WRESTLING TOURNAMENT TO GO ON THIS WEEKEND
It may be one month later than usual, but the Powerade wrestling tournament will be held this weekend at a new site. For the 54th consecutive year, the tournament formerly known as the California University of Pa. tournament will be held at the Monroeville Convention Center for the first time.
“The tournament is normally held the last week of December, but Governor Wolf’s shutdown forced us to reschedule,” said tournament director Frank Vulcano Jr., who is also Canon-McMillan’s athletic director. “Having the tournament at Canon McMillan was not possible, so we moved to the Monroeville Convention Center, which is a much bigger facility.”
The Powerade tournament is one of the top three regularseason tournaments in the country. The other two — Walsh Jesuit’s Ironman tournament and Beast of the East tournament — were canceled due to COVID-19 restrictions in Ohio and Delaware.
“It’s been a very hectic month with the postponement and site change, but we were determined to give the kids a chance to wrestle,” Vulcano said.
Over the years, the Powerade tournament has attracted schools from 16 different states. Only two states will be represented this year, due to travel restrictions. A total of 55 schools will participate in the tournament, which begins Friday, including nine schools from Ohio. Of the 46 Pennsylvania entries, 27 are from the WPIAL.
“Eight schools will have three or fewer participants,” Vulcano said. “We don’t normally allow a team to enter
partial lineups, but we made an exception this year. We’re hoping to have brackets with approximately 40 entries in each weight class.”
The format is much different than past tournaments, as the first day has been separated into three sessions that feature specific weight classes. The first session will begin at 9 a.m. and include weight classes from 106 to 126. The second session will begin at 1 p.m. and include weight classes 132 to 152. The third session will begin at 5 p.m. and include the final five weight classes, 160 to 285.
“We will be using 12 mats, six on each side of the main floor and will have only four or five weight classes competing at the same time on Friday,” Vulcano said. “There is plenty of room in the back of the convention center for wrestlers to hang out when they are waiting to wrestle. We also rented a ballroom at the Doubletree Hotel, which is next door, so the kids can wait there.”
The Powerade tournament actually began last weekend.
“We held our junior high tournament over the weekend and 22 schools participated,” Vulcano said. “Everything went well. We were able to leave the mats there so we are already set up for this weekend.”
The Powerade varsity tournament will begin Friday and conclude Saturday, with the finals and consolation finals scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
“We are also holding four age-bracket junior tournaments, a junior varsity tournament and three girls tournaments on Sunday,” Vulcano said. “The agebracket tournaments are for 8-and-under, 10-and-under, 12and-under and 15-and under. The girls tournaments are for elementary, junior high and high school. So it will be very busy weekend at the convention center.”
The boys varsity tournament will feature three of the top teams in the state — Waynesburg, Notre Dame Green Pond and Malvern Prep. Waynesburg is ranked No. 1 in the state in Class 3A, while Notre Dame Green Pond is No. 1 in Class 2A. Malvern Prep placed second in last year’s Powerade tournament, while Waynesburg finished third.
Wyoming Seminary, last year’s Powerade tournament team champion, canceled its winter schedule with hopes of returning in the spring.
“We’re looking forward to the competition,” Waynesburg coach Joe Throckmorton said. “The Powerade tournament is one of the toughest tournaments in the country and this year should be no different.”
Waynesburg returned to the mat last Saturday after a two-week COVID-19 shutdown and posted five wins in the Cavalier Duals, held at Kiski Area High School.
“We had a situation that occurred after our first match,” Throckmorton said. “We had to shut down for two weeks. We’ve since taken special precautions, including working out in pods during practice, to make sure it doesn’t happen again. We’re happy to be back on the mat again.”
Three weight classes feature a returning champion.
Waynesburg sophomore Mac Church claimed the 106pound title in his debut. He returns as the top seed at 120.
Seneca Valley senior Alejandro Herrera-Rondon is a three-time Powerade placewinner. He placed sixth at 106 as a freshman, first at 113 as a sophomore and second at 132 as a sophomore. Herrera-Rondon, a two-time PIAA Class 3A champion, is now competing at 152 pounds, which may be the toughest weight class.
Malvern Prep senior Cole Deery is the third returning champ. Deery is the defending heavyweight champ. He beat Hempfield’s Isaiah Vance, 4-2, in the 2019 finals. Vance is also back and hoping for a rematch.
Herrera-Rondon is joined in the 152-pound weight class by Bishop McCort junior Eric Gibson, Waynesburg sophomore Rocco Welsh, Hempfield senior Ty Linsenbigler and Laurel sophomore Grant MacKay.
Gibson, a two-time PIAA Class 2A place-winner, placed second at 145 pounds in the 2019 Powerade finals. Welsh, a PIAA Class 3A runner-up, placed fourth at 126 in the 2019 Powerade tournament. Linsenbigler is a two-time PIAA Class 3A place-winner and two-time Powerade placewinner.
Herrera-Rondon is ranked No. 1 in the WPIAL and PIAA in Class 3A, while Welsh is No. 2 in both rankings. The two met over the weekend and Herrera-Rondon recorded a 1-0 victory.
Gibson is ranked No. 1 in the state in Class 2A. MacKay is No. 1 in the WPIAL and No. 3 in the state. The two met in the finals of the Mid-Winter Mayhem tournament and Gibson posted a 5-2 victory.
“This will be our first appearance in the Powerade tournament,” Laurel coach Kevin Carmichael said. “This will be a big test for our program since we are a Class 2A school. We are looking forward to the challenge.”
Herrera-Rondon is one of seven PIAA champs competing this weekend at the Powerade tournament. The others are: Latrobe sophomore Vinny Kilkeary, at 113; Franklin Regional senior Carter Dibert, at 126; Hempfield senior Ethan Berginc, also at 126; Waynesburg senior Wyatt Henson, at 145; Montoursville’s Brandon Wentzel, at 106; and Mount Pleasant’s Dayton Pitzer, at 215. Dibert and Pitzer won their titles in 2019.