NA Bows Out To Canon-McMillan In WPIAL Quarterfinals

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North Allegheny’s run through the WPIAL team tournament came a close on Wednesday night with a quarterfinal round loss to Canon-McMillan, 39-21.

The Tigers hung tough with the third-seeded Big Macs in the early going and took a 9-6 lead on a win by fall from Max Stedeford (138) and an 11-7 decision from Freddy Junko (145) over Gabe Stafford. After the Big Macs tied the score at 9-9, Ian Branstetter (160) answered with an 8-4 decision over Blake Joseph to give NA the lead back, 12-9.

Canon-McMillan won the next four bouts to take a 27-12 lead, an advantage it would not relinquish. The Tigers trimmed the score to 27-18 thanks to a win by fall from Ben Grafton (285) over Austin Smith. However, a pin fall from Canon-McMillan’s Jacob Houpt (106) and a 7-3 decision by Brandon Dami (113) sealed the win for the Big Macs.

Before the team portion of the season concluded for the Tigers, sophomore Dylan Coy (120) captured a hard-fought 1-0 decision against Costa Moore to earn Wright Automotive Wrestler of the Match honors. Coy and Moore are two of the top wrestlers in the WPIAL at 120 pounds.

A 3-0 decision by Jacob Gardner at 126 pounds finished off a 39-21 victory for Canon-McMillan. The Big Macs advance to face Seneca Valley in the WPIAL semifinals on Saturday.

Prior to the quarterfinal matchup with Canon-McMillan, North Allegheny began the night with a first-round victory over Mt. Lebanon, 54-12. The Tigers ran roughshod over the Blue Devils with five wins by fall courtesy of Grant MacKay (160), Bobby Snyder (182), Grafton (285), Sam Horton (106) and Nick Gorman (113). At 138 pounds, Stedeford was named the Wright Automotive Wrestler of the Match with a dominant 17-1 tech fall over Darvish Kapitonov.

The team portion of the season ends for North Allegheny with a 7-2 overall record. The NA grapplers will turn their attention next to the Section 3-AAA Individual Tournament on Saturday, Feb. 22.

WPIAL Class AAA 1st Round: NA vs. Mt. Lebanon

WeightWrestlersScore
126Nathan Monteparte (NA) maj. dec. Louie Pietragallo (ML)13-3
132A.J. Rohan (NA) dec. Eli Crittenden (ML3-0
138Max Stedeford (NA) tech fall Darvish Kapitonov (ML)17-1
145Jackson Gray (ML) dec. Freddy Junko (NA)3-2
152Ian Branstetter (NA) dec. Luke Loving (ML)9-3
160Grant MacKay (NA) pinned Fayzullo Solohiddinov (ML)1:29
170Mac Stout (ML) pinned Nick Caruso (NA)1:08
182Bobby Snyder (NA) pinned Edward Kubit (ML)1:50
195Luke Stout (ML) dec. Nick Marcenelle (NA)8-2
220Luke Rumpler (NA) dec. Kade Capristo (ML)2-0
285Ben Grafton (NA) pinned Ben Streiff (ML)1:26
106Sam Horton (NA) pinned Elliot McGregor (ML)3:00
113Nicholas Gorman (NA) pinned Totoy Abellar (ML)1:40
120Dylan Coy (NA) wbf

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WPIAL Class AAA Quarterfinal: NA vs. Canon-McMillan

WeightWrestlersScore
132Jimmy Baxter (CM) pinned A.J. Rohan (NA)1:01
138Max Stedeford (NA) pinned Gianmarco Ramos (CM)4:24
145Freddy Junko (NA) dec. Gabriel Stafford (CM)11-7
152Tanner Rohaley (CM) dec. Grant MacKay (NA)10-4
160Ian Branstetter (NA) dec. Blake Joseph (CM)8-4
170Matthew Furman (CM) dec. Bobby Snyder (NA)8-2
182Tyler Rohaley (CM) pinned Nick Caruso (NA)0:43
195Gerrit Nijenhuis (CM) pinned Cameron Fries (NA)0:34
220Evan Miller (CM) dec. Nick Marcenelle (NA)5-3
285Ben Grafton (NA) pinned Austin Smith (CM)0:44
106Jacob Houpt (CM) pinned Sam Horton (NA)3:15
113Brandon Dami (CM) dec. Nicholas Gorman (NA)7-3
120Dylan Coy (NA) dec. Costa Moore (CM)1-0
126Jacob Gardner (CM) dec. Nathan Monteparte (NA)3-0