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WALTKO TAKES BRONZE; DeCIANTIS 7TH IN STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

Junior Joe Waltko was defeated by eventual champion Cortlandt Choate of Blue Mountain in the semifinals but came back with a pair of wins in the consolation bracket to take third place at the PIAA Class AAA Individual Championships at the Giant Center in Hershey on Saturday.  Senior Karl DeCiantis lost in the third round of the consolations but won the seventh place final.

In the semifinals at 125, Waltko dropped a 5-1 decision to Choate.  In the fourth round consolation match, Waltko took a 7-0 decision over Zach Oberlander of Dallastown before winning a 3-2 decision over Sam Sherlock of West Mifflin in the third place match.  At 171, DeCiantis was defeated by Lance Bryson of Albert Gallatin, 5-2, before winning an 8-5 decision over Keith Dahlheimer of Red Lion in the seventh place final.

The Tiger team ended in a tie for 24th place with Connellsville in the tournament that was won by Central Dauphin.

Click here to listen to WJPA's coverage of the semifinals
Click here to listen to WJPA's coverage of the finals and consolations

PIAA INDIVIDUAL WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Giant Arena, Hershey, PA
March 6-7-8, 2008

TEAM SCORING

CHAMPIONSHIP BRACKETS (NA only)

125 POUND CLASS

171 POUND CLASS

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WALTKO WINS IN QUARTERFINALS; DeCIANTIS
STILL ALIVE IN CONSOLATIONS

Junior Joe Waltko defeated Rocco Wellek of Cathedral Prep, 8-2, in the quarterfinals of the 125 pound class in the PIAA Class AAA Individual Championships at the Giant Center in Hershey on Friday afternoon.  In the consolation round, senior Karl DeCiantis stayed alive at 171 with a 3-1 overtime victory over Eric Lundgren of DuBois.

Waltko will face Cortlandt Choate of Blue Mountain in the semifinals this morning.  In the third round of consolations, DeCiantis will wrestle Lance Bryson of Albert Gallatin.  Action is scheduled to get under way this morning at 8:00 am.  The championship finals will begin tonight at 7:40 pm with the Parade of Championships with the finals set to begin at 8:00 pm.  WJPA-AM (1450) from Washington, PA, will broadcast both sessions LIVE on the internet.  Click on the links below to listen.  The Pennsylvania Cable Network will televise the finals live beginning at 7:30 pm. on Comcast Cable Channel 48 and Armstrong Cable Channel 47.

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WALTKO ADVANCES TO QUARTERFINALS; DeCIANTIS
WINS IN CONSOLATION ROUND

Junior Joe Waltko defeated Zach Oberlander of Dallastown, 9-1, to advance to the 125 pound quarterfinals in the PIAA Class AAA Individual Championships at the Giant Center in Hershey.  At 171, senior Karl DeCiantis lost to Keith Dahlheimer of Red Lion, 10-5, in the preliminary round, but bounced back to pin Nick Edmonson of Upper Perkiomen to stay alive in the consolation round.

In today's quarterfinals, Waltko will face Rocco Wellek of Cathedral Prep while DeCiantis will wrestle in the second round of the consolations.  Action is scheduled to get under way at 1:00 for the quarterfinals and at 2:45 pm for the second round consolations.  WJPA-AM (1450) continues their coverage of the PIAA Championships.  The broadcast is scheduled to begin at 12:55 pm. 

Click here to listen to WJPA's broadcast!

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DE CIANTIS CAPTURES WPIAL TITLE

Senior Karl DeCiantis won the WPIAL Class AAA championship at 171 pounds with a 3-2 victory over Lance Bryson of Albert Gallatin at Canon-McMillan High School on Saturday night.  Junior Joe Waltko earned the silver medal at 125  after losing a tough 3-2 decision to Sam Sherlock of West Mifflin.

In the semifinals, DeCiantis took an 11-6 decision over T.J. Tasser of Belle Vernon to advance to the final.  At 125, Waltko edged Cory Bonuar of Plum, 1-0, to move on to the championship match.  At 140, Donnie Tasser of Belle Vernon decisioned junior Dave Cawley, 7-4.

In second round consolation action, Candiello decisioned Rico Bors, 7-4 at 130 while sophomore Seb Fischer edged Brandon Lis of Franklin Regional, 8-7, to stay alive at 160.  At 135, Sam Brehm of Pine-Richland eliminated sophomore Adam Powers, 5-0.  In third round consolation matches, Candiello defeated Chris Pihiou of Canon-McMillan, 3-1, while Fischer was eliminated by Nick Letters of Fox Chapel, 14-3.  In the fourth round, Candiello was defeated by Joey Walters of Latrobe, 8-0, while Cawley was eliminated by Jared Dolde of Connellsville, 6-3.

CONGRATULATIONS TO KARL DeCIANTIS, WPIAL CHAMPION!!!

2008 WPIAL/SOUTHWEST REGIONAL TOURNAMENT
Canon McMillan High School
February 21-23, 2008

CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS

103 Lbs: Nico Megaludis, Franklin Regional MAJOR Ryan Bohince, Penn Trafford 14-5
112 Lbs: Shane Young, Penn Trafford DEC Zach Cecchetti, Kiski 5-1
119 Lbs: Nico Cortese, Hempfield DEC Nick Catalano, Canon McMillan 3-2
125 Lbs: Sam Sherlock, West Mifflin DEC Joe Waltko, North Allegheny 3-2
130 Lbs: Zack Zummo, Plum DEC Zach Kelley, West Allegheny 3-0
135 Lbs: Colin Johnston, Canon McMillan DEC Jack Bachman, Hempfield 9-3
140 Lbs: Donnie Tasser, Belle Vernon DEC Alexander Martinez, North Hills 5-2
145 Lbs: James Fleming, West Mifflin FALL Mike Ganley, Bethel Park Fall 3:28
152 Lbs: Troy Reaghard, West Allegheny DEC Jeff Dulaney, Albert Gallatin 3-1
160 Lbs: Jake Kemerer, Hempfield DEC Adam Harold, North Hills 11-6
171 Lbs: Karl DeCiantis, North Allegheny DEC Lance Bryson, Albert Gallatin 3-2
189 Lbs: Mike Salopek, Norwin DEC Matt Wilps, Chartiers Valley OT 3-1
215 Lbs: Dan Utchel, Chartiers Valley DEC Mike Hull, Canon McMillan 3-2
285 Lbs: Justin Haines, Connellsville MAJOR Sam Brownlee, Canon McMillan 9-1

CONSOLATION FINALS

103 Lbs: Alex Dunaway, McGuffey DEC Paul Bewak, Hempfield 5-3
112 Lbs: Jeremy Weslager, Belle Vernon DEC Ryan Walters, Greater Latrobe 8-2
119 Lbs: Nathan Pennesi, Greater Latrobe DEC Mike McGuire, Upper St. Clair 4-1
125 Lbs: Cory Bonura, Plum DEC Aaron McKinney, West Allegheny 5-3
130 Lbs: Joey Walters, Greater Latrobe DEC Brian Knapp, Waynesburg 1-0
135 Lbs: Sam Brehm, Pine Richland FALL Matt Lowry, Albert Gallatin Fall 2:20
140 Lbs: Jared Dolde, Connellsville DEC Kenny Downing, Pgh. Central Catholic 7-6
145 Lbs: Matthew Hundenski, Hopewell DEC Alex Evanoff, Butler 5-0
152 Lbs: Nick Bonaccorsi, Bethel Park DEC Josh Pascazi, Butler 3-2
160 Lbs: Jacob Boyer, Belle Vernon FALL Todd Martinek, Trinity Fall 1:47
171 Lbs: P.J. Tasser, Belle Vernon DEC Jake Leninsky, West Allegheny 7-3
189 Lbs: TJ Valore, Hempfield DEC Todd Miller, Ringgold 6-3
215 Lbs: Dan Vaughan, Pgh. Central Catholic DEC Jeremiah Karpency, Albert Gallatin OT 2-1
285 Lbs: Eric Kush, Chartiers Valley DEC Brad Rodgers, Norwin OT 4-2

CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND (NA only)

CONSOLATION ROUND (NA only)

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THREE TIGERS WIN IN QUARTERFINALS

Three Tiger wrestlers advanced to the semifinals of the WPIAL/Southwest Regional Class AAA tournament with wins in the quarterfinals at Canon McMillan High School on Friday night.  Junior Joe Waltko at 125, junior Dave Cawley at 140, and senior Karl DeCiantis at 171 all won their matches and will wrestle today in the semifinals.

At 125, Waltko decisioned Nick Whipkey of McGuffey, 12-7, and will meet Cory Bonura of Plum in the semis.  At 140, Cawley won an 18-1 technical fall over Andrew Buda of Mt. Lebanon and will face Donnie Tasser of Belle Vernon next.  At 171, DeCiantis captured a 12-5 decision over Mike Meglen of Chartiers Valley to advance against P.J. Tasser of Belle Vernon in the semifinals.  Sophomore Andy Candiello was pinned by Zach Zummo of Plum at the 3:59 mark and will wrestle in the consolation round against Rico Bors of Bethel Park.

In consolation round action a5 135, sophomore Adam Powers won a 10-1 major over Vincent Camps of Waynesburg and will meet Sam Brehm of Pine-Richland next in the consolation wrestlebacks.  At 160, sophomore Seb Fischer took a 7-0 decision over Jake Ricciuti of Bethel Park and will face Brandon Lis of Franklin Regionald in the next round.  At 103, Erie Nutter edged freshman Kevin Monper, 2-0, to eliminate Monper from the tournament.

Semifinal action is slated to begin at 10:30 am with consolation rounds to follow.  The finals are scheduled for 7:30 pm tonight at Canon McMillan.  The MSA Sports Network will present WJPA-FM's broadcasts of the semifinals and finals LIVE on the internet.  Click below to listen.

Click here to listen to the semifinals at 10:30 am!
Click here to listen to the finals at 7:30 pm!

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FOUR TIGERS ADVANCE TO QUARTERFINALS
OF WPIAL TOURNAMENT

Four Tigers won first round matches on Thursday to advance to the quarterfinals of the WPIAL/Southwest Regional Class AAA tournament.  Senior Karl DeCiantis at 171, junior Joe Waltko at 125, junior Dave Cawley at 140, and sophomore Andy Candiello at 130 were all winners in first round matches and will wrestle in the quarterfinals tonight.

At 125, Waltko took an 8-6 decision over Dave Culp of McKeesport and will meet Nick Whipkey of McGuffey in the quarters.   At 130, Candiello edged Bret Perry of Belle Vernon to move on to meet Zach Zummo of Plum in the next round.  At 140, Cawley took a 16-1 tech fall over Donald Kunkle of Woodland Hills to advance.  At 171, DeCiantis overwhelmed Cory Shields of Franklin Regional, 19-4, in a technical fall victory that sends him against Mike Meglen of Chartiers Valley.

Two NA wrestlers won preliminary round matches but were defeated in the first round.  At 135, sophomore Adam Powers pinned Chris Kostas of Mt. Lebanon at 3:21 before begin pinned by #1 seed Colin Johnston of Canon McMillan at the 1:36 mark.  At 103, freshman Kevin Monper pinned Dante Altemara of Belle Vernon at 1:20 before losing a 12-3 major to Ross Orler of Pine-Richland.  At 119, sophomore Bobby Sippel lost a 16-0 tech fall to Phil Kail of Bethel Park.  At 160, Steve Werner of Penn-Trafford took a 13-0 major over sophomore Seb Fischer.  Three NA wrestlers are still alive in the consolations.  Monper will wrestle Eric Nutter of Central Catholic at 103, Powers will meet Vincent Camps of Waynesburg at 135, and Fischer will take on Jake Ricciuti of Bethel Park at 160.

The quarterfinals are scheduled to begin at 6:00 pm tonight if weather does not interfere.  WJPA-FM (95.3) will again broadcast the matches live on the internet.  Click below to listen.

Click here to listen to WJPA-FM's broadcast beginning at 6:00 pm!!!!

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EIGHT TIGER WRESTLERS GO FOR WPIAL TITLES

Eight Tiger wrestlers begin competition in the WPIAL/Southwest Regional Class AAA Individual Championships at Canon-McMillan High School.  Senior Karl DeCiantis at 171, junior Joe Waltko at 125, junior Dave Cawley at 140, sophomore Andy Candiello at 130, sophomore Bobby Sippel at 119, sophomore Adam Powers at 135, sophomore Seb Fischer at 160 and freshman Kevin Monper at 103.

In the seedings, Waltko was seeded second at 125, Candiello seventh at 130, Cawley third at 140, and DeCiantis second at 171.  Cawley was the WPIAL champion at 130 last year while Waltko was second at 119 and DeCiantis third at 160.  WJPA-FM (95.3 ) will broadcast the entire tournament LIVE on the internet. 

 

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WALTKO, CANDIELLO, DeCIANTIS WIN SECTION TITLES

Three Tiger wrestlers captured section titles in the Section 3-AAA individual championships at Fox Chapel on Saturday.  Junior Joe Waltko at 125, sophomore Andy Candiello at 130, and senior Karl DeCiantis at 171 all repeated as section winners.  Defending champion Dave Cawley was edged in the final and finished second.  Freshman Kevin Monper at 103 and sophomore Seb Fischer at 160 took bronze medals with third place finishes.

In the 125 final, Waltko pinned Joe Johsnon of Fox Chapel at 4:45 to take the title.  At 130, Candiello needed overtime to edge Cole Rider of Butler, 2-1, while DeCiantis took a 15-5 major decision to win at 171.  In the 140 final, Alex Martinez of North Hills won a close 4-3 decision over Cawley.

In the consolation finals, Monper pinned Kraig Esswein of North Hills in 4:38 to take third place while Fischer decisioned Jared Psensky of Avonworth, 9-2, for third.  At 119, sophomore Bobby Sippel dropped a 6-4 decision to Mike Dunn of Fox Chapel but claimed the fourth spot.  At 135, sophomore Adam Powers was pinned by Tom Caldwell of Fox Chapel in 2:05 but finished in fourth place.

The Tigers will send eight wrestlers to the WPIAL individual championships that will begin on Thursday night at Canon-McMillan High School.

WPIAL INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONSHIPS - SECTION 3-AAA
Fox Chapel High School
Saturday, February 16, 2008

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TIGERS DUMP HOPEWELL BUT LOSE TO
KISKI AREA IN QUARTERFINALS

The Tigers were victorious over Hopewell, 44-21, in the first round of the WPIAL Class AAA Playoffs at Kiski Area on Tuesday night.  In the quarterfinals that followed, however, the host Cavaliers eliminated the Tigers, 41-23.

In the quarterfinal match, senior Karl DeCiantis piled up ten takedowns on his way to a 23-8 tech fall over Mark Delo at 171 to give the Tigers an early 5-0 lead.  Kiski came back, however, to win the next six matches.  At 189, Billy Emerick won an 11-2 major decision over Tyler Minto.  At 215, Justin Delancey pinned Max Fischer at the 4:55 mark, and at 285, Dallan Cline edged senior Mark Pegher, 3-1, at the Cavaliers took a 13-5 lead.  At 103, Adam Rosensteel decisioned freshman Kevin Monper, 4-0, and at 112, Zach Cecchetti won by forfeit as sophomore Nick Rodgers is still injured and unable to wrestle.  At 119, Tommy Magness pinned sophomore Bobby Sippel in 46 seconds to complete the run and give Kiski a 28-5 advantage.

The Tigers rallied at this point as junior Joe Waltko pinned Beau Grzybek at 24 seconds of the second period and sophomore Andy Candiello followed with another pin at the 2:30 mark as NA cut the lead to 28-17.  At 135, Kiski's Justin Harold stopped the run with a 6-1 decision over sophomore Adam Powers.  At 140, Mike McCutcheon took an 8-4 decision over junior Rick Peluso to push the Kiski lead to 34-17.  At 145, junior Dave Cawley pinned Mike Cochran at 1:42 to give the Tigers six more points and cut the margin to 34-23.  At 152, Tony Clark won an 11-1 major over junior Brett Landefeld to clinch the match for the Cavaliers as the lead went to 39-23.  At 160, Zack Shannon put the finishing touch on the Kiski victory with a 12-8 decision over Seb Fischer as the Cavaliers went on to the 41-23 victory.

It was a tough loss for the Tigers but does not diminish the outstanding year for NA.  The Tigers finished their season with the section championship and a final record of 14-2 .  Individual section championships will take place on Saturday, February 16.

MATCH SUMMARY
KISKI AREA - 41  NORTH ALLEGHENY - 23

NORTH ALLEGHENY - 44  HOPEWELL - 21

Senior Karl DeCiantis got NA off to a good start with a 15-4 major decision over Mark Short at 171.  Brian Davis came back for the Vikings with a 17-2 tech fall over senior Tyler Minto to put Hopewell on top, 5-4.  At 215, junior Max Fischer regained the lead for NA with a pin of Jake Bauder at the 3:45 mark.  At 285, Kraig Smith won a major over senior Mark Pegher by an 8-0 score to cut the advantage to 10-9.  At 103 freshman Kevin Monper pinned Tim Dusch to push the lead to 16-9.

After the Tigers forfeited at 112 to make it 16-15, NA won the next four matches to take control.  At 119, sophomore Bobby Sippel won a 15-1 major decison to push the lead to 20-15.  At 125, junior Joe Waltko needed only 11 seconds to pin Shane Dusch to push the lead to 26-15.  At 130, sophomore Andy Candiello won a 10-4 decision and at 135 sophomore Adam Powers pinned Cody Mutkis in 1:37 as the Tigers took a commanding 35-15 advantage.

After Ryan Carson edged junior Rick Peluso, 4-2, at 140, junior Dave Cawley put the match out of reach with a pin of Brian Foy at 145.  Junior Brett Landefeld dropped a 9-5 decision to Matt Hundenski at 152, but sophomore Seb Fischer finished off the match with a 17-12 decision as the Tigers took a 44-21 victory to advance to the quarterfinals.

MATCH SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 44  HOPEWELL - 21

* - indicates starting weight

2007-08 WPIAL AAA TEAM WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIP

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TIGERS DOWN NORTH HILLS, 38-29, TO WIN SECTION TITLE

To listen to a replay of the match, click here!

The Tigers defeated North Hills, 38-29, at North Hills on Wednesday night to complete section competition unbeaten with a 9-0 record.  Pins by sophomore Adam Powers at 140 and junior Brett Landefeld at 152 led NA to the key victory.

The match started at 103 where freshman Kevin Monper built a 4-0 lead after two periods on his way to a 9-0 major decision that gave the Tigers a 4-0 lead.  At 112, there was not match as NH moved Cameron Weber up to 119 where he won a 17-4 major over sophomore Bobby Sippel.  The Tigers won by forfeit in the next three weight classes.  At 125, junior Joe Waltko, at 130 sophomore Andy Candiello, and at 135, junior Rick Peluso all picked up the victories as NA took a commanding 22-4 lead.

At 140, sophomore Adam Powers got a quick takedown early in the first period and went on to pin Andy Hildebrand at the 57 second mark as the Tiger lead went to 28-4.  Junior Dave Cawley moved up a weight class to wrestle Alex Martinez of the Indians at 145.  In the first period, Cawley gained a 2-0 lead, but Martinez came back with a takedown and near fall early in the second period and made it stand up for a 5-2 victory.  At 152, junior Brett Landefeld pinned Ben Amrhein just three seconds before the end of the second period as NA increased their lead in the match to 34-7. 

At 160, senior Adam Harold of North Hills improved his record to 30-0 on the year with a pin of sophomore Seb Fischer as NH cut the margin to 34-13.  At 171, senior Karl DeCiantis captured a workmanlike 12-4 major over Adam Muelbauer to increase the lead to 38-13 and win the match.  The Indians won the last three matches.  At 189, T.J. Mcilwain won a 14-2 major over junior Max Fischer, at 215, Zach McCarty pinned junior Bill Lenart at 2:33, and at 285, Cory Coleman pinned Alex Panormios at 1:22.  Both Lenart and Panormios were wrestling their first varsity matches for the Tigers.  For his efforts at 103, the North Allegheny Sports Network named Kevin Monper as the Outstanding Wrestler of the Match.

With the win, the Tigers have now either won or shared the section title for the past eight years.  The overall NA mark improved to 13-1 on the year.  NA will meet Hopewell in the first round of the WPIAL Class AAA playoffs on Tuesday night at Kiski Area at 6:00 pm.  The winner will face the winner of Kiski Area/Butler at 8:00 pm.

Photo Gallery

MATCH SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 38  NORTH HILLS - 29

* - indicates starting weight

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TIGERS STOP SENECA VALLEY, 45-22, TO CLINCH AT
LEAST A TIE FOR SECTION TITLE

The Tigers recorded five pins and a technical fall on their way to a 45-22 victory at Seneca Valley on Tuesday night.   NA got falls from junior Joe Waltko at 125, sophomore Andy Candiello at 130, junior Dave Cawley at 140, sophomore Seb Fischer at 160, and senior Karl DeCiantis at 189 along with a tech fall by junior Brett Landefeld as they remained unbeaten in section competition.

The match started at the heavyweight class where Zach Eckstrom of Seneca Valley decisioned senior Mark Pegher, 6-0.  At 103, freshman Kevin Monper won a 10-1 major decision over Colton Schiever to give NA the lead in the match at 4-3.  At 112, Aaron Schettler of Seneca Valley won by forfeit, and at 119, Grant Evans decisioned the Tigers' Bobby Sippel as the Raiders took a 12-4 lead.  At 125, Waltko needed only 24 seconds to put away Jason Hildum as NA cut the lead to 12-10.  At 130, Candiello pinned Dan Papst at 44 seconds of the second round as the Tigers took a 16-12 lead in the match.

At 135, Nate Cully of the Raiders won a 10-1 major over junior Rick Peluso as Seneca tied the match at 16-16.  The Tigers then won the next six matches to decide the outcome.  At 140, sophomore Adam Powers recorded a 9-2 decision over Bart LaLonde.  At 145, Cawley pinned Shon Schettler at 1:37 as the Tigers increased their lead to 25-16.  At 152, Landefeld took a 16-1 tech fall over Ryan Behning with Seb Fischer following with a pin of Bill Galliotos at 160 as NA extended the margin to 36-16.  At 171, senior Tyler Minto decisioned Grant Colton of the Raiders, 9-5, before DeCiantis pinned Jordan Williams at the 3:46 mark.  The lead was at 45-16 going into the final match of the evening.  Dave Ronetti of Seneca pinned junior Max Fischer, to make the final score 45-22 as the Tigers won their eighth straight section match without a loss.

With the win, the Tigers improved the section record to 8-0, the overall mark to 12-1 on the season.  NA will travel to North Hills tonight to meet the Indians in the final section match of the year.  With a win, the Tigers would win the section outright.  With a loss, the worst NA could finish would be in a tie for first place.  The North Allegheny Sports Network will be there to broadcast the match LIVE on the internet beginning with the pre-match show at 6:45 pm.  Match time is scheduled for 7:00 pm.

MATCH SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 45  SENECA VALLEY - 22

* - indicates starting weight

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THREE TIGER WRESTLERS TAKE TITLES AT
 ALLEGHENY COUNTY TOURNAMENT

Three Tiger wrestlers were crowned champions at the Allegheny County Tournament on Saturday at Fox Chapel High School.  At 125, junior Joe Waltko won the championship and was named the Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament.  At 140, junior Dave Cawley was victorious, and at 171, senior Karl DeCiantis earned his second consecutive title with a 7-5 victory over Kurt Brendel of Shady Side Academy.  The Tiger team finished in second place with 196 points with Shady Side Academy taking the title with a total of 236 points.

In the championship matches, Waltko won a close 5-4 decision over Dan Johnson of Shady Side Academy to take the title.  Cawley edged Corey Perotte of North Hills, 3-1, to win his championship while DeCiantis defeated Brendel in the third of the NA victories. 

In all, nine NA wrestlers placed in the top eight in the tournament.  In addition to the three winners, sophomore Andy Candiello finished in fifth place at 130 with a 7-2 decision over Joshua Perri of Brashear.  At 160, sophomore Seb Fischer pinned Jake Ricciuti of Bethel Park to earn a fifth place medal.  At 103, freshman Kevin Monper finished in sixth place after losing a 9-7 decision to Mark Irwin of Carlynton.  Junior Brett Landefeld finished in sixth place at 152 after being pinned by Justin Mahon of Fox Chapel.   At 135, junior Rick Peluso finished seventh with a 7-0 win over Cameron Fine of Elizabeth Forward.  The final NA place winner was junior Kameron Palagi who was eighth at 215 after dropping a 9-2 decision to Joe Raimondi of Hampton.

The Tiger team will be back in section action again on Tuesday when they travel to Seneca Valley to meet the Raiders.  Match time is scheduled for 7:00 pm.

ALLEGHENY COUNTRY TOURNAMENT
Fox Chapel High School
January 18-19, 2008

FINAL TEAM STANDINGS

FINAL RESULTS (1st-8th places)

CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHES

THIRD PLACE CONSOLATIONS

FIFTH PLACE CONSOLATIONS

SEVENTH PLACE CONSOLATIONS

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THREE TIGERS ADVANCE TO SEMIFINALS OF
ALLEGHENY COUNTY TOURNAMENT

Three Tiger wrestlers will be in the semifinals of the Allegheny County Tournament at Fox Chapel High School today.  Junior Joe Waltko at 125, junior Dave Cawley at 140, and senior Karl DeCiantis at 171 advanced through the first round and quarterfinals on Friday.

Waltko pinned three opponents on his way to the semis at 125.  In the first round, Waltko pinned David McCullough of Breashear at 21 seconds, in the second round, Zac Liskey of Moon in 17 seconds, and in the quarterfinals, Joe John of Fox Chapel in 3:49.  Waltko will face Cory Bonura of Plum in the semis.  At 140, Cawley picked up an 18-0 tech fall over Donald Kunkle of Woodland Hills in the first round before pinning Jarred Kercel of McKeesport at 1:10 in the second round.  In the quarters, Cawley earned a 10-0 major decision over Andrew Buda of Mt. Lebanon.  Cawley will face Ryan Weston of South Allegheny in the semifinals.  At 171, DeCiantis earned a 15-0 tech fall over Dustin Curry of Keystone Oaks in the first round before picking up another tech fall, 16-0, over Jordan Schulman of Hampton.  In the quarterfinals, DeCiantis pinned Petros Georgialis of Montour at the 3:37 makr.  DeCiantis will wrestle Josh Dezort of Riverview in the semis.

Five NA wrestlers lost in the quarterfinals and are still alive in the consolation rounds.  Junior Andy Candiello at 130, junior Rick Peluso at 135, junior Brett Landefeld at 152, junior Kameron Palagi at 215, and senior Mark Pegher at 285 all won two matches before losing.  Four more NA wrestlers are still alive in the consolation wrestle offs.  Freshman Kevin Monper at 103,  sophomore Bobby Sippel at 119, sophomore Seb Fischer at 160, and junior Max Fischer at 189 will be in action today.

The Tigers are currently in second place in the team standings.  NA has 104 points with Shady Side Academy in first with 131.5.  Action is scheduled to get under way at 10:00 am.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (NA only)
Friday, January 19

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TIGERS DOWN PINE-RICHLAND, 52-21, FOR
COACH KYRIAZIS' 100TH VICTORY

To listen to a replay of the match, click here!

The Tigers dominated Pine-Richland, 52-21, on Senior Night at the Senior High gym on Wednesday night to win their seventh section match without a loss.  NA recorded five pins and picked up three forfeits on their way to the easy win.  Junior Joe Waltko at 125, sophomore Andy Candiello at 130, junior Rick Peluso at 140, junior Kameron Palagi at 215 and senior Mark Pegher at 285 all won by fall for the winning Tigers.

Candiello got the Tigers off to a good start at 130 with a pin of Anthony Harvey 35 seconds into the third period.  Candiello had built a lead of 11-2 after two periods before recording the fall.  At 135, Sam Brehm evened the match at 6-6 with a pin of sophomore Adam Powers at the 1:26 mark.  At 140, Pelusi returned the favor as he pinned Jay McMahill at 1:14 of the first period as the Tigers took a 12-6 lead.  In the wildest match of the night, sophomore Zach Stein held on for an exciting 19-16 decision over Harrison Maxwell of the Rams.  Stein led, 6-4, after one period and built a 14-6 advantage after two.  Maxwell came back in the third period to make it close but Stein was able to pick up the win.  With the Tigers up 15-6, junior Brett Landefeld recorded a forfeit at 152.  At 160, sophomore Seb Fischer put together a workmanlike performance in a 6-0 shut out of Steven Fawcett.  The Tiger lead increased to 24-6.

At 171 on Senior Night, senior Tyler Minto won an impressive 10-1 victory over Tom Martinelli.  Minto built a 4-0 lead after one period, increased it to 8-0 after two, and went on to the major decision to make it a 28-6 NA lead.  At 189, senior Karl DeCiantis recorded another forfeit victory.  With NA up, 34-6, the Tigers picked up pins in the next two weight classes.  At 215, Palagi pinned Alex Lugar in the second period after building a 5-0 lead after one.  At 285, senior Mark Pegher pinned Stephan Hudec at the 1:14 mark as the Tiger lead ballooned to 46-6.  At 103, third-ranked Ross Orler pinned freshman Kevin Monper at 1:12 as the Rams finally broke through to win a match on the mat.  At 112, Wilm Krantz picked up a forfeit for P-R, and at 119, Brad Putch held off sophomore Bobby Sippel in an 11-7 decision.  With NA up 46-21, Waltko put the finishing touch on the victory with a pin early in the second period.  Waltko had built a lead of 9-2 after one period but needed only 25 seconds of the second period to put away Ryan Norris.  The Tigers completed the 52-21 section victory.

With the win, the Tigers improved the section record to 7-0, the overall mark to 11-1 on the season.  NA will compete in the Allegheny County Tournament this weekend beginning at 10:00 am tomorrow morning at Fox Chapel High School.  The Tigers are the defending champions.

With the win, NA Head Coach Jamie Kyriazis posted his 100th victory as the mentor of the Tigers making him the third coach in NA history to reach that level.  Only NA legend Gus DeAugustino with a record of 380-104-2 in 34 seasons and nephew George DeAugustino, 138-104-2, had won 100 matches before last night.  Kyriazis, a 1990 NA grad, has built a record of 100-35 since taking over in 2000-01. 

CONGRATULATIONS, COACH K!!!

Photo Gallery

MATCH SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 52  PINE-RICHLAND - 21

* - indicates starting weight

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TIGERS SHUT OUT SHALER, 66-0

The Tigers remained unbeaten in section as they blanked Shaler, 66-0, at Shaler on Thursday night.  With the win, the Tigers improved their section record to 6-0, the overall mark to 10-1.  NA recorded six wins by fall and picked up three forfeit victories on their way to their sixth straight section victory without a loss.

Junior Rick Peluso got the Tigers up and running with a pin of Ben Bocka early in the third period at 145.  Junior Dave Cawley needed only 58 seconds to pin Keith Landmen at 145.  At 152, junior Brett Landefeld made it three in a row as he pinned Greg Nicosia at 55 seconds as the Tigers took an 18-0 lead.  NA posted three straight decisions with sophomore Seb Fischer, senior Karl DeCiantis and junior Max Fischer all winning as the Tigers increased the margin to 27-0.

After junior Kameron Palagi won by forfeit at 215, senior Mark Pegher pinned Nick Kurpaces at 38 seconds of the second round to push the NA advantage to 39-0.  Freshman Kevin Monper won by forfeit at 103 and neither team had a wrestler at 112.  At 119, sophomore Bobby Sippel earned a fall at the 5:12 mark over Josh Stagel to make it 51-0 in favor of NA.  At 125, junior Joe Waltko recorded the fastest pin of the match as it took him only 27 seconds to win over John Fitzgerald.  After sophomore Andy Candiello won by forfeit at 130, sophomore Adam Powers finished off the Titans with a 6-4 decison over Stefan Drziemiecki at 140 as the Tigers completed the 66-0 shutout.

With the win, the NA section record improved to 6-0,  the overall mark to 10-1 on the season.  Next up for the Tigers is section foe Pine-Richland.  NA will host the Rams on Wednesday night at the Senior High gym.  The North Allegheny Sports Network will be there to broadcast the match LIVE on the internet beginning with the pre-match show at 6:45 pm.  Match time is scheduled for 7:00 pm.

MATCH SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 66  SHALER - 0

* - indicates starting match

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TIGERS RALLY TO DOWN BUTLER, 39-21

To listen to a replay of the match, click here!

The Tigers defeated Butler, 39-21, at the Senior High gym on Wednesday night to take over first place in Section 3-AAA.  NA rallied from a 12-0 deficit early and a 21-20 Butler advantage later in the match after a disputed forfeit victory.  Pins by sophomore Bobby Sippel, senior Karl DeCiantis and junior Kameron Palagi led the way for the winning Tigers.

Butler started quickly with wins in the first three matches to take the 12-0 lead.  At 285, Mark Moses took a 5-0 lead after one period and held off a rally by senior Mark Pegher to win a 5-3 decision.  At 103, Eric Tuck also jumped off to a 5-0 advantage after one period and was able to edge freshman Kevin Monper, 5-3, to make it a 6-0 Butler lead after two matches.  At 112, the Tornado picked up a forfeit victory as the score went to 12-0.  At 119, Sippel built an 8-3 lead after two periods before pinning Davey Jaillet with 12.1 seconds remaining in the match as the Tigers cut the margin to 12-6.  At 125, junior Joe Waltko used an early takedown just seconds into the match to take a 2-0 lead after one period.  In the second period, Waltko dominated Michael Crawford finally winning a tech fall, 16-1, just before the end of the period.  The Tigers had cut the lead to 12-11.

At 130, in one of the top matches of the evening, sophomore Andy Candiello used a third-period reversal to overcome a 2-1 deficit and win a 3-2 decision over Cole Baxter.  The Tigers took their first lead of the match at 14-12.  At 135. sophomore Adam Powers built a 2-0 first period lead and held off Aaron Raible throughout the remainder of the match to earn a 2-1 decision.  At 140, Jon Sanko decisioned Rick Peluso, 4-1, to bring Butler to within two points at 17-15.  Junior Dave Cawley moved up to 145 and won a 5-2 decision over Ken Rosenbauer to make it 20-15.  At 152 and just six seconds into the match between junior Brett Landefeld and Alexander Evanoff, Butler Coach Scott Stoner protested Landefeld's presence in the match claiming that the NA wrestler was overweight.  After a lengthy discussion that lasted close to thirty minutes, the referee concurred and awarded a forfeit victory to Evanoff.  With the win, Butler took a 21-20 lead in the match.

The Tigers then came back to win the final four bouts and win the match.  At 160, sophomore Seb Fischer fell behind, 4-2, before rallying to defeat Joshua Pascazi, 8-4, and give NA a 23-21 lead.  At 171, DeCiantis put on a clinic taking a big lead before pinning Derek Hays with 45 seconds remaining in the first period as the NA advantage went to 29-21.  At 189, junior Max Fischer gave the Tigers the victory with an impressive 12-2 major decision over Christopher White.  At 215, Palagi finished the Tornado with a pin of Alexander Miranda with 34 seconds remaining in the second period.

After the controversy, the Tigers came out strong to win decisively and take over first place.  For his efforts in coming back to win and give NA the lead, the North Allegheny Sports Network named Seb Fischer the Outstanding Wrestler of the match.

With the win, the Tigers improved their section record to 5-0, the overall mark to 9-1 on the season.  NA will travel to Shaler tonight to meet the Titans in a 7:00 pm section match.

MATCH SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 39  BUTLER - 21

* - indicates starting weight

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TIGERS TAKE SECOND AT TRINITY DUALS

The Tigers finished second at the Trinity Elite Duals on Saturday at Trinity High School.  The Tigers won four matches before falling to defending Class AA champion Burrell, 57-8, in the final.  NA defeated host Trinity, 49-25, Mt. Pleasant, 35-19, Jefferson-Morgan, 40-32 and Albert Gallatin, 43-28.

In the final, Burrell jumped off to a 30-0 lead with victories by Derek Edwards (189) and Brian Beattie at 215.  Pins by Lou Gardone at 285, David Makara at 103 and Jeremy Landowski at 119 along with a forfeit at 112 led the Bucs to the commanding lead.  The Tigers rallied with wins by junior Joe Waltko at 125 and sophomore Andy Candiello at 130 to cut the lead to 30-8, but Shane Welsh (135) and Jordan Shields (140) ended the brief NA run.  Two pins at 152 and 171 finished the Tigers.  Coach Jamie Kyriazis commented, "They're a great team, solid top to bottom.  We were missing two starters (sophomore Nick Rodgers and senior Karl DeCiantis) but it didn't matter".

The Tigers return to section action on Wednesday night as they meet Butler for the lead in Section 3.  The North Allegheny Sports Network will be there to broadcast the match LIVE on the internet beginning with the pre-match show at 7:45 pm.  Match time is scheduled for 8:00 pm.

TRINITY ELITE DUALS
Trinity High School
Saturday, January 5, 2008

TEAM STANDINGS

SCORES

MATCH SUMMARY
BURRELL - 57  NORTH ALLEGHENY - 8

* - indicates starting match

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WPIAL WRESTLING - 2007-08

The Tigers will compete again in the WPIAL in Class AAA along with 48 other teams.  Section competition begins on December 5, 2007 and all section matches must be completed by January 23, 2008.  The section schedule consists of one section match each Wednesday and a second match in some weeks scheduled on a Saturday date.  All section matches must be completed no later than January 23, 2008.

The tiebreaker system used in post-season play will be applied to all regular season matches between WPIAL teams if they end in a tie score.  A random draw of weight classes will be used in all dual meets and team tournaments.

Playoff entry for the 2007-2008 WPIAL team championships will include the teams who finish in the top three places in each section.  If two teams tie for the last qualifying spot, the winner of the match played between them will enter the tournament.  A three-way tie will be broken by comparing the head-to-head competition between the tied teams that may result in one of the teams demonstrating a higher cumulative total of victories.  The tiebreaker applies only to section records.  The WPIAL team champion and runner-up will advance to the PIAA Team Championships.

WPIAL INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

The WPIAL individual championships will begin with a sectional tournament.  Sectionals will be held in a one-day format.  The top four place winners from each sectional tournament will advance to the WPIAL/Southwest Regional tournament from which three wrestlers will advance to the state tournament.  Wrestle-back competition will be included from the first round of Sectinals, WPIAL and Regional Championships.  Both the AAA and AA sectinals will be held on the same date, February 16, 2008.

WEIGHT CONTROL

The PIAA will again use the FNHS Weight Management Program for the 2007-2008 wrestling season.  The Weight Certifiction Program has four major points of emphasis: (1) a wrestler may not go below 7% body fat for males and 12% body fat for females: (2) a wrestler must have a urine specific gravity of 1.025 (or lower before they have a body fat assessment; (3) a wrestler may not lose more than 1.5% of his/her body weight per week; (4) the weight certification program will have a built in nutritional component.

Another important component for the Weight Certification Program will be the certification of Weight Certification Assessors.  Every school will need to have a certified assessor to perform the urinalysis and body fat measurements for the Optimal Performance Calculator.  All wrestlers must have their certified minimum wrestling class certified by an authorized medical examiner on the PIAA "Section7: CIPPE Minimum Wrestling Weight Classification " form.  This certification must be established NO EARLIER THAN six weeks prior to the first practice day of the winter sports season.

Senior high wrestlers must be certified at only one of the following fourteen weight classifications:  103, 112, 119, 125, 130, 135, 140, 145, 152, 160, 171, 189, 215, and 285 lbs.

A two-pound growth allowance is authorized on or after January 15 for both junior high/middle school and senior high wrestlers.

2007-2008 WRESTLING ALIGNMENT - 82 TEAMS

CLASS AAA - 49 TEAMS

* = playing up
@ - cooperative sponsorship

Any questions or comments should be directed to Athletic Director Bob Bozzuto at:  bbozzuto@northallegheny.org