Freshman rolls into semifinals
Hampton freshman Tyler Kocak was disappointed in his performance a week ago in the Section 3 tournament. He finished fourth in the 106-pound weight class, but felt he should have performed better.
It was a different story for Kocak Friday at the Class AAA WPIAL/Southwest Regional tournament at Canon-McMillan. Kocak posted two wins to advance to the semifinals, including a 6-2 quarterfinal upset of No. 1-seeded Darren Miller of Kiski Area.
“I felt bad being a No. 8 seed, but beating a No. 1 seed made me feel better,” Kocak said. “I didn’t do well at the section tournament, so I wanted to do well this weekend. It’s a great feeling to know that I’m in the semifinals.”
Kocak scored all six points in the third period to rally from a 1-0 deficit. He escaped with 1:12 left to tie the match, then scored a takedown 13 seconds later. He capped the win with a 3point near fall with 36 seconds left.
Latrobe’s Gabe Willochell also registered an upset at 106. Willochell, the No. 6 seed, rallied from an 11-6 deficit to score a 13-11 overtime win against Moon’s Frankie Bonura, the No. 3 seed.
Willochell reversed Bonura with 1:07 left, then caught him in a cradle and recorded a 3-point near fall with 27 seconds left to force overtime. He scored the winning takedown halfway through the overtime period.
“I’m confident that I can turn anyone,” Willochell said. “There wasn’t much time left, and I knew had to score quick.”
Moon’s Nick Acuna pulled the second-biggest upset of the quarterfinals. Acuna, seeded No. 7 at 138, posted a 5-3 victory against Pine-Richland’s Garret Burnham, the No. 2 seed.
There was one major upset in the first round. Waynesburg’s Tim Swiger, who entered the tournament with a 4-8 record, posted an overtime win in the preliminary round, then recorded a 5-2 upset of Albert Gallatin’s Corey Dodson, the No. 4 seed, in the first round. Swiger’s run ended in the quarterfinals, as he was pinned by West Mifflin’s Gerald Brown, the No. 5 seed.
Franklin Regional’s Spencer Lee moved within two wins of a fourth consecutive WPIAL title with two pins at 126. Lee also broke the WPIAL record for consecutive victories previously held by Jefferson-Morgan graduate Cary Kolat, who finished with a 137-0 career record. Lee’s career mark now is 139-0.
Kiski Area had five wrestlers reach the Saturday semifinals. North Allegheny, Canon-McMillan, Waynesburg, Belle Vernon, Penn-Trafford and Hempfield each had four entries earn semifinal berths.
The top four finishers in each weight class advance to the PIAA tournament March 9-11 at Giant Center in Hershey, Pa.