Matmen on the rise
The numbers are back up. So are the aspirations.
Butler has 26 wrestlers on its varsity roster this season after having fewer than 20 the previous two years.
“Our junior high numbers are good, too,” 24th-year varsity head coach Scott Stoner said. “Donnie Geibel has about 34 kids down there.
“Our goals are always the same. We want to finish among the top three of every tournament we're in, get as many kids through to WPIAL's as we can.”
And this year, the winner of Butler's sub-section — which also includes Seneca Valley, Knoch, Mars, Pine-Richland and Highlands — hosts the section team tournament.
“We would love to get that,” Stoner said. “I'm sure Seneca Valley is looking at the same thing. We wrestle them late this year and a lot could be on the line.”
The Golden Tornado were 15-8 in duals last year. Stoner has a career mark of 319-154. Seneca Valley was unbeaten at 5-0 in the sub-section last year, 10-5 in duals overall.
“We feel like we can approach that record again. Of course, Butler and Pine-Richland have other ideas,” sixth-year Raiders coach Kevin Wildrick said.
Top returning wrestlers for Butler this year include sophomore Jack Codispot (18-13) at 126 pounds, senior Scott Dietrich (24-10) at 138, junior Sam Dietrich (16-15) at 145, senior Caleb Baxter (30-8) at 160, junior Christian Sequete (34-7) at 182, senior Seth McCrea (16-11) at 195 and sophomore Saavon Mosby (21-15) at 220.
“I like the freshmen group we have up from junior high,” Stoner said. “These kids are working hard. They're respectful, they're listening ... It's a good group.”
Among the younger wrestlers looking to contribute for the Tornado are sophomore Cameron Weisenstein at 106, Braydon Hoffman and Colton Spohn at 120 and Nate McDonald at 132. Juniors Isaiah Christy (113), Justin Stewart (152), Robert Hays (170), McGwire Covert (170), Jacob White (182) and Riley Burdine (285) may rise to another level as well.
Tom Greaves (12-12) is a senior in the mix in the upper weights.
“We've got a lot of capable kids and that makes for some good battles in the room,” Stoner said.
Seneca Valley returns a solid core of wrestlers, headed by junior 120-pounder Louis Newell (39-5), who placed second in the state a year ago.
Other top Raider returnees are sophomore Jason Geyer (24-12) at 113, sophomore Nick Montalbano (20-15) at 132, senior Alex Fischer (23-18) at 145 and junior Ty Gross (19-19) at 160.
Wildrick also expects big things from senior 195-pounder Lucas Chieppor (13-20) and freshman 138-pounder Drew Vlasnic.
“We've had some good wrestle-offs. This team is competitive with each other,” Wildrick said. “Section 3 will be tough, but our goal is to place among the top eight teams in the WPIAL.”
Section 3 members Mars and Knoch look to improve as well. The Planets were 6-14 in duals last season, the Knights 9-10.
“We're going to field a full lineup for the first time since I've been here,” third-year Mars coach Jason Wilk said. “We're heading in the right direction.”
Top Planet wrestlers returning include junior Alex Hornfeck (30-5) at 126 and sophomore Noah Hunkele (17-13) at 106. Hornfeck placed among the top six in the regional tournament.Noah Wright (31-7), a would-be senior at 160 who lost in double-overtime of a match that would have sent him to the state meet, is out for the season with a knee injury incurred playing football.“He would have been our top guy coming back,” Wilk said.Seniors Justin Petrilena (8-8) at 170 and Nick Shriver (14-14) at 190 return for Mars. Freshmen Jake Richardson at 138 and Mitchell McMarlin at 145 could make an early impact.Third-year Knoch coach Steve Carney has improved the Knights' numbers on the mat. Knoch had seven wrestlers when Carney took over.“We've got 18 now and that includes a good group of freshmen,” Carney said.Junior Eric Green (18-12) at 170 and senior Max Freyermuth (14-10) at 145 are Knoch's top returnees. Promising freshmen include Kameron Grassi at 120, Guy Deleonardis at 132 and Brendan Hinchberger at 138.“Our goal is to put together Knoch's first winning season,” Carney said.Troy Benson is in his second year as Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic coach and returns only one wrestler — sophomore Matthew Ferraro at 132 — from last season. Freshman Jacob Bischak at 112 and junior Maxwell Lutkevich at 145 are showing potential as well.“We only have nine wrestlers on the squad. Our program is in the developmental stages,” Benson said.Summit Academy's wrestling program is in its 21st year and John McCloud has been the coach for all of them. The Knights have 18 wrestlers on the roster.Tyler Stine, a junior at 195, reached the regional tourney last year and sophomore Nikko Bongivengo is showing promise at heavyweight.“We had him in football and he's turning into a tough, physical wrestler,” McCloud said. “We've got some numbers from 135 pounds through 185.”Freshman Keith Thompson and junior Jake Virtue anchor the lighter weights for the Knights.Slippery Rock returns junior Mike Doerflinger (more than 20 wins) at 138 as its top wrestler. Sophomore Mike Antal was at .500 at 145 pounds.“Doerflinger was one match away from states last year,” fourth-year Rocket coach Bob Becker said. “Mike Antal worked hard on his wrestling all summer and has gotten much better.”Four younger wrestlers — sophomores Elijah Hilliard, Kaleb Kammerer, Nate Henrique and freshman Vito Bilosi — are competing for starting positions at weight classes 152 through 170.Slippery Rock has 15 wrestlers on its varsity.“We're very young and we'll get better as a team as we gain experience,” Becker said.
