Butler senior Christian Sequete takes control of Pine Richland's Miguel Jackson in their 220-pound match Wednesday night. Sequete won by pin and the Golden Tornado went on to post a 48-33 victory.

BUTLER TWP — Earning a berth in the WPIAL team playoffs may be a stiffer challenge than in most years for Butler's wrestling team, but Wednesday night's result certainly won't hurt.

The Golden Tornado tallied six pins and withstood a pair of forfeit losses in toppling Pine-Richland, 48-33, in the Section 3-A opener for both teams.

Two of Butler's pins came from freshmen — Nate McMaster at 126 pounds and Steven Green at 132.

“McMaster's pin came with two seconds left in the bout,” said Butler coach Scott Stoner. “He didn't turn him (Pine-Richland's Aaron Bailey) until the very end, but he kept grinding. That's the kind of wrestler I want for this program.”

Green, who went 7-1 with five pins last weekend at the Chartiers-Houston Tournament, got off to a fast start against the Rams' John Berger with a takedown and three near-fall points in the first period.

“I like to be aggressive all the time,” Green said. “Coach Powell (Fred, assistant) preaches never let off of the pressure and I try to follow it.

“In junior high, you may be able to get away with being a little out of shape,” Green added, “but at the varsity level, you have to be a lot tougher and have more endurance.”

Another freshman, Clayton Dressler, won via forfeit at 113 pounds. He, along with McMaster and Green, have injected youthful talent to the Tornado lineup.

“Obviously, freshmen come in with a lack of experience at the varsity level,” said Stoner, “but if they come in and don't realize that they are freshmen, they can build a strong foundation over the next few years.”

Butler's other pins came from Nate McDonald (138), Rob Hays (160) and Christian Sequete (220).

Hays disposed of Pine-Richland's Ronan Berger 57 seconds into the second period following an escape and two near-fall points.

“He's a hard-nosed kid,” said Stoner of Hays. “He came up to me last year and said he is thinking about going to a military school. Wrestling would help with that, so I said, 'Let's give this wrestling thing a try.'

“He's only in his second year in the sport, but already has more wins this season than he had all of last year. He's done a great job.”

Sequete, who weighed in at 182 pounds, wrestled up against Pine-Richland's Miguel Jackson, who came in at 210.

“It's tough to have that much extra weight to move around,” said Sequete, who is eyeing a fourth appearance at the WPIAL tournament later this season, “but I bumped up to help the team.”

Stoner knows the section slate will become more difficult.

“Seneca Valley and Mars both have strong teams this year,” he said. “When you're giving up points due to forfeits against teams like that, you're going to be up against it.”

Butler 48, Pine-Richland 33

(Match started at 106 pounds)

106-Palmieri (PR) won by forfeit; 113-Clayton Dressler (B) won by forfeit; 120-Nate Lukez (PR) pinned Colton Spohn, 3:20; 126-Nate McMaster (B) pinned Aaron Bailey, 5:58; 132-Steven Green (B) pinned John Berger, 4:16; 138-Nate McDonald (B) pinned Cameron Fletcher, :31; 145-Ben Salas (PR) dec. Jack Codispot, 10-4; 152-Luke Levendusky (PR) pinned Hunter Neff, 4:35; 160-Rob Hays (B) pinned Ronan Berger, 3:03; 170-Cole Spencer (PR) won by forfeit; 182-Justin Stewart (B) pinned Liam Smith, :50; 195-C. Reagan (B) won by forfeit; 220-Christian Sequete (B) pinned Miguel Jackson, 5:20; Hwt.-John Folmer (PR) pinned Ian Thompson, 3:41