Fundy lone area winner in C-H tournament
After an exhausting match, Dominic Fundy's hand is raised as the 195-pound champion at the Chartiers-Houston Invitational. Fundy scored a 9-5 win over SHamil Zaynullaev to win the title.
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Beth-Center’s Dominic Fundy reverses Shamil Zaynullaev of Chartiers Valley during the 220-pound championship match at the Chartiers-Houston Invitational. Fundy scored a 9-5 decision over Zaynullaev.
HOUSTON – What once was a tournament dominated by area wrestlers has turned into a much tougher event.
One could tell that by the exhausted look on the face of Dominic Fundy … 10 minutes after his bout.
The junior from Beth-Center had just gone through the ringer with Shamil Zaynullaev of Chartiers Valley to take a 9-5 decision in the 195-pound finals of the Chartiers-Houston Wrestling Tournament Saturday.
Fundy, a PIAA Class AA runner-up at 182 pounds last year in Hershey, was the only area winner out of nine finalists.
Even more unusual was South Fayette winning the team title despite not having an individual champion. The Lions, ranked third in the Observer-Reporter Wrestling Rankings, had three runners-up, a third-place finisher, a fourth and two sixths.
The Lions had 158 points, three more that Upper St. Clair. Peters Township was third at 146.5 and Freedom was fourth with 136.5
Fundy trailed 3-2 after two periods, but outscored Zaynullaev, a transfer from Mount Lebanon, 7-2 over the final two minutes.
“He’s a tough opponent and I’m glad I saw him in the finals,” said Fundy. “I like competition early in the year because it makes me better in the end.”
Jimmy Gwyer, a state qualifier last year at 120 pounds for the Bulldogs, made it to the finals of the 120-pound weight class before dropping a 6-1 decision to Nate Lukez of Pine-Richland.
Donovon McMillon, a promising freshman for Peters Township, nearly wrapped up the 132-pound title but couldn’t hold leads of 5-0 and 10-6 and fell, 11-10, to another freshman, Trent Solthius of Freedom.
“For his first tournament, he was pretty impressive,” said Peters Township head coach Jason Carpetta. “He had a five-point lead, then a four-point lead. He will learn how to protect that. I’m excited to have him in the lineup.”
McMillon’s teammates – junior Brandon Matthews and senior Luke Mary – had their problems at 160 and 170, respectively. Matthews fell 8-2 to Cole Spencer of Pine-Richland and Mary, a defending tournament champion, was defeated by Peyton Hearns of Conneaut, 3-1, after a scoreless first two periods.
Three South Fayette wrestlers made it to the finals only to come away with silver medals.
Senior Colin Dunn couldn’t hold off Ken Dushek of Freedom, 5-2, at 126. The bout was tied 2-2 after two. Sophomore Eli Brinsky gave up four first period takedowns in a 9-4 loss to Joe Demor of South Side Beaver at 145 pounds. And senior Mike Cusick was shut out, 6-0, by Thayne Lawrence of Frazier in the 152-pound finals.
“The matchups overall did not favor us,” said South Fayette head coach Rick Chaussard. “We were looking for individual titles. We came here with a couple kids in weight classes they won’t be in later in the year. We moved a couple kids so they could meet certain opponents. We weren’t worried about individuals winning the tournament because it’s just December. We were looking at getting on the mat and seeing where we have to go against certain competition.”
After Fundy broke the losing streak, Connor Main of West Greene had a chance to make it two wins in a row. But Jake Slinger of Upper St. Clair won an 11-2 major decision. Main wrestled at Waynesburg last season but transferred back to West Greene for his senior year.
Sam Hillegas, a defending state champion from North Hills, missed the tournament because of a cauliflowered ear. And Jake Walker of South Fayette missed it because of school testing.