Butler wrestlers 1 point shy of section title, win over NA

By John Enrietto Eagle Sports Editor

January 27, 2011 Last Updated: January 27, 2011 11:46 AM High School

Butler's Mike Crawford tries to pin North Allegheny's Alex DeCiantis in their 160-pound match Wednesday night in the Section 3 team championship dual in the Butler High School gym. DeCiantis is signaling for injury time and received it during his eventual 10-1 loss.

BUTLER TWP — When it comes to Section 3 wrestling, there's no taming these Tigers.

But Butler came as close as it gets.

North Allegheny (13-2) took advantage of an ill-timed injury to edge the Golden Tornado, 30-29, in the Section 3 championship match Wednesday night in the Butler High gym.

The win marked the Tigers' 11tth consecutive section crown and kept them perfect all-time against Butler.

“A lot of people thought NA was down this year, but they just find a way to win,” Butler coach Scott Stoner said. “I still want to beat them, but I'll always respect them.

“When a program's been up for that long, it's hard to knock it down.”

The Tornado (23-3) gave it their best shot on this night.

Keyed by a major decision from Dakoda Collins, a major decision by Mike Crawford against highly regarded Alex DeCiantis (14-4) at 160 pounds and Cole Baxter's decision of Jarred Lux (21-3) at 171, Butler took an 11-3 lead into the 189-pound match.

Matt Pribis had a 3-2 lead on Jake Smith, but was called for stalling with 18 seconds left. Smith then took him down in overtime.

Seldom-used senior Robert Punchur (5-2) was next up for Butler at 215, facing Adam Daud (2-7).

“They're weak at that weight class and Robert can't crack our lineup at 171 or 189, so we bumped him up to 215 for tonight,” Stoner said. “He would have pinned that kid. I know he would have.”

Not to be.

During a scoreless first period, Punchur suddenly crumpled to the mat in pain, clutching his knee.

“There wasn't even any contact or anything. I couldn't figure out what was going on,” Stoner said. “He caught his foot the wrong way on the mat and his knee just popped.

“We had to (injury) default. That was a 12-point swing we couldn't afford.”

North Allegheny got pins in the next two matches to open a 24-11 lead. Butler got within 24-20 before the Tigers' Drew Landefeld and Jason Monper won close decisions.

When Cody Hartman only won by decision at 135, the Tigers' lead was 30-23 with one match left. NA forfeited to Dillon Weston at 140 to end the evening.

“You hate to win that way, by an injury,” NA coach Jamie Kyriazis said of Punchur's default. “You don't know how that match might have gone, though.”

Butler won numerous close decisions in a 48-6 semifinal win over Hopewell earlier in the evening. Five of the first seven matches against the Vikings were Tornado decisions of three points or less.Butler lost four matches to NA by three points or fewer.“I'm physically exhausted right now,” Kyriazis said. “This was a true battle. Almost every match was tight.“It's been like this the last three years we've faced Butler. They could beat us at any time now. They could have beaten us tonight. This is a very satisfying win for our program.”Hopewell was 12-3 entering the semifinal round, but managed only two decisions against Butler.“We were flat tonight. We didn't do anything out there,” Hopewell coach Jason Martsolf said. “My kids let me down tonight.“We've been like this the past couple of weeks. I can't figure it out. I look for an excuse and I can't find any. It's almost like we didn't show up.”Hopewell has eight 20-plus win wrestlers in its lineup.North Allegheny defeated Hampton, 41-19, in the other semifinal. Hampton nipped Hopwell, 37-35, in the third-place dual.Butler will likely return to action Tuesday in the WPIAL team tournament, site and time to be determined.“When they do the seeding, I hope they consider that we lost to NA by one point,” Stoner said. “I know we lose a lot of seniors this year, but as long as I'm coaching, we're still going to try to beat them.”Baxter improved to 30-1 on the year Wednesday. Crawford moved to 23-2. Other 20-match winners for Butler are Cody Houston (20-10), Korey Caudill (22-8), Zach Reges (24-8) and Dakoda Collins (26-5).Section 3 ChampionshipNorth Allegheny 30, Butler 29103 pounds: Dom Forys (NA) pinned Cody Houston, 1:13; 112: Blake Caudill (B) pinned Phil Bachman, 2:51; 119: Korey Caudill (B) dec. Greg Gaus, 6-0; 125: Drew Landefeld (NA) dec. Zach Reges, 5-2; 130: Jason Monper (NA) dec. Jesse Spohn, 5-3; 135: Cody Hartmnan (B) dec. Ben Schweiger, 4-3; 140: Dillon Weston (B) by forfeit; 145: Kevin Monper (NA) dec. Eric Tuck, 1-0; 152: Dakoda Collins (B) dec. Colton Byerly, 8-0; 160: Mike Crawford (B) dec. Alex DeCiantis, 10-1; 171: Cole Baxter (B) dec. Jarred Lux, 4-3; 189: Jake Smith (NA) dec. Matt Pribis, 5-3 in OT; 215: Adam Daud (NA) by injury default over Robert Puncher; 285: Seth Marx (NA) pinned Adam Steiner, 4:25.Section 3 SemifinalButler 48, Hopewell 6103 pounds: Cody Houston (B) dec. Matt Tempalski, 6-5; 112: Bllake Caudill (B) dec. Filippo Crivelli, 5-0; 119: Tim Dusch (H) dec. Korey Caudill, 4-2; 125: Zach Reges (B) tech. fall over Dan Santia (16-0), 5:43; 130: Jesse Spohn (B) pinned Don Bradfield, 5:27; 135: Cody Hartman (B) dec. Christian Workman, 10-2; 140: Dillon Weston (B) dec. Cody Mutkus, 2-0; 145: Eric Tuck (B) pinned Ethan Byrne, 2-0; 152: Mike Crawford (B) dec. Marco Crivelli, 2-1; 160: Dakoda Collins (B) dec. Damon Drositis, 4-3; 171: Cole Baxter (B) pinned Jake Trillow, 1:23; 189: Matt Pribis (B) dec. Mike Tempalski, 6-3; 215: Robert Punchur (B) dec. Anthony Kashiwsky, 4-2; 285: Richie Smallwood (H) dec. Adam Steiner, 5-2.