Workmanlike performance: Falcons advance to WPIAL wrestling semifinals
CONNELLSVILLE 鈥� Connellsville put together two workmanlike performances in front of a raucous home crowd Wednesday night for a berth into Saturday鈥檚 WPIAL Class AAA team wrestling semifinals.
The third-seeded Falcons defeated Fox Chapel in the quarterfinals, 33-24, and downed Ringgold in the first round, 52-12.
鈥淵eah, we wrestled okay,鈥� said Connellsville coach Bill Swink. 鈥淚 thought all the kids wrestled pretty well tonight.
鈥淲e gave up some bonus points I didn鈥檛 expect we鈥檇 give up. We have to work on that.鈥�
Connellsville seeks its eighth team title with the previous seven captured in 1992, 1994, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2005 and 2008.
Connellsville faces second-seeded Franklin Regional in the semifinals at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at AHN Arena. The Panthers defeated Pine-Richland (42-27) and Latrobe (38-24) for their spot in the semifinals.
Swink sees the semifinal match as basically starting another season.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a whole new ball game. It鈥檚 like a whole new season. It鈥檚 totally unrelated now,鈥� said Swink. 鈥淲restling is all about matchups and coin tosses, especially in dual meets, which is something I really like.
鈥淲hen I do (figure out matchups), I always give the other team the benefit of the doubt.鈥�
Swink continued the thought, adding, 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what I told the kids today. We had a workout after school. All these wrestling people, they run down who鈥檚 going to win, blah, blah, blah. I just said when you鈥檙e the favorite, you have to win, and when it鈥檚 a toss up you gotta win it. And, when you鈥檙e the underdog, you have to keep it close.鈥�
Connellsville sent out a solid lineup, but Swink said the Falcons expect to be even deeper against the Panthers.
鈥淟andon Lynn was out tonight. We鈥檙e fine, but it gives us some options. Hopefully, he鈥檚 back Saturday,鈥� said Swink. 鈥淲e didn鈥檛 wrestle Evan (Petrovich) in this last match. He鈥檚 been sick all week.鈥�
The seeds held true with top-seeded Trinity defeating Norwin, 43-19, and fourth-seeded Bethel Park downing North Allegheny, 26-19. The teams meet in the other semifinal.
The Falcons fell behind early in the quarterfinals when the Foxes鈥� Alexander Kaufmann pinned Kolten Turek with just 38 seconds remaining in the 152-pound bout.
The home team sliced the deficit to a point after Lonzy Vielma won a 24-9 technical fall at 5:16 in his 160-pound bout against Milo Chiu.
Connellsville turned what might鈥檝e been a disastrous result into its first lead when Nick Rohal shimmied free from Jake Viti鈥檚 hold at 172 pounds and held on for a 12-9 decision.
Fox Chapel regained the lead at 189 pounds when Joseph Geller eked out a 4-3 decision against Cooper Lembo.
鈥淚 thought Cooper wrestled well. He got a little impatient. I told him you just have to let that match go to overtime,鈥� explained Swink.
Christopher Cook returned the lead to Connellsville at 14-9 when he pinned Colin Neff to the mat for a fall in 57 seconds at 215 pounds.
鈥淐hris is going to give you everything he has every time,鈥� said Swink.
The Falcons鈥� Tyler Gallis and D鈥橝ngelo Hamilton battled at 285 pounds. Gallis scored an escape in the third period, but was unable to get Hamilton off his feet in a 4-3 loss.
鈥淭yler wrestled better tonight. A 4-3 match, you never know how that鈥檚 going to turn out,鈥� said Swink.
Connellsville鈥檚 Tommy Gretz made quick work in his 107-pound bout against Luke Montgomery with a first-period pin in 38 seconds.
The Falcons鈥� Nolan Rice and Fox Chapel鈥檚 Landon Funk needed extra time after the two finished their 114-pound bout tied 4-4. Rice ultimately won the tiebreaker, 5-4, but lost a team point when he was whistled for unsportsmanlike conduct.
鈥淣olan wrestled really well at 14. The Funk kid from Fox Chapel is really good. I was pleased with that,鈥� said Swink.鈥滵iscipline. He got him for clapping. The ref told him if you turn to your coach and clap, you鈥檙e okay. Team points are important. You can鈥檛 lose them.鈥�
Connellsville鈥檚 Zach Franks eked out an 11-10 decision in his 121-pound bout against Michael Worsen.
鈥淶ach Franks, I thought he wrestled well tonight,鈥� said Swink.
Fox Chapel stayed in the match with Dennis Noel鈥檚 second-period pin against Chase Sparks at 127 pounds.
The Falcons responded once again with Kai Vielma鈥檚 16-0 technical fall at 133 pounds against Adam Haines as the second period ran out.
Connellsville clinched the win at 139 pounds with Julian Ruggieri鈥檚 3-2 win over Joshua Alexander.
The match ended when the Falcons鈥� Carter Wilson was unable to wriggle free from Andrew Kratsa for a fall just before the horn sounded in the first period.
Evan Petrovich won a 15-2 major decision at 145 pounds in the Ringgold match. Gretz also won by major decision with his 14-4 win at 114 pounds.
Turek (152), Lonzy Vielma (160), Rice (107), Sparks (127), and Kai Vielma (133) all had pins. Ruggieri won a 17-2 technical fall at 139 pounds.
Lembo (189), Cook (215), and Franks (121) won decisions.
The Rams鈥� Jack Duncan (172) and Jake Conroy (285) both won by fall.