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TIGERS TOP FOX CHAPEL AND HAMPTON IN
SECTION DOUBLEHEADER

To listen to the NA-Fox Chapel match, click here!
To listen to the NA-Hampton match, click here!

The Tigers defeated both Fox Chapel and Hampton in a unique doubleheader of wrestling action at the Senior High gym on Thursday night.  NA recorded five pins on their way to a 49-19 victory over Fox Chapel in the first match.  In the second match, the Tigers lost only two matches as they hammered Hampton, 56-9.

Both matches started at 130.  Sophomore Andy Candiello gave NA a good start against Fox Chapel with a 16-1 tech fall over Mike Dunn.  Sophomore Adam Powers followed at 135 with a pin of Yanbo Chang at the 2:51 mark as NA took a quick 11-0 lead.  At 140, junior Rick Peluso needed only 1:28 to pin Nick Paradise as the NA lead went to 22-0.  At 145, junior Dave Cawley was dominant in his first action this season with a 17-1 tech fall over Dan Mahon.  At 152, Justin Mahon major decisioned Brett Landefeld in his first match back, 17-3, as Fox Chapel got on the board but still trailed, 22-4.

At 160, Nick Letters outlasted sophomore Seb Fischer in an 8-5 decision.  At 171, senior Tyler Minto fell behind, 8-0, after one period, but rallied to pull out a 10-8 victory.  At 189, Dean Smith of Fox Chapel edged junior Max Fischer, 5-1, as the Foxes cut the NA lead to 25-10.  At 215, junior Kameron Palagi pinned Dan Stabile fifteen seconds into the second period to increase the lead to 31-10.  Senior Mark Pegher at 285 pinned Mitch Depelligrini at the 1:11 mark, and freshman Kevin Monper at 103 won by forfeit as the Tigers jumped ahead, 43-10.  At 112, George Marsico of Fox Chapel won by forfeit.  At 119, Carson Brooks of Fox Chapel needed overtime to edge sophomore Bobby Sippel, 7-5 to make it 43-19.  Junior Joe Waltko finished off the Foxes with a pin of Mike Dunn at the 1:07 mark as NA completed the 49-19 victory.  For his efforts, the North Allegheny Sports Network named Andy Candiello as the Outstanding Wrestler of the match.

In the Hampton match, Candiello again got the Tigers off and running with a 9-1 major decision over Jared Steinmetz.  Powers followed with his second pin of the night as he put away Kevin O'Keefe at the 1:55 mark.  At 140, Peluso followed with his second pin, this time over Brendan McGreevy just before the end of the first period.  With three straight wins, the Tigers opened a 16-0 lead.  At 145, Cawley won a 12-2 major decision over Carol Kohan of the Talbots.  Landefeld came back to pin Josh Coons at 1:49 of the first period as the NA lead went to 26-0.  At 160, Seb Fischer was victorious with a 12-0 major over Craig Synan.  Hampton finally got on the board with a 5-0 victory by Jordan Schulman over Minto at 171.  Max Fischer got the Tigers back on the winning track with a 7-2 decision over Matt Hunkele at 189 to give NA a 33-3 lead in the match.

At 215, Palagi won a hard fought 4-2 decision over Joe Raimondi.  Palagi built a 4-0 lead after two periods and held off the Hampton wrestler for the win.  At 285, Pegher won by forfeit as the NA lead went to 42-3.  At 103, Monper controlled Chris McAwrey finishing a 15-0 tech fall with 27.9 remaining in the second period.  At 112, Max Bondi won by forfeit for Hampton to cut the margin to 47-9.  At 119, Sippel rallied from a 4-1 deficit to pull out an exciting 6-5 victory over Jon Harrington.  Sippel picked up a takedown with just three seconds remaining to win the decision.  At 125, Waltko again finished the victory with a pin as he won by fall over Dom DeRosa at the 1:52 mark.  The Tigers dominated in winning 12 matches on their way to the 56-9 win.  For his comeback victory, the North Allegheny Sports Network selected Bobby Sippel as the Outstanding Wrestler of the match.

With the wins, the Tigers improved their section record to 4-0.  The Tigers will travel to Trinity tomorrow morning for the Trinity Duals with action scheduled to begin at 9:00 am.  NA will host Butler next Wednesday in a section showdow with both teams coming into the match undefeated in section.  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.  The scheduled starting time is set for 8:00 pm.

Photo Gallery

MATCH SUMMARIES
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 49  FOX CHAPEL - 19

NORTH ALLEGHENY - 56  HAMPTON - 9

* - indicates starting match

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DeCIANTIS TAKES SILVER AT MANHEIM
CENTRAL TOURNAMENT

Senior Karl DeCiantis won the silver medal at 171 at the Manheim Lions Holiday Tournament at Manheim Central High School on Saturday.  Junior Joe Waltko earned a bronze medal at 125 as the Tigers finished in 9th place in the team standings.  Sophomore Nick Rodgers lost in the semis at 112, and sophomore Andy Candiello finished in 5th place at 130.   Easton was the team champion with Reynolds finishing in 2nd place.

The Tigers will return home next Thursday to meet both Fox Chapel and Hampton.  NA will face Fox Chapel at 6:00 pm with the rescheduled match with Hampton at 8:00 pm.  The North Allegheny Sports Network will be there to broadcast BOTH matches beginning with the pre-match show at 5:45 pm.

38TH ANNUAL MANHEIM LIONS HOLIDAY WRESTLING TOURNAMENT
Manheim Central High School
December 27-28, 2007

TEAM SCORES

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (NA only)

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TIGERS CONTROL AVONWORTH, 53-14

The Tigers won their second consecutive section match with a 53-14 victory at Avonworth on Wednesday night.  NA recorded pins by junior Joe Waltko at 125, sophomore Adam Powers at 135 and junior Max Fischer at 189 along with a tech fall by senior Karl DeCiantis at 171 on their way to the victory.  Avonworth also forfeited three matches.

The match started at 285 with Avonworth's Adam Harvey pinning Mark Pegher at the 1:26 mark to give the Antelopes a 6-0 lead.  Avonworth forfeited the next three matches.  For NA, freshman Kevin Monper at 103, sophomore Nick Rodgers at 112 and sophomore Bobby Sippel at 119 all recorded forfeit victories as the Tigers took an 18-6 lead.  At 125, Waltko pinned Bryan Brown at the 2:58 mark to increase the margin to 24-6.  At 130, sophomore Andy Candiello decisioned Conrad Branchen to push the lead to 27-6.  Powers pinned Adam Maruscak at 135 to extend the margin to 33-6.

At 140, junior Ricky Peluso kept the NA winning streak going with a decision over Andrew Pucrata.  At 145, Dustin Lutenese decisioned senior Chris Rodgers as Avonworth was finally able to add points as they cut the NA lead to 36-9.  At 152, Ben Kramer recorded a technical fall over senior Alex Guenther to make it 36-14.  Senior Tyler Minto stopped the Antelope run with a decision over Jared Psensky at 160.  DeCiantis took a tech fall over Justin Okinki at 171 to push the NA lead to 44-14.  At 189, Fischer pinned David Biddle at 4:45 and junior Ivan Smalianchuk decisioned Victor Creese to finish the scoring as the Tigers took the 53-14 victory.

With the win, the Tigers improved their section record to 2-0. Tomorrow's match with Seneca Valley has been postponed until a later date to be announced.

MATCH SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 53  AVONWORTH - 14

* - indicates starting match

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DeCIANTIS FINISHES SIXTH AT IRONMAN INVITATIONAL

Senior Karl DeCiantis wrestled back through the consolation round to win four straight matches on his way to a sixth place finish at 171 in the prestigious Walsh Ironman Invitational at Walsh Jesuit High School in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, on Saturday.  After losing a 6-3  decision to eventual champion Chris Phillips of Monroeville (OH), DeCiantis decisioned Andrew Phillips of Massillon Perry, 4-2, and major decisioned Billy Curling of Great Bridge (VA), 12-2.  In the next match, the Tiger senior downed Evan Roth of Pember Eastwood, 9-2, before edging Nick Mills of University School (OH), 6-5.  Zac Thomussel of St. Paris Graham (OH) ended the run by pinning DeCiantis at the 4:32 mark.  In the 5th-6th place match, DeCiantis was decisioned by Keith Witt of Oak Harbor, 16-9.  No other NA wrestler placed.

Junior Joe Waltko won a pair of matches at 125 in the consolation round.  After losing a 9-5 decision to riley Adamson of Bishop Lynch (TX), Waltko decisioned Pierce Harger of Archbishop Moeller (OH), 6-2 and major decisioned Michael Baxter of Sandusky (OH), 20-0.  Drew Partain of Broken Arrow (OK) eliminated Waltko with an 6-4 decision. At 103, freshman Kevin Monper pinned D. Foster of Broken Arrow (OK) in 4:14 before being pinned by Nick Bracetta of St. Paris Graham (OH) in 3:57.   At 112, sophomore Nick Rodgers decisioned Drew Stone of Oak Harbor (OH), 6-2 before losing to Colby Christenson of Uintah (UT), 9-6.  At 130, sophomore Andy Candiello pinned Kade Kelly of Caesar Rodney (DE) in the consolation round before losing an 8-0 major to Nick Sulzer of St. Edward (OH).  At 140, junior Rick Peluso won a 3-2 decision over Michael Giord of Christiansburg (VA) before losing an 8-0 major to Drew Squires of Colonial Forge (VA).  At 145, Mario Mason of Blair Academy (NJ) pinned Zach Stein in the championship round.  In the consolation round, Dimitri Willis of Montini Catholic pinned Stein in 2:14.

At 152, senior Alex Guenther was eliminated in the consolation round by Jesse Shanan of Blair Academy (NJ) in a 17-1 major decision.  At 160, senior Tyler Minto pinned Stephan Bran of Broken Arrow (OK) in 3:53 in the consolations before losing to Sam Rakes of Christiansburg (VA) in a pin at 1:56.  At 215, junior Kameron Palagi won a consolation match with a 7-1 decision over Carlos Lugo of St. Vincent/St. Mary (OH) efore being pinned by Felton Banks of Colonial Forge (VA) in 1:55.  At 285, Mark Pegher was eliminated by Brian Cresswell of St. Vincent/St. Mary (OH) in a 5-2 decision.

The Tiger team will be back in action this week with a pair of section matches on the road.  On Wednesday, NA will travel to Avonworth followed by a trip to Seneca Valley on Friday.  Both matches have a 7:00 pm starting time.

FRIDAY'S RESULTS

Five Tiger wrestlers were victorious in the first round of the Walsh Ironman Tournament at Walsh Jesuit High School in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio on Friday.  The Tiger team is currently in 23rd position out of 59 schools with 47 points.  St. Edward (OH) with 260 and Blair Academy (NJ) with 237 were in first and second places.

At 112, sophomore Nick Rodgers took a 7-0 victory over Thomas Gayer of Palmetto Ridge, FL, in the first round, but was pinned by David Taylor of St. Paris Graham, at the 3:44 mark to fall to the consolation round.  At 125, junior Joe Waltko pinned Andy Enderby of Luxem Casco (WI) at the 2:50 mark to advance to a second round match against Riley Adamson of Bishop Lynch (TX).  At 130, sophomore Andy Candiello won a 6-2 decision over Harrison Hightower of University School (OH) to advance to the second round against Anthony Valles of Blair Academy (NJ).  At 145, sophomore Zach Stein took a 10-5 decision over Trevor Riordan of Massillon Perry (OH) to move on to a second round match against Mario Mason of Blair Academy.  At 171, senior Karl DeCiantis won a 4-1 victory over Troy Miller of Palmetto Ridge, FL, and was scheduled to meet Chris Phillips of Monroeville (OH) in the second round.

In other matches, at 103, freshman Kevin Monper was pinned by Devin Carter of Christianburg (VA) at 1:37.  At 119, sophomore Bobby Sippel was eliminated by Bline Ison of Palmetto Ridge (FL), 10-5.  At 140, Jordan Shields of Burrell won a 15-4 major over junior Rick Peluso.  At 152, Jared Kusar of CVCA pinned senior Alex Guenther at 3:06.  At 160, Trey Meserang of Archbishop Moeller (OH) won an 11-0 major over senior Tyler Minto.  At 189, Nick Lloyd eliminated junior Max Fischer with a pin at the 2:48 mark.  At 215, Jordan Richards of Wadsworth (OH) edged junior Kameron Palagi, 5-3, while at 285, Caleb Rainwaters of Palmetto Ridge (FL) pinned senior Mark Pegher at 1:59.  Seven NA wrestlers are still alive in the consolation round.

WALSH IRONMAN TOURNAMENT
December 7-8, 2007

PARTICIPATING SCHOOLS

FINAL TEAM SCORES

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (NA only)

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TIGERS PINS KNOCH, 71-7, IN SECTION OPENER

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

The Tigers used eight pins and three forfeits to overwhelm the Knoch Knights, 71-7, in the section opener at the Senior High gym on Wednesday night.  Five of the falls came in the first period as NA dominated the action.

The match started at 119 with the top Knoch wrestler, Grayson Hixon winning a 14-0 major decision against sophomore Bobby Sippel.  The 4-0 lead was the only Knoch lead of the night as junior Joe Waltko won by forfeit at 125 to put NA ahead for good at 6-4.  The Tigers followed by winning the next four matches by pins, three in the first period.  At 130, sophomore Andy Candiello took advantage of an early takedown to go on to a pin of Steven Daughterty with 35.9 seconds remaining in the first period.  At 135, sophomore Adam Powers made his varsity debut with a pin of Joe Tramontana at the 1:34 mark of the first period after gaining a takedown just eight seconds into the match.  At 140, junior Ricky Peluso pinned Alexander Lefever at the 39 second mark, the fastest pin of the match.  Finally at 145, sophomore Zach Stein, also making his varsity debut, earned a pin of Mason Kaufman with 8.4 seconds remaining in the second period.  With the four pins and a forfeit, the Tigers had taken a commanding 30-4 lead.

At 152, senior Alex Guenther put up a fierce battle but fell to Kevin Green, 6-5.  Green had a 4-2 lead after two periods, but Guenther came back with a takedown and near fall to tie the match at 5-5.  The loss brought the Knights to within 30-7, but they would not win another match.  At 160, senior Tyler Minto used an explosive move in the third period to break a 2-2 tie and earn a fall over Robbie Milsom.  At 171, senior Karl DeCiantis picked up a workmanlike 17-2 technical fall over James Zellhart to push the NA advantage to 41-7.  At 189, junior Ivan Smalianchuk wasted little time in pinning Joe Hlebiczki at the 52 second mark of the first period.  Junior Kameron Palagi followed with a second period pin of Abe Zito as the Tigers increased the lead to 53-7.

After senior Mark Pegher won by forfeit at 285, freshman Kevin Monper also picked up six points with a forfeit victory at 103.  Sohomore Nick Rodgers finished off the evening with a pin of Devin Michael at 112 just 47 seconds into the first period as the Tigers completed the 71-7 victory.

It was a good overall opening night performance by the Tigers.  A good mix of experience and first-time starters provided Coach Jamie Kyriazis with a good idea of what to expect in section competition.  For his work at 160, the North Allegheny Sports Network named Tyler Minto as the Wrestler of the Match.

The win put the Tigers on top of Section 3 where they are the defending champions.  NA will travel to Walsh Jesuit High School in Ohio over the weekend to participate in the prestigious Ironman Tournament.  Thirty-five schools from around the country will be there.  Action is scheduled to get under way at 1:00 pm tomorrow and continue through Saturday night.

MATCH SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 71   KNOCH - 7

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