Workmanlike performance: Falcons advance to WPIAL wrestling semifinals
CONNELLSVILLE 无毛视频� Connellsville put together two workmanlike performances in front of a raucous home crowd Wednesday night for a berth into Saturday无毛视频檚 WPIAL Class AAA team wrestling semifinals.
The third-seeded Falcons defeated Fox Chapel in the quarterfinals, 33-24, and downed Ringgold in the first round, 52-12.
无毛视频淵eah, we wrestled okay,无毛视频� said Connellsville coach Bill Swink. 无毛视频淚 thought all the kids wrestled pretty well tonight.
无毛视频淲e gave up some bonus points I didn无毛视频檛 expect we无毛视频檇 give up. We have to work on that.无毛视频�
Connellsville seeks its eighth team title with the previous seven captured in 1992, 1994, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2005 and 2008.
Connellsville faces second-seeded Franklin Regional in the semifinals at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at AHN Arena. The Panthers defeated Pine-Richland (42-27) and Latrobe (38-24) for their spot in the semifinals.
Swink sees the semifinal match as basically starting another season.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 a whole new ball game. It无毛视频檚 like a whole new season. It无毛视频檚 totally unrelated now,无毛视频� said Swink. 无毛视频淲restling is all about matchups and coin tosses, especially in dual meets, which is something I really like.
无毛视频淲hen I do (figure out matchups), I always give the other team the benefit of the doubt.无毛视频�
Swink continued the thought, adding, 无毛视频淭hat无毛视频檚 what I told the kids today. We had a workout after school. All these wrestling people, they run down who无毛视频檚 going to win, blah, blah, blah. I just said when you无毛视频檙e the favorite, you have to win, and when it无毛视频檚 a toss up you gotta win it. And, when you无毛视频檙e the underdog, you have to keep it close.无毛视频�
Connellsville sent out a solid lineup, but Swink said the Falcons expect to be even deeper against the Panthers.
无毛视频淟andon Lynn was out tonight. We无毛视频檙e fine, but it gives us some options. Hopefully, he无毛视频檚 back Saturday,无毛视频� said Swink. 无毛视频淲e didn无毛视频檛 wrestle Evan (Petrovich) in this last match. He无毛视频檚 been sick all week.无毛视频�
The seeds held true with top-seeded Trinity defeating Norwin, 43-19, and fourth-seeded Bethel Park downing North Allegheny, 26-19. The teams meet in the other semifinal.
The Falcons fell behind early in the quarterfinals when the Foxes无毛视频� Alexander Kaufmann pinned Kolten Turek with just 38 seconds remaining in the 152-pound bout.
The home team sliced the deficit to a point after Lonzy Vielma won a 24-9 technical fall at 5:16 in his 160-pound bout against Milo Chiu.
Connellsville turned what might无毛视频檝e been a disastrous result into its first lead when Nick Rohal shimmied free from Jake Viti无毛视频檚 hold at 172 pounds and held on for a 12-9 decision.
Fox Chapel regained the lead at 189 pounds when Joseph Geller eked out a 4-3 decision against Cooper Lembo.
无毛视频淚 thought Cooper wrestled well. He got a little impatient. I told him you just have to let that match go to overtime,无毛视频� explained Swink.
Christopher Cook returned the lead to Connellsville at 14-9 when he pinned Colin Neff to the mat for a fall in 57 seconds at 215 pounds.
无毛视频淐hris is going to give you everything he has every time,无毛视频� said Swink.
The Falcons无毛视频� Tyler Gallis and D无毛视频橝ngelo Hamilton battled at 285 pounds. Gallis scored an escape in the third period, but was unable to get Hamilton off his feet in a 4-3 loss.
无毛视频淭yler wrestled better tonight. A 4-3 match, you never know how that无毛视频檚 going to turn out,无毛视频� said Swink.
Connellsville无毛视频檚 Tommy Gretz made quick work in his 107-pound bout against Luke Montgomery with a first-period pin in 38 seconds.
The Falcons无毛视频� Nolan Rice and Fox Chapel无毛视频檚 Landon Funk needed extra time after the two finished their 114-pound bout tied 4-4. Rice ultimately won the tiebreaker, 5-4, but lost a team point when he was whistled for unsportsmanlike conduct.
无毛视频淣olan wrestled really well at 14. The Funk kid from Fox Chapel is really good. I was pleased with that,无毛视频� said Swink.无毛视频滵iscipline. He got him for clapping. The ref told him if you turn to your coach and clap, you无毛视频檙e okay. Team points are important. You can无毛视频檛 lose them.无毛视频�
Connellsville无毛视频檚 Zach Franks eked out an 11-10 decision in his 121-pound bout against Michael Worsen.
无毛视频淶ach Franks, I thought he wrestled well tonight,无毛视频� said Swink.
Fox Chapel stayed in the match with Dennis Noel无毛视频檚 second-period pin against Chase Sparks at 127 pounds.
The Falcons responded once again with Kai Vielma无毛视频檚 16-0 technical fall at 133 pounds against Adam Haines as the second period ran out.
Connellsville clinched the win at 139 pounds with Julian Ruggieri无毛视频檚 3-2 win over Joshua Alexander.
The match ended when the Falcons无毛视频� Carter Wilson was unable to wriggle free from Andrew Kratsa for a fall just before the horn sounded in the first period.
Evan Petrovich won a 15-2 major decision at 145 pounds in the Ringgold match. Gretz also won by major decision with his 14-4 win at 114 pounds.
Turek (152), Lonzy Vielma (160), Rice (107), Sparks (127), and Kai Vielma (133) all had pins. Ruggieri won a 17-2 technical fall at 139 pounds.
Lembo (189), Cook (215), and Franks (121) won decisions.
The Rams无毛视频� Jack Duncan (172) and Jake Conroy (285) both won by fall.