MOUNT PLEASANT STAR TO MISS POSTSEASON
Dayton Pitzer will not be defending the WPIAL, Southwest Region and PIAA wrestling titles he won last year as a freshman at Mount Pleasant High School.
Pitzer had hoped to return from the knee injury that has sidelined him all season, but his surgeon did not believe the knee had healed sufficiently for him to compete in the Class 2A postseason tournaments, which begin Friday.
“Dayton’s physical therapist cleared him to wrestle, but his surgeon wasn’t on board,” Mount Pleasant coach Zach Snyder said. “He wasn’t happy with the way the knee was healing. He felt there was too much of a risk of Dayton aggravating the injury and making the situation even worse.”
Pitzer was not happy with the news.
“Dayton actually considered going against his surgeon’s advice, but we talked him out of it,” Snyder said. “We didn’t want to put him at risk. As much as I would like to see him win another state title, his long-term health is more important.”
Pitzer’s debut was record-breaking, as he became the WPIAL’s first freshman to win a PIAA title in a weight class above 152 pounds. He finished with a 43-1 record while competing at 182 pounds.
“Dayton has reset his goal to be ready for the NHSCA [National High School Coaches Association] Sophomore Nationals, which will be held at Virginia Beach at the end of March. That will give him almost two more months to heal. His goal is to win a national title.”
Frazier
All eyes will be on Frazier’s Thayne Lawrence at Saturday’s WPIAL Class 2A tournament, which will be held at Canon-McMillan High School. Lawrence has a chance to become the 29th wrestler in WPIAL history to win four titles.
“It would be really cool to join such an exclusive group,” said Lawrence, who returns at 160 pounds after winning his previous titles at 138, 152 and 160. “That’s one of the goals I set when I was a freshman.”
But Lawrence must first compete in Friday’s Class 2A Section 3 tournament at Canon-McMillan. All three section tournaments are being held at the same site with the top four finishers in each weight class advancing to the WPIAL tournament.
Lawrence enters the postseason with an 11-2 season record and a 107-14 career mark. He missed one month of the season with a shoulder injury sustained Dec. 14 at the Walsh Jesuit Ironman Classic. He returned to Frazier’s lineup Jan. 22.
“I’ve been back for three weeks,” Lawrence said. “Fortunately, I was able to keep up with my cardio while I was out, so I didn’t get out of shape. I feel real good going into the postseason. My coaches have been pushing me more in practice to make sure I’m ready to go six minutes.”
Defending champs
Lawrence is one of nine wrestlers who enter the weekend with at least one WPIAL title on their resume. Four are two-time champs.
• Derry junior Ty Cymmerman (24-3) won his first title as a 120-pound freshman. He moved up to 126 last season and became the first wrestler to win a weight class that featured four returning WPIAL champs. He returns at 126 this year, along with Burrell senior Trent Valovchik, who won a WPIAL title at 106 as a freshman.
• Burrell junior Ian Oswalt (34-5) has won titles at 113 and 120 and is now the favorite at 132.
• Quaker Valley junior Conner Redinger (30-7) won his first title as a 106-pound freshman, claimed his second title last year at 132 and is now competing at 152.
• Freedom junior Trent Schultheis (28-3) is entered at 170 after winning previous titles at 132 and 152.
The other three returning champs are:
• South Park junior Joey Fischer (32-2) placed second as a 106-pound freshman, then won last year at the same weight. He is entered at 113 after competing all season at 120.
• Elizabeth Forward senior Ryan Michaels (32-3) won at 113 pounds last season after placing third as 106-pound freshman. He has since moved to 120.
• Burgettstown senior Riley Kemper (33-1) returns to defend his title at heavyweight.
New favorite at 182
With Pitzer out of the picture, Ellwood City’s Austin Walley (31-1) has become the favorite at 182 pounds. Walley lost to Pitzer in the WPIAL and Southwest Region finals last year. He has moved to 182 after competing all season at 195.
“Austin’s plan since the season began was to move down for the postseason tournaments,” Ellwood City coach John Fleming said. “He wanted to avenge his losses to Pitzer. His goal is to win WPIAL and PIAA titles.”
Also entered at 182 is Quaker Valley sophomore Patrick Cutchember (29-6), who placed second at 160 last year, and Keystone Oaks senior Nick Whittington (31-4), who placed third at 182.
Walley and Cutchember are among six entries who were silver medalists last year. The others are:
• Burrell junior Anthony Corrado (34-6) and Burgettstown’s Shane Kemper (27-7) are both entered at 152, along with Redinger. Corrado placed second at 138 last year. Kemper is a two-time runner-up, last year at 145.
• Mount Pleasant sophomore Luke Geibig (26-10) is entered at 113 after placing second at 106 last year.
• Burrell sophomore Nicholas Salerno (23-9) was a silver medalist at 113 last year and is now at 120.