HERSHEY, Pa. — As the first series of matches at the inaugural PIAA girls wrestling tournament were getting underway on Thursday afternoon, there was one very important competitor missing from Mat 1.
The No. 3-ranked 100-pounder in the country according to FloWrestling, Canon-McMillan senior Valarie Solorio was scheduled to face Williamsport’s Danica Bacorn to begin the first round of action. But as the whistles blew to begin the other five matches happening simultaneously, Solorio was nowhere to be found. As it turns out, she initially walked over to the wrong mat to check in, then had to take a detour to the other side of the floor, where Bacorn was waiting in the center of the circle for their match to begin.
This is all new to Solorio and the rest of the girls competing inside Giant Center for the first time, so you’ll have to excuse her tardiness this time.
“As I’m jogging over there, my coach was like, ‘You’re already late. Just calm down. Just breathe,'” Solorio said. “I was like, ‘OK, I can do that.'”
Once Solorio arrived at the proper mat about a minute behind schedule, the undefeated Iowa recruit seemed to be in a hurry to make up for lost time. Solorio attacked Bacorn from the opening whistle like she was shot out of a cannon, taking her opponent down at will and letting her back up while racking up points like a hungry lioness playing with her food.
With Solorio holding a 13-3 lead midway through the first period, Big Macs coach Brian Krenzelak instructed her to go for the fall after a restart in the center of the mat. Solorio happily obliged, sticking Bacorn’s shoulders to the mat for a first-period pin just a few seconds later. The official time of the fall came at 1:23 — making Solorio (13-0) the first entrant to win a match at the historic PIAA girls tournament.
Not bad for someone wrestling with a partially torn ACL.
“Mind over matter,” Solorio said. “I just go out there and treat every match like it’s my last. I love wrestling to the point where a little pain isn’t going to stop me.”
The other No. 1 seed from the WPIAL, North Allegheny senior Leyna Rumpler, arrived early to Mat 1 for her first-round match against Delaware Valley’s Juliet Fitzpatrick at 155 pounds. Pacing back and forth while patiently waiting for the preceding match to finish after multiple delays, Rumpler (33-1) unleashed her pent-up aggression on Fitzpatrick as soon as the match started, building up a 12-0 lead before flattening her foe for a second-period pin in 3:51.
Including her previous three seasons of unofficial competition, Rumpler now holds a career record of 100-19.
“I’ve really just been trying to imagine this as a regular tournament,” Rumpler said. “Obviously, I know it’s a huge tournament, the biggest tournament of the year. I’m just trying to downplay it so I don’t freak myself out.
“I’m really just trying to stay calm, calm my breathing and calm my heart. But I’m ready to go out there and pound on some girls.”
Along with Solorio, two other girls from the WPIAL entered the tournament with perfect records, and both Butler senior Ana Malovich (16-0) and Moon freshman Haley Smarsh (26-0) remained undefeated after picking up first-round pins on Thursday. Malovich, the No. 2 seed at 118 pounds, pinned Crestwood’s Rachel Shoemaker in 3:29, while Smarsh, the No. 2 seed at 130, pinned Dallastown’s Kenna Hoffman in 1:23.
Overall, 17 girls advanced to tomorrow’s quarterfinal round, including four from Canon-McMillan. Joining Solorio in the quarterfinals from the Big Macs are senior Dynisty Williams (26-8) at 155, sophomore Audrey Calgaro (27-5) at 170 and junior Natalie Rush (32-2) at 190.
The other local girls to advance on day one were Knoch’s Miranda Lajevic (9-2) and Montour’s Kristen Walzer (6-2) at 100, Ringgold’s Anna Duncan (8-2) at 130, Fort Cherry’s Abigail Dolanch (28-7) and Kiski Area’s Ava Golding (28-4) at 136, Norwin’s Josephine Dollman (24-3) and Peters Township’s Grace O’Korn (30-8) at 142, Norwin’s Karsyn Champion (30-10) at 148 and Plum’s Alaina Claassen (21-2) and Southmoreland’s Zoey Murphy (13-6) at 235.
Class 2A boys
It took him a little bit longer than most expected, but Frazier’s Rune Lawrence added another milestone to his lengthy list of accomplishments on Thursday morning.
Entering the PIAA tournament with 11 consecutive pins — including 10 in the first period — Lawrence (30-1) had to wait until the second period to make it 12 falls in a row, notching the 100th pin of his remarkable career in his first-round bout against Greenville’s Teague Calvin at 215 pounds. Calvin sometimes trains with Lawrence at Quest School of Wrestling, which may have contributed to his ability to survive the first period. Still, the three-time PIAA champion effortlessly piled up points on his way to building a 14-4 lead before scoring the pin in 2:31.
“We kind of know what each other does,” Lawrence said. “Overall, I still got the job done.”
The two biggest wins of the day in Class 2A, though, both belonged to a pair of freshmen from Derry.
First, Mason Horwat (36-4) defeated Faith Christian Academy’s Chase Hontz, 2-0, in a first-round matchup at 145 pounds. Not to be outdone, fellow first-year sensation Brady Brown held on for a 2-1 upset win against Bishop McDevitt’s Lucas Lawler at 189, sending both Horwat and Brown to the quarterfinals.
After finishing fifth at last week’s Southwest Regional tournament, Brown (39-4) had to win a preliminary-round match with a 7-6 decision against Fort LeBeouf’s Connor McChesney just to reach the Round of 16. There, he managed to survive a last-gasp takedown attempt by Lawler, taking out the returning PIAA medalist in dramatic fashion.
“[Horwat] came off the mat [after his win] and was like, ‘Let’s keep it rolling,'” Brown said. “I was like, ‘I’ve got to get this win.’ … Why can’t I win that match? I’ve put in so much work.”
Coming off a fourth-place finish as a freshman, Burrell sophomore Cam Baker advanced to the quarterfinal round for the second year in a row at 107 pounds, but he had to battle to the final whistle to get there. Facing Northwestern’s Sierra Chiesa — the only girl ever to qualify for the PIAA boys tournament — Baker (43-4) scored an early takedown to take a 2-0 lead, then held on for a 4-2 victory after Chiesa spent the third period desperately trying to turn him to his back.
“I treat everyone at the state tournament the same way,” Baker said. “It feels great to advance. I’m hoping to make the finals and just win the whole thing.”
Baker’s teammate, senior Cooper Hornack took the first step toward reaching back-to-back state finals, pinning Camp Hill’s Noah Doi in 3:43 in a matchup of returning state medalists at 139 pounds. Hornack (38-5) is a defending state champion and three-time PIAA medalist, and he has never finished outside the top four in Hershey.
“I practice that a lot,” Hornack said about the whizzer he used to secure the pin. “I’m really good at scrambling. I know my positions really well.”
A total of 14 WPIAL wrestlers advanced to the Class 2A quarterfinal round, including a trio of heavyweights — Burgettstown senior Joey Baronick (42-10), Central Valley senior Brenan Morgan (40-0) and Mount Pleasant sophomore Dylan Pitzer (41-2). Morgan is the WPIAL’s only remaining undefeated wrestler in Class 2A.
Also reaching the quarterfinals were Chartiers-Houston senior Jorden Williams (28-7) at 114, Bentworth senior Chris Vargo (39-2) and Indiana junior Nico Fanella (38-4) at 127, Quaker Valley senior Jack Kazalas (44-4) at 133, Hopewell senior Isaiah Pisano (39-3) at 160 and Frazier sophomore Jackson Angelo (37-8) at 189.
Angelo’s quarterfinal opponent will be none other than Brown, one of his closest friends and his primary training partner at Rob Waller’s All-American Wrestling Club. The two met last month in the WPIAL semifinals, with Brown scoring a last-second takedown to eke out a 5-4 win on his way to winning the 189-pound WPIAL title.
“It makes me nervous,” Brown said about competing at Giant Center for the first time. “I definitely get an odd feeling in my stomach, but that makes people dangerous.”
Class 3A boys
Most of the WPIAL’s top dogs in Class 3A emerged unscathed from the opening day of competition, with a total of 24 WPIAL wrestlers advancing to the Class 3A quarterfinals.
The same can’t be said for former state champion Kaedyn Williams of Manheim Township, who was on the receiving end of the tournament’s biggest upset so far in the first round at 114 pounds. A Rider recruit and three-time PIAA medalist with a career record of 112-6, Williams (34-1) got pinned by Ridley’s Curtis Nelson (39-2) in 3:16, sending shockwaves throughout the arena and the 114-pound bracket.
That matchup might not have had any local ties, but the implications will be felt later on in the tournament — especially by Butler sophomore Santino Sloboda and Norwin freshman Landon Sidun. Both Sloboda (37-0) and Sidun (39-2) advanced to the quarterfinal round, with Sloboda posting a 12-0 major decision against Meadville’s Ben Fuller and Sidun knocking off Penn Manor’s Travis Clawson via a 12-6 decision.
Now, the path toward a highly anticipated rematch of last week’s epic WPIAL championship showdown has seemingly been cleared. Sloboda would have been forced to go through Williams in the semifinals to get to the championship match, but Nelson had other plans.
Connellsville sent four to the next round, including brothers Kai and Lonzy Vielma. A 133-pound freshman, Kai Vielma (40-5) made a memorable state tournament debut with a first-period pin against Punxsutawney’s Jordan Rutan in 1:44, while older brother Lonzy (36-7) narrowly defeated Mifflin County’s Deakon Schaeffer, 5-4, at 160. Also advancing for the Falcons were freshman Nolan Rice (38-8) at 107 and junior Evan Petrovich (38-6) at 145.
“The first match of the tournament is always the hardest one,” Lonzy Vielma said. “I’m happy for [Kai]. He works his butt off. It was really cool to see.”
A trio of WPIAL competitors advanced at 121 pounds — Canon-McMillan sophomore Collier Hartman (29-8), Franklin Regional senior Tyler Kapusta (43-6) and Latrobe junior Luke Willochell (39-1). Big Macs senior Andrew Binni (33-6) won at 127, as did Bethel Park’s Mason Kernan (36-3) and Baldwin’s Ramil Islamov (38-3) at 133.
Returning state finalist and two-time PIAA medalist Maddox Shaw (40-3) of Thomas Jefferson had little trouble dispatching Canon-McMillan’s Ryder Joseph (20-9) with a 56-second pin at 139 pounds. Like Lawrence, Shaw has now pinned 12 opponents in a row, including 10 in the first period.
Trinity senior Blake Reihner (47-4) joined Shaw in the quarterfinals with a 2-1 decision against Seamus Mack of Hempfield (Landisville), while Penn-Trafford senior Hayden Coy (16-4) joined Petrovich in the 145-pound quarterfinals. Elsewhere, Hempfield senior Eli Carr (33-2) advanced at 152, and reigning WPIAL champion Bode Marlow (36-6) of Thomas Jefferson moved on at 160 with a 20-5 technical fall against Waynesburg’s Brock Evans (24-13).
Pine-Richland junior Vaughn Spencer (40-2), Trinity senior Bodie Miller (28-4) and Latrobe freshman Hunter Snyder (37-5) each advanced to the 172-pound quarterfinals, as did Norwin senior Nate Campbell (36-8), Kiski Area sophomore Cooper Roscosky (39-2) and Central Catholic freshman Roman Thompson (33-2) at 189. Finally, Ringgold junior and Cornell recruit Jake Conroy (43-2) needed only 52 seconds to pin Meadville’s Ty Tidball at 215.
Steve is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at srotstein@unionprogress.com.
