Mt. Lebanon junior Stout wins Cadet national title
Luke Stout likes the company he is in after winning a USA Wrestling Cadet National Freestyle title.
“The only other wrestler in Mt. Lebanon history to win a national title at Fargo was Kurt Angle,” Stout said. “It’s awesome to be mentioned in the same breath with somebody who has accomplished so much.”
Angle won his national freestyle title at the Junior Division in 1987. Stout won his Cadet freestyle title last week at the Fargodome on the campus of North Dakota State University.
“It’s clearly the biggest achievement of my career,” said Stout, who recently completed his sophomore year at Mt. Lebanon. “It’s incredible to win in my first try at Fargo.”
Stout posted six victories in the 170-pound weight class.
“I always go into a tournament thinking I can win, but I was a little surprised that I was able to win that easily,” said Stout, who recorded technical falls in five of the six bouts. “My only tough match was in the quarterfinals.”
Stout is one of two WPIAL wrestlers who won national titles at Fargo. The other was South Park’s Joey Fischer, who claimed the 100-pound national freestyle title in the Junior Division.
“It was great to have another WPIAL wrestler win a national title,” Stout said.
Stout was relatively unknown on the national scene when he arrived in Fargo.
“It was a little bit of a coming out party for a kid who was a state qualifier as a freshman and just placed in the state as a sophomore,” said Team Pennsylvania coach Bryan Pearsall, who is an assistant at the University of Pennsylvania. “Coming out and winning this thing is pretty impressive. I think he’s going to be on a lot of people’s radar now.”
Stout posted a 12-2 technical fall win in his title match against Wisconsin’s Sam Skillings.
“I always want to be scoring,” said Stout, who held an 8-2 lead after the first period. “I didn’t even see the score. I just kept on wrestling, pushing him. I knew he’d be tired, especially by the second period. It’s awesome.”
Stout broke into Mt. Lebanon’s starting lineup as a 152-pound freshman. He placed fourth in WPIAL Class 3A, then posted a 1-2 record in his first trip to the PIAA tournament.
Last season, he moved up to the 160-pound weight class and again placed fourth in the WPIAL tournament, in a very strong weight class. At Hershey, he posted a 4-2 record en route to a fourth-place finish. He had a 35-7 record last season and is 69-14 in two seasons.
With two more seasons remaining, Stout has a chance to break Mt. Lebanon’s record for the most career victories, which is owned by his older brother Kellan, who is now wrestling at Pitt.
Kellan Stout, the first wrestler in Mt. Lebanon history to reach 100 wins, finished with a 138-18 record.
“I wish I could have been in Fargo to watch Luke,” Mt. Lebanon coach Marc Allemang said. “He turned in an impressive performance.”
Stout is expected to compete in the 170-pound weight class during the upcoming high school season.
“Luke works very hard, putting in the extra workouts at Pitt and Quest,” Allemang said. “He has two seasons left and his goal is to win two PIAA titles. It’s going to take a lot for that to happen, but it’s on his goal sheet.”
The entire Stout family is looking forward to the NCAA Division I tournament, which will be held in Pittsburgh for the first time in March.
“We already have our tickets,” Stout said. “It’s awesome that the tournament is in Pittsburgh. It would be even better if Kellan qualifies.”
Stout is also looking forward to the debut of his younger brother Mac.
“Mac will be a freshman this year,” Stout said. “I expect him to be starting at either 152 or 160.”