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WALTKO FALLS IN SEMIFINALS AND FINISHES FOURTH

Freshman Joe Waltko was defeated by Nico Cortese of Greensburg Central Catholic, 7-0, in the 103 pound semifinals of the PIAA Class AAA Championships on Saturday afternoon.  Waltko came back to major decision Mark Rappo of Council Rock South, 11-1, in the consolation round.  In the consolation final for third place, Matt Snyder of Lewistown pinned Waltko.

Congratulations to Joe Waltko for representing North Allegheny well in the championships and bringing home the fourth place medal!

FRIDAY'S MATCH

Freshman Joe Waltko won a 1-0 overtime rideout decision over Nic Bedelyon of Indian Valley in the quarterfinals of the PIAA Championships at the Giant Center in Hershey on Friday afternoon.  Waltko (29-5) will face Nico Cortese (27-4) of Greensburg Central Catholic this morning in the 103 pound semifinals.  Waltko defeated Cortese, 3-2, in the semis of the WPIAL tournament last week.

Semifinal action is scheduled to get under way at 8:30 am this morning.  Finals in Class AAA are scheduled for 8:00 pm tonight at the Giant Center.

THURSDAY'S MATCH

Freshman Joe Waltko decisioned Patrick Wieger of Central Dauphin, 6-0, in the first round of the PIAA Class AAA Championships at the Giant Center in Hershey on Thursday.  In the quarterfinals at 103, Waltko (28-5) will face Nic Bedelyon (39-1) of Indian Valley this afternoon

PIAA CLASS AAA INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Giant Center, Hershey, PA
March 10-11-12, 2006

103 Lbs Weight Class Results

Prelims
103 Lbs Bout 421 Chris Albright Red Lion TF Rocco Wellek Cathedral Prep TF 15-0, 3:39
103 Lbs Bout 422 Jordan Oliver Easton FALL Robert Gribschaw Hatboro Horsham Fall 3:36
103 Lbs Bout 423 Zack Zummo Plum DEC Brock Waughen Milton 4-2
103 Lbs Bout 424 Matt Snyder Lewistown FALL Rob Akers Downingtown W Fall 3:24
103 Lbs Bout 425 Nico Cortese Greensburg Central Catholic DEC Shane Leister Quakertown 3-0
103 Lbs Bout 426 Taylor Brown Emmaus MAJOR Luke Walker Cumberland Valley 13-3
103 Lbs Bout 427 Nic Bedelyon Indian Valley MAJOR Mark Rappo Council Rock So 11-2
103 Lbs Bout 428 Joe Waltko North Allegheny DEC Patrick Wieger Central Dauphin 6-0

Quarter-Finals
103 Lbs Bout 589 Jordan Oliver Easton TF Chris Albright Red Lion TF 25-10, 5:46
103 Lbs Bout 590 Matt Snyder Lewistown DEC Zack Zummo Plum 6-0
103 Lbs Bout 591 Nico Cortese Greensburg Central Catholic FALL Taylor Brown Emmaus Fall 3:13
103 Lbs Bout 592 Joe Waltko North Allegheny DEC Nic Bedelyon Indian Valley 1-0 OT RO

Semi-Finals
103 Lbs Bout 703 Jordan Oliver Easton MAJOR Matt Snyder Lewistown 13-4
103 Lbs Bout 704 Nico Cortese Greensburg Central Catholic DEC Joe Waltko North Allegheny 7-0

Consy Semi-Finals
103 Lbs Bout 757 Matt Snyder Lewistown DEC Nic Bedelyon Indian Valley 11-10
103 Lbs Bout 758 Joe Waltko North Allegheny MAJOR Mark Rappo Council Rock So 11-1

Consy Finals
103 Lbs Bout 785 Zack Zummo Plum DEC Taylor Brown Emmaus 1-0
103 Lbs Bout 786 Nic Bedelyon Indian Valley DEC Mark Rappo Council Rock So 4-0
103 Lbs Bout 787 Matt Snyder Lewistown FALL Joe Waltko North Allegheny Fall 2:00

Finals
103 Lbs Bout 827 Jordan Oliver Easton DEC Nico Cortese Greensburg Central Catholic, 6-2

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JOE WALTKO TAKES SILVER AT WPIAL FINALS

Freshman Joe Waltko was the only NA medalist at the WPIAL/Southwest Regional Championships at Norwin on Saturday night.  Waltko was defeated in the finals at 103 in overtime by Zach Zummo of Plum.  Freshman Dave Cawley at 125 and junior Rob Waltko at 171 both were defeated in the consolation final for third place.  The top three in each weight class qualify for the PIAA Championships.

At 103, Joe Waltko decisioned Nico Cortese of Greensburg CC in overtime with a 3-2 rideout.  Zummo downed Waltko, 4-0, in overtime in the final.  At 125, Cawley was defeated by eventual champion Grant Lowther of Trinity, 9-2, before losing to Jay Ivanco of Gateway, 3-0, in the consolation final.  Rob Waltko worked his way into the third place match were he lost to Nathan Murin of Trinity, 9-4.

Joe Waltko will advance to the PIAA Championships to be held at the Giant Center in Hershey on March 9-11.

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WPIAL/SOUTHWEST REGIONAL TOURNAMENT
Norwin High School
March 2-3-4, 2006

Finals
103: Zack Zummo, Plum d. Joe Waltko, North Allegheny, 4-0 (ot).
112: Colin Johnston, Canon-McMillan d. Tyler Sim, McGuffey, 5-0.
119: Matt Scherich, McGuffey d. Josh Testa, Hempfield, 6-1.
125: Grant Lowther, Trinity d. Nick Garber, Waynesburg, 8-1.
130: Matt Nelson, Shaler m.d. Jake Kemerer, Hempfield, 16-7.
135: James Fleming, West Mifflin d. Tyler Oravec, Kiski, 9-6.
140: Ashtin Primus, Connellsville d. Nick Nelson, Shaler, 4-2.
145: Jesse Byerly, Keystone Oaks d. Ethan Headlee, Waynesburg, 8-5.
152: Ryan Goodman, Greater Latrobe d. Curtis Branchen, Avonworth, 3-1.
160: Eric Williams, Trinity d. Kameron Zitelli, Greater Latrobe, 6-3.
171: Josh Serene, Kittanning d. A.J. Brentzel, Penn-Trafford, 5-4.
189: Scott Joseph, Kiski Area d. Garrett Hunter, McGuffey, 4-3.
215: T.J. Valore, Greensburg Central Catholic d. Matt Riddle, Kiski Area, 7-3.
275: Myles Caragein, Keystone Oaks d. Ryan Tomei, Penn-Trafford, 3-2.
Consolations for Third Place
103: Nico Cortese, Greensburg Central Catholic d. Kenny Trumbetta, Greensburg Salem, 1-0.
112: Brett Skonieczny, Fox Chapel d. Joey Walters, Greater Latrobe, 2-1.
119: Rudy Chelednik, Greensburg Central Catholic d. Ian McLaughlin, BUtler, 1-0.
125: Jay Ivanco, Gateway d. Dave Cawley, North Allegheny, 3-0.
130: Tony Clark, Kiski Area d. Dustin Henderson, Waynesburg, 9-2.
135: Corey Leslie, Keystone Oaks d. Dan Svec, Greensburg Salem, 6-2.
140: Dom Bonaccorsi, Bethel Park d. Mike Reinhart, Greensburg Salem, 8-7.
145: Zach McKendree, Kiski Area d. Bill Loeffler, Pittsburgh Central Catholic, 6-5.
152: Matt Ryan, Canon-McMillan p. Brian Letters, Fox Chapel, 3:56.
160: Mike Salopek, Norwin d. Eric Fulmer, Shaler, 7-1.
171: Nathan Murin, Trinity d. Robbie Waltko, North Allegheny, 9-4.
189: Ben Maund, Canon-McMillan d. Justin Schiavone, Hempfield, 7-2.
215: George Hingson, Moon d. Rick Dlubak, Ambridge, 3-1.
275: Chris Dempsey, Ambridge d. Justin Haines, Connellsville, 4-1.
Semi Finals
103: Joe Waltko NA d. Nico Cortese, GCC, 3-2 (rideout)
Zack Zummo, Plum d. Kenny Trumbetta, GS, 3-1
112: Tyler Sim, McGuffey d. Brock Livorio, PT, 7-4
Colin Johnston, CMac d. Brett Skonieczny, FC, 5-0
119: Josh Testa, Hemp d. Rudy Chelednik, GCC, 5-2
Matt Scherich, McG d. Ian McLaughlin, But, 9-6.
125: Grant Lowther, Trinity d. Dave Cawley, NA, 9-2
Nick Garber, Way d. Jay Ivanco, Gate, 6-3
130: Matt Nelson, Sh d. Tony Clark, Kiski, 9-4
Jake Kemerer, Hemp d. Dustin Henderson, Way, 6-3
135: Tyler Oravec, Kiski d, Cory Leslie, KO, 3-1
James Fleming, WM m.d. Dan Svec, G Salem 9-1
140: Ashtin Primus (Cvil) p. Mike Reinhart, G Salem, 1:38
Nick Nelson Sh d. Dom Bonaccorsi, BPark, 12-6
145: Ethan Headlee, Way d. Zach McKendree, Kiski, 1-0
Jesse Byerly, KO d. Dennis Fix, Nor, 8-4
152: Ryan Goodman, Lat d. Brian Letters, FC, 1-0
Curtis Branchen, Kiski d. Matt Ryan, C-Mac, 3-1
160:Eric Williams, Trin p. Jon Moore, Kiski, 5:15
Kameron Zitelli, Lat d. Mike Salopek, Nor, 6-4
171: AJ Brentzel, Penn-T d. Nathan Murin, Trin, 3-1
Josh Serene, Kitt p. Lance Bryson, AG, 1:17
189: Garrett Hunter, McG p. Danny Vaughan, PCC, 3-2.
Scott Joseph, Kiski d. Justin Schiavone, Hemp, 2-1 (ot) on stalling call at buzzer.
215: T.J. Valore, GCC p. George Hingson, Moon, 5:10
Matt Riddle, Kiski d. Dave Mitchell, AG, 4-2
275: Myles Caragein, KO d. Chris Dempsey, Amb, 7-6
Ryan Tomei, P-Traf d. Justin Haines, Conn, 3-1.

NA WRESTLERS

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TWO TIGERS ADVANCE TO WPIAL SEMIFINALS

Two Tigers won quarterfinal matches at on Friday at Norwin in the WPIAL/Southwest Regional Championships, but #1 seed Rob Waltko was upset at 171.  Freshman Joe Waltko won at 103, freshman Dave Cawley at 125, but sophomore Karl DeCiantis was defeated at 160.

At 103, Joe Waltko pinned Anthony Zanetta of Keystone Oaks at 1:29 of the second period to advance.  Waltko will face  Nico Cortese of Greensburg CC in the semis.  At 125, Cawley decisioned Josh Daniels of McGuffey, 4-0, to move on to the semis where he will meet Grant Lowther of Trinity.  The big surprise was at 171 where Rob Waltko was upset for A.J. Brentzel of Penn-Trafford in two overtimes, 2-1.  Waltko will wrestle in the consolation round this morning.  At 160, DeCiantis dropped a 5-1 decision to Eric Williams of Trinity.  DeCiantis will also wrestle in the consolation round today. 

In the consolation round, junior Steve Sabreen decisioned Stan Kochanek of Mt. Lebanon, 9-2, to stay alive.  Freshman Brett Landefeld remained in contention in the consolation bracket at 140 with a 19-4 technical fall over Ryan Drzmiecki of Hampton.

The schedule for today begins with second round consolations at 10:00 am.  Semifinals and third round consolations will start at 12 noon with fourth round consolations at 2:15 pm.  The final session is scheduled to begin with the consolation finals at 6:00 pm and the championship finals at 7:30 pm.  Tickets will be sold at the door for both sessions.  Adult sessions for the morning/afternoon session are $5.00 with the final session tickets at $7.00.  Student tickets for both sessions are $3.00.

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FOUR TIGERS ADVANCE TO WPIAL QUARTERFINALS

Led by junior Rob Waltko who won by fall at 171, four Tigers were victorious in first round action at Norwin High School on Thursday night.  Advancing to the quarterfinals along with Rob were freshman brother Joe Waltko at 103, freshman Dave Cawley at 125, and sophomore Karl DeCiantis at 160.

Rob Waltko had little trouble in his first match as he pinned Jake Leninsky of West Allegheny at 1:08 of the first period.  Rob will meet A.J. Brentzel of Penn-Trafford in the quarters.  Joe Waltko needed just a little more time to pin David Doman of Upper St. Clalr at 1:37 of the first round.  Joe will face Anthony Zanetta of Keystone Oaks tonight.  At 125, Cawley decisioned Andrew Armstrong of Bethel Park, 7-1, to advance.  Cawley will face Josh Daniels of McGuffey tonight.  At 160, DeCiantis took an 11-4 decision over Gerald Tyler of Plum.  Tonight, DeCiantis will take on Eric Williams of Trinity.

Two Tigers were defeated in first round bouts and will wrestle in the consolation round tonight.  At 112, Zach Cecchetti of Kiski defeated Steve Sabreen, 6-0, and, at 140, Andy Vaughn of Central Catholic major decisioned Brett Landefeld, 12-4.  Sabreen will meet Stan Kochanek of Mt. Lebanon and Landefeld will face Ryan Drzemiecki of Hampton.

Quarterfinal round action is scheduled to begin at 5:30 pm tonight at Norwin.  Tickets will be sold at the door - $5.00 for adults and $3.00 for students.  Adult tickets for Saturday's finals will cost $7.00.

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FIVE TIGERS WIN SECTION TITLES

Five Tigers won Section 3 titles at the Senior High gym on Saturday and qualified for the WPIAL Individual Championships next week.  Freshman Joe Waltko at 103, junior Steve Sabreen at 112, freshman Dave Cawley at 125, sophomore Karl DeCiantis at 160, and junior Rob Waltko at 171 were winners at their respective weights.  Freshman Brett Landefeld finished  third at 140 and also qualified for the WPIAL.

In the consolation matches for third place, Brett Landefeld won a 9-3 decision over Steve Fawcett of Pine-Richland at 140.  At 135, junior Ryan McCullough was pinned by Alex Evanoff of Butler to finish in fourth place.

The WPIAL/Southwest Regional Championships will be held at Norwin on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.  We will post the matchups as soon as we receive them.

WPIAL SECTION 3
CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHES

CONSOLATION - THIRD PLACE

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TIGERS TOP CHAR VALLEY BUT LOSE TO LATROBE

The Tigers edged Chartiers Valley, 36-30, but dropped a 35-23 decision to Latrobe in a triangular dual match at Latrobe on Wednesday night.  The matches completed the regular season for the Tigers.

Against Char Valley, the Tigers got pins from junior Steve Sabreen at 112 and freshman Rick Peluso at 119, along with a forfeit win by freshman Dave Cawley at 125 as they opened an 18-6 lead.  At 130, junior Ryan Troiano decision Zombeck, 8-1, while, at 135, junior Ryan McCullough took a 4-0 decision from Sinkevich of the Colts.  The Landefeld brothers were both victorious with freshman Brett winning a 9-4 decision at 140 and junior Bill taking a close 2-1 victory at 145.  The Tiger lead went to 30-6 at this point.

After losing by fall at 152, sophomore Karl DeCiantis came back with a 10-5 decision over Wilps of CV to make it a 33-12 score.  The Colts got a pin at 171, but junior Rob Waltko decisioned Ziner, 8-1, at 189 to put the match out of reach.  The Colts were able to pick up a win by injury default at 215 and a pin at 275 to make the final scored closer than the match was.  The Tigers took a 36-30 victory.

In the second match, Latrobe jumped off to a 12-0 lead before freshman Dave Cawley won by decision, 4-2, over Bill Lechner at 125.  Junior Ryan Troiano followed with a 5-4 win over Zach Small at 130.  At 135, junior Ryan McCullough decisioned Adam Heydorn, 9-3, as the Tigers cut the lead to 12-9.  At 140, freshman Brett Landefeld earned a 7-5 decision over Phil Ferry as the Tigers tied the match at 12-12.  Junior Bill Landefeld gave NA their first lead of the match with a 7-5 victory over Glenn Repko at 145.

At 152, Ryan Goodman put the Wildcats back on top with a 23-8 technical fall.  At 160, sophomore Karl DeCiantis major decisioned Shawn Short, 15-6, as the Tigers regained the advantage at 19-17.  At 171, Nick Gigliotti won by fall to give Latrobe a 23-19 lead.  At 189, junior Rob Waltko major decisioned Mike Ferlin, 13-3, to tie the match at 23-23.  The Wildcats won the final two matches by fall to win the match, 35-23. 

With the split, the Tigers finished with a dual match record of 12-6.  Next up for NA are the individual section championships to be held at the Senior High gym on Saturday, February 25.

MATCH SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 36  CHARTIERS VALLEY - 30

MATCH SUMMARY
GREATER LATROBE - 35  NORTH ALLEGHENY - 23

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PENN-TRAFFORD RALLIES TO DOWN TIGERS, 31-27, IN FIRST ROUND OF WPIAL PLAYOFFS

After building a 27-22 lead, the Tigers saw Penn-Trafford come back to win the final two matches and defeat NA, 31-27, in the first round of the WPIAL Playoffs at Waynesburg on Tuesday night.  Junior Rob Waltko won his 100th match with a victory at 171, but it was not enough.

The Tigers got off to a good start when sophomore Karl DeCiantis pinned Brian Nese at 160, and Rob Waltko followed with an 8-2 decision over A.J. Brentzel to give NA a 9-0 lead.  After sophomore Brian Faber dropped a major to Garret Gibson at 189, senior Rory Dahl took a 4-1 decision over Jeff Wagner at 215 to extend the NA lead to 12-4.  A forfeit at 275 cut the Tiger margin to 12-10.

At 103, freshman Joe Waltko won by injury default to make it 18-10 before Brock Lovorio pinned Jason Turner at 112.  At 119, junior Steve Sabreen lost a hard-fought decision to Chris Bair as Penn-Trafford took their first lead of the match at 19-18.  Freshman Dave Cawley put NA back on top, 21-19, with a 7-2 decision over Devan Jones at 125.  At 130, Jared Jones edged junior Ryan Troiano, 4-3, in overtime to push the Warrriors back ahead, 22-21. 

Junior Ryan McCullough followed with a 2-0 victory over Nick Hetherington at 135 to gave the lead back to the Tigers.  At 140, freshman Brett Landefeld used a five-point second period as a springboard to a 7-5 win over Tim Young to extend the NA lead to 27-22 with two matches remaining.  At 145, Bob Bryan won a 5-1 decision against junior Bill Landefeld to cut the lead to 27-25.  In the final match at 152, the Warriors' Dan Matthews built a 9-0 lead before pinning junior Jeff Wolf in the third period to give Penn-Trafford the 31-27 victory.

With the tough loss, the Tigers bow out of the playoffs.  In the quarterfinal match, Penn-Trafford had little trouble defeating Trinity, 42-27, to advance to the semifinals to be held at North Allegheny on Friday night.  Match time is set for 8:00 pm.

MATCH SUMMARY
PENN-TRAFFORD - 31  NORTH ALLEGHENY - 27

* - indicates starting weight

WPIAL TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS
CLASS AAA

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BURRELL STOPS TIGERS, 37-18

The Tigers traveled to Burrell on Saturday afternoon and dropped a 37-18 decision to the Bucs.  NA won only four matches with sophomore Brian Faber and junior Rob Waltko pinning their opponents.

The match started with the 275 pound weight class and senior Rory Dahl moved up and won a decision over Eric Corey, 6-3, to give the Tigers their only lead of the match at 3-0.  After losses at 103 and 112, junior Steve Sabreen decisioned Jake Best, 2-0, to tie the match at 6-6.  Burrell won the next seven matches to secure the victory.

With the Tigers trailing 31-6, at 171, Faber pinned Ty Condron at 3:12 to stop the Burrell streak and make the score, 31-12.  Rob Waltko pinned Shawn Peoples at 189 in 1:25 for the last NA points of the match.  A pin at 215 by Josh Micenko of the Bucs made the final score, 37-18.

With the loss, the overall NA record fell to 11-4 on the season.  Burrell is currently ranked #2 in the Class AA division.

MATCH SUMMARY
BURRELL - 37  NORTH ALLEGHENY - 18

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TIGERS STOMP SHALER, 50-21, TO
TIE FOR SECTION TITLE

To listen to a replay of the match, click here!

The Tigers lost the first two matches but won the next nine on their way to an easy 50-21 victory over rival Shaler at the Senior High gym on Wednesday night.  Four Tigers pinned their opponents --- freshman Joe Waltko at 112, freshman Dave Cawley at 125, junior Rob Waltko at 189, and senior Rory Dahl at 275.

With the match starting at 135, the top two Shaler wrestlers, Matt and Nick Nelson gave the Titans a quick 12-0 lead with two pins.  At 145, freshman Brett Landefeld took a 4-1 lead into the third period against Tyler Nowakowski and outscored his opponent, 7-2, in the final period to earn an 11-3 major decision and cut the Shaler lead to 12-4.  Brother Bill Landefeld followed at 152 with a 9-1 major over Dino Passioni to make it a 12-8 match.  In the match of the night at 160, sophomore Karl DeCiantis outscored Eric Fulmer, 6-2, in the third period to break a 6-6 tie and win, 12-8, and bring the Tigers to within one at 12-11.  At 171, sophomore Brian Faber won by forfeit to give NA the lead for good.

At 189, Rob Waltko stepped up a weight class and pinned Nick Krotec with 35.4 seconds remaining in the first period as the Tigers extended the lead to 23-12.  At 215, sophomore Zach Watts took a 7-1 lead over Ray Sagi after one period and held on for an 8-5 decision.  In the 275 pound match, Dahl pinned Kevin Gray with 43.2 seconds left in the third period to extend the NA advantage to 32-12.

A forfeit at 103 to sophomore Jason Turner put the match out of reach with the score going to 38-12.  At 112, Joe Waltko moved up a weight class and pinned Lou Cervi with 1:27 remaining in the third period to increase the lead to 44-12.  After Shaler's Jon Drzemiecki won at 119, Cawley won by fall over Kyle Stagel at 125 with 1:05 left in the second period.  Stefan Drzemiecki won by fall at 130 to give the Titans six consolation points as the Tigers took a convincing 50-21 victory.

It was Senior Night and the two NA Seniors and their parents were honored before the match.  Joel Nellis, who is injured and did not wrestle, and Rory Dahl, who celebrated with a pin a 275, are the only two seniors on the North Allegheny squad.  For his efforts in the match, Rob Waltko was named the Outstanding Wrestler by the North Allegheny Sports Network.

Coupled with Pine-Richland's loss to Butler, the Tigers finish in  a tie for first place in Section 3.  It is the sixth straight year that NA has either won or tied for the section crown.  The WPIAL team playoffs will begin next week.  On Saturday, the Tigers will travel to Burrell for a non-section match as they get ready for the team tournament.  Match time is scheduled for 3:00 pm.

MATCH SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 50  SHALER - 21

* - indicates starting match

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ROB WALTKO WINS ALLEGHENY COUNTY
TITLE AT 171

Junior Rob Waltko won the championship of the 171 pound weight class at the Allegheny County Tournament at Fox Chapel on Saturday.  Waltko also won the coveted "most pins in the least amount of time" title in pinning five opponents in 13:09.  The Tiger team finished in sixth place in the team standings.

Freshman Joe Waltko won the silver medal at 103 losing in the final.  Junior Steve Sabreen came back to win four matches in the consolation bracket on Saturday to capture third place at 112.  Freshman Dave Cawley lost in the semis but won the consolation final to take third place at 125.  Freshman Brett Landefeld won two matches on Saturday and finished in eight place.

At 171, Rob Waltko pinned Steve Pope of Thomas Jefferson in 2:42 before winning the championship by fall over Paul DeLuca of Fox Chapel in 5:01.  At 103, Joe Waltko decisioned Dave Johnson of Shady Side Academy, 8-5, before falling to Zach Zummo of Plum in the championship.  At 125, Ed Petrosky of Highlands edged Cawley, 4-3, in  the semis before the Tiger freshman came back to pin Brian Gianuzzi of Shaler in 1:15 in the consolation semis.  In the consolation final, Cawley took third by edging Andrew Armstrong of Bethel Park, 5-4.

Sabreen had a tough task on Saturday but he was able to win out in the consolation bracket to take third place.  Sabreen won by tech fall over Rocco Ragono of Montour, 15-0, before taking a 2-0 decision over Joshua Perri of Brashear.  In the next match, Sabreen edged Jake Quniten of Plum, 3-1, and in the consolation final, downed Anthony Bonaccorsi of Bethel Park, 6-3.  Freshman Brett Landefeld defeated Steve Fawcett of Pine-Richland, 5-2, and then won a 5-2 decision over Kyle Baicker-McKee of Mt. Lebanon.  Landefeld then fell to Dan Joyce of Baldwin, 5-3, and lost the 7th place match by forfeit to Justin Mahon of Fox chapel.  In other consolation matches, senior Rory Dahl forfeited to Ryan Bateman of Pine-Richland at 215, and junior Ryan McCullough dropped a tough 5-4 decision to Stefan Drzemiecki of Shaler at 135.

The Tiger team will be back in action in on Wednesday when they complete section competition against rival Shaler.  NA and Shaler are tied for second place.  The North Allegheny Sports Network will be there to broadcast the match LIVE on the internet beginning with the pre-match show at 6:50 pm.  Match time is scheduled for 7:00 pm.

FRIDAY'S MATCHES

Three Tigers were able to advance to the semifinals of the Allegheny County Tournament at Fox Chapel on Friday.   Freshman Joe Waltko at 103, freshman Dave Cawley at 125, and junior Rob Waltko at 171 all won their matches and will wrestle today with the winner going into the finals.  The Tigers are in fourth place in the team standings.

At 103, Joe Waltko pinned Alex Szaller of Mt. Lebanon in just 17 seconds and decisioned Rico Borz of Bethel Park, 8-5, to advance to the semifinals where he will meet Dane Johnson of Shady Side Academy.  At 125, Cawley pinned three opponents before picking up a 9-1 major decision over Andrew Armstrong of Bethel Park.  In the semis, Cawley will face Ed Petrosky of Highlands.  At 171, Rob Waltko also pinned three opponents to advance to the semis.  In the first match, Waltko needed 2:44 to pin Josh Dezort of Riverview.  In the second round, Waltko pinned Kevin Cornell of Baldwin in 1:29, and in the quarterfinals, the Tiger junior pinned Veryl Long of Penn Hills in 1:13.  Waltko will take on Steve Pope of Thomas Jefferson.

Four Tiger wrestlers are still alive in the consolation rounds.  At 112, junior Steve Sabreen pinned Chris Johns of Mt. Lebanon in 58 seconds before losing in the next round.  At 135, junior Ryan McCullough pinned Donald Kunkle of Woodland Hills in 2:46 before losing a 7-0 decision to Jake Boyer of Elizabeth Forward.  In the consolation round, McCullough stayed alive with a 5-0 decision over Bryan Colcombe of Penn Hills.  At 140, freshman Brett Landefeld pinned Nick Szost of Moon at the 1:20 mark before losing a 6-1 decision to Andy Vaughn of Central Catholic.  In consolation action, Brett moved on with a pin of Jordan Toth from Highlands.  At 215, senior Rory Dahl pinned Joel Laudenslayer of West Allegheny at 1:09, and won by tech fall over Dave Leonard of Bethel Park, 20-5.  Will Snyder of Elizabeth Forward defeated Dahl, 6-2, in quarterfinal action.

Other Tigers who earned victories before being eliminated included freshman Rick Peluso at 103 who major decisioned Shawn McCartney of Keystone Oaks, junior Ryan Troiano at 130 who decisioned Zach Zanocha of Carlynton, 3-2, junior Bill Landefeld at 145 who pinned Rich Kuhn of Montour in 2:49, junior Jeff Wolf at 152 who pinned Justin Solf of Moon at 59 seconds in consolation action, sophomore Tyler Minto at 160 who pinned John Emerick of South Park in 1:59 in consolation action, sophomore Brian Faber at 189 who dec. Matt Urmson of Penn Hills, 7-0, in the consolation round, and junior Alejandro Alonso at 275 who pinned J.J. Haywood of Carlynton at 3:55 before losing.

ALLEGHENY COUNTY TOURNAMENT
Fox Chapel High School
January 20-21, 2006

FINAL TEAM SCORES

CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHES

TOURNAMENT RESULTS (NA only)

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WPIAL WRESTLING - 2005-06

The Tigers will compete again in Class AAA along with 48 other teams.  Section 3 play will begin on December 7, 2005, and all section matches must be completed by January 25, 2006.  The basic section schedule consists of one section match per week scheduled on Wednesday.  It was necessary to schedule section matches on two Saturday dates.  Playoff entry for the 2005-2006 WPIAL team championships will include the teams who finish in the top three places in each section.  If two teams tie for the last qualifying spot, the winner of the match between them will enter the team tournament.  A three-way tie will be broken by comparing the head-to-head competition between the tied teams that may result in one of the teams demonstrating a higher cumulative total of victories.  The tiebreaker applies only to section records.  The WPIAL team champion and runner-up will advance to the PIAA Team Championships.

The tiebreaker system used in post-season play will be aplied to all regular season matches between WPIAL teams if they end in a tie score.  If ties occur, the 2005-06 NFHS Rules book criteria will be used the break the tie.  A random draw of weight classes will be used in all dual meets and team tournaments.

The WPIAL individual championships will begin with a section tournament.  In class AAA, sectionals will be held in a one-day format.  The top three place winners from each sectional tournament will advance to the WPIAL/Southwest Regional tournament from which three wrestlers will advance to the state tournament.  Wrestle-back competition will be included from the first round of Sectionals, WPIAL and Regional Championships.

Senior high school wrestlers must be certified at only one of the following fourteen weight classifications:

103, 112, 119, 125, 130, 135, 140, 145, 152, 160, 171, 189, 215, and 275 lbs.

WPIAL WRESTLING ALIGNMENT

CLASS AAA - 49 TEAMS

* - playing up
@ - co-operative sponsorship

Any questions or comments should be directed to Athletic Director Bob Bozzuto at:    bbozzuto@northallegheny.org

ed to Athletic Director