Two top-ranked wrestlers faced off Wednesday night in a Class 3A Section 3B match between North Allegheny and Shaler.
Ironically, the match opened with North Allegheny’s Jake Woodley moving up one weight class to 220 to face Shaler’s Ron D’Amico. Woodley, ranked No. 1 in WPIAL Class 3A at 195 pounds, posted a 3-2 win against D’Amico, ranked No. 1 at 220.
“Jake was giving up a lot of weight,” Tigers assistant coach Dan Heckert said.
“He waited for the perfect shot and got a takedown with 45 seconds left.”
North Allegheny, ranked No. 2 in WPIAL Class 3A, dominated the rest of the match, defeating the Titans, 58-9.
The victory left North Allegheny (4-0) in sole possession of first place in the sub-section, while Shaler (3-1) drops into a tie for second with North Hills (3-1).
Eric Hong, a senior who has spent the past three years at prep schools, made his North Allegheny debut.
Hong, a National Prep champion, was ruled ineligible by the WPIAL, but the PIAA reversed the decision after a hearing held Wednesday in Mechanicsburg. Hong weighed in at 170 pounds and received a forfeit at 182.
Will Baierl (145), Jacob Fritch (195), and Derek Devine (285) had pins for the Tigers.
Other top 3A matches
• Penn-Trafford’s Section 1B match with Hempfield also featured two top-ranked wrestlers, but the bout ended sooner than expected. Hempfield’s Jarod Verkleeren, ranked No. 1 at 145, moved up to 152 to face Penn-Trafford’s Cameron Coy, ranked No. 1 at 152. With Coy leading, 3-0, Verkleeren’s knee was injured and he was forced to default.
“It was the match everybody wanted to see,” Penn-Trafford coach Rich Ginther said. “I hated to see it end that way. I hope the injury isn’t serious. I hope Jarod is okay.”
The default sealed Penn-Trafford’s 41-31 victory. John Bachar (170), Matt Wilkie (195) and Josh Maglicco (285) had pins for the No. 9 Warriors (3-1).
• No. 8 Greensburg Salem (3-1) posted a 37-29 victory at Norwin (1-3) in Section 1B. Alec Shaw (170), Teegan Hahn (182) and Tommy McChesney (220) had pins for the Golden Lions.
• Seneca Valley (4-0) remained unbeaten in Section 3A with a 53-21 win against Mars (2-2). Jason Geyer (113), Alex Fischer (145), Drake Church (220) and Kevin Meeder (285) had pins for the Raiders. Noah Hunkele (106) and Alexander Hornfeck (126) had pins for the Planets.
Top Class 2A match
• In Class 2A, No. 4 South Fayette (4-0) moved into sole possession of first place in Section 3A with a 69-9 domination of Keystone Oaks (3-1). The Lions recorded eight pins.
First Published: January 12, 2017, 5:00 a.m.
