Jan 10, 2016 3 min read

Shaun Wilson was named the Outstanding Wrestler for the Tri-CADA Tournament and that honor should make an impression because there were so many worthy candidates.

One of them was Peters Township’s Mike McAleavey, the 220-pound senior who is ranked as high as third in some ratings. McAleavey won his weight class in the Tri-CADA Tournament at Albert Gallatin High School this weekend by ripping up his opponents.

“It was very satisfying (to win the title),” said McAleavey. “All the hard work in the summer paid off. I put in a lot of extra time in the summer.”

McAleavey began the event as the top-seeded wrestler and received a first-round bye. He pinned Ethan Fetzner of Albert Gallatin in 1:00, and followed that with a pin of No. 4 seed Austin Fisher of McGuffey in 1:18. That put McAleavey in the finals, where he pinned David Ainscough of Canon-McMillan in 1:15.

If you struggle in math, McAleavey’s three pins took a combined 3:33.

“I had trouble getting out from bottom last year,” he said. “Kids would throw legs in and I had trouble with it. I focused on getting better on my feet.”

McAleavey won the 220-pound title at the season-opening Chartiers-Houston Tournament, pinning Jake Slinger of Upper St. Clair in 5:16 in the finals. McAleavey had a strong showing in the Powerade Chrsitmas Wrestling Tournament. He was seeded fourth and finished fifth with a 3-1 decision over Josiah Jones of Westmont Hilltop.

Matt Oblock of Canon-McMillan won his first Tri-CADA title with a good effort in the 126-pound weight class. Oblock won hard-fought 4-2 decisions in the semifinals and finals to earn the gold medal. The first came against No. 3 seed Cole Rush of Waynesburg and the second against top-seeded Gage Nicolella of McGuffey, who was a defending champion.

Oblock, the No. 2 seed, lost in last year’s 132-pound finals to A.C. Headlee of Waynesburg, who went on to win the state title and be named Outstanding Wrestler for Class AAA in the state tournament.

Oblock’s teammate, Michael Binni, had an excellent run to the 106-pound championship. Binni, a sophomore, came in unseeded and knocked off No. 4 Jordan Marosz of Peters Township, No. 3 Tairen Bundy of Ringgold and top-seeded A.D. Nelson of Trinity in the finals, 8-2.

Caleb Morris of Waynesburg had three pins on the way to the 120-pound title, and teammate Terry Victor allowed only two points while winning at 152.

Belle Vernon, the No. 1 team in the Observer-Reporter Class AAA Rankings, was second in the Westmoreland County Coaches Associaition Tournament at Franklin Regional High School.

The Leopards brought five wrestlers to the finals and came away with three champions: Derek Verkleeren at 152, Mitchell Hartman at 160 and Milt Kobaly at 182.

In an oddity, Kiski won the title despite not having a champion. The Cavaliers had four silver medalists and four bronze. Their 11 placewinners produced 215 points. Belle Vernon had two runners-up and 10 placewinners for 209 points.

Belle Vernon probably would have won the team title if Austin Bell, top ranked at 182, was not out with an injury.

“Our guys wrestled well and we thought we would have seven wrestlers in the finals,” said coach Mike Doppleheuer. “We got five in, and the ones who finished second, I’m sure were disappointed, but overall we did well.”