Flexing Muscles
JACKSON TWP — For the second straight year, Seneca Valley claimed the Section 3 wrestling championship in dominating fashion.
The Raiders crushed Hampton, 62-6, in the semifinals before winning the final eight bouts against North Allegheny to win the title match, 56-18, Wednesday at Seneca Valley High School.
It is the eighth section title in program history for the Raiders.
“This is one of the steps we needed to take on our way to what we hope are bigger things,” said SV coach Kevin Wildrick. “It was very important that we win here tonight.”
Butler will head to the upcoming WPIAL tournament as the third-place team after beating Hampton, 48-19, in the consolation match.
In the championship, the Raiders and North Allegheny were tied at 18 after six bouts. Then the action was turned over to SV's lightweights, which include Dylan Chappell and Alejandro Herrera-Rondon, who are ranked first in the state at 113 and 120 pounds, respectively.
Both won their bouts, Chappell with a 6-2 decision over NA's Dylan Coy and Herrera-Rondon via technical fall against Brad Stipetich.
In the other lightweight bouts, SV won by no less than a major decision.
“It's a tough crew to get through,” said Wildrick. “We have the luxury of being strong with all of those guys.”
For SV's seniors, 152-pounder Nick Montalbano among them, defending their title from last year on their home mat was special.
“It felt awesome,” said Montalbano, who began the night with a major decision over Hampton and closed it out with a pin in 39 seconds against the Tigers. “We grew up together and have the same goals for the team and are working hard to achieve them.
“We belong in the conversation with the other top teams in the WPIAL, the Kiskis and the Hempfields.”
Though Butler's night ended with a team win, Golden Tornado coach Scott Stoner was more focused on the match that dropped his team to the consolation round.
In the final bout against North Allegheny, Butler's Steven Green managed a third-period pin of Brandon Weaver at 145 pounds. The effort tied the score at 33, but the Tigers advanced to the final thanks to eight individual wins to Butler's six.
The Golden Tornado have never defeated the Tigers and coming this close in a section semifinal had Stoner reflecting on the match.
Butler was the beneficiary of three NA forfeits in the first five bouts.
“It's ridiculous,” exclaimed Stoner. “They give us that many points and we can't capitalize.”
Earning wins for Butler against the Tigers were Green and Dom Vivirito via pin and Nick Schaukowitsch with a decision.
But overall, Stoner wanted more from his team.
“There was a lot of indecision, complacency and non-assertiveness to our wrestling tonight,” he said. “As coaches, we can only do so much. At some point, you have to go out and execute. I don't know, maybe there's something we're not doing.”
Butler had five wrestlers tally pins in the win against Hampton — Schaukowitsch, Vivirito, Nate McMaster, Jack Codispot and Shawndell Zapata.
“I like the way we responded to the loss,” added Stoner. “Against Hampton, we had a higher tempo and wrestled with more urgency. But at that point, our chance to compete for a section title was gone and we weren't getting it back.”
The WPIAL Class AAA tournament bracket will be released soon. Seneca Valley will host a first-round match on Wednesday.
Seneca Valley 56, North Allegheny 18(Match started at 160 pounds)106-Hunter Swedish (SV) major dec. Brady Walker, 10-2; 113-Dylan Chappell (SV) dec. Dylan Coy, 6-2; 120-Alejandro Herrera-Rondon (SV) tech. fall Brad Stipetich; 126-Chanz Shearer (SV) pinned Selena Brown, :16; 132-Jason Geyer (SV) major dec. Max Stedeford, 8-0; 138-Drew Vlasnik (SV) major dec. Ian Branstetter, 10-2; 145-Antonio Amelio (SV) pinned Brandon Weaver, 1:12; 152-Nick Montalbano (SV) pinned Brady Leczo, :39; 160-Liam Volk-Klos (SV) won by forfeit; 170-Jon Hoover (NA) pinned Conor Hayes, 3:34; 182-Patrick Johnson (SV) won by forfeit; 195-Gavin Beahm (SV) won by forfeit; 220-Ben Grafton (NA) pinned Nick Funovits, 5:22; Hwt.-Austin Huebner (NA) pinned Tyler Proctor, :46SemifinalsSeneca Valley 62, Hampton 6(Match started at 152 pounds)106-Hunter Swedish (SV) pinned Jack Koren, 2:43; 113-Dylan Chappell (SV) won by forfeit; 120-Alejandro Herrera-Rondon (SV) pinned Josh Campbell, 1:14; 126-Chanz Shearer (SV) major dec. Zach Wright, 12-3; 132-Jason Geyer (SV) pinned Jonathan Maguire, :59; 138-Drew Vlasnik (SV) pinned Jacob Premick, 3:55; 145-Antonio Amelio (SV) pinned Tyler Kocak, 5:24; 152-Nick Montalbano (SV) major dec. Liam Helon, 11-3; 160-Liam Volk-Klos (SV) dec. Gage Galuska, 8-2; 170-Conor Hayes (SV) dec. Conrad Harold, 6-3; 182-Patrick Johnson (SV) dec. Corey Scherer, 4-2; 195-Davin Beahm (SV) dec. Jayden Resch, 12-5; 220-Justin Hart (H) pinned Nick Funovits, 1:12; Hwt.-Tyler Proctor (SV) won by forfeitNorth Allegheny 34, Butler 33(Match started at 152 pounds)106-Nick Schaukowitsch (B) dec. Brady Walker, 5-2; 113-Dylan Coy (NA) won by forfeit; 120-Brad Stipetich (NA) dec. Clayton Dressler, 8-5 ; 126-Dom Vivirito (B) pinned Selena Brown, :30; 132-Max Stedeford (NA) dec. Nate McMaster, 6-2; 138-Ian Branstetter (NA) won by forfeit; 145-Steven Green (B) pinned Brandon Weaver, 5:47; 152-Brady Leczo (NA) pinned Nate McDonald, OT; 160-Pavlog Pawluk (B) won by forfeit; 170-Jon Hoover (NA) dec. Jack Codispot, 10-4; 182-Cooper Baxter (B) won by forfeit; 195-Jacob Pomykata (B) won by forfeit; 220-Ben Grafton (NA) dec. Shawndell Zapata, 3-2 OT; Hwt.-Austin Huebner (NA) dec. Caleb Hartung, 5-2
