U.S. All-Stars extend dominance of Pa. team
WPIAL competitors earn two wins in feature bouts at annual Classic
Six wrestlers from the WPIAL represented the Pennsylvania All-Star Team in the feature match of the Pittsburgh Wrestling Classic on Saturday at AHN Arena at Peters Township High School.
The local wrestlers were successful in only two of the six bouts, as the United States all-stars won for the 10th time in 11 years with a convincing 33-9 win against the Pennsylvania All-Stars.
The United States all-stars now have a 29-19 advantage in the feature match in the 49-year history of the event, which includes the 2020 event, which was cancelled due to COVID-19.
The WPIAL’s two winners were two Ohio State recruits — Latrobe’s Vinny Kilkeary and Waynesburg’s Rocco Welsh. And each beat a Penn State recruit.
Kilkeary, a three-time WPIAL and PIAA Class 3A champion, posted a 5-2 win against Braeden Davis, a four-time Michigan champion from Dundee High School, in the 127-pound bout.
“I’m not even sure what the move is called,” said Kilkeary, referring to a fourpoint move with 53 seconds left that broke a 1-1 tie. “He got in on my leg with a sweep and I used a cutback. There’s a version of that move is illegal, so I’m glad I was able to get the takedown and back points. That’s the first time I ever used that move.”
Welsh, a four-time PIAA
Class 3A finalist and twotime champ, won 3-1 in overtime over Joshua Barr, a four-time Michigan champion from Davison High School, at 172 pounds in the final bout of the evening.
“I’ve been looking forward to this match since they announced it in January,” said Welsh, who scored the winning takedown 23 seconds into overtime. “It means the world to me to win at this event. My brother has been telling me about this match since I was 5-years old. Ever since then, I’ve been motivated to finish my career here.”
It was the third time the two faced off and Welsh won the rubber match. In July, Barr defeated Welsh at Junior Nationals. Welsh avenged the loss by defeating Barr in Flowrestling. Who’s #1 all-star match in September.
“Beating a Penn State recruit makes it even sweater,” Welsh said. “Vinny (Kilkeary) and I are both going to Ohio State and we both beat a Penn Stater.”
The only other winner for the Pennsylvania all-stars was Bethlehem Catholic’s Tyler Kasak, a PIAA Class 3A champ and Penn State recruit, who posted a 3-2 win at 139 pounds against Iowa recruit Ryder Block (159-1), a three-time Iowa state champion from Waverly-Shell Rock High School.
The match opened with a 170-pound girls bout between Laurel’s Abbie Miles, a Pennsylvania bronze medalist who has accepted a scholarship to Albion College,
and Destiny Rodriguez (8-4), a McKendree College recruit and four-time Oregon state champ from West Linn High School.
Miles recorded three takedowns in the first period to take a 6-2 lead, but Rodriguez rallied to tie the bout at 7-7, then registered the pin at 3:14.
“I felt pretty good out there,” Miles said. “I wish I could have won, but overall, I’m happy with my performance.”
The WPIAL’s other three entries were also defeated.
Waynesburg’s Mac Church, a two-time PIAA Class 3A champ who has committed to Virginia Tech, dropped a 1-0 decision to Koy Buesgens, a three-time Minnesota state champ from New Prague High School who has committed to North Carolina State, in the 145pound bout. An escape 12 seconds into the second period was the only point scored.
West Allegheny’s Ty Watters also lost by one point, 65, at 152 pounds. Watters, a two-time PIAA Class 3A champ and West Virginia recruit, was defeated by Michigan recruit Dylan Gilcher, a four-time Michigan champ from Detroit Central Catholic High School. Gilcher’s takedown with 58 seconds left, the deciding points, broke a 4-4 tie.
Chartiers Valley’s Dylan Evans, a two-time PIAA Class 3A champ and Pitt recruit, lost 5-3 in the 160pound bout to Nebraska recruit Ethan Stiles, a threetime Illinois state champ.
In the preliminary match, Ohio’s All-Star Team won seven of the 12 bouts to defeat the WPIAL All-Star Team, 23-18.