The 47th annual rendition of the Pittsburgh Wrestling Classic took on a much different feel than any of the previous 46 — and not just because the Pennsylvania All-Stars finally defeated the mighty United States All-Stars for the first time in 10 years.
Rather than being held at Pitt’s Fitzgerald Field House, this year’s Pittsburgh Wrestling Classic took place inside the grand ballroom at Hilton Garden Inn in Canonsburg, Washington County. Massive chandeliers illuminated the room as the nation’s top high school seniors concluded their prep careers at the “Rose Bowl of Wrestling,” considered by many the most prestigious event high school wrestling has to offer.
For most of the night, Team USA appeared to be cruising toward yet another victory in the main event. With only four matches left, Team USA held a 23-12 lead, but a medical forfeit in the 285-pound bout gave Team Pennsylvania hope. Still trailing, 23-18, with three matches remaining, a trio of WPIAL wrestlers earned hard-fought victories to lead Team Pennsylvania to a thrilling 27-23 win.
Waynesburg’s Luca Augustine and Wyatt Henson and Seneca Valley’s Alejandro Herrera-Rondon each won state titles recently in Hershey, Pa., and all three took care of business when Team Pennsylvania needed it most to complete the comeback.
“It feels amazing,” Herrera-Rondon said. “Team PA got it done, Team WPIAL got it done — it was overall a great night.”
Augustine, a Pitt recruit, earned the turning point award for his 5-3 overtime win vs. Dillon Walker of Cincinnati LaSalle High School at 170 pounds. Herrera-Rondon, a three-time PIAA champion and Oklahoma recruit, then knocked off the No. 1-ranked 152-pounder in the country, Victor Voinovich of Brecksville High School in Brecksville, Ohio, by a 6-4 decision.
“Everyone I wrestled this year was no slouch,” Herrera-Rondon said. “I think this year really prepared me.”
That set the stage for Henson, who defeated fellow Iowa recruit Caleb Rathjen of Ankeny High School in Ankeny, Iowa, to seal the deal. Henson defended Rathjen’s attacks all the way down to the final whistle for a 3-2 victory.
“It’s awesome. I was so happy,” Henson said. “I didn’t even know [we won] coming off the mat, but it made it even better.”
For the second time, the Classic featured a bout between two of the top high school girls in the country — and this time, the match counted toward the team score. Gettysburg’s Montana DeLawder pinned Adrienna Turner of Davis, Calif., in the opening match of the main event to spark Team Pennsylvania to a 6-0 lead.
Team Pennsylvania went up 12-3 after wins by Cumberland Valley’s Jacob Lucas and Notre Dame-Green Pond’s Brett Ungar, who took home the outstanding wrestler award for Team Pennsylvania after a 5-2 win vs. Richard Figueroa. Figueroa, a three-time state champion from Selma, Calif., was the No. 1-ranked 120-pounder in the country coming into the event.
Team USA then won five matches in a row and appeared to be in complete control of the dual.
First, three-time state champion Jaxon Smith of Woodland-Cartersville High School in Acworth, Ga., defeated Hampton’s Justin Hart by 13-5 major decision at 195 pounds. South Park’s Joey Fischer then dropped a 7-3 decision to the No. 1-ranked 126-pounder in the country, three-time state champion Drake Ayala of Fort Dodge High School in Fort Dodge, Iowa.
After a 3-1 win over Glendale’s Brock McMillen by Carter Young of Stillwater High School in Stillwater, Okla., Seneca Valley’s Dylan Chappell lost a 12-4 major decision to Chance Lamer of Crescent Valley High School in Corvallis, Ore.
Burrell’s A.J. Corrado suffered an injury during his match against Enrique Munguia of Elyria High School in Strongsville, Ohio, and was forced to forfeit out of the match. Corrado trailed, 9-1, at the time of the forfeit.
That set the stage for Team Pennsylvania’s improbable comeback, which was aided by a medical forfeit victory for Selinsgrove’s Nate Schon in the 285-pound bout. The forfeit cut Team USA’s lead to 23-18 with three matches remaining, but Team Pennsylvania still needed to win all three to pull off the upset — and the trio of WPIAL stars delivered.
“No doubt, I knew Wyatt was going to win,” Augustine said. “You ask Wyatt yourself — he’ll say he doesn’t believe in pressure. I knew he was going to go out there and give it everything he had to get that win for us.”
Preliminary match
The WPIAL All-Stars dominated the preliminary match vs. the Maryland All-Stars, winning 10 out of 12 matches en route to a 41-6 victory. Hempfield’s Isaiah Vance, Franklin Regional’s Carter Dibert and Pine-Richland’s Cole Spencer all scored pins for Team WPIAL, while Hempfield’s Ty Linsenbigler won via technical fall.
Steve Rotstein: srotstein@post-gazette.com and Twitter @SteveRotstein.
First Published: April 3, 2021, 1:57 a.m.
