2, 4:23
126 – Chris Eddins (Greensburg Salem) dec. Ethan McCoy (Latrobe) 3-1
132 – Zach Hartman (Belle Vernon) fall Luke Kemerer (Hempfield) 3:30
138 – Luke Pletcher (Latrobe) dec. Shaun Wilson (Waynesburg) 5-3
145 – Cameron Coy (Penn Trafford) tech. fall Jake Hartman (Shaler) 19-4, 4:20
152 – Derek Verkleeren (Belle Vernon) fall David Kelly (Pine Richland) 0:35
160 – Tim Wallace (Albert Gallatin) dec. Mitchell Hartman (Belle Vernon) 2-1 2OT
170 – Nino Bonaccorsi (Bethel Park) dec. Austin Bell (Belle Vernon) 2-1 2OT
182 – Jake Woodley (North Allegheny) dec. Milton Kobaly (Belle Vernon) 10-4
195 – Drew Phipps (Norwin) dec. Eli Grape (Upper St. Clair) 3-1 OT
220 – Jacob Robb (Armstrong) fall Michael McAleavey (Peters Township) 1:27
285 – Hayden Rice (Norwin) dec. Isaac Reid (Kiski) 4-2 2OT
Consolation Finals
106 – Jacob Dunlop (Belle Vernon) dec. Jacob Downing (North Allegheny) 1-0
113 – Vincent Distefanis (Hempfield) dec. Nick Coy (Penn Trafford) 3-1 OT
120 – Noah Levett (Kiski) dec. Caleb Morris (Waynesburg) 4-0
126 – Luke Landefeld (North Allegheny) dec. Cole Rush (Waynesburg) 3-1
132 – Joe Blumer (Kiski) dec. Tommy Zummo (Plum) 3-1 OT
138 – Doug Gudenburr (Ringgold) dec. Jake Hinkson (North Allegheny) 6-0
145 – Ryan Krause (Franklin Regional) dec. AJ Boeh (North Allegheny) 4-0
152 – Austin Bonacci (West Mifflin) dec. Terry Victor (Waynesburg) 4-2 OT
160 – Kyle Homet (Waynesburg) dec. Kevin Holman (Ambridge) 3-2
170 – Jake Shaffer (Latrobe) dec. Matt McGillick (Penn Trafford) 8-5
182 – Colin McCracken (Waynesburg) dec. Mike Mahon (Fox Chapel) 5-1
195 – Francis Duggan (North Allegheny) dec. Zach Carcy (Fox Chapel) 9-3
220 – Nathan Barcaskey (Moon) dec. Derek Berberick (Greensburg Salem) 3-2 OT UTB
285 – Zach Jablonski (Montour) fall Louis Mauro (Connellsville) 4:06
More Wrestling
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• WPIAL notebook: Wrestling teams want in-season tournaments exempt from PIAA contest limit
• Wrestling standout Dylan Pitzer ineligible after transfer from Mt. Pleasant to Derry
• Notable changes to the 2024-25, 2025-26 WPIAL wrestling alignment