Butler sends 8 wrestlers to WPIAL

Butler sends 8 wrestlers to WPIAL

FOX CHAPEL — Eight is not enough. But it will have to do.
Eight Butler wrestlers — including three section champions — placed among the top four in their respective weight classes at the Section 3-AAA Tournament Saturday night at Fox Chapel High School.
Those eight, along with four Seneca Valley wrestlers and Knoch's Grayson Hixon will be moving on to this weekend's WPIAL Tournament at Canon McMillan.
"I thought we'd get more, but we didn't wrestle very well in the earlier rounds today," Golden Tornado coach Scott Stoner said. "We finally came around tonight, though."
Butler won six of its eight matches Saturday night. Eric Tuck (26-6) at 135 pounds, Mike Crawford (28-3) at 140 and Cole Baxter (33-0) at 171 claimed section championships.
Chris White (29-6) reached the finals at 215 pounds, but suffered a 9-5 loss to North Hills' T.J. McElwaine (35-3).
Tuck was involved in a scorless tie with Hampton's Ryan Craig in the 135-pound final and started on the bottom in the third period. He scored two points on a reverse tilt for the only points of the match.
"Eric had a laid-back style," Stoner said. "He'll either win 1-0 or lose 1-0. We're trying to work with him on his offense to make him a more all-around wrestler."
The section title was the first of Tuck's career and came in his junior season.
"I've been dreaming of this monment, working toward this moment," Tuck said. "It sets me up for a better seed and a chance to do something in the WPIAL."
With Friday's snowfall, Butler High School's administration did not permit the team to practice Friday. Tuck had a bye in the first round Saturday and wrestled only one match — a pin of Fox Chapel's George Marsico in 1:28 — before the finals.
"Not being able to practice Friday hurt in terms of keeping focus and being sure I make weight," Tuck said. "Being idle that day and having only one match all day today ... Yeah, it hurt me a little bit."
Crawford (28-3) won his second section title in three years despite battling knee problems (see related story) and Baxter claimed his second section title in as many years.
Butler's wrestling program had three section champions in a season only once before, when Donnie Geibel, Garrett Boarts and Jim Brezel turned the trick in 2000.
Baxter wrestled only two marches Saturday and domiinated both. He pinned North Hills' Alen Turcinhodzic in 3:45 and decisioned Josh Fleming of Shaler 13-3 in the finals. Fleming entered the match with a 21-2 record.
"Baxter wrestled with a heavily-bandaged hand.
"It's a football injury that hasn't healed right," he said. "I tweaked it in practice the other day. It's a little sore and black and blue, but when I have it taped up, it doesn't bother me.
"It's nice to see some teammates win section titles, too. It shows how our program is growing. Maybe next year, we can all be up on that podium."
Other Tornado wrestlers advancing include Blake Caudill (31-4, third at 103 pounds), Nick Sutton (21-15, third at 112), Matt Pribis (26-8, third at 160) and Zach Reges (19-16, fourth at 119).
Caudill is the fourth Butler freshman to win 30 matches in a season, joining Crawford, Baxter and Ian McLaughlin.
"That's some pretty good company," Stoner said.
Seneca Valley's Nate Cully won the 100th match of his career with a pin of Fox Chapel's John Friesmuth in 1:21, but dropped a 13-4 decision to North Allegheny's Andy Candiello in the 145-pound title match.
Cully is 30-3 on the season. Other Raiders getting through to WPIALs were Jake Perri (23-10, fourth at 103), Jason Hildum (21-12, third at 130) and Nick Phillips (14-15, third at 135).
"We had some guys take advantage of good situations in their weight classes, others succumb to particularly strong weight classes," SV coach Tom Tomeo said. "That's how things are in this tournament.
"When we projected everything out, it went pretty much as expected."
Raider seniors Dan Papst (8-4 at 152) and Nick Marchi (18-9 at 215) did not compete Saturday because of injuries, ending their seasons.
"You hate to see that," Tomeo said. "Our senior heavyweight (Dave Bonetti) missed the entire year on top of that, It's unfortunate."
Knoch's Hixon (25-8) defeated Reges twice, including 6-3 in the consolation final, to place third at 119 and become a four-time WPIAL qualifier. Knoch has only had a varsity wrestling program for that long.
Hixon will enter the WPIAL tourney with 82 career wins.
"He's the man, he's the man," Knoch coach Mark McLaughlin said. "He's set the bench-mark for our program in every statistical category.
"Grayson's not finished. He very badly wants to get to Hershey, The mind is a powerful thing and he's got the tools to get there."
Hixon nearly made the section finals Saturday, falling to North Alleghheny's Nick Rodgers by an 8-6 decision in the semifinals. He led Rodgers 5-2 at one point.
Rodgers lost to North Hills' Cameron Weber — a wrestler who has never bneaten Hixon — in the finals.
"I glanced at the scoreboard and thought I was losing 5-2, not winning," Hixon said. "Then I got taken down and figured it was 7-2. That deflated me mentally a little bit when I was actually winning.
"That was a heartbreaker, losing that way,. but it feels good to be a four-time WPIAL qualifier. Maybe other kids in school will see that and want to try wrestling. I hope so. It's a great sport."