CANONSBURG — Jeremiah Bortmas heard a lot of different things before the Class AAA WPIAL wrestling championships started.

He listened, but treated it as white noise. Focusing on himself was all he needed to worry about.

Bortmas earned a quarterfinal berth by overcoming a slow start to pin Ringgold's Brandon Heinzleman in 3:39 Thursday night at Canon-McMillan High School.

“I just stayed focused. I listened to everything around me, but I tried to keep it away from me,” said Bortmas, who was making his first WPIAL appearance. “I wrestle for me. This individuals, I have no one to wrestle for but myself. I have nothing to prove to anyone but myself.”

His reward for advancing will be a match with Latrobe's Jake Shaffer, who is seeded second. It's a welcome challenge for Bortmas, who told Butler coach Scott Stoner he thought he could have a deep run.

Stoner said to just worry about one match at a time.

“Experience, that's all it is. More experience for me. Even if I don't win, I learn,” Bortmas said. “There's nothing bad that could come out of it other than an injury.”

Bortmas was one of five Butler County wrestlers to advance to the quarterfinals.

Seneca Valley's Alex Lynch (106 pounds) along with Butler's Cody Houston (138), Ryan Hannon (182) and Will Bortmas (220) also advanced.

Eight other wrestlers are still alive in the consolation bracket. The top three wrestlers from each weight class earn a bid to the state tournament.

Lynch, much like Jeremiah Bortmas, wanted to make a statement. His statement was more about revenge.

His first-round opponent, Waynesburg's Cole Rush, had ended his season the year before in a pigtail match at WPIALs.

When Rush scored the first takedown in the rematch, Lynch had the same feeling.

“I was definitely feeling deja vu,” Lynch said. “Of course, I didn't want it to happen again.”

Lynch evened the match at 3-3 in the third period to force overtime. In the extra period, Lynch scored a quick takedown and three nearfall points to win 8-3.

“I rode him out in the second period and that helped a lot,” Lynch said. “He got a kind of whack point give up. He went up and spit in the garbage can and gave me one point. That kind of saved the match, too.”

Houston, a senior, wasn't stressed out before his first-round match. He picked up a takedown in the first period and a reversal in the third to beat Ringgold's Jake Gerard 4-0.

“Knowing its my last year, I knew I have to prove something,” Houston said. “I feel I have nothing to lose at this point.”

Will Bortmas and Hannon both rolled through their first-round opponents.

Bortmas pinned McGuffey's Liam McElhoes in 3:37, while Hannon pinned McKeesport's Taylor Anderson in 3:21.

Bortmas's win was his first WPIAL win that wasn't in a pigtail match.

Bortmas was more nervous, especially being seeded second.

“It's completely different. It's the exact opposite,” Will Bortmas said. “There's more pressure. They say I'm number two and have to stay number two.”

Pigtail round

(losers eliminated)

120: Gaige Cramer (Connellsville) dec. Scott Dietrich (Butler), 11-4

126: Nick Zoria (Seneca Valley) dec. Braden Flinn (Thomas Jefferson), 4-3

132: Alex Peng (Montour) pin Mason Kauffman (Butler), 1:11

195: Alex White (Butler) pin Bobby Englert (Ringgold), 3:14

220: Alex Grosso (Mars) dec. Alex Belack (Peters Township), 5-0; Tyler Miller (Seneca Valley) pin Zeke Berner (Hopewell), 2:12

285: Michael Ames (Penn Hills) pin Trey Turnblacer (Mars), 3:33

First round

106: Alex Lynch (Seneca Valley) dec. Cole Rush (Waynesburg), 8-3 OT

113: Tyler Seliga (Belle Vernon) pin Ben Lynch (Seneca Valley), 1:20

126: AC Headlee (Waynesburg) pin Nick Zoria (Seneca Valley), 3:38

138: Cody Houston (Butler) dec. Jake Gerard (Ringgold), 4-0

152: Jeremiah Bortmas (Butler) pin Brandon Heinzelman (Ringgold), 3:39; Shane Piper (Waynesburg) dec. Austin Leon (Seneca Valley), 3-0

160: Brandon Yant (Franklin Regional) maj. dec. Stephen Rudolph (Seneca Valley), 9-0

182: Ryan Hannon (Butler) pin Taylor Anderson (McKeesport), 3:21

195: Robert West (Trinity) pin Alex White (Butler), 2:18

220: Tyler Worthing (Kiski) pin Alex Grosso (Mars), :56; Dylan Davis (Latrobe) dec. Tyler Miller (Seneca Valley), 1-0; Will Bortmas (Butler) pin Liam McElhoes (McGuffey), 3:37

285: Shawn Devey (West Mifflin) pin JD Bojanac (Butler), 2:25