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MATCH SUMMARIES

AVONWORTH FALLS TO TIGERS, 55-15

The Tigers remained unbeaten in section matches with an easy 55-15 victory at Avonworth on Wednesday night.  Four Tiger wrestlers pinned their opponents to lead the way.  At 140, junior Andy Candiello, at 145, senior Dave Cawley at 145, freshman Mike Wanner at 119, and freshman Greg Gaus all won by falls for the winning Tigers.

The Tigers got off to a good start with pins in the first two matches.  At 140, Candiello pinned Sebation LaRocca at the 4:32 mark while Cawley needed only 24 seconds to finish off Zach Wasko as NA took a quick 12-0 lead.  At 152, junior Adam Powers decisioned Jared Psensky before freshman Austin Coniker dropped a decision to Avonworth's Ben Kramer at 160.  With NA leading, 15-3, senior Ivan Smalianchuk won by forfeit at 171, senior Bill Lenart won a tech fall over Justin Lucot at 189 at the 3:31 mark, and senior Max Fischer won by forfeit at 215 as the NA lead was extended to 32-3.

At 285, the Antelopes' Adam Harvey pinned Alex Panormios to stop the run and cut the Tiger lead to 32-9.  NA won the next four matches to secure the victory.  At 103, Gaus pinned Pete Shamot at the 1:02 mark, and Wanner followed at 119 with a fall over Zack LaRocca in 1:56 to give the Tigers a 44-9 advantage.  After sophomore Kevin Monper won by forfeit at 125, senior Joe Waltko picked up a tech fall over Bryan Brown at the 3:06 mark.  With NA leading, 55-9, Conrad Branchen won the last match of the evening at 135 with a pin of junior Bobby Sippel.

With the win, the NA section record improved to 3-0, the overall mark to 7-6 on the season.  The Tigers will compete in the Trinity Duals at Trinity High School on Saturday.  NA will face teams from Albert Gallatin, Bethel Park, Burrell, Chartiers-Houston, Plum, Ringgold, West Mifflin, and host Trinity.  Action is scheduled to get under way at 9:00 am.

MATCH SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 55  AVONWORTH - 15

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WALTKO NAMED OUTSTANDING WRESTLER AT MANHEIM CENTRAL TOURNAMENT

Senior Joe Waltko won the 130 pound title, posted the fastest fall, and was selected as the Outstanding Wrestler at the Manheim Central Lions Holiday Wrestling Tournament on Tuesday night.  Junior Andy Candiello took second place at 140 as the Tiger team finished in ninth place in the 14 team tournament.  Reynolds won the team title followed by Cumberland Valley and Easton.

Waltko pinned Max Wilkinson of Indian River in just seven seconds in the first round to claim the fastest fall of the tournament.  In the quarterfinals, Waltko decisioned Shawn Greevy of Cumberland Valley, 10-3, before earning a tech fall over Roman Perryman of Robinson, 20-5, in the semis.  In the championship final, Waltko edged Cody Kelly of Reynolds, 2-1, to earn the title.  At 140, Candiello decisioned Kyle Duffy of Spring-Ford, 6-5, to advance to the semifinals.  In the semis, Candiello took a 5-1 victory over Mike Barnhart of Shikellamy to go on to the final.  Mark Hartenstine of Easton decisioned Candiello, 6-1, in the championship, but Candiello took home the silver medal.

Several other NA wrestlers finished in the top six.  At 160, freshman Austin Coniker decisioned Zack Shannon of Kiski Area, 4-3, in the quarter finals before losing a 2-0 decision to Greg Baptiste of Reynolds in the semis.  In the wrestlebacks, Coniker defeated Grant Chase of Erie Cathedral Prep, 3-1, but lost to Chad Savage of Lower Dauphin, 14-2, in the match for third place.  At 103, freshman Ryan Sippel edged Peter Stanley, 3-2, in the opening round before dropped a 12-0 major to Jake Smith of Robinson in the quarterfinals.  In the consolation rounds, Sippel decisioned Jake Witmer of Shikellamy, 6-4, and Jaron Fitzgerald of Kiski Area, 4-2, before losing to Robbie Higgins of Lower Dauphin, 6-5.  In the match for fifth place, Cline Rosario of Downingtown major decisioned Sippel, 11-2. 

At 112, after losing to Blaine Shutt of Lower Dauphin by fall in the first round, freshman Mike Wanner won a pair of matches in the wrestlebacks.  Wanner downed Chris Brigham of Cumberland Valley, 8-2, and Rodney Harnett of Reynolds, 6-4, before losing a 7-0 decision to Landry Badman of Shikellamy.  In the match for 5th place, John Agnello of Erie Cathedral Prep pinned Wanner.  At 152, Adam Powers pinned Travis Williams of Downingtown West in 2:24 before being pinned in the quarterfinals.  In the wrestlebacks, Powers pinned Andrew Thomas of Spring-Ford and decisioned Mickey Bennet of Robinson, 9-6, before dropping a tech fall to Luke Taylor of Reynolds.  In the match for 5th place, Dave Heynoski of Erie Cathedral Prep edged Powers, 3-2.

At 125, sophomore Kevin Monper pinned Wil Wilinson of Robinson at 1:27 in the first round before losing a pair of matches.  At 189, senior Bill Lenart pinned Billy Gurley of Spring Ford in the wrestlebacks before losing a 4-2 decision to Shane Robinson of Bald Eagle Area.  At 215, senior Max Fischer also won in the consolation brackets with a pin of Andrew Huzar of Erie Cathedral Prep before being eliminated by Nick Bennick of Shikellamy.

NA will be back in action again on Wednesday night when they travel to Avonworth for a section match.  The scheduled starting time is set for 7:00 pm.

MANHEIM CENTRAL LIONS TOURNAMENT
December 29-30, 2008

TEAM SCORING

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (NA Wrestlers only)

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TIGERS WIN THREE OF FIVE AT
FRANKLIN REGIONAL DUALS

The Tigers won three matches while dropping two at the Franklin Regional Duals on Saturday at Franklin Regional High School.  With the 3-2 record, NA finished in third place in the competition.

The Tigers downed Indiana, 69-6, and Perry, 79-0, before downing Hopewell, 40-31.  NA lost a tough 31-30 decision to Fox Chapel before finishing with a 39-27 loss to the host Panthers.

The Tigers will travel to Manheim Central on Monday and Tuesday to compete in the Manheim Central Tournament.  Action is scheduled to get under way at 10:00 am on Monday morning.

FRANKLIN REGIONAL DUALS
Saturday, December 20, 2008

FINAL STANDINGS

SCORES

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TIGERS CRUSH PINE-RICHLAND, 60-12

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

The Tigers won their second section match without a loss with a 60-12 victory at Pine-Richland on Wednesday night.  NA got pins from senior Joe Waltko at 135, junior Andy Candiello at 140, sophomore Jake Smith at 171 and junior Alex Panormios at 285 on their way to the easy victory.

The match started at 119 with freshman Mike Wanner moving up a weight class and delivering a 14-2 major decision over Ian Strawser of the Rams.  Leading by a 4-0 score after two periods, Wanner turned it on in the final period, outscoring the P-R wrestler, 10-2.  At 125 sophomore Kevin Monper built a 6-2 lead with four quick points at the end of the first period on his way to a 16-2 major over Dan Devlin of Pine-Richland.  With the wins, NA took an 8-0 early lead.  At 130, junior Bobby Sippel won a workmanlike 3-0 decision over Wilm Kranz, scoring all three points in the second period. 

With NA up 11-0, Waltko made short work of John Zivkovitch at 135.  The Tiger senior recorded a take down in the first five seconds of the match and went on to pin Zivkovitch in just 56 seconds.  At 140, Candiello led by only 2-0 after one period but earned a fall with 19 seconds remaining in the second period as the NA lead went to 23-0.  At 145, senior Rick Peluso built a 5-0 lead after two periods over Jordan Brennan.  In the third period, Peluso outscored the Ram wrestler, 5-1, to take a 9-1 major decision over a tough competitor.  With the score at 27-0, junior Adam Powers stepped in at 152 against Harrison Maxwell in what was probably the best match of the evening.  After a scoreless first period, Powers outscored Maxwell, 5-2, in the second period.  After Maxwell cut the lead to 5-4, Powers answered with a reversal on his way to an 8-4 victory to increase the NA margin to 30-0.

After freshman Austin Coniker was awarded a forfeit win at 160, sophomore Jake Smith moved up a weight class to 171 and pinned Peter DiCocco at the 1:23 mark to extend the Tiger lead to 42-0.  The Rams finally broke through in the 189 pound weight class when Nick Capitano pinned Ivan Smalianchuk at 47 seconds.  Alex Lugar gave the Rams a second consecutive pin when he took down senior Bill Lenart at the 1:27 mark as the Rams cut the lead to 42-12.  At 285, Panormios came out aggressively and earned an early take down against Nick Merritt.  It took only 37 seconds for the Tiger junior to finish the job with a fall to push the Tiger lead to 48-12.  The Rams forfeited the last two matches of the evening with Greg Gaus and Ryan Sippel picking up forfeit victories at 103 and 112 respectively.

It was an impressive showing by the Tigers who were wrestling without some key performers out with injuries.  The win improved the NA section record to 2-0 with just two section matches remaining.  For his efforts against a tough opponent, the North Allegheny Sports Network named Adam Powers as the Wrestler of the Match.

MATCH SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 60  PINE-RICHLAND - 12

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TIGERS PIN SHALER, 52-24

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

The Tigers outpointed Shaler, 52-24, in the section opener at the Senior High gym on Wednesday night.   Five NA wrestlers recorded pins with senior Joe Waltko at 135, junior Andy Candiello at 140, freshman Jared Lux at 160, junior Nick Rodgers at 119, and junior Bobby Sippel at 130 all winning by falls to pace the Tigers.

Waltko got the Tigers off and running with a quick pin at 135.  After Waltko got a quick take down, it took only 34 seconds for the NA senior to put away Vince Karlik of the Titans.  Candiello followed with another first period fall as he took down John Trojan of Shaler with 24.4 seconds left.  At 145, senior Rick Peluso controlled John Sieber building leads of 3-0 after one period and 10-1 after two on his way to a 12-2 major decision as the Tigers took a 16-0 early lead.  At 152, junior Adam Powers shut out Shaler's Tom Sorce, 7-0, to increase the lead to 19-0.  At 160, Lux made an impressive varsity debut with a quick pin at the 1:00 minute mark as the NA advantage went to 25-0.  Shaler then rallied to win the next four matches all by pins.  At 171, Josh Fleming pinned senior Ivan Smalianchuk with just 3.6 seconds left in the match.  At 189, Kevin Jackson picked up a takedown just seconds before the end of the first period to take a 4-2 lead over senior Bill Lenart.  With 56.2 seconds left, Jackson was able to pine Lenart.  At 215, Shaler's Doug Rogers built a 4-0 lead after one period before pinning sophomore Jacob Machi with 21.1 seconds remaining in the second period.  At 285, Jamal Conroy took advantage of a mistake by junior Alex Panormios to earn a fall at the 54 second mark as Shaler quickly cut the NA lead to one at 25-24.

The Tigers took advantage of two forfeits to pull away and secure the victory.  At 103, freshman Ryan Sippel and and 112 freshman Mike Wanner both picked up wins as Shaler was unable to field wrestlers in these weight classes as NA took a commanding 37-24 lead..  At 119, junior Nick Rodgers put away Travis Turkaly with 1:23 remaining in the first period to push the NA margin to 43-24.  At 125 in the most exciting match of the evening, sophomore Kevin Monper lost the lead late but rallied with a flurry of points in the final 15 seconds to defeat Josh Stagel, 12-7.  Monper trailed, 2-0, after one, but came back with a late second period reversal to take a 4-3 lead into the final period.  With 15 seconds left, Stagel reversed Monper to retake a 5-4 lead, but in the final seconds, the NA sophomore put together a reversal and picked up six more near fall points to earn the victory.  Junior Bobby Sippel finished off the Titans with a pine of Brian Ketterer just 38 seconds into the match as the Tigers took a 52-24 victory.

It was an important victory for NA with the new configuration of section matches.  The Tigers will have only three more section matches before the section playoff.  For his exciting comeback victory, the North Allegheny Sports Network named Kevin Monper as the Outstanding Wrestler of the match.

The win in the section opener gives the Tigers a good start in defending their section title.  Next up for NA is a trip to Derry Area High School on Saturday for the Derry Duals.  Match time on Saturday morning is set for 9:00 am.

Photo Gallery

MATCH SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 52  SHALER - 24

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WALTKO TAKES SILVER AT
IRONMAN TOURNAMENT

Senior Joe Waltko won the silver medal in the 135 pound class at the prestigious Ironman Tournament at Walsh Jesuit High School in Ohio on Saturday night.  Waltko defeated Travis McKillop of Burrell, 10-6, in the quarterfinals before downing Austin Ormsbee of Blair Academy (NJ), 6-5, in the semifinals.  In the championship final, Waltko was defeated by David Taylor of St. Paris Graham, 16-3.

In the consolation round at 140, junior Andy Candiello won the fifth place medal.  Candiello shut out Sheldon Branden of Wadsworth (OH), 3-0, defeated Cullen Isenberg of Wyoming Seminary, 3-1, and pinned Jordan Thome of Troy Christian (OH) before losing to Vlad Dombrovski of Natomis (CA), 14-9.  In the fifth place match, Candiello shut out Tony Buxton of Blair Academy (NJ), 4-0.

At 145, senior Rick Peluso decisioned Codi Richards of Parkersburg South (WV), 9-6, before losing to Nick Sierra of Lemoore (CA), 2-0.  At 285, junior Alex Panormios was eliminated by Ryan Stout of Broken Arrow (OK).

The Tiger team will open section play on Wednesday night when they host Shaler.  Because of a quirk in the schedule, it will also be Senior Night.  The North Allegheny Sports Network will be there to broadcast the match LIVE on the internet beginning with the pre-game show at 6:45 pm.  Match time is scheduled for 7:00 pm.

WALTKO ADVANCES TO QUARTERFINALS
OF IRONMAN TOURNAMENT

Senior Joe Waltko won two matches on Friday at the 2008 Ironman Tournament at Walsh Jesuit High School in Ohio to advance to the quarterfinals.  Three NA wrestlers are still alive in the consolation round with junior Andy Candiello at 140, senior Rick Peluso at 145, and junior Alex Panormios at 145.

At 135, Waltko pinned Ethan Smith of Broomfield, CO in 59 seconds to advance.  In the second round, Waltko took a 7-1 decision over Troy Silver of Bishop Lynch, TX.  Waltko will meet Travis McKillop of Burrell in the quarterfinals today. 

In the consolation round at 140, Candiello pinned Andrew Meissner of Walsh Jesuit in 1:32 to advance to the next round where he won a 5-3 decision over Raider Lofthouse of Mountain Crest, UT.  Candiello will face Sheldon Branden of Wadsworth, OH in the next round.  At 145 in the consolations, Peluso took a 1-0 decision over Hayden Greenwald of Burrelll before winning a major 13-0 decision over Ryan Miggins of Blue Mountain.  Peluso will take on Codi Richards of Parkersburg South (WV) today in the next round.

Two NA wrestlers won bouts in the consolation round before being eliminated.  At 112, freshman Mike Wanner won a 12-2 major over Clay Archer of Broken Arrow (OK0 and pinned Kyle Condon of Caesar Rodney from Delaware.  Wanner was then defeated by Cae Supchak of Great Bridge, VA, 9-3.  At 152, junior Adam Powers won a 1-0 decision over Mike Sawyer of Mt. Carmel (IL) before being pinned by Tyler Miles of Christiansburg (VA).

The competition begins at 10:00 am this morning with the finals scheduled for 6:30 pm tonight.  The Tigers will host Shaler in section action on Wednesday night at the Senior High gym.  This will be the only home match of the year and seniors will be honored.  The North Allegheny Sports Network will be there to broadcast the match LIVE on the internet beginning with the pre-game show at 6:45 pm.  Match time is scheduled for 7:00 pm. 

FINAL TEAM SCORES

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (NA only)

A total of 57 schools have sent representatives to the tournament.  A list of schools in the tournament is posted below:

PARTICIPATING SCHOOLS

NA WRESTLERS

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