Belle Vernon dominates in Section 2-AA
MONONGAHELA – WPIAL champion Belle Vernon dominated the Section 2-AAA wrestling tournament held Saturday at Ringgold High School. The Leopards had eight champions and advanced 11 to next weekend’s WPIAL Championships at Penn Hills.
Belle Vernon was the only school with multiple champions. The Leopards had two second-place finishers and one third place.
The Leopards’ champions were Jacob Dunlop (106 pounds), Tyler Seliga (126), Zachary Hartman (132), Brock Godzin (138), Scott Joll (145), Derek Verkleeren (152), Milton Kobaly (182) and Billy Korber (heavyweight). Seliga had the fastest fall in the finals, pinning Peters Township’s Daniel Florentino in 1:19. Hartman and Joll also won by fall and Kobaly was a winner by technical fall.
Belle Vernon’s Jarod Verkleeren was unable to wrestle after a Westmoreland County judge ruled Thursday the junior could not wrestle off at a higher weight class and was thus ineligible to compete. A Cadet world champion, Verkleeren wrestled up a weight class in the PIAA Team Tournament and his final weigh-in was too high for him to get down to qualify to wrestle at 145 pounds.
The Verkleeren family sued to have their son receive an opportunity to eliminate at another weight so he could compete in the 2-AAA tournament. A Cadet world champion, Jarod Verkleen had battled to regulate his weight. He wrestled up one weight class at the PIAA Team Tournament and his final weigh-in was too high for him to get down to qualify for his normal 145-pound weight class.
Peters Township’s Michael McAleavey decisioned Mt. Lebanon’s Shamil Zaynullaev, 13-7, to win the 220-pound championship. McAleavey and Florentino are two of nine PT wrestlers to advance to the WPIAL tournament.
The Indians sent five wrestlers to the finals with only one champion. Brandon Matthews (113), Colton Jezioro (126) and Grant Nelson each finished in second place. Also advancing were A.J. Buckiso (152), Luke Mary (160) and Jeff Makert (170) with fourth-place finishes and Jarod Marosz (106), who won his fifth-place bout.
Three Ringgold wrestlers advanced, including Doug Gudenburr, who dropped a 2-0 decision to Godzin in the 138-pound title match. The Rams’ Tyus Bundy (113) placed fourth and Bo Haines placed fifth at 195.