Group effort rewarded
7 Golden Tornado wrestlers advance

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By Sam Tallarico
Eagle Staff Writer

CANONSBURG — Butler's Alex Evanoff was down entering the third period in his match against Kiski Area's Tony Clark.
But by no means was he out.
In the quarterfinal round of Friday's WPIALClass AAA Southwest Region Wrestling Championship, Evanoff trailed 2-0 in his 145-pound bout before ringing up a pair of near-falls to grab a 6-2 win and advance to Saturday's semifinal round.
Evanoff will be joined by fellow Tornado senior Josh Pascazi, who held on for a 7-6 victory over Fox Chapel's Justin Mahon in his quarterfinal matchup at 152 pounds.
The win also was Evanoff's 100th in his varsity career, joining T.J. McCance (103) as the only Butler wrestlers to turn the trick.
Evanoff (38-1) took the lead when he turned on Clark (28-7) with 1:30 left in the third period to pick up three points, then added three more with the same move with 18 seconds left.
"That's been his go-to move all year," said Butler coach Scott Stoner. "That's what his body allows him to do."
"(Clark) was up 2-0 in the second period and I got sloppy on top," said Evanoff. "I still felt I could do well on top, so I chose to be on top in the third period. That's my strength and I knew I could turn him."
"Not a lot of people like the top when they are behind," said Stoner. "To do it in the WPIAL tournament against a good kid, it shows confidence in your ability."
And for the milestone of the 100th win?
"I'm glad I got it out of the way," said Evanoff. "This was my biggest match of my career."
Pascazi (32-6) also trailed 2-0, but an escape and a takedown, the latter with five seconds left in the first period, to take a 3-2 lead.
Clinging to a 5-3 advantage entering the third period, Mahon (30-7) fought back to tie the match at 5 before Pascazi scored a takedown with 14 seconds left in the match to secure the win.
"It was important to go out and do what I can do," said Pascazi. "I'll go into (Saturday) with a lot of confidence."
Butler almost had all three of its quarterfinalists advance to the semis, but freshman Cole Baxter (130) lost a 3-1 decision in overtime to top- seeded Joey Walters of Latrobe.
Baxter (32-7) slipped away from Walters (26-6) with six second left in the third period to send the match into overtime.
"If Baxter would have won, we would have been back Saturday with all seven kids (from Friday)," said Stoner. "There was like (six) seconds left and you could hear a big roar of people behind us. At meets like this, people like an upset. It's David vs. Goliath. They like to see the underdog win.
"Cole lost defending his shot. I think he'll come back through (consolations). T.J. McCance lost his first match here and battled back to win five matches and qualified for states,"Stoner added.
Like Baxter, Seneca Valley's Nate Cully (135) lost to the top seed of his respective division, defending PIAAchampion Colin Johnston (35-1) of Canon-McMillan.
Cully (24-6) allowed a takedown in each of the first two periods, but Johnston pulled away with an early third-period takedown then tacked on three back points in the closing seconds.
"He had a tough match against Johnston," said Seneca Valley coach Lee Mullett. "He did a great job against the defending state champion."
Four Tornado competitors and one from Seneca Valley were able to stave off elimination and advance to Saturday's matches. Each entered Friday with one loss and a second would have ended their seasons.
Butler's Eric Tuck (103) and Mike Crawford (119) defeated Bethel Park's Rob Heuler 2-0 and Phil Kail, 8-3, respectively, while the Tornado's Jon Sanko (140) and Marino Quercio (215) won by forfeit.
Seneca Valley's Zack Eckstrom, a two-time Section 3 champion, needed a takedown with seven seconds remaining to edge Penn-Trafford's Zach Baker 7-6.
"He overcame some adversity and came back to win the match,"said Mullett. "He was down but he kept coming back."
Seneca Valley's Grant Evans (119) lost 7-0 to Mount Lebanon's Stan Kochanek and Jordan Williams (189) fell to Penn Hills' Chris Perry 6-4 in their first-round consolation matches.
Coming back on Saturday with such a big contingent still involved gives the Butler program a big dose of confidence.
"(Friday) was a great night of wrestling for Butler," said Stoner. "All seven kids are coming back Saturday and shows we're getting it done with a lot of freshmen too
"It shows a lot of character. A lot of coaches have been patting us on the back, telling us what a good job we're doing. It's a good feeling and I'm glad to see the reward of hard work."

Quarterfinals
130 pounds: Joey Walters (Latrobe) dec. Cole Baxter (Butler), 3-1 (OT)
135: Colin Johnston (Canon-McMillan) major dec. over Nate Cully (Seneca Valley), 9-0
145: Alex Evanoff (Butler) dec. Tony Clark (Kiski Area), 6-2
152: Josh Pascazi (Butler) dec. Justin Mahon (Fox Chapel), 7-6
First-round consolations
103: Eric Tuck (Butler) dec. Rob Heuler (Bethel Park), 2-0
119: Mike Crawford (Butler) dec. Phil Kail (Bethel Park), 8-3; Stan Kochanek (Mount Lebanon) dec. Grant Evans (Seneca Valley), 7-0
140: Jon Sanko (Butler) won by forfeit
189: Chris Perry (Penn Hills) dec. Jordan Williams (Seneca Valley), 6-4
215: Marino Quercio (Butler) won by forfeit
285: Zack Eckstrom (Seneca Valley) dec. Zach Baker (Penn Trafford), 7-6