CH takes third in WPIAL Class AA
After wrestling passionately to prevent Burrell’s streak towards seven straight WPIAL titles, Chartiers-Houston recovered and regrouped to clinch a PIAA state tournament berth.
After dropping a difficult decision, 37-30, to Burrell, the Buccaneers beat Jefferson-Morgan, 42-30, to advance to a first-round state tournament match on Monday night, Feb. 4 at Fort LeBoeuf.
Against the Rockets, in the consolation match held Feb. 2 at Chartiers Valley High School, Char-Houston won the final three bouts, scoring 13 points to assure victory and the state berth. While Josh Kraushaar and Ben Hritsko picked up pins at 220 and 106, Garrett Vulcano recorded a major decision at heavyweight.
Derek Hull (160) and Dylan Shultz-Terling each won by technical fall for the Bucs (11-7).
The triumph came immediately on the heels of CH’s emotional & exhausting loss to Burrell. In defeat, Hritsko, Tanner Sutton, Jimmy Saieva and Vulcano posted pins.
“I’m proud of our kids. We fought hard,” said CH head coach Bill Sutton. “When they came off the mat, I could see the look in their eyes and they were dead tired.”
The Bucs had given it their all against the other Buccaneers, who made their 11th straight championship appearance with the win. They rolled to a 15-0 lead thanks to the falls by Vulcano, who wrestled at heavyweight instead of his usual 195, and Hristko and a decision by Kraushaar.
Though Ty Wormsley suffered a major decision, Rich McGinnis expanded the margin to 18-4 with his decision at 120.
Burrell, however, won seven of next eight bouts to secure the victory. In the spree, the Bucs recorded four falls and Cory Klems scored a 3-2 ultimate tiebreaker decision against CH’s David Kincaid as they advanced to a 37-24 advantage. Sutton’s pin interrupted the run. Saieva’s fall ended the match on a positive note for the Bucs, who had only one day to regroup before competing in the consolation match.
The Bucs also had little time to prepare for their preliminary matched in the PIAA team wrestling tournament. As a result, they lost to Fort LeBouef, 42-21.
Against the District 10 runner-up, Vulcano and Pete Provenzano picked up pins for the Bucs. McGinnis, Sutton and Kincaid all recorded decisions.
With the defeat, CH ended the season with a 10-8 team record.
“We were third in the WPIAL and made the state tournament,” Sutton said. “So it was a good season. Fort LeBouef is a pretty good team.”
While the individual wrestling tournaments remain for the Bucs, the loss saw the end of the dual meet careers for Vulcano and Sutton’s son, Tanner. Vulcano is the school’s all-time winningest wrestler.
“Those guys are going to tough to replace,” Sutton said.