Willochell notches upset at Powerade
Only five wrestlers repeat as champs
Nine wrestlers entered the 2019 Powerade Christmas Wrestling tournament with at least one previous title on their resume. Only five stood atop the winner’s platform when the tournament concluded Saturday night at Canon-McMillan High School.
The biggest surprise came in the 132-pound weight class when Latrobe senior Gabe Willochell recorded the biggest win of his career with a 2-0 upset of Seneca Valley junior Alejandro Herrera-Rondon in a match that was scoreless until the ultimate tiebreaker period.
“I was trying to do anything I could to escape,” said Willochell, when asked about the reversal seven seconds into the ultimate tiebreaker period that broke the 0-0 tie. “He rode me for two minutes and 30 seconds, so when he chose the top position, I knew I had to keep moving.”
Herrera-Rondon is a twotime PIAA Class 3A champion and one-time Powerade tournament champ. Willochell had never finished higher than fifth at the Powerade tournament and fourth in the PIAA.
“It feels good,” said Willochell, who was named outstanding wrestler of the tournament. “This is my favorite tournament. I had placed sixth, sixth and fifth in my other three appearances. Now to be in the finals and win, it feels good. It’s the biggest win of my career.”
North Hills senior Sam Hillegas also was beaten. Hillegas, a two-time PIAA Class 3A champ and twotime Powerade tournament champ, dropped a 5-3 decision to Beau Bartlett, a senior from Wyoming Seminary, in the 138-pound final. The bout was reminiscent of his loss to Bartlett in the 2017 semifinals, which was the first loss of his career. Bartlett went on to win the title that year.
“This was a match that I could have won,” Hillegas said. “He’s a great competitor, but I know I could have beat him. That’s what makes it so disappointing.”
The 126-pound final also featured two previous Powerade champions. Norwin senior Kurtis Phipps was a two-time returning champ, while Wyoming Seminary sophomore Nic Bouzakis won a title in 2017 as an eighth-grader.
Phipps claimed his third title, but not the way he had hoped. Bouzakis was called
for a slam 18 seconds into the second period, when Phipps’ head clearly hit the mat.
“It kind of stinks,” said Phipps after Bouzakis was disqualified when a doctor would not allow Phipps to continue wrestling after two minutes of injury time. “I kept telling them I wanted to wrestle, but they wouldn’t let me. It’s awesome to say that I’m a three-time champion, but I didn’t want to win that way.”
Braxton Amos, a senior from Parkersburg South, W.Va, also won his third title, all at 220 pounds. In Saturday’s title match, he defeated Wyoming Seminary’s Kolby Franklin, 6-2.
Reynolds junior Gary Steen and DuBois senior Ed Scott won their second titles.
Steen posted a 5-2 win against Franklin Regional junior Carter Dibert in the 113-pound final. Scott recorded a 11-6 win over senior Brayden Roberts of Parkersburg South in the 152-pound final.
Willochell and Phipps were two of five champs from WPIAL schools. The others were CanonMcMillan senior Gerrit Nijenhuis, Waynesburg freshman Mac Church and Mt. Lebanon senior Luke Stout.
Nijenhuis made his second title appearance and won his first title with a 10-0 win over Wyoming Seminary junior Cole Rees at 182 pounds.