Mt. Lebanon senior wins fourth title
Luke Stout joined an exclusive club at the Allegheny County tournament, which concluded Saturday at Fox Chapel High School.
Stout, a Mt. Lebanon senior, became the fifth wrestler in the 19-year history of the tournament to win four titles with his 8-3 win over Bethel Park’s Luke Montgomery in the 195-pound final.
“It’s exciting. That’s one of the goals I wrote down at the beginning of the season,” said Stout, who also received the outstanding wrestler award. “It’s pretty cool to come out and execute it.”
The other four-time county champs are Plum’s Sean Clair (2002-05), Shaler’s Nick Nelson (2004-07), North Allegheny’s Dom Forys (2011-14) and North Hills’ Gage Curry (2013-16).
Stout was joined atop the winner’s platform by two teammates, his younger brother Mac, and Jackson Gray.
Mac Stout, a sophomore, claimed his second title with a 3-1 win in the 170-pound final over Hampton’s Tyler Kocak, who was making his third appearance in the finals. Gray posted a 5-4 win over Pine-Richland’s Nathan Lukez in the 145pound final.
“It’s a really good feeling to know that all my hard work is paying off,” Mac Stout said. “It’s great for the team to go three for three in the finals.”
The 152-pound final also featured two returning champs. Pine-Richland’s Cole Spencer won his second title with a 3-0 win over Quaker Valley’s Conner Redinger. Both won a title in 2018.
“It feels a lot better than last year,” said Spencer, referring to his third-place finish. “Last year was a bump in the road. This title shows that I’m back on track.”
Spencer’s title clinched the team title for Pine-Richland. It was the Rams’ second county title and first since 2005. And they won by the smallest margins, outscoring North Allegheny 223- 222.5.
Anthony Ferraro also won a title for Pine-Richland. Ferraro recorded a 14-0 major decision in the 106pound final against Montour’s James Walzer.
North Hills’ Sam Hillegas became a three-time champion with a 9-2 win over North Allegheny’s Max Stedeford at 138 pounds. A knee injury forced Hillegas to withdraw from the county tournament his freshman year.
Others who won a second county title were South Park’s Joey Fischer, Elizabeth
Forward’s Ryan Michaels and Hampton’s Justin Hart.
Fischer posted a 5-4 win over North Allegheny’s Dylan Coy in the 120-pound final.
Michaels recorded his 100th career victory with an 8-0 win over Hampton’s Zachary Wright in the 126pound final.
Hart won the 182-pound crown with a 10-2 major decision of Quaker Valley’s Patrick Cutchember. Hart was making his third appearance in the finals.