The first step

By JOHN ENRIETTO Eagle Sports Editor

December 07, 2006 Last Updated: December 07, 2006 02:13 PM High School

Knoch's Rich Kisiel gets a leg up on Steve Sabreen of North Allegheny in the 112-pound match Wednesday. Sabreen pinned Kisiel as the Tigers beat the Knights 79-0 in Knoch's first varsity wrestling match in school history.

NA tops Knights in their initial varsity wrestling match

SAXONBURG— Talk about David trying to slay Goliath.

After three years of preparation, Knoch competed in its first varsity wrestling match Wednesday night — against perennial WPIALpower North Allegheny.

"The most experience any of our kids has in wrestling is four years,"Knoch coach Mark McLaughlin said. "I remember watching those NAkids come up through midget and peewee programs."

The Tigers used their experience to spoil Knoch's debut, posting a dominating 79-0 victory.

Only two Knight wrestlers — Dylan Leslie at 103 pounds and John Zellhart at 152 — avoided getting pinned. Knoch 145-pounder Nash Leslie scored the Knights' lone takedown of the night.

"This is the most experienced team we've brought back in a long time," North Allegheny coach Jamie Kyriazis said. "We return virtually our whole lineup.

"I hope their kids don't get discouraged by this in any way. They came out and competed. Our guys had to work hard for those pins."

North Allegheny won 10 matches by pins and two by forfeit. Three of the Tigers' pins were scored in less than a minute.

"You can't underestimate anybody in this sport,"Kyriazis said. "You have to maintain your intensity on the mat. Try taking it easy, and that's when someone gets hurt."

Knoch's first point in a varsity match occurred at 112 pounds when junior Rob Kisiel scored an escape in the second period. Freshman Dylan Leslie lost a 5-0 decision at 103 and junior Zellhart dropped a 10-0 decision at 152.

The Knights' most competitive match was at 145. Nash Leslie, a junior, faced senior Ryan McCullough, who placed third at the Eastern Area Tournament last weekend at Gateway.

Leslie took a 2-0 lead when he took down McCullough with five seconds left in the first period. He fell behind 3-2 in the second period before scoring an escape to tie the match with 25 seconds left in the period.

"It was right there. I could sense it," Leslie said of the competitiveness. "A mistake was going to decide that match, and I was the one who made the mistake."

Leslie got caught and taken down seconds after tying the match. McCullough pinned him 17 seconds after Leslie had evened the score.

"That's where our inexperience comes into play,"McLaughlin said. "With a little more mat awareness there, Nash goes into the third period tied and starting on the bottom.

"I would have liked his chances of escaping and maybe getting a win there."

For now, Leslie will have to settle for scoring the varsity program's first takedown.

"Even that feels good,"Leslie said. "I wish it had come in a win, but we're not that far off. I know the score looks bad, the result looks bad, but anyone who saw this knows we're not far off.

"We'll keep battling and we're going to win some matches this year. Bottom line is, this is the sport we love and it's here at Knoch High School at last."

McLaughlin had no problem with the schedule maker pitting his young team against the Tigers to open the season.

"I don't even know how that (scheduling) process works, but I'm fine with it," he said. "This is a blessing in disguise, really. You always want to gauge yourself against the best.

"Had we wrestled an opponent of less caliber than North Allegheny tonight, we may have come away feeling we're farther along than we are.

"I'm not discouraged and not one of our kids is discouraged. They all held their heads up and looked me in the eye after this match. We know we have a long way to go, but these kids worked hard and I'm proud of them,"McLaughlin added.

North Allegheny 79, Knoch 0103 — Nick Rodgers (NA)dec. Dylan Leslie 5-0;

112 — Steve Sabreen (NA)pinned Rob Kisiel in 5:29;

119 — Joe Waltko (NA)pinned Nick Downing in 2:54;

125 — Jason Turner (NA)pinned Rich Rickerd in 2:32;

130 — Andy Candiello (NA)pinned Luke Carson in 5:42;

135 — Rick Peluso (NA)pinned Kevin Green in :43;

140 — Dave Cawley (NA)pinned Drew Nickerson in :18;

145 — Ryan McCullough (NA)pinned Nash Leslie in 3:52;

152 — Bill Landefeld (NA)dec. John Zellhart 10-0;

160 — Karl DeCiantis (NA)pinned Wes Sherry in 1:45;

171 — Rob Waltko (NA)by forfeit;

189 — Tyler Minto (NA)pinned Alex Fuellgraf in 2:48;