Waynesburg claims team title at TriCADA tourney
Waynesburg Central's Trey Howard (right) works to control South Fayette's Mike Cusick during the 145-pound final of the 2017 TriCADA Wrestling Tournament at Albert Gallatin on Saturday. Howard beat Cusick by a 3-1 decision.
Jefferson-Morgan's Gavin Teasdale (left) works to control Fort Cherry's Nick Candelore (right) during the 126-pound final of the 2017 TriCADA Wrestling Tournament held at Albert Gallatin on Saturday. Teasdale went on the pin Candelore.
Evan Sanders
Members of the Waynesburg Central wrestling team pose for a photo after winning the team championship at the 2017 TriCADA Wrestling Tournament held at Albert Gallatin on Saturday.
Evan Sanders
Waynesburg鈥檚 MaCottie Denjen reacts after being pinned by Peters Township鈥檚 Bryce Wilkes during the 106-pound finals of the 2017 TriCADA Wrestling Tournament at Albert Gallatin on Saturday.
Evan Sanders
Bentworth鈥檚 Manny Dovshek (right) works to drive South Fayette鈥檚 Colin Dunn to the mat during the 113-pound finals of the 2017 TriCADA Wrestling Tournament at Albert Gallatin on Saturday. Dovshek won by decision 4-2.
Evan Sanders
Frazier鈥檚 Thayne Lawrence (front) works to control Canon-McMillan鈥檚 Tim Hritsko during the 138-pound finals of the 2017 TriCADA Wrestling Tournament held at Albert Gallatin. Lawrence was defeated by Hritsko in a 7-5 decision.
Evan Sanders
Beth-Center鈥檚 Dominic Fundy (top) works to control Ringgold鈥檚 Bo Haines during the 182-pound final of the 2017 TriCADA Wrestling Tournament at Albert Gallatin on Saturday. Fundy won a 7-2 decision over Haines.
YORK RUN 鈥� Eight area wrestlers won championships on Saturday at the Tri-County Athletic Director鈥檚 Association (TriCADA) Tournament at Albert Gallatin High School.
Waynesburg Central won the team title with 205.5 points. The Raiders crowned three champions and had eight other wrestlers reach the podium to win their third TriCADA tournament. Coach Joe Throckmorton鈥檚 team also won the title in 2011 and 2015. Canon-McMillan was second with 190 points and South Fayette placed third with 138. The Big Macs鈥� Gerrit Nijenhuis won the Outstanding Wrestler award after dominating the action in the 152-pound weight class.
鈥淭he main difference is our guys that are not always on the podium, especially at Beast of the East and Powerade, can come here and place,鈥� Throckmorton said.
鈥淎nd I am not saying anything about this tournament. I love this tournament. It is a great quality local tournament, but it gives those guys confidence in placing. I was very pleased overall.鈥�
Colin McCracken (195) pinned Bentworth鈥檚 Ryan Wise in 2:51 to win his third straight TriCADA championship. The senior Raider was also excited to help his team win the team championship.
鈥淚 was working on my feet and getting angles on my shot,鈥� McCracken said. 鈥淚t is nice to get the championship with the fall and that helped us in the team score.鈥�
Caleb Morris won his second TriCADA tournament in as many years with a fall in 4:39 over Peters Township鈥檚 Coltin Jezioro at 132.
鈥淭he low singles were there out of collar ties and I was trying stuff that I am working on in the wrestling room,鈥� Morris said. 鈥淚 was glad to be able to help my team out and be able to beat Canon-McMillan.鈥�
The Raiders鈥� Trey Howard won a hard-fought 3-1 decision over South Fayette鈥檚 Mike Cusick to win the championship at 145. Howard held a 1-0 lead in the third and scored a takedown to take a 3-0 lead. He allowed an escape but held on for the victory.
鈥淗e just shot in on me, and it really wasn鈥檛 the best shot, so I was able to capitalize on it and get the takedown,鈥� Howard said. 鈥淚t is nice to be able to help my teammates in winning the team title.鈥�
Albert Gallatin鈥檚 Tim Wallace won his third consecutive TriCADA championship with a 9-4 decision over Canon-McMillan鈥檚 Blaze Kansco in the finals at 170.
鈥淚 think I wrestled pretty well this weekend,鈥� Wallace said. 鈥淚t was nice to win my third TriCADA championship in a row and to do it in front of my friends and family was really neat.鈥�
Gavin Teasdale has been in his fair share of tournaments, and the Jefferson-Morgan junior didn鈥檛 disappoint with three pins in as many matches to win his second TriCADA title. The Rockets make the trip yearly, but Teasdale was sick last season and didn鈥檛 compete. Teasdale pinned Fort Cherry鈥檚 Nick Candelore in the 126-pound finals in 2:56. The Iowa recruit鈥檚 season record is 14-0 and his career mark stands at 96-0.
鈥淚 am going to wrestle the same whether it is here, the Eastern Tournament at Gateway or Powerade,鈥� Teasdale said. 鈥淚 really work on certain situations at practice to get ready for things that may occur in a match.
鈥淢y goal is still to score as many points as I can, but I decided to go for the pins and I really worked on that at this tournament. I would like to get the OW (Outstanding Wrestler) award, but that is something I can鈥檛 control. I can just go out and wrestle the best I can and see what happens.鈥�
Laurel Highlands鈥� Ian Edenfield is literally a one-man team and the Mustang junior picked up three falls en route to the championship at 220. Edenfield pinned Waynesburg鈥檚 Connor Main in 1:32 to earn the championship. Edenfield spent a total of three minutes and 18 seconds on the mat this weekend.
鈥淚t seems like people really pull for me, maybe it鈥檚 because I鈥檓 the guy that wrestles on his own,鈥� Edenfield said. 鈥淚t would be nice to get the OW (Outstanding Wrestler) award, but there are a lot of great wrestlers here. I am going to continue to go to tournaments and prepare for the post-season.鈥�
Beth-Center鈥檚 Dominic Fundy improved his season record to 14-0 by winning the 182-pound title with a 7-2 decision over Ringgold鈥檚 Bo Haines.
鈥淚 really don鈥檛 do too much scouting so I really didn鈥檛 know what to look for going into the match,鈥� Fundy said. 鈥淚 really just try to wrestle my match and go with what works best for me.鈥�
Bentworth鈥檚 Manny Dovshek used a takedown and a reversal in the third period to pick up a 4-2 decision over South Fayette鈥檚 Colin Dunn for the championship at 113. Dovshek suffered a 2-1 loss to Tyus Bundy last season, but the junior Bearcat avenged that setback in a big way with a pin in 1:34 during semifinal action.
鈥淚 was glad to get some revenge on Tyus (Bundy) after last year, but it really wouldn鈥檛 have mattered if I didn鈥檛 win the championship,鈥� Dovshek said. 鈥淚n the finals, he really didn鈥檛 set up anything and I was able to shoot in and score. I am looking to get back to states, so this is the time to really pick it up.鈥�
The Colonials鈥� Corey Dodson finished in second place at 285 by losing a 12-5 decision to nationally ranked Brendan Furman from Canon-McMillan.
The Raiders鈥� MaCottie Denjen finished second at 106, as he was pinned in the finals by Peters Township鈥檚 Bryce Wilkes in 48 seconds. Teammate Kyle Homet suffered the same fate with an 8-3 setback in the finals at 160 to McGuffey鈥檚 Christian Clutter.
Colby Morris won a 7-5 decision over Chartiers-Houston鈥檚 Josh Kuslock to give Waynesburg a third-place finisher at 138. The Raiders鈥� Justin Victor (120) and Ryan Braun (126) were fourth.
Thayne Lawrence is just a freshman but the Commodore certainly showed he belongs with a second-place finish at 138. Lawrence lost a tough, 7-5, decision to Canon-McMillan鈥檚 Tim Hritsko, but was encouraged by his performance.
鈥淚 was pretty pleased to come out as a freshman and take second,鈥� Lawrence said. 鈥淚 know that I just have to work harder. I had a bad shot at the end that cost me two points.鈥�
Lawrence鈥檚 teammate, Tyler Girvin, took fifth at 220 with a fall over Bentworth鈥檚 Ashton Lopez in 4:41.
Bundy battled back to finish in fourth place at 113. He lost, 1-0, to Canon-McMillan鈥檚 Kenny Hayman in the third-place match.
The host school鈥檚 Michael Standish led Avella鈥檚 Dalton Simonelli, 8-0, before Simonelli had to forfeit due to injury at 160 in the third-place bout.
Albert Gallatin鈥檚 Denver Rollison took sixth at 106. Rollison lost in the semifinals to Denjen, and was injured in the process. Teammate Grant Lindsey placed fifth at 113. The Colonials鈥� Harley Constable finished in sixth place at 120.
AG鈥檚 D.J. Wallace finished in sixth place after dropping a 10-1 major decision to McGuffey鈥檚 Jett Pattison in the fifth-place bout. Teammate Hunter Milligan was sixth after a 4-2 setback to Peters Township鈥檚 Brandon Matthews at 138.
Beth-Center鈥檚 Jimmy Gwyer grabbed the bronze medal after pinning Victor in 3:55 at 120. Teammate Garrett Dillon (195) also took third. The Bulldogs鈥� David Headlee placed fourth at 285.
The Bearcats鈥� Jonathan Vargo grabbed the bronze at 182.
Mapletown鈥檚 Brian Brady took fourth at 132 after losing, 6-1, to Trinity鈥檚 D.J. Long in the bronze-medal match. Teammate Gavin Uphold placed fourth at 195. The Maples鈥� Seth Shubert (152) picked up a 6-4 decision over Trinity鈥檚 Dante Cecchine to grab the fifth-place medal.
Jefferson-Morgan鈥檚 Mason Palmer was scratched on Day 2 but finished sixth at 113 because he had qualified for the semifinals on Friday night.
Luke Robinson is in his first year of wrestling but the Waynesburg freshman grabbed sixth place at 182. Teammate Nathan Hinnerman (285) placed sixth as well.
West Greene had three wrestlers begin action on Day 2 but didn鈥檛 have any advance to the medal rounds.