Isaac Reid, Kiski Area wrestlers shine at WPIAL Section 1-3A tournament

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, February 24, 2018 | 9:15 PM

No one will ever accuse Kiski Area senior wrestler Isaac Reid of being soft, but the No. 1-ranked heavyweight in the state admitted he got sentimental during his final walk in the “Parade of Champions” before the championship matches at Saturday's WPIAL Section 1-3A individual championships at Kiski.

“It is kind of bittersweet,” said Reid, a Lock Haven commit. “I'm excited. It's only going to get more fun, and it's been an awesome ride with a great team and I'm very thankful to be a part of such a great program.”

Reid left no doubt to those in attendance he was the top 285-pound wrestler in the state after he pinned Penn Hills' Deshawn Butler in 5 minutes, 16 seconds to walk out of the Kiski Area gymnasium one last time as a champion and earn his third straight individuals section title.

“He's really matured over the years,” Kiski Area coach Chris Heater said. “He just continues to grow as a person and wrestler. It's his time, and I think he's in a good place right now.”

It was a good day for the Cavaliers. They advanced all 13 wrestlers to next weekend's WPIAL Class 3A Southwest Regional Championships at Canon-McMillan. The Cavaliers came away with six champions, and the other seven wrestlers finished in the top four of their weight classes.

“I thought our guys wrestled really well, and they were pretty efficient and stayed in good position,” Heater said. “I thought Jack Blumer wrestled extremely well against (Luke) Kemerer. I hope we get a crack at him again.”

Blumer, a sophomore, gave Hempfield senior Kemerer all he could handle in the 152-pound championship match. Kemerer, who moved up from 145 pounds, earned a 6-4 decision and the top spot on the medal stand in his first competition at 152. Kemerer was the top-ranked wrestler in the state at 145.

“I moved up a weight class for the postseason, and it's going to take a little bit to get used to the bigger guys,” Kemerer said. “They're a littler bit longer and a little bit stronger, so I need to get back to the (wrestling) room on Monday and correct the things I didn't get right in that match.”

Norwin sophomore Kurtis Phipps earned a 7-2 decision over Franklin Regional freshman Carter Dibert at 106. It was a match that pit the No. 1-ranked 106-pounder in the state, in Phipps, against the sixth in Dibert.

There is no shortage of state-ranked wrestlers in section 1-3A. Franklin Regional junior Colton Camacho defended his top ranking at 132 with a 5-2 decision over Penn-Trafford junior Nick Coy.

Latrobe had three wrestlers compete for championships and came away with one gold and two silver medals.

Latrobe sophomore Gabe Willochell scored a 6-4 decision over Franklin Regional junior Zach McCann at 126. Hempfield junior Kyle Burholder earned an 8-3 decision over Latrobe's Marino Angelicchio at 113.

“As a team, we looked good,” Latrobe coach Michael Ciotti said. “We're excited about the WPIALs coming up.”

At 120, Kiski Area's Darren Miller pinned Enzo Angelicchio to capture his second consecutive section title at 120.

“My thought process was to work as much as I can in the finals and work my moves until second period,” Miller said. “There's deep competition always at the WPIAL tournament. You can't underestimate anyone.”

Kiski Area's Noah Levett won at 138 pounds with a 6-3 decision over Hempfied's Ty Linsenbigler. Penn-Trafford Job Chishko upset top-seeded Cam Connor of Kiski Area, 2-0, at 145. Chishko's reversal scored the two points and the win.

Kiski Area's Nick Delp earned a 5-2 decision over Greensburg Salem's Luke Ewing at 160, and top-seeded Greensburg Salem senior Jesse Quatse pinned Hempfield's Dallyn Wood at 4:40 to earn the 170-pound title.

At 182, Kiski senior Logan Pollick earned a 2-0 decision over Penn-Trafford's John Bachar. Kiski's run of section champs wasn't over. Danny Starr scored a 5-1 decision over Greensburg Salem's John Meyers. Armstrong's Ogden Atwood scored a 9-0 major decision over Hempfield's Dillon Ferretti at 220 pounds.

“We came in here today with 13 guys, and 13 of our guys finished in the top four,” Heater said. “If you can have all 13 of your guys finish the top four, you're wrestling pretty well.”

William Whalen is a freelance writer.

Tags: Kiski School