Powerade Day 1: Waynesburg’s Church starts 3-0; Evans tops Falcons’ Schultz
Waynesburg Central鈥檚 Brody Evans celebrates a 3-1 overtime win against Connellsville鈥檚 George Schultz in the 189-pound quarterfinals Wednesday at the Powerade Wrestling Tournament. (Photo by Joe Tuscano)
Tyler Soule of Canon-McMillan works on Daniel Huffman of Waynesburg Central during the 145-pound quarterfinals of the Powerade Wrestling Tournament Wednesday. (Photo by Joe Tuescano)
CANONSBURG 鈥� They鈥檙e wrong when they say revenge is best served cold.
Brody Evans knows its best served in the overtime period of the Powerade Wrestling Tournament.
Evans, a junior on Waynesburg Central High School鈥檚 wrestling team, won a thrilling 3-1 overtime decision from George Schultz, a senior from Connellsville in the quarterfinals of the 189-pound bracket.
鈥淚 just had to keep my head, control my breathing and just work to score,鈥� said Evans, who had an 8-8 record last year while Waynesburg was winning the PIAA Class 3A Team Tournament for the first time in program history.
鈥淚 was ecstatic making the quarterfinals, especially giving up the weight I鈥檓 giving up.鈥�
Evans weighed in at 174.7, 17 pounds under the limit. That might be enough to beat an unseeded wrestler from Connellsville but not the No. 2-seed from Wyoming Seminary, Jude Correa.
Evans was pinned in 1:14 by Correa but still had a chance to finish as high as third place, not bad for someone who went 0-2 in last year鈥檚 Powerade tournament.
Wyoming Seminary led the team race with 164 points. Malvern Prep (126) was second, followed by Notre Dame Green Pond (116), and St. Edward鈥檚 of Cleveland. Waynesburg was in seventh place with 86 points. Canon-McMillan was ninth (76) and Trinity was 27th.
Andrew Binni, a sophomore from Canon-McMillan, knocked off his first two opponents at 126 pounds 鈥� Kobi Burkett, a junior from Chestnut Ridge, 11-1, and Sawyer Ostroff, a sophomore from Howell, N.J. by technical fall, 21-5 鈥� to move to the quarterfinals. There, he ran into top-seeded Vincent Robinson of Homewood-Flossmoor, Ill.
Trinity鈥檚 Blake Reihner won his first match, a 9-5 decision over Eli Carr, a sophomore from Hempfield. He had the misfortune of running into second-seeded Mac Church, a returning state champion from Waynesburg, in the second round. The result? An 11-3 loss at 132 pounds.
But Reihner rallied.
He decisioned Jared Goldberg of St. Edward鈥檚 in Cleveland, 10-6, then Kieran Bruen of Howell, N.J., 15-2. Reihner can still finish as high as third place in the weight class.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very hard to come back in this tournament because the kids you are going to wrestler are pretty good,鈥� said Reihner. 鈥淚 had the mindset that I was going to come back and finish third. To do that, I have to beat a couple of good guys,鈥�
Rocco Welsh, a 172-pound junior from Waynesburg and two-time state runner-up, was upended in the quarterfinals by Michael Dellagatta of St. Joseph鈥檚 N.J. Dellagatta, the eighth seed, never trailed. The bout was tied 3-3 but Dellagatta scored three points in the last 1:20 for the win.
The bout got a little chippy at the end and both coaches and a referee had to separate the wrestlers after the match. It calmed down quickly.
Church, a junior, had three blowout victories, including the one over Reihner.
He opened with a pin in 4:13 over Ryan Martin of Parkersburg-South defeated Reihner, 11-3, and disposed of Brandon Bower of Williamsport, 13-5. He faces Cameron Catrabone of Williamsville-North, N.Y.
鈥淚 wrestled all right,鈥� said Church. 鈥淢y goal this year is to dominate everybody. I鈥檓 not even wrestling my best right now. I鈥檝e added some new shots this year. In the room, I wrestle our heavyweight. He beats me but I get pushed.鈥�
Also joining Church in the winners鈥� bracket was Trinity鈥檚 heavyweight Ty Banco. The fourth seed in the weight class, Banco faces Nick Feldman of Malvern Prep in the semifinals.
Vincent Kilkeary of Latrobe, was the top-seeded wrestler at 120 pounds, but Adam Schweitzer of Notre Dame Green Pond beat the junior Wildcat 6-3.