×

Wrestling postseason set to begin

Eisenhower's Josh Bortz.

The road to Hershey starts today for Eisenhower and Youngsville wrestlers.

Grapplers from those teams take their first step in the individual postseason when the District 10 Section 1 AA Tournament starts today in Meadville. Weigh-ins begin at 3 p.m. with action set to start at 4:15 p.m.

The top seven finishers in each weight class will advance to the District 10 AA Tournament next weekend in Sharon.

Eisenhower returns six district qualifiers from last season. Logan Jaquay took second, Josh Bortz was fourth, Easton Hedman and Cael Black finished fifth and Jesse Gourley was sixth.

Youngsville’s Jake DeSimone is the only returning Eagle who qualified for districts a season ago. He took third at 285.

Wrestlers from Cambridge Springs, Cochranton, Corry, Fort LeBoeuf, General McLane, Girard, Harbor Creek, Iroquois, Maplewood, North East, Northwestern, Saegertown, Seneca and Union City will also be competing.

Here’s a brief look at each weight class.

——

106: Top Seed — Lucas Munsee (Corry, 33-4); Eisenhower: No. 2 Anthony Rivera (17-15)

Rivera, a freshman, will open the tournament with a quarterfinal match against Iroquois’ Ben Barish (10-15). Rivera earned a 16-2 major decision over Barish when the two met during the Sharon Duals.

113: Top Seed — Joey Gabler (Harbor Creek, 28-6); Eisenhower: No. 8 Ethan Nizzi (9-16)

Nizzi, a freshman, draws Saegertown’s Karleigh Steiner (1-4) in a preliminary round match. The winner takes on Gabler in the quarterfinals. Nizzi pinned Steiner when the teams met in a dual match earlier this season.

120: Top Seed — Logan Jaquay (Eisenhower, 29-0)

Jaquay opens with a preliminary round bye. He’ll face the winner between North East’s Brandon Lafferty (10-13) and Girard’s Caleb Pinaire (13-13) in the quarterfinals.

126: Top Seed — Connor Pierce (Harbor Creek, 31-2); Eisenhower: No. 11 Jake Williams (6-3); Youngsville: No. 12 Logan McDonald (4-11)

Williams squares off with Girard’s Dakota Slomski (16-10) in the preliminary round, while McDonald draws Cochranton’s Shane Peterson (16-8). Peterson pinned McDonald during their dual meet matchup in December.

132: Top Seed — Matt Leehan (General McLane, 33-4); Eisenhower: No. 3 Easton Hedman (24-6)

Hedman draws Seneca’s Devin Stepaniuk (1-3) in the prelims. The two met in a dual match last week where Hedman picked up a first period pinfall.

138: Top Seed — Kenny Kiser (Saegertown, 31-2); Eisenhower No. 4 Gannon Jaquay (22-9); Youngsville No. 7 Collin Clough (15-12)

Clough takes on Fort LeBoeuf’s Kenny Wise (10-12) in the prelims. The two have not met this season. Jaquay hopes to continue his breakout sophomore campaign. He’ll tangle with Northwestern’s Matthew Bendure (4-13) in the prelims. This will be their first meeting this season.

145: Top Seed — Jackson Spires (General McLane, 18-2); Eisenhower No. 4 Josh Bortz (28-4); Youngsville No. 13 Colton Garris (1-14)

These two Warren County grapplers will face each other for the first time this year in the preliminary round.

152: Top Seed — Owen Jefferson (Seneca 24-5); Eisenhower No. 6 Alex Hummel (14-11); Youngsville No. 12 Caden McCune (2-13)

McCune, a freshmen, draws General McLane’s Daniel Mulligan (6-4) in the prelims, while fellow frosh Hummel takes on Northwestern’s Kasey Wade (3-12). Mulligan owns a pinfall win over McCune (at the Fred Bell Tournament). This will be the first meeting between Hummel and Wade.

160: Top Seed — Landon Caldwell (Saegertown, 27-6); Eisenhower No. 7 Benji Bauer (7-9); Youngsville No. 11 Damon Reese (2-14)

Reese draws Seneca’s Josh Berry (12-10) in the prelims. Bauer faces Cochranton’s Kyle McDivitt (2-10).

170: Top Seed — James Laird (General McLane, 31-10); Eisenhower No. 10 Mikael Beaver (8-12); Youngsville No. 12 Sawyer Lawson (4-11)

Beaver takes on fellow freshman Dan Church (13-11) of Fort LeBoeuf, with the winner to face No. 2 seed Eli Mosconi of Cambridge Springs in the quarterfinals. Lawson squares off with Seneca’s Michael Spires (7-5) in the prelims.

182: Top Seed — Matt Petrilla (Corry, 29-6); Eisenhower No. 5 Jeremyah Aiken (8-10); Youngsville No. 11 Devon Morris (0-10)

Morris faces Girard’s Robert States (9-14) in the prelims with the winner to face Cambridge Springs’ Jackson Carico, the No. 3 seed, in the quarterfinals. Aiken draws a preliminary round bye and will take on Cochranton’s Kaden Tatters (10-10), the 4-seed, in the quarterfinals.

195: Top Seed — Marshall Van Tassel (Union City, 26-2); Eisenhower No. 7 Josh Parker (7-10); Youngsville No. 12 Max Atwood (0-5)

Atwood faces the No. 5 seed, Iroquois’ Zach Barker (16-10) in the prelims with the winner to face the 4-seed, General McLane’s Seth Yarger (17-4). Parker takes on Cochranton’s John Benniger (5-11) with the winner advancing to a quarterfinal match with Corry’s Hayden Linkerhof (31-4), the 2-seed.

220: Top Seed — Joey King (Maplewood, 22-3); Eisenhower No. 2 Cael Black (26-4); Youngsville No. 7 Alan McAllister (11-11)

Black has a preliminary round bye into the quarterfinals where he awaits the winner between McAllister and Cochranton’s Antonio Nieves (4-13). Nieves holds a pinfall win over McAllister.

285: Top Seed — Jordan Schell (Girard, 26-3); Eisenhower No. 7 Jesse Gourley (11-10); Youngsville No. 5 Jake DeSimone (15-8)

DeSimone meets Union City’s Braxton Kent (6-19) in the prelims with the winner to face North East’s Jesse Phelps (15-8), the 4-seed, in the quarterfinals. Gourley matches up with Cambridge Springs’ Xavier Castillo (7-14) with the winner advancing to a quarterfinal date with the No. 2 seed, Saegertown’s Canyon Smith (27-6). DeSimone beat Kent by pinfall in their dual meet matchup and was pinned by Phelps at the Fred Bell Tournament. Gourley picked up a pinfall win over Castillo in their dual meet. Smith did not wrestle when the Knights and Panthers met last month.

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today