Chi’s Whartnabys, Sun Valley look to make noise at West sections
Ches-Mont League wrestlers will begin their postseason quests Saturday at the District 1 sectional tournaments.
All of the Ches-Mont except Great Valley will be at Oxford High for the West Sectional, with the top four finishers qualifying for the Class 3A Southeast Regional the following weekend, also at Oxford.
Great Valley will be at the North Sectional with the Pioneer Athletic Conference and a few others, while the West will also host Chichester, Garnet Valley, Marple Newtown and Penncrest.
Here’s a look at all 13 weight classes.
107
Downingtown West’s Brayden Sigle is one of six returning champs in the tournament and is the top seed. Avon Grove’s Noah Parsons spent most of his sophomore season at 114 pounds and should meet Sigle in the semifinals. On the lower half a pair of freshmen, Kennett’s Bryce Boyer and Sun Valley’s Darren Minicozi are set to square off in the semis. Boyer won both their matchups this season by a combined score of 6-0. Garnet Valley’s Peyton Duffy is a 19-match winner on the lower half.
114
Another weight, another Sigle at the top of the bracket. This time West’s Chase Sigle is the wrestler to beat as a two-time sectional champ. He’ll be looking for some redemption after taking third at this weight in December’s Ches-Mont Championships. There, Oxford’s Sam Howell
made some noise, knocking off Sigle and Sun Valley’s John Deorio to claim gold. Deorio has since beat Howell, who’s lost six of his last 10 bouts. He’ll need to find his mojo again with a likely quarterfinal matchup against West Chester East’s Zach McFarlane. Garnet Valley’s Dominic May, a 20-bout winner, and Deorio are also on the bottom half, while Unionville’s Tommy Robinson is a threat up top.
121
Coatesville’s Andrij Szczesniuk has been to the finals both of his prior trips, losing to Kennett’s Zack Jaffe last year and defeating Sun Valley’s Timmy Kearney as a freshman. Szczesniuk is the top seed and could get a rematch with Kearney in the finals.
Kennett’s Zack Jaffe. (Nate Heckenberger — For MediaNews Group)127
Kennett’s Zack Jaffe is one-for-one with titles in this tournament and he’s the No. 1 seed. Downingtown East sophomore, Declan McDowell, and Henderson freshman, Alex Belfer, are a pair of promising youngsters looking to make a name for themselves on Jaffe’s side. Down low, Penncrest’s Shane Worley is the No. 2 seed with 28 wins. Sun Valley’s Dalton Pedrick looks to challenge him for a spot in the finals, but that’s if Coatesville’s Elijah Whitaker doesn’t take Worley out first. West Chester Rustin’s Charlie Emmonds could also throw his hat into the ring.
133
Despite owning losses to three others in the bracket, Downingtown West’s Levi Richmond claimed the top seed thanks to his strength of schedule that gave him 49 competition points more than No. 2 seed, Christian Ford of Avon Grove. There are landmines all over this bracket, however, and Richmond will be favored to reach the semis where he’d likely see either Angus Whittaker of Henderson or Garnet Valley’s Nolan Carroll, both of whom defeated Richmond this season. On the lower half, Ford has a 30-1 record and should make the semis, where he could face Sun Valley’s Brecken Strickland.
Kennett’s Blake Boyer. (Nate Heckenberger — For MediaNews Group)139
Kennett’s Blake Boyer took down Sun Valley’s Hunter Delaney in last year’s finals and the pair is back in the same bracket again. Boyer is the top seed with 30 wins and his path to the finals got a little easier with Downingtown West’s Kevin Bernhard being scratched due to an injury. Henderson’s Alfie Overton and Penncrest’s Andrew Bostwick are the only others with a winning record on the top half. Down low, Delaney is the pick to make the finals, but Oxford’s Jared Schaible and Rustin’s James Pizzi hope to get in the way. That duo has met four times in their careers, with Pizzi winning two in 2022 and Schaible winning both the last two. A rubber match looks likely in quarters.
145
Kennett’s Kane Lengel has reached regionals in both of his prior seasons but is looking for his first trip to the sectional finals. He’s the No. 1 seed and favorite as a junior, but he has three seniors in his half of the bracket hoping for some magic. Sun Valley’s Gunnar Pedrick is up top and he spent the majority of his season at 133. Downingtown East senior Steve Elinski earned the No. 4 spot, but he draws Garnet Valley’s Joe DiMarino, who is making his season debut after qualifying for regions as a freshman. West’s Jordan Barry is a tough out as the No. 2 seed and Rustin’s Colin Baldesari could see him in the semis if he can get past No. 3 Kyle Kirk of Marple Newtown.
152
Rustin’s Roman Seaman is the No. 1 seed and has hopes of advancing after being a win short last winter. He is looking at a strong test in the semis, potentially facing either Downingtown East’s Ricky Jewell, who pinned Seaman in the Ches-Mont finals, or Garnet’s Ethan Bliss, who has 93 career wins. On the lower half, Coatesville’s Jacob Ruttman and Henderson’s Jackson McMonagle are both returning regional qualifiers and Ruttman defeated McMonagle in overtime at Ches-Monts. Avon Grove’s Connor McCullin has had a solid season and looks to be an upset candidate.
160
This weight class has the lowest cumulative winning percentage in the tournament, but the top-end talent should make for some intriguing matches. Garnet’s Paxton Hunt is a returning regional qualifier and he’s the top seed, with Sun Valley’s Will Cadden his biggest roadblock up top.
172
Sun Valley’s Brandon Carr, a newly-minted member
of the 100-win club, flirted with bumping up to 189 but stayed here after qualifying for states at 145 as a sophomore. Downingtown East’s Cade McDowell is a 25-match winner on Carr’s side. On the lower half, Coatesville’s Jack Weldon is a returning sectional champ, winning this weight a year ago. On Weldon’s side is 28-bout winner, Chris Bruette of Penncrest, 21-match winner Xavier Alarcon of Oxford and another in a seemingly endless supply of Whartnabys (Grady) from Chichester.
189
Avon Grove’s Jagger Vitelli dropped from 215 and will make his debut here as the top seed. He could face another Whartnaby (Ryley) from Chichester in quarters, but Unionville’s Jacob Julier or Henderson’s Hayden Baldwin are also challengers up top. Julier won Ches-Monts at this weight, but Baldwin pinned him during the season. Marple Newtown’s Louie DiLuzio and Penncrest’s Noah Reed are the No. 2 and 3 seeds, respectively.
215
Top-seeded Troy Mack of Downingtown West is the man to beat as a two-time regional qualifier. Mack wrestled heavyweight his prior three seasons, winning a section title as a sophomore, but trimmed down and is a fast, physical force at this weight. Avon Grove’s Wyatt Holdren has had a good freshman season but had to bump up a weight with Vitelli dropping. If he can get past Penncrest’s Liam Stauffer, Mack will likely be waiting.
285
The lone returning state medalist (third) is Kennett’s John Pardo, and he’s the top seed after winning this tournament at 215 the past two seasons. Oxford’s Jace McKinney could face Pardo for the third time this year should he get past Marple’s fourth-seeded Brett Cowan. On the lower half two old rivals are set for another meeting. Second-seeded Dylan Bledsoe of Garnet Valley and No. 3 Adham Abouraya of Downingtown East faced off four times last season, with Bledsoe winning the final three.