Wrestling Wednesday: Quaker Valley finishes fourth in Allegheny County championships
O'HARA TWP — Even after losing a number of key leaders and top wrestlers after a thrilling 2021-22 season on the mat, the Quaker Valley Quakers' program continues to show in 2022-23 that they will remain a powerhouse in the WPIAL moving forward.
A fourth-place finish in the tough Allegheny County championships Friday and Saturday at Fox Chapel High School was once again a shining example of the strength of the Quakers' program under first-year head coach Austin Heinl, who took over the top job after his father, Mike, retired following last season's historic success.
As a team, the Quakers scored 165.0 points in the 38-team tournament at Fox Chapel, finishing behind Plum (230.5 points), Pine-Richland (207.0), and North Allegheny (202.5), edging out Chartiers Valley (162.5) in the process.
In the 38-team tournament, the Quakers also saw two wrestlers claim individual championships, one finish second overall in his weight class, and two others place fifth, making for a rather successful showing once again for the Quakers as they barrel towards the WPIAL team and individual championship tournaments in the weeks ahead.
Individually, Jack Kazalas claimed the first championship for the Quakers in the Allegheny County championships, rolling through the 121-pound weight class Friday and Saturday. Kazalas, coming off of an individual championship in the Ed Driscoll MAC tournament at Freedom in mid-January, started off the championships by pinning South Park's Travis Kirk in 53 seconds, advancing to the second round of the championship bracket.
There, Kazalas then pinned Shaler's Nevio DeLeonibus in 1:08, clinching a spot in the quarterfinals.
Continuing to work through the championship bracket, Kazalas continued to dominate, defeating North Allegheny's Griffen Reid by technical fall (19-4) in just 3:43, advancing to the semifinals, where he then quickly dispatched South Fayette's Jonathan Baiano by decision (11-4), giving him a spot in the championship bout against Chartiers Valley's Brady Joling.
Taking on Joling in the 121-pound final, Kazalas controlled the match from start to finish, defeating the Chartiers Valley grappler by decision, 9-2, giving the Quakers one individual championship.
As Kazalas worked his way through the 121-pound bracket to claim gold, so too did Brandon Krul in the 127-pound bracket.
Krul, who also won an individual championship at the Ed Driscoll MAC tournament, pinned Thomas Jefferson's Liam Overdorff in just 57 seconds to open up the tournament, before then pinning McKeesport's Hunter Oliver in 50 seconds.
From there, Krul then pinned South Payette's Matthew Guszczynski in 1:15 in the quarterfinals, and then pinned Plum's Carson Yocca in 22 seconds in the semifinals, clinching a spot in the 127-pound championship bout against Pine-Richland's Dominic Ferraro.
Much like he did throughout the championship bracket, Krul made quick work of the Pine-Richland product, pinning Ferraro in 34 seconds to claim gold.
While Kazalas and Krul celebrated their individual championships, Logan Richey came up just short in his bid for an individual title in the 145-pound weight class.
Richey, the younger brother of former Quaker Valley standout Justin Richey, who now wrestles at Gettysburg College, rolled through the 145-pound weight class early on, defeating West Mifflin's Cooper Dietz by decision (9-5), and then pinning Riverview's Aidan Draxinger in 2:33 in the second round.
In the quarterfinals, Richey recorded another pin, this time over North Hills' Derrick Falk in 3:06, before then picking up a decision win over Plum's Charlie Campbell in the semifinals, 9-2. In the 145-pound championship bout though, Richey fell to North Allegheny's Jayson Flener by decision, 4-1, giving him the second-place finish.
Teammates Bruce Anderchak (107 pounds) and Michael Carmody (133 pounds) finished fifth overall in their respective weight classes for the Quakers. Anderchak defeated Fox Chapel's Landon Funk by decision (6-3) in the fifth-place match, while Carmody defeated South Payette's Jacob Potts by decision (6-2) in the 133-pound fifth-place match.
Outside of Quaker Valley in Beaver Valley wrestling action at the Allegheny County championships, the Moon Tigers placed 21st overall with 67.5 team points.
Cael Yanek placed second overall for the Tigers in the 114-pound weight class.
Yanek, after a first-round bye, defeated North Allegheny's Casey Walker by decision (5-0) in the second round and then defeated Fox Chapel's Michael Worsen by decision (11-10) in a thrilling semifinal match, setting up a championship showdown with Plum's Rylen Campbell.
Campbell came out on top in a hard-fought 2-1 tiebreaker 2 decision.
The Week Ahead
In area action this week, Quaker Valley returns to the mat Wednesday night for a dual with Carlynton on the road at 7 p.m., while Ellwood City hosts Highlands in a dual starting at 7 p.m. The Freedom Area Bulldogs will also be in action on Wednesday night as they host North Catholic at 7 p.m.
On Friday, Hopewell, South Side and Moon will compete in the two-day Fred Bell Tournament at Grove City High School featuring 37 schools in total.
Saturday, Ellwood City will compete against Chartiers Valley and Jefferson Morgan in the Buckeye Local Panther Classic, starting at 9:30 a.m., while Ambridge will host the Bridging the Gap Duals against Blackhawk, Gateway and Penn Hills with a time to be announced.
Freedom Area will round out the weekend in local wrestling action at the Sharon Duals Saturday.
Contact Joshua Carney at jcarney@gannett.com or 724-681-9136. Follow Joshua on Twitter: @ByJoshCarney
This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Wrestling Wednesday: Quaker Valley finishes fourth in Allegheny County championships
