Making marks on mat
 wrestlers advance to quarterfinals


By Sam Tallarico
Eagle Staff Writer


CANONSBURG —
Butler got off to a good start Thursday at the WPIAL Southwest Region Wrestling Championships.
Now, the question is can the squad can sustain it?
Three Golden Tornado wrestlers, Cole Baxter (130 pounds), Alex Evanoff (145) and Josh Pascazi (152), reached the quarterfinals after wins in the preliminary round at Canon-McMillan High.
Baxter (32-6) scored a takedown 13 seconds into overtime to pull out a 4-2 win over
Bethel Park's Rico Borz (27-9).
Evanoff (37-1), the No. 3 seed, held off McGuffey's Frank Bavaro (25-13) by a 5-2 decision while No. 2 seed Pascazi (31-6) pinned Norwin's Franklin Alvarez in 46 seconds.
"They wrestled all three of those matches before," said
Butler coach Scott Stoner. "Those three guys have the best shot. They're still in the championship bracket."
Baxter held a 2-0 lead after a takedown midway through the first period, but Borz used escapes in the first and second periods to pull even. After a scoreless third, Baxter became the aggressor, taking Borz to the mat early to secure the win.
Evanoff trailed 2-0 until late in the first period when he earned an escape before adding a takedown in the closing seconds to take a lead he would not surrender.
"Alex started slow, but he's done that before," said Stoner. "He has to get himself ready to go out and wrestle."