2007 PIAA AA Championships
Click for Final Results -- Final Brackets

Regional/Weightclass Record Breakdown

Frank Martelotti and Dane Johnson, Shady Side Academy, are the first Class AA teammates to go back-to-back since 1999. Martelotti avenged a seven-point SW Regional finals loss when he held on for a 4-3 win over A.J. Schopp of Tyrone.

Johnson trailed 5-1 early in the third to Evan Yenolevich, NW Lehigh. Johnson scored a quick takedown, then went to the 'give one, get two' mode through the period, tying the bout with a late takedown. Then, 30 seconds into overtime, Johnson picked up his fourth takedown and his first PIAA gold medal.

Make it three straight--for Derry's Troy Dolan AND for the WPIAL. The senior totally dominated his bout with Cody Myers, Southern Huntingdon, just as he did in the SW Regional finals a week ago. Dolan writes his name in the record books as the 30th three-time PIAA champion in the 70-year history of the event. The three straight titles won by D-7wrestlers in the PIAA finals mark the first time any district has done that since D-3 won four straight weights in the 2001 tournament.

Jordan Shields, a Burrell junior, claimed the Bucs' fourth-ever PIAA title with a 4-3 win over Penn-Cambria's Nathan Link. The win is Shields' second straight post-season win over Link since losing to him as a freshman in the 2005 SW Regional tournament. All four PIAA titles for the Bucs have come since 1997.

Jesse Byerly, Keystone Oaks, won a bout in the 2006 PIAA AAA tournament a year ago. He won four in this year's AA bracket, winning the 145-pound title with a 5-4 decision over Micah Bollinger of Mifflinburg. Byerly scored takedowns in the first and second periods, then held off Bollinger to win the first PIAA crown for Keystone Oaks. Robert Schell, Dormont, now part of the district, won the 120-pound title in 1944.

South Allegheny's Phil Sorrentino brought his final season to a rousing conclusion with the best view in high school wrestling--standing on top of the awards platform at the PIAA championships. Having won the school's first-ever WPIAL and PIAA Southwest Regional titles, the Gladiators' senior won four decisions at the Giant Center, 2-1, 2-0, 5-2 and 4-2 in the final against Chad Sindoni, Athens.

Byerly's teammate Myles Caragein was the only WPIAL finalist to come up short in the the championship bouts as Richie Smith, Pen Argyl, completed an unbeaten season with a 3-1 win in the 285-pound final. Smith scored an escape and a takedown in the middle period to get all the points he would need.

Andrew Arnold, Northern Lehigh worked takedowns in the first and third periods to beat Warrior Run freshman Tyler Hain, 5-2, in the 125-pound final. Ft. LeBoeuf senior Steve Waite got a late takedown in regulation, then another 39 seconds into overtime to beat Colby Pisani, Ridgway, 8-6, in the 135-pound title bout. A third-period takedown was the difference in Scott Davis' 4-2 win over Joey Anceravage, Bloomsburg. Davis, a Lake Lehman senior, missed last year's tournament after an 8th-place finish in 2005.

Blairsville's Matt Moore suffered his first loss of the season in last week's Southwest Regional semifinals. He hasn't lost since, running the table at Hershey, including a 3-0 win over Jon Fausey, Line Mountain in the 160-pound championship match. Cory Beaver, Littlestown, had little time left, in fact, less than two seconds when he scored his 171-pound title winning takedown against Shawn Fausey, Line Mountain. Beaver won 6-5. Westmont-Hilltop sophomore Zac Bennett was a runnerup a year ago. Saturday, he claimed a gold medal to go with his silver, beating Aaron Karns, Berwick, 11-7, in the finals.

Kellen Harris, Sharon, won the school's first-ever PIAA title two years ago, then missed the PIAA tournament last year. On the way to being named the Outstanding Wrestler in the AA tournament, Harris delivered a technical fall and back-to-back falls in the quarterfinals and semifinals. Then, as a exclamation point, Harris pinned Bethlehem Catholic's Ziad Haddad in just 28 seconds to win the 215-pound title. PIAA Dual Meet champion Reynolds also won the team title at the 2007 PIAA Individual championships.

AA Consolation Finals
Mt. Pleasant's Paul Snyder, a junior, won third place at 285 pounds. Snyder won four straight consolation bouts. Charlie Wonsettler (Bentworth) & Codie Noga (Avella) finished their high school careers with victories in the PIAA 5th-place consolation finals after losing close bouts in the semifinals.

Luke Miller (Chartiers-Houston) and Zak Klinvex (Shady Side Academy) wrapped up their senior seasons with fourth-place finishes, losing in the consolation finals. Sophomore and returning PIAA champion John Prezzia (South Side Beaver) dropped a 1-0 decision in the third-place bout.

Alex Evans (Washington) and Devon Maloney (Burrell), both seniors, finished sixth. Shane Welsh (Burrell) and Kory Bissett (West Greene) won consolation finals in the 7th-place brackets while Ethan Virgili (Jeff-Morgan) finished eighth. Welsh and Virgili are both juniors.

Jesse Byerly (Keystone Oaks) has beaten two straight regional champions and has one more in his path. Phil Sorrentino (South Allegheny) is on a run for the Gladiators--the first WPIAL title, the first SW Regional title, and now in the PIAA finals. Myles Caregein (Keystone Oaks) was a 4th-place AAA medalist a year ago. Now, he's going for AA Gold!

Two returning champions were rebuffed in the bids to repeat, both losing in the semifinals. Scott Clymer, Northwestern Lehigh and Ridgway's Nikko Leitzel both rebounded to advance to the third-place bouts, as did South Side Beaver's John Prezzia. The returning 103-pound champion picked up a third straight consolation win after losing in earlier in the day in the quarterfinals.

In addition to Prezzia, Shady Side's Zak Klinvex, Luke Miller of Chartiers-Houston and Mt. Pleasant's Paul Snyder will wrestle for third. Devon Maloney (Burrell), Alex Evans (Washington), Charlie Wonsettler (Bentworth) and Codie Noga (Avella) challenge for fifth place while Shane Welsh (Burrell), Kory Bissett (West Greene) and Ethan Virgili (Jeff-Morgan) will wrestle for seventh. All told, the WPIAL will bring home 18 PIAA AA medals, up one from a year ago.

The Southwest Regional has placed 12 wrestlers in the finals. The Northeast has eight, Southeast five and the Northwest three.

AA Quarterfinals
It probably didn't surprise anyone that John Prezzia, South Side Beaver, was the first of the returning champions to be defeated. In fact, Shady Side Academy's Dane Johnson's 1-0 win over Prezzia was met with little reaction from the Giant Center crowd. Prezzia has battled back from a serious leg injury, and now will have to battle through the consolation brackets to medal as a sophomore.

The other four returning AA titlists all moved to the semifinals. Troy Dolan, Derry, advanced with a technical fall over Nick Yocco, Brandywine Heights. Scott Clymer, NW Lehigh, scored a late reversal to win 2-0 over Shane Welsh, Burrell. Nikko Leitzel, Ridgway, won a 3-1 decision against West Greene's Kory Bissett. Kellen Harris, Sharon, pinned Chartiers-Houston's Luke Miller in the third period.

Shady Side Academy went 3-for-3 in the quarterfinals as Frank Martelotti and Zak Klinvex also won Friday morning.

Jordan Shields, Burrell, was the only member of the WPIAL team champion Bucs to get through the quarterfinals. Shane Welsh, Devon Maloney and Zach Majocha dropped into the 2nd-round consolations.

Keystone Oaks teammates Jesse Byerly and Myles Caragein advanced to the semifinals, along with Phil Sorrentino, South Allegheny. Bentworth's Charlie Wonsettler and Codie Noga, Avella both moved to the semifinals as the WPIAL won 10 of 21 quarterfinal bouts.

AA 2nd-round Consolations
John Prezzia (South Side Beaver) scored a late takedown to win the first consolation bout of his career. Burrell teammates Shane Welsh and Devon Maloney both won in the consolations, along with West Greene's Kory Bissett. Welsh and Bissett were third-place finishers a year ago. Maloney was fifth last year, third in 2004. Teammate Damian Majocha was eliminated.

Alex Evans (Washington) won his first consolation bout and has clinched a medal in his third trip to the PIAA tournament. Ethan Virgili (Jeff-Morgan),Luke Miller (Chartiers-Houston) and Paul Snyder (Mt. Pleasant) all bounced back from quarterfinal losses to win in the consolations.

Dave Burrows (Derry) and Anthony Zanetta (Keystone Oaks) were eliminated in the 112-pound bracket. Chris Stay (Beth-Center), Kurt Brendel (Shady Side Academy), Stefan Firmstone (Mt. Pleasant) and Sam Miller (Washington) all lost in the 2nd-round consolations and were eliminated.

The WPIAL Class AA wrestlers finished 8-7 in the 2nd-round consolations.

WPIAL Class AA wrestlers claimed 21 spots in the quarterfinals with opening round wins. Burrell has four in the quarters, Shady Side Academy and Keystone Oaks each have three. Derry advanced two wrestlers. Avella, Bentworth, Chartiers-Houston, Jefferson-Morgan, Mt. Pleasant, South Allegheny, South Side Beaver, Washington and West Greene each have one wrestler still in the championship brackets and resume action Friday morning at 8 am.

Consolation victories were a little harder to come by. Only Chris Stay (Beth-Center), Kurt Brendel (Shady Side Academy), Stefan Firmstone (Mt. Pleasant), and Sam Miller (Washington) were able to rebound from their preliminary losses. Eight other WPIAL AA wrestlers were eliminated.

Six regional champions didn't make it out of the preliminaries. SW Regional wrestlers took out five of them, and the other was scratched. The Southeast lost three champions, Northeast lost two and the Norhtwest lost one.

Two returning champions, Troy Dolan, Derry Area, and Tim Darling, Nazareth, are trying to accomplish something that less than 40 Pennsylvania wrestlers have done in the tournament's first 70 years. With four straight wins in the championship brackets, Dolan and Darling can become the PIAA's 30th & 31st three-time champions. Dolan, now a four-time qualifier, finished off the medal stand as a freshman, going 1-2 in his first visit to the Giant Center. Since then, the Trojan senior has been impressive, going 41-1, 42-1, 42-2 heading into these championships. Dolan scored two major decisions and two 7-point wins on the way to his second title a year ago.

Darling, also a four-time qualifier, has back-to-back 45-2 seasons ending in gold medals coming into the '07 tournament. The Nazareth senior took third as a freshman, losing in the semifinals before winning two straight consolation bouts. Not one of those 'don't grow' type wrestlers, Darling has progressed from 112 pounds that first year, to championship runs at 130, then 145 pounds. Now, stepping up one more weightclass, the Blue Eagle is 42-4, but to get to win #46 in the finals, he could have to face another returning champion.

That would be Ryan Goodman, Greater Latrobe. In his first appearance in Hershey last year, Goodmand won four straight close bouts to claim the Wildcats first-ever PIAA wrestling title. Now, the Latrobe senior wants to keep Darling from putting his name on the three-timers list.

Two of the remaining nine returning champions didn't win gold in 2006. In fact, one of them didn't even get to Hershey last year. Austin Carter, Council Rock South, ran the 160-pound table in 2005, going 45-0, and joining teammate Mike Rappo as the 2nd and 3rd CRS state champions. Carter's title run came on the heels of a fourth-place finish in '04. The Golden Hawk lost his first bout, then picked up four straight consolation bracket victories before settling for fourth.

Chris Sheetz, Upper Perkiomen also won a 2005 title. In fact, his final victory kept CRS' RICK Rappo from winning ahead of his brother Mike. Sheetz' title-bout victory was his 49th of the season. Wrapped around that title, though, are two sixth-place finishes for the Indian's lightweight. And he has Matt Kyler of Clearfield to blame for it. In 204, Sheetz was 3-3 in the tournament, losing the 5th-place bout to Kyler. In 2006, after losing in the semifinals to eventual champion Billy Chamberlain, Sheetz lost to Kyler again, this time, dropping him into 5th/6th place bout.

Think you've heard the last of Matt Kyler? Think again. In 2005, the Clearfield junior became the Bison's 39th PIAA individual champion, the most of any school in the state. In the 103-pound final that year, Kyler beat freshman Jordan Oliver of Easton. Oliver didn't like finishing second, so his sophomore season ended one step up, on top of the awards platform at 103 pounds. Oliver rolled to the finals with a fall, a tech. fall and a major decision. Then, he knocked off Nico Cortese, then-Greensburg Central Catholic, 6-2 in the finals. Guess what? Cortese is ALSO in the 119-pound bracket, along with Sheetz, and North Allegheny's Joe Waltko, the fourth-place finisher in the 103-pound bracket, and Nick Bedelyon, Indian Valley (5th), and Zack Zummh, Plum (7th), and five other guys who each qualified at 112 pounds last year. WOW! Talk about a meat-grinder!

Colin Johnston is now a three-time qualifier from Canon-McMillan. After going 1-2 as a freshman, Johnston became the 35th PIAA titlist for Canon-McMillan with an impressive major decision in the 112 pound final. The CM sophomore went 48-1 for the year. Since Canonsburg and Cecil High Schools merged, only three Big Macs have won multiple PIAA titles, including Angelo Marino who will be inducted Saturday night into the Pa. Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Would be fitting for "Butch" to be in the house when his fraternity adds another member, if it happens.

Upper Perkiomen's Zach Kemmerer has won 49 bouts this year already. That's an impressive total. But even if the UP senior wins his second PIAA title, it won't match his 54-0 run to the 135 pound title. The Indian's 140-pounder, now a four-time qualifier, has a couple 5th-place finishes in addition to the gold medal. As a sophomore, Kemmerer lost in the quarterfinals to eventual champion Ashtin Primus, Connellsville. In 2004, following a first-round loss, Kemmerer went 4-1 in the consolation brackets.

Sharon's Kellen Harris won the 189-pound championship a year ago, running a 38-2 record to the school's first-ever PIAA wrestling title. Harris dropped his first match as a sophomore, then battled back to a fifth-place finish.

Nikko Leitzel, Ridgway, went undefeated (40-0) to win the 130-pound state championship. This now four-time qualifier also has a fourth-place medal, having lost in the quarterfinals as a sophomore, then winning three of four bouts in the consolations. Leitzel went 0-2 as a freshman, just the 2nd & 3rd losses of his first season.

The last two returning champions have something in common. Both won PIAA titles last year, having entered the tournament as something less than a regional champion. Scott Clymer, Northwestern Lehigh, came in as the 3rd-place finisher out of the Southeast Region. But what Clymer couldn't do March 2nd, he did emphatically March 9th at the Giant Center, beating SE champion Adam Hluschak, 8-2 in the final. Clymer went 0-2 as an '05 sophomore. His freshman year ended with a 5th-place medal, after losing in the semifinals.

South Side Beaver's John Prezzia won the 2006 title, coming in as the Southwest's 3rd-place finisher. The freshman allowed just four bout points the entire weekend on the way to the 103-pound championship, the first ever for the Rams. Prezzia is the only one of the twelve returning champions coming in not winning his regional title this year. Obviously, that, in itself, isn't a major issue. However, the significant leg injury Prezzia suffered earlier this year may be. It was clear as late as the end of January whether he would even be able to enter the Section tournament. But here he his, starting out on a road as a returning PIAA champion with 11 other guys that understand exactly what lies around the bend. They've been there before.

The WPIAL qualified 33 wrestlers for next week's PIAA Championships in Hershey next weekend, up two from last year. WPIAL wrestlers picked up nine individual titles, up one from a year ago. Sixteen WPIAL AA schools have wrestlers heading to Hershey--Burrell and Mt. Pleasant with five apiece. Shady Side Academy has four, Keystone Oaks three. District 6 has 27 qualifiers and five Regional champions while District 5 advanced ten wrestlers.

Troy Dolan, Derry, a four-time regional finalist and two-time PIAA champion, won his third straight SW regional title. Burrell junior Jordan Shields and senior Devon Maloney each won their second titles. Maloney hadn't reached the finals since winning the 2004 crown as a freshman. The Bucs' Damian Majocha, a senior, won his first title as the Regional team champions went 3-for-3 in the finals.

Keystone Oaks sophomore Anthony Zanetta and senior Myles Caragein each won their first AA regional titles. The Golden Eagles are the only school beside Burrell to have multiple champions.

Tyrone freshman A.J. Schopp won his first title. Sophomore Zac Bennett, Westmont-Hilltop, a Regional and PIAA runnerup last year, won his first title. Cody Feathers, a Claysburg-Kimmel junior also won his first Regional crown. Senors Ryan Jacoby (Moshannon Valley), Eli Norvell (Huntingdon) and Phil Sorrentino (South Allegheny) not only won their own first SW regional titles, but also the first for each school. Washington senior Alex Evans scored the school's 12th title since the Regional tournament started in 1987. Codie Noga, a senior at Avella, picked up the Eagles' eighth title, the first since 2001.

Eight title bouts Saturday night were rematches from District finals a week ago. Five of them were won by the District champions, Feathers, Jacoby, Evans, Majocha and Caragein. Zanetta's win avenged a WPIAL Finals loss to Dane Johnson, Shady Side Academy. Maloney captured regional gold after losing to West Greene's Kory Bissett in the WPIAL Finals.

Noga's win avenged losses to Chartiers-Houston's Luke Miller in the Section 1-AA and WPIAL Finals. Noga also beat Miller in the Washington County Tournament. Caragein's win over Paul Snyder, Mt. Pleasant, was the third straight over the defending WPIAL and Regional champion. Caragein also beat Snyder in the Section 2-AA and WPIAL Finals.

Thanks for bracket updates--CementJob.com

Dane Johnson (Shady Side Academy sophomore), Shane Welsh (Burrell junior), Alex Evans (Washington senior), Damian Majocha (Burrell senior) and Myles Caragein (Keystone Oaks senior) all won their second WPIAL titles. Evans' championship is the 70th all-time for Washington High School.

Jesse Byerly, Keystone Oaks, who won WPIAL AAA gold a year ago, lost in his title bout to Shady Side Academy freshman Matthew Cunningham. Paul Snyder, Mt. Pleasant lost to Caragein in the 285-pound final.

Winning their first WPIAL titles were the following: Shady Side Academy freshmen Frank Martelotti and Matt Cunningham, Mt. Pleasant sophomore Zack Sheridan, Jefferson-Morgan junior Ethan Virgili, Chartiers-Houston senior Luke Miller and South Allegheny senior Phil Sorrentino, winning the first individual title in South Allegheny school history.

Everyone who wrestled tonight advances to the PIAA Southwest AA Regional next weekend in Johnstown. Derry has ten wrestlers in the medal bouts. WPIAL Team Tournament champion Burrell has seven qualifiers. Mt. Pleasant six. Shady Side Academy, South Side Beaver and West Greene have each advanced five wrestlers, Fort Cherry and Keystone Oaks four.

Derry Area senior Troy Dolan joined this most-exclusive fraternity with his fourth WPIAL title, beating Mitch Spencer, Avella by major decision, 10-2. Dolan is also a two-time PIAA champion.

With juniors Colin Johnston, Canon-McMillan and Jordan Shields, Burrell each winning a third WPIAL crown, this fraternity could grow again next year. In addition, several sophomores won their second titles and are halfway to joining the club--Dane Johnson, Shady Side Academy and James Fleming, West Mifflin.

Andy Puchany, Canonsburg, won four consecutive WPIAL individual wrestling championships from 1936-1939. Waynesburg's James Conklin started his four-year run the next season. Canonsburg's Donald Haney (1947-1950) and Manuel Pihakis (1949-1952) soon followed.

It was another 36 years before John Dasta, Penn Hills '88, joined the club. Since then John Richey (Connellsville '91), Cary Kolat (Jefferson-Morgan '92), Mark Angle (Canon-McMillan '95), Shawn Whyte (West Greene '98), Troy Letters (Shaler '01), and Joe Makara (Burrell '03) have won four individual WPIAL championships.

A year later, Larry Hall (Jeannette '04) and Coleman Scott (Waynesburg '04) became the first members of the club to complete their accomplishments in the same year. All but Whyte and Hall followed up their WPIAL titles with PIAA gold medals in their senior seasons.

Section 1-AA at Chartiers-Houston
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Kory Bissett (West Greene), Alex Evans (Washington) and Luke Miller (Chartiers-Houston) each won their third section championships, Bissett and Evans in the finals for the fourth straight year.

Fort Cherry teammates Adam Hoffman and Matt Kosarik won their second section crowns, as did South Side Beaver's John Prezzia and Dominick Demor. Avella's Mitch Spencer picked up his second title along with West Greene's Tucker Conklin.

Andrew Lucarini (Fort Cherry), Garrett Johnston (West Greene), Troy DeClair (Washington), Patrick Morris (West Greene) and H.J. Mroz (Fort Cherry) won their first titles. Johnston was a two-time runnerup in the section.

Section 2-AA at Mt. Pleasant
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Dolan & Wonsettler join elite club--Four-time Section Champions
Two-time PIAA champion Troy Dolan (Derry) won his fourth WPIAL Section crown with a third-period pin in the finals. Bentworth's Charlie Wonsettler also picked his fourth title, scoring a 6-3 decision over David Grillo, Charleroi, who was looking for his third title.

Keystone Oaks teammates Jesse Byerly and Myles Caragein each won their third titles, the first for both in AA. For Caragein, it was his four straight section final appearance. A second championship for each of the following: Jefferson-Morgan's Brian Scritchfield, Mt. Pleasant teammates Zack Sheridan and Stefan Firmstone, Phil Sorrentino of South Allegheny and Anthony Zanetta, Keystone Oaks.

The third time was a charm for Jeff-Morgan's Ty Basinger, winning his first title in his third final matchup. Fellow Rocket Ethan Virgili won his first crown. Also winning their first section championships: Travis Watt (Derry), Wesley Watson (South Allegheny) and Aaron Hrutkay (Beth-Center).

Section 3-AA at Shady Side Academy
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Most of the winners needed a map to the top of the awards platform as nine of the 14 champions were titlists for the first time. Of course, with Burrell teammates Shane Welsh and Damian Majocha each winning their third crowns, help was available for the newbies. The Bucs' Jordan Shields picked up his second title, along with Shady Side Academy's Dane Johnson and Zak Klinvex. For Shields and Klinvex, it was a third finals appearance. Burrell and Shady Side Academy each grabbed five titles.

Frank Martelotti, Matthew Cunningham and Tim Giel each won their first titles for Shady Side Academy. Burrell's Nolan Greenwald and Derek Edwards scored their first, along with Dre Johnson (Valley), Jamie Atwood (Kittanning), Michael Coleman, Jr (Apollo-Ridge) and Rob Rutkowski (Highlands).

Lombardi/Byers on number of weightclasses (.mp3)--Click Here!

Lombardi on Co-ops and their future (.mp3)--Click Here!

Burrell, the WPIAL AA champion, lost to the eventual champions, 39-23, in the semifinals, due in part to a misunderstanding surrounding weighins. Damian Majocha was listed at 173.3 pounds, high enough to qualify for the 215 pound class on FRIDAY. But with a second straight day of weighins, wrestlers are allowed an additional pound, making Majocha eligible for 171 pounds, plus one weightclass higher, making him unavailable for the 215 pound bout. The Bucs eventually finished fourth, losing to Ridgway, 36-20 in the third place dual meet. Ridgway won four straight bouts in the consolation rounds after losing to Northwestern Lehigh Friday morning.

103 Dante DeCario (Derr) dec. Dylan Corey, 2-0
112 Tyler Berger (Burr) dec. Dave Burrows, 3-0
119 Ben Myers (Derr) dec. Nolan Greenwald, 3-0
125 Eric Kemp (Derr) dec. Trevor Welsh, 8-3
130 Troy Dolan (Derr) dec. Jordan Shields, 4-1
135 Shane Welsh (Burr) fall Robert Lyons, 3:26
140 Devon Maloney (Burr) fall Travis Witt, 1:11
145 Bobby Speer (Burr) major dec. Preston Wannamaker, 15-5
152 Nick Sofranko (Derr) dec. David Wills, 9-5
160 Matt McKillop (Burr) dec. Robert Mroskey, 5-4
171 Jay Whittaker (Derr) dec Tyler Condron, 5-2
189 Damian Majocha (Burr) fall Shawn Jellison, 1:28
215 Derek Edwards (Burr) by forfeit
285 Louis Gardone (Burr) by forfeit
(match started at 112)