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WALTKO NAMED TO FIRST TEAM ALL-STARS BY TRIBUNE-REVIEW

PIAA and WPIAL Champion Joe Waltko received further honors when he was named to the 2008-09 Wrestling All-Stars by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.  Waltko was named as the 130 pound representative on the fourteen-member team.  Waltko finished the season with a 41-1 record while compiling a career mark of 144-20.

CONGRATULATIONS, JOE!

PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
2008-09 FIRST TEAM ALL-STARS

* Wrestler of the Year

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WALTKO CAPTURES STATE TITLE

Senior Joe Waltko defeated Rocco Wellek of Erie Cathedral Prep, 10-6, in the finals of the PIAA Class AAA Championships at the Giant Center in Hershey on Saturday night to win the state title.  Joe joins brother Rob who won a state title two years ago at 171.  Joe Waltko completed his season with a final record of 40-1 in capturing the crown.  Senior Dave Cawley finished in sixth place in the tournament at 140.

In the semifinals, Waltko shut out Nick Catalano of Canon-McMillan, 6-0, to advance to the finals.  In the consolation round, Cawley edged Mark Hartenstine of Easton, 3-2, before dropping a pair of tough matches.  In the fourth round of consolations, Tye Boyer of Indian Valley defeated Cawley, 7-5.  In the battle for fifth place, Philip Marano of Northampton outlasted Cawley, 3-1, in overtime.

It was a great night for the WPIAL as seven wrestlers captured titles at Hershey. 

Click here to listen to WJPA broadcast of the semfinals and third round consolation matches!

Click here to listen to the WJPA broadcast of the finals!

CONGRATULATIONS TO JOE WALTKO,
THE 2009 STATE CHAMPION AT 130!

FRIDAY'S RESULTS

Click here to listen to the MSA Broadcast of the quarterfinals!

Senior Joe Waltko defeated Matt Martoccio of Council Rock South, 3-2, in the quarterfinals of the 130 pount weight class at the PIAA Class AAA Championships at the Giant Center in Hershey on Friday afternoon.  Waltko (39-1) advanced to the semifinals this morning where he will meet Nick Catalano (38-6) of Canon-McMillan for the right to move on to the finals tonight. 

At 140, senior Dave Cawley dropped a tough 4-3 decision to Philip Marano of Northampton.  In the second round of consolations, Cawley shut out Michael Ottinger of Parkland, 3-0, to advance to the third round in the consolation bracket.  This morning, Cawley (19-2) will face Mark Hartenstine of Easton (36-4).

THURSDAY'S RESULTS

Seniors Joe Waltko and Dave Cawley both advanced to the second round of the PIAA Class AAA Championships with major decisions over opponents on Thursday afternoon at the Giant Center in Hershey.  Waltko took a 10-2 major over Scott Bosak of State College at 130 while Cawley was victorious over Coleman Hoffman of Bald Eagle Area, 9-1, in the 140 pound class.

Both wrestlers advanced to the quarterfinals that will be held this afternoon.  At 130, Waltko (38-1) will meet Matt Martoccio (23-3) of Council Rock South with the winner to advance to Saturday's semifinals.  At 140, Cawley (18-1) will take on Philip Marano (19-3) of Northampton for the right to move on to the semis.

Click here to listen to the WJPA broadcast!
 

72nd ANNUAL PIAA WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS
March 5, 6, and 7, 2009
Giant Center, Hershey, PA

TEAM STANDINGS

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (NA only)

PIAA Class AAA Championship Finals:

103 Jimmy Gulibon, Derry MAJOR Paul Bewak, Hempfield Area 13-3
112 Nico Megaludis, Franklin Regional DEC Zach Horan, Nazareth 3-1
119 Shane Young, Penn-Trafford DEC Tyler Rauenzahn, Blue Mountain 5-3 OT
125 Sam Sherlock, West Mifflin DEC Nathan Pennesi, Greater Latrobe 6-3
130 Joe Waltko, North Allegheny DEC Rocco Wellek, Cathedral Prep 10-6
135 Josh Kindig, Blue Mountain FALL Joey Walters, Greater Latrobe FALL 3:03
140 Andrew Alton, Central Mountain FALL Jack Bachman, Hempfield Area FALL 1:24
145 Dylan Alton, Central Mountain DEC Joey Napoli, Cumberland Valley 6-3
152 Marshall Peppelman, Central Dauphin MAJOR Mark Havers, Bradford 8-0
160 Jake Kemerer, Hempfield DEC Kenny Courts, Central Dauphin 4-2
171 Clay Gable, Dallastown TF Clint Morrison, Cedar Cliff TF 16-1 5:18
189 Tony Dallago, Central Dauphin FALL Jamie Callender, Council Rock North FALL 1:33
215 Nate Gaffney, Connellsville DEC Spencer Myers, Selinsgrove 5-4
285 Evan Craig, Abington Heights DEC David Osei, Abington 3-1

Third Place Consolations:
103_Shyheim Brown, Central Dauphin dec. Alex Dunaway, McGuffey, 4-1.
112_Tanner Bidelspach, Spring Grove dec. Dan Dortone, Springfield Delco, 6-5.
119_Zac Haynes, Council Rock North dec. Mitchell Port, Bellefonte, 3-2.
125_Steve Spearman, Erie McDowell dec. Jordan Rich, Central Mountain, 6-2.
130_Shawn Greevy, Cumberland Valley dec. Nick Catalano, Canon-McMillan, 3-0.
135_Kyle Bove, Kennett dec. Ryan Krecker, Nazareth, 2-1 UTB.
140_Tye Boyer, Indian Valley dec. Robert Blotzer, South Allegheny, 8-3.
145_Jake O'Hara, Crestwood dec. Bo Candelaria, Middletown, 4-3.
152_Bryce Busler, Cumberland Valley dec. Dan Karpency, Albert Gallatin, 3-2.
160_Jimmy Sheptock, Northampton dec. Ed Shupe, Council Rock South, 6-4.
171_Nick Milano, Erie Cathedral Prep by forfeit over Jim Resnick, Penncrest.
189_Andre Petroski, Springfield Delco dec. Joe Piro, Northampton, 6-1 OT.
215_Carl Buchholz, Great Valley dec. Jonathan Gingrich, Bald Eagle Area, 5-3 OT.
285_Sean Owen, Clearfield dec. Tyler Cowman, Wyoming Valley West, 3-1.

Fifth Place Consolations
103_Corey Keener, Blue Mountain major dec. Jordan Conaway, New Oxford, 10-2.
112_Anthony Marino, Bethlehem Liberty major dec. Tom Traxler, Bellefonte, 21-9.
119_Simon Rice, Central Dauphin dec. Cameron Throckmorton, South Western, 5-0.
125_Tyler Buckman, Central Dauphin major dec. Joey Rizzolino, Easton, 13-8.
130_Cortland Choate, Blue Mountain pinned Josh Yurasits, Northampton, 4:42.
135_Travis Shaffer, Derry Area dec. Kenny Stank, Central Dauphin, 4-2.
140_Philip Marano, Northampton dec. Dave Cawley, North Allegheny, 3-1 OT.
145_Cole Baxter, Butler dec. Brandon Loro, Springfield Delco, 11-7.
152_Nick Fuschino, Owen J. Roberts dec. Matt Hundenski, Hopewell, 6-2.
160_James Fleming, West Mifflin pinned Devon Passman, Central Bucks East, 3:52.
171_Patrick Tasser, Belle Vernon by forfeit over Hunter Smith, West Chester Henderson.
189_Shane Rosenberry, Elizabethtown dec. Jacob Bachman, Central Mountain, 7-5.
215_Antonio Giorgio, Warwick dec. Scott Syrek, Owen J. Roberts, 7-1.
285_Justin Grant, Easton dec. Alex Myers, Hatboro Horsham, 9-2.

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WALTKO WINS WPIAL CHAMPIONSHIP

To listen to a replay of the championship finals, click here!

After finishing second for three straight years, senior Joe Waltko broke through on Saturday night to win the 130 pound championship at the WPIAL/Southwest Regional at Canon-McMillan High School.  Waltko edged Lorenzo Thomas of Central Catholic, 5-4, to win the title.  Senior Dave Cawley dropped a tough 5-4 decision to Jack Bachman of Hempfield in the final but earned the silver medal at 140.  Junior Andy Candiello lost in overtime, 6-4, to Nicholas Whipkey of McGuffey in the consolation final  to finish fourth at 135.

In the semifinals, Waltko decisioned Ryan Walters of Latrobe, 5-3, to advance to the final.  At 140, Cawley outscored Jake Mathews of Penn-Trafford, 9-2, to move on to the championship match.  At 135, Joey Walters of Latrobe major decisioned Candiello, 10-2.  The Tiger junior was able to defeat Stewart Owens of Penn-Trafford, 9-4, to move on to the consolation final.

In the consolation round, freshman Mike Wanner won a pair of matches at 112 before being eliminated in the fourth round of the wrestlebacks.  Wanner decisioned Tim Connelly of Gateway, 5-3, and pinned Zach Reges of Butler at the 1:49 mark.  In the next round, Derrick Nelson of Waynesburg defeated Wanner, 4-0.  At 119, junior Nick Rodgers shut out Ryan Williams of Connellsville, 6-0, before being eliminated by Ty Lydic of Latrobe, 8-4.  At 171, P.J. Tasser of Belle Vernon eliminated junior Seb Fischer with an 8-2 victory.

The top three wrestlers at each weight class will advance to the PIAA Championships at the Giant Center in Hershey on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.  Seniors Joe Waltko and Dave Cawley will represent NA at the championships.  Action is scheduled to get under way with first round action at 4:00 pm on Thursday.

2009 WPIAL CLASS AAA CHAMPIONS

CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS

CONSOLATION FINALS

NA WRESTLERS AND RESULTS

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THREE TIGERS ADVANCE TO
WPIAL/SOUTHWEST REGIONAL SEMIFINALS

 To listen to the MSA Broadcast of the match, click here !

Three Tiger wrestlers won their quarterfinal matches on Friday at Canon-McMillan High School to advance to the semifinals of the WPIAL/Southwest Regional Class AAA Tournament.  Senior Joe Waltko at 130, senior Dave Cawley at 140, and junior Andy Candiello at 135 were all victorious and will wrestle in the semifinals this morning.

At 130, Waltko earned a 19-6 major decision over Jacob Lowry of Albert Gallatin and will face Ryan Walters of Latrobe in the semis.  At 140, Cawley pinned Jordan Bonham of Bethel Park at the 5:47 mark to advance to a semifinal matchup with Jake Matthews of Penn-Trafford.  At 135, Candiello took a 4-1 decision over Dillon Weston of Butler to move on to a meeting with Joey Walters of Latrobe.  At 119, Dante DeCario edged junior Nick Rodgers, 4-2, in overtime.  Rodgers will wrestle Ryan Williams of Connellsville in the consolation round today.

At 171, junior Seb Fischer stayed alive in the consolations with a pin of Dante Nania of Hempfield at the 3:51 mark.  Fischer will meet P.J. Tasser of Belle Vernon today in a consolation round match.  At 112, freshman Mike Wanner pinned Dante Altemara of Belle Vernon in 1:23 to advance to a consolation round matchup with Tim Connelly of Gateway. 

Three NA wrestlers were eliminated on Friday.  At 103, Troy Zangaro of North Hills defeated freshman Greg Gaus, 5-1.  At 125, Mike McGuire of Upper St. Clair decisioned sophomore Kevin Monper, 6-2.  At 145, senior Rick Peluso dropped a 5-4 decision to Dominic Testa of Hempfield.

The second round consolations and semifinals are scheduled to begin at 10:30 am this morning and this afternoon at Canon-McMillan.  The consolation finals are scheduled to begin at 5:30 pm while the championship finals are set for 7:00 pm.  The MSA Sports Network is presenting the WJPA broadcasts of the matches LIVE on the internet beginning at 10:30 am.  Use the links below to listen to the broadcasts:

WJPA Broadcast of WPIAL Semifinals!
WJPA Broadcast of WPIAL Finals!

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FOUR TIGERS ADVANCE IN WPIAL/SOUTHWEST REGIONAL TOURNAMENT

To listen to a replay of the MSA Broadcast, click here!

Four Tiger wrestlers won victories in the WPIAL/Southwest Regional Tournament at Canon-McMillan High School on Thursday night to advance to the quarterfinals tonight.  Senior Joe Waltko at 130, junior Andy Candiello at 135, senior Dave Cawley at 140, and junior Nick Rodgers at 119 are still alive in the winners bracket.

At 130, Waltko pinned Ben Myers of Derry at the 5:32 mark to advance to the quarterfinals against Jacob Lowry of Albert Gallatin.  At 135, Candiello pinned Nathan Gohn of Ambridge at 4:46 to move on to the next round where he will meet Dillon Weston of Butler.  Cawley pinned Brant Duda of Ringgold at the 1:52 mark in the 140 pound weight class to set up a quarterfinal matchup with Jordan Bonham of Bethel Park.  At 119, Rodgers edged Trevor Mediang of Franklin Regional, 4-3, and will face Dante DeCario of Derry.

Four NA wrestlers won preliminary round matches but lost in the first round.  At 103, freshman Greg Gaus decisioned Zach Long of Indiana, 10-3, before dropping a 12-0 major to Alex Dunaway of McGuffey. Gaus will face Troy Zangaro of North Hills in the consolation round.   At 112, freshman Mike Wanner won a 10-3 decision over Brady Howell of Albert Gallatin before being pinned by Dylan Mogan of Bethel Park at the 5:40 mark.  Wanner will take on Dante Altemara of Belle Vernon in the first round of consolations.  At 125, sophomore Kevin Monper shut out Stephen Gannon of Mt. Lebanon, 3-0, before being pinned by Sam Sherlock of West Mifflin at 1:09.  Monper will wrestle Mike McGuire of Upper St. Clair in the consolation round.  At 171, junior Seb Fischer pinned Jimmy Ritenour of Latrobe at the 5:48 mark, but lost an 8-6 decision to Fred Garcia of Ringgold in the first round.  Fischer will meet Dante Nania of Hempfield in the consolations.  Senior Rick Peluso lost a tough 3-2 decision to Aaron McKinney of West Allegheny in the first round and will face Dominic Testa of Hempfield in the consolation round.

The quarterfinals along with first round consolation matches will be held tonight at Canon-McMillan with the starting time scheduled for 6:00 pm.  The MSA Sports Network will make available the WJPA broadcast of the quarterfinals and first round consolation matches  beginning at 6:00 pm today.

 

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WALTKO WINS FOURTH TITLE AS FOUR
TIGERS TAKE SECTION CHAMPIONSHIPS

Four was the magic number for the Tigers at the Section 3-AAA Individual Championships at Fox Chapel on Saturday.  Senior Joe Waltko won his fourth title with a pin of Hampton's Ryan Craig in the championship match at 130.  Senior Dave Cawley at 140, junior Nick Rodgers at 119, and junior Andy Candiello at 135 all captured section crowns.  In all, nine NA wrestlers qualified for the WPIAL Championships.

AT 140, Cawley decisioned Nate Cully of Seneca Valley, 4-0, to win the title.  At 119, Rodgers took a 5-0 decision over Grant Evans of Seneca Valley in the final while Candiello pinned Tom Caldwell of Fox Chapel at the 3:44 mark to take gold.  At 103, freshman Greg Gaus lost in the final, 7-1, to Troy Zangaro of North Hills.  At 125, Carson Brooks of Fox Chapel decisioned sophomore Kevin Monper in the championship while junior Seb Fischer dropped a 15-7 major to Josh Fleming of Shaler in the title match at 171.  Freshman Mike Wanner finished third at 119 with a 5-0 decision over Colton Schiever of Seneca Valley while senior Rick Peluso picked up a third place medal at 145 with a 5-2 decision over Dave DiBenedetto of Fox Chapel.

The nine NA wrestlers who qualified will compete in the WPIAL/Southwest Regional tournament next weekend at Canon-McMillan High School.  The top three will advance to the PIAA Championships.

WPIAL SECTION 3-AAA INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Fox Chapel High School
Saturday, February 21, 2009

CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHES

THIRD-PLACE CONSOLATIONS

RESULTS (NA only)

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TIGERS DOWN ALBERT GALLATIN BUT
 FALL TO #1 BETHEL PARK

To listen to replays of the matches, click on the links below:
NA vs. Albert Gallatin; NA vs. Bethel Park

The Tigers defeated Albert Gallatin, 40-25, in the first round of the WPIAL Team Championships at the Senior High gym on Thursday night to advance to the quarterfinals.  In the quarterfinal match, top-ranked Bethel Park held off an NA comeback to defeat the Tigers, 37-19, to advance to the semifinals on Saturday at Ringgold.

In the first round, junior Seb Fischer gave the Tigers a good start with a pin of Greg Dodson at the 1:36 mark.  Trailing 6-0, the Colonials won the next four matches to take a 16-6 lead.  At 189, John Phillips won an 11-1 major over Bill Lenart, and at 215, Jeremiah Karpency took a 9-4 decision over Jacob Machi.  In the heavyweight match, Alex Panormios took a 3-2 lead over Joe Thomas in the third period only to see Thomas pin the NA junior with 36 seconds remaining.  At 103, Schuyler Monchek edged freshman Ryan Sippel, 6-4.  At 112, freshman Mike Wanner started the NA comeback with a 9-0 major over Brady Howell.  At 119, junior Nick Rodgers took a 2-0 lead over John Thomas before winning by fall at the 1:34 mark of the second period as the Tigers tied the match at 16-16.

At 125, sophomore Kevin Monper won by forfeit as NA took the lead for good at 22-16.  At 130, senior Joe Waltko built a 6-1 lead in the second period before Jacob Lowery had to leave because of injury.  The six points pushed the NA lead to 28-16.  At 135, junior Andy Candiello had to come from behind twice on his way to a hard-fought 8-5 victory over Dave Rattay.  With NA up, 31-16, senior Dave Cawley secured the victory with a pin of Chris Milligan at the 3:59 mark.  With the victory assured, NA forfeited the 145 pound match to Patrick Palmer.  At 152, Dan Karpency decisioned Adam Powers, 7-0.  At 160, freshman Austin Coniker finished off the Colonials with an impressive 8-2 victory over Cody Mitchell.   The Tigers had completed a 40-25 win and advanced to the quarterfinals.  For his efforts, the North Allegheny Sports Network named Nick Rodgers as the Outstanding Wrestler of the match.

In the quarterfinals, Fischer again got the Tigers off to a great start as he moved up to 189 and won a 12-4 major over Jacob Ricciuti of the Blackhawks.  Bethel Park, however, won the next five matches to take a 24-4 lead.  At 285, Panormios tied the match at 2-2 against Adam Hokaj with an escape in the third period.  With less than a minute left, Hokaj attempted a punch at Panormios which should have resulted in a disqualification.  The officials saw it differently, however, and allowed the match to continue.  With seconds remaining, Hokaj got a takedown and back points to win a 7-3 decision.  At 103, Rob Heuler decision Ryan Sippel, 6-0, and at 112 Dylan Mogan won a forfeit as the Bethel Park lead went to 18-4.  At 119, Phil Kail rallied in the third period to decision Wanner, 9-5.  At 125, Ace Bonaccorsi won an 8-1 decision over Rodgers.

At 130, Monper began an NA rally with an exciting come from behind 6-5 victory.  At 135, Waltko needed only 55 seconds to pin Kevin Zakany as the Tigers cut the lead to 24-13.  At 140, Candiello got a takedown with just three seconds left to pull out a 3-1 win over Jordan Bonham.  At 145, Cawley won a 6-0 decision over Mike Ganley as NA closed to within five at 24-19.  At 152, Coniker took Josh Ricciuti to overtime, but the BP wrestler was able to get an escape with seconds remaining in the overtime period to take a 2-1 win.  At 160, Nick Bonacorssi pinned Adam Powers at the 1:25 mark to secured the victory as the score went to 33-19.  At 171, Corey Delmastro won a 14-1 major over freshman Jared Lux as Bethel Park captured the 37-19 win to advance to the semifinals against Hempfield.

It was a great effort by the Tigers as they defeated a good Albert Gallatin team to advance to the quarterfinals.  Against Bethel Park, a few key decisions held the Tigers back against the top-ranked and undefeated Blackhawks.  In the end, the overall team strength of Bethel was too much as they went on to the victory.

The loss in the quarterfinal match gave NA a final dual match record of 11-7 on the season, including the Section 3 Championship.  Next up for the Tigers will be the Section 3-AAA Individual Championships to be held at Fox Chapel on February 21.

Photo Gallery

MATCH SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 40  ALBERT GALLATIN - 25

MATCH SUMMARY
BETHEL PARK - 37  NORTH ALLEGHENY - 19

2008-09 CLASS AAA TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS

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TIGERS CAPTURE SECTION TITLE
WITH PAIR OF WINS

To listen to replays of the matches, click on the links below:
NA vs. Butler,  NA vs. Fox Chapel

The Tigers won the Section 3 title with a 35-26 victory over Fox Chapel in the championship match.  Earlier, NA downed Butler, 36-28, with junior Seb Fischer pinning Mike Scialabba to give the Tigers the win.  In the final, NA built a 35-6 lead to put away the Foxes.

NORTH ALLEGHENY - 36  BUTLER - 28

In the semifinals, the Tigers got pins from freshman Mike Wanner at 112 and senior Dave Cawley at 145 along with Fischer's winning fall at 171.  Butler got off to a quick start with a pin by Chris White at 189, a major decision by Marino Quercio at 215 and a pin by Alex Truman at 285 to take a quick 16-0 lead.  Freshman Ryan Sippel got the Tigers on the board with a 16-0 tech fall over Brandon Bauer at 103 to cut the margin to 16-5.  At 112, Wanner built an early 2-0 lead before pinning Nick Sutton.  At 119, junior Nick Rodgers built a 4-1 lead after one period, increased the margin to 7-0 after two and finished with a 14-3 major decision over Zach Reges as NA closed to within one at 16-15.

Butler came back to win two close matches.  At 125, Eric Tuck took a 2-0 lead after one period and held on to edge sophomore Kevin Monper, 2-1.  At 130, Cody Hartman built a 7-1 lead after two periods, but junior Bobby Sippel battled back in the third but came up short on a 7-4 decision.  With Butler leading, 22-15, junior Andy Candiello won a workmanlike 10-3 decision over Dillon Weston.  At 140, senior Joe Waltko built a 6-1 lead over Mike Crawford until the Butler wrestler was injured and could not finish.  With the six points, the Tigers took their first lead of the match at 24-22.  At 145, Cawley had a big 11-1 lead over Rob Pinchur before earning the fall with 15 seconds left as NA extended the lead to 30-22. 

The Golden Tornado rallied to win the next two matches.  At 152, Cole Baxter remained unbeaten with a 3-0 decision over junior Adam Powers.  At 160, Derek Hayes needed overtime to win a 4-2 decision over freshman Austin Coniker to cut the NA lead to 30-28.  With the match on the line, Seb Fischer came out strong and took an 8-0 lead after the first period.  The NA junior needed only 43 seconds of the second period to pin Scialabba to give the Tigers the victory.  With the 36-28 win, NA advanced to the final against Fox Chapel, a 39-21 winner over North Hills.

NORTH ALLEGHENY - 35  FOX CHAPEL - 26

In the final, freshman Ryan Sippel 103 and junior Andy Candiello at 135 both won by falls while junior Bobby Sippel and 130 and senior Dave Cawley at 145 earned major decisions for the winning Tigers.  Fox Chapel started quickly when Dan Mahon pinned sophomore Jacob Machi to give the Foxes a quick 6-0 lead.  The Tigers came back, however, to win the next nine matches and secure the victory in the match.

At 285, junior Alex Panormios controlled Dan Stabile to win a 3-1 decision.  At 103, Sippel pinned Connor Whelan at 1:28 of the first period to give the Tigers the lead for good at 9-6.  At 112, junior Mike Wanner rallied in the third period to win, 9-6, after trailing, 4-1 after two periods.  At 119, junior Nick Rodgers decisioned Carson Brooks, 7-1, to extend the Tiger lead to 15-6.  At 125, sophomore Kevin Monper scored a 3-0 victory over Mike Dunn.  At 130, junior Bobby Sippel was all over George Marsico as he won a 16-4 major decision to push the margin to 22-6.

At 135, Candiello needed only 55 seconds to put away Shane Bialowas.  At 140, senior Joe Waltko built a 5-0 lead after two periods on his way to a 9-2 decision over Tom Caldwell as the Tiger lead went to 31-6.  At 145, senior Dave Cawley won a 13-2 major over Dave DiBenedetto to give the Tigers a 35-6 lead and the points needed to win the match.  At 152, Justin Mahon pinned freshman Jared Lux and at 160, Nick Letters won an 8-2 decision over freshman Austin Coniker.  At 171, Aaron Barker pinned junior Zack Stein and at 189, Stefano Geary took a 17-2 tech fall as the Foxes made the final score respectable at 35-26.  For their efforts in the dual victory, the North Allegheny Sports Network named Mike Wanner and Ryan Sippel as the Outstanding Wrestlers for their respective matches.

With the wins, the Tigers have either won or shared the section title for the past nine years.  NA will now advance to the WPIAL Team Tournament as the #1 team from Section 3.  NA will meet Albert Gallatin in the first round of the WPIAL Class AAA Team Championships.  The match is scheduled for 6:00 pm at Bethel Park with the winner to advance to meet the winner of the Bethel Park/West Allegheny/North Hills matchups at 7:30 pm. 
MATCH SUMMARIES
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 36 BUTLER - 28

NORTH ALLEGHENY - 35 FOX CHAPEL - 26

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THREE TIGERS TAKE TITLES AT
ALLEGHENY COUNTY TOURNAMENT

Three NA wrestlers won championships at the 2009 Allegheny County Tournament at Fox Chapel High School on Saturday night.  At 130, senior Joe Waltko, at 135, junior Andy Candiello, and at 145, senior Dave Cawley were all victorious as they led the Tiger team to third place in the tournament behind Bethel Park and host Fox Chapel.  NA led with three individual champions.

In the semifinals at 130, Waltko won a technical fall over Damian Link of Brashear, 17-1, before downing Sam Sherlock of West Mifflin, 3-1, in the final.  At 135, Candiello pinned Tom Caldwell of Fox Chapel at the 1:49 mark in the semifinals.  In the final, Candiello won a 6-3 decision over Josh Etzel of Elizabeth Forward.  In the 140 pound weight class, Cawley pinned Dave DeBeneddetto of Fox Chapel in 3:48 before winning a 4-0 decision over Mike Ganley of Bethel Park in the finals.

The Tigers had five additional wrestlers place in the tournament.  At 103 freshman Ryan Sippel advanced to the fifth place final but dropped a 2-0 decision to Cory Kiser of South Allegheny.  Freshman Austin Coniker also wrestled for fifth place at 160 and lost a 7-4 decision to Perry Hills of Central Catholic.  At 112, freshman Mike Wanner defeated Kraig Esswein of North Hills, 4-2, to capture seventh place.  At 152, junior Adam Powers won a 7-3 decision over Conor Buker of Upper St. Clair to finish seventh.  Sophomore Jake Smith was pinned by Fox Chapel's Aaron Barker in the match for 7th place.

The Tiger team will meet Butler in the semifinals of the Section 3 team tournament at Fox Chapel on Wednesday night.  The North Allegheny Sports Network will be there to broadcast the match LIVE on the internet beginning with the pre-game show at 5:45 pm.  If NA wins, they will wrestle the winner of the Fox Chapel-North Hills Match for the section title.  If Butler wins, NA will face the loser of the FC-NH match for third place.  The championship or consolation match will also be broadcast live on the internet with match time set for 8:00 pm.

ALLEGHENY COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIPS
Fox Chapel High School
January 16-17, 2009

CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHES

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (NA only)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

THREE TIGERS ADVANCE TO SEMIFINALS OF ALLEGHENY COUNTY TOURNAMENT

FRIDAY'S SUMMARY
Three Tiger wrestlers advanced to the semifinals of the Allegheny County Tournament with wins on Friday at Fox Chapel High School.  Senior Joe Waltko at 130, junior Andy Candiello at 135, and senior Dave Cawley at 145 will wrestle today to try to advance to the championship final.  Ten NA wrestlers are still alive in the wrestlebacks as they attempt to finish in the top eight.

At 130, Waltko pinned Craig Dawson Penn Hills in just 36 seconds, and then took just 25 seconds to put away Randy Langer of McKeesport.  In the quarterfinals, Waltko pinned Matt Drabick of Keystone Oaks in 5:08 to advance to the semifinals against Damian Link on Brashear.  At 135, Candiello pinned John Subosits of Upper St. Clair in 1:52 before earning a major decision over Andre Washington of McKeesport, 14-3.  In the quarterfinals, Candiello took a 7-3 decision over Conrad Brancehn of Avonworth, 7-3, to move into the semifinals against Tom Caldwell of Fox Chapel.  At 145, Cawley won by fall over Anthony Janicki of Elizabeth Foward in 2:15 before winning a major decision over harrison Maxwell of Pine-Richland, 15-2.  In the quarters, Cawley decisioned #1 seed Kenny Downing of Central Catholic, 4-2, to advance to the semis against Dave DeBennedetto of Fox Chapel.

A number of the ten NA wrestlers still alive in the wrestlebacks won preliminary and first round matches before losing in the quarterfinals.  At 103, freshman Ryan Sippel pinned Brad Mathe of Elizabeth Forward and Greg Garbera of Montour before losing a 7-5 decision to Rob Heuler of Bethel Park.  Sippel will meet David Dedola in the consolation round.  At 112, freshman Mike Wanner decisioned Tanner Cox of West Allegheny and pinned Brendan Cebula of Carrick before losing by fall to Geoff Alexander of Shady Side Academy.  At 119, junior Nick Rodgers decisioned Dave Baker of Montour and Rob Redman of Langley before losing to Philip Elias of Shady Side Academy.  Rodgers is scheduled to meet Martin Sams of Bethel Park today.  At 215, sophomore Jacob Machi moved into the first round on a bye before pinning Richard Lowrey of Perry.  Machi lost to Garrett Spencer of Langley by pin and will meet Anthony Dilonardo of Plum in the consolation round.

Other Tiger wrestlers with wins include sophomore Kevin Monper at 125 who won three matches in the consolation round and will face Ken Scott of West Allegheny today.  Senior Rick Peluso won a major decision over Chris Kostas of Mt. Lebanon before leaving because of injury.  Junior Adam Powers won a pair of victories at 152 and will face Wolph Clark of Brashear today.  At 160, freshman Austin Coniker also won two matches in the wrestlebacks to advance to a match against DJ Martin of Plum.  At 171, sophomore Jake Smith pinned Dalton Karwowski of Thomas Jefferson to advance to a match against Craig Svan of Hampton.  At 189, senior Bill Lenart was also victorious in two matches and will face Nick Yarosewski of Hampton today.  At 285, junior Alex Panormios won a pair of 3-2 decisions to move on to a meeting with Adam Harvey of Avonworth.

The Tiger team is currently in fourth place in the team standings with 100 points. Bethel Park is first, Fox Chapel second, and Central Catholic third.  Forty-one schools have wrestlers entered in the tournament.  Action is scheduled to resume this morning at 10:30 am.  The finals are scheduled for 6:20 pm tonight.

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TIGERS EDGE NORTH HILLS, 39-27,
TO WIN SUB-SECTION TITLE

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

The Tigers took an early lead and held off North Hills as they defeated the Indians, 39-27, at North Hills Senior High on Wednesday night.  Four Tigers earned pins as NA won their fourth section match without a loss.  Senior Joe Waltko at 130, junior Andy Candiello at 140, junior Seb Fischer at 171, and senior Bill Lenart all won by falls to pace NA.

The match started at 130 and Waltko wasted little time in building a 9-1 lead before pinning Brent Dorben at the 1:29 mark.  At 135, junior Bobby Sippel came back from a 1-0 deficit after two periods to record a 3-1 victory over the Indians' Ryan Gibson.  At 140, Candiello recorded the fasted pin on the evening when he put away Bob Beerman in 1:20 as the Tigers took a 15-0 advantage.  North Hills forfeited the 145 match to senior Dave Cawley as the lead went to 21-0.  NH's Zach Gloekner moved up a weight class and pinned senior Adam Powers with just 2 seconds remaining of the second period as the Indians cut the margin to 21-6.

At 160, Ben Amrhein won a tough match against freshman Austin Conniker finally taking a 5-2 decision as NH closed to 21-9.  At 171, junior Seb Fischer trailed, 4-0, after one period but rallied to pin Adam Muehlbauer at the 2:56 mark in a key match that pushed the NA margin to 27-9.  At 189, senior Bill Lenart needed only 1:32 to put away Ben Smith and extend the Tiger lead to 33-9.  The Indians' T.J. McElwaine was able to pine NA sophomore Nate Fox at 215 to make it 33-15.  In the heavyweight class, junior Alex Panormios rallied to tie the match, 1-1, against Michael Dietrich only to lose in double overtime.  NA led, 33-18, as the match went back to the lesser weights.

At 103, Troy Zangaro of North Hills took a 2-1 lead over Ryan Sippel after one period.  Sippel came back with a reversal in the second period and made it hold up for a 3-2 victory.  With NA on top, 36-18, Kraig Esswein scored two points in each period on his way to a 6-0 decision over freshman Mike Wanner.  With just two matches remaining, the Tigers had clinched the victory.  At 119, Ian Neszpaul won by forfeit.  In the last match of the evening at 125, sophomore Kevin Monper got an escape point in the second period and held off Cameron Weber for the remainder of the match to earn a hard-fought 1-0 decision.

It was a tough match with the Tigers earning close victories at key weights.  The key match of the night came at 171.  For his come from behind efforts, the North Allegheny Sports Network named Seb Fischer as the NA Outstanding Wrestler.

With the win, the Tigers finished first in subsection 3-B.  NA will meet Butler at Fox Chapel next Wednesday in the Team Section semifinals.  Next up for Tiger wrestlers will be the Allegheny Country Tournament, also at Fox Chapel.  Action will get under way tomorrow morning at 10:00 am with the finals scheduled for Saturday night at 6:20 pm.

MATCH SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 39  NORTH HILLS - 27

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WPIAL WRESTLING - 2008-09

The Tigers will compete again in the WPIAL in Class AAA along with 50 other teams.  Section competition begins on December 10, 2008 and must be completed by January 14, 2009.  The section schedule consists of one section match each Wednesday and one section match on a Saturday date. 

If ties occur in a dual meet, the 2008-2009 NFHS rules book criteria will be used to break the tie.  Each WPIAL section of 10 or 11 teams has been divided into two subsections of five or six teams.  The League schedule on 4 or 5 matches includes only matches versus other schools in the same subsection.  The PIAA reduction in competitions from 24 to 22 and the shortened season by one week requires that section schedules are minimized to permit the PIAA individual and team team tournament component of the season to be met.  The reduction in section matches will also allow schools greater flexibility in scheduling individual tournaments, dual meet tournaments, and exhibition dual meets.

A random draw of weight classes will be used in all dual meet and team tournaments.

SECTION CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT

On Wednesday, January 21, a one-day section championship tournament doubleheader will be held prior to the WPIAL team championship tournament.  At the section championship tournament, the first place finisher from each subsection will wrestle the second place team from the opposite subsection in the same section.  The two winners will then wrestle for the section championship.  The winner will be declared the section champion and will be presented the section plaque.  The defeated team will be the 2nd place finisher in the section.  The two defeated teams will wrestle for 3rd and 4th place in the section.  The top four place finishers will advance to the WPIAL Team Championship Tournament.

In the event of a two-way tie for first or second, head to head competition will prevail.  A tie of three or more teams will be broken by comparing the head-to-head competition between the tied teams that may result in one or more of the teams demonstrating a higher cumulative total of victories.  If the three or more tied teams have identical records against each other, the FNHS tie breaking system (Rule 9-2-2) will be used to break the tie.

In 2008-09, the section championship tournament will be held at the site of the first place team in the "A" subsections and in 2009-2010 in the "B" subsections.  If the site designated site for the tournament is not available, the WPIAL will assign the site based on the League "Home Site Policy".  The WPIAL wrestling Committee will organize and manage the section championship tournament.

WPIAL TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS

The top four place finishers from the section championship tournament will advance to the WPIAL Team Championship tournament.  The team tournament will begin with necessary preliminary matches on Monday, January 26, 2009.  In Class AAA, the WPIAL will advance three teams to the PIAA team tournament.  The third place qualifier in Class AAA will be determined in a consolation match between the defeated teams in the semifinal round of the tournament.

WPIAL INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

The WPIAL individual championships will begin with a sectional tournament.  In Class AAA, sectionals will held in a one-day event.  In Class AAA, 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 Sectionals, WPIAL, and Regional Championships.  Additional information on team and individual championships will be available on the WPIAL website.

WEIGHT CONTROL

The PIAA will again use the NFHS Weight Management Program (Rule 1-3-1) for the 2008-09 wrestling season.  The Weight Certification 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 the 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 weight class certified by an authorized medical examiner on the PIAA " Section 7: CIPPE Minimum Wrestling Weight Classification" form.  The certification must be established NO EARLIER THAN six weeks prior to the first practice day of the winter sports season. 

Senior high school wrestlers must be certified at only one of the 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.

2008-09 WRESTLING ALIGNMENT
 CLASS AAA (51 TEAMS)

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