A 15-and-under freestyle wrestling champion at the Pan-American Games and a winner of several PJW titles in junior high, Kiski Area freshman Mario Hutcherson entered his first WPIAL tournament with as much hype as any first-year varsity wrestler in recent memory.
He left with the first true loss of his high school career courtesy of Thomas Jefferson senior Bode Marlow.
Fans have clamored all year long for a showdown between Marlow and Hutcherson (36-3) — whose only prior losses came by way of forfeit due to injury — and they finally got it on Saturday afternoon at the WPIAL Class 3A boys individual wrestling championships at Canon-McMillan. And when the dust had finally settled on his 10-2 win by major decision in the 172-pound championship bout, it was clear that Marlow (44-2) is still the man to beat.
“He’s obviously really talented, but I just had to go out there and do what I can do,” Marlow said. “I really tried not to get involved in the hype.”
A Pitt recruit and returning WPIAL champion with a career record of 156-29, Marlow finished third in the state at 160 pounds last year. He also took third place at two of the nation’s most prestigious tournaments in back-to-back weeks in December — Beast of the East and Powerade.
Now, with his second WPIAL title in tow, Marlow will set his sights on next week’s PIAA Class 3A West Regional at Canon-McMillan — the last stop before Hershey, where he will attempt to bring home his first state title on March 8.
“That’s what I’m looking for right now. I want that state title,” Marlow said. “Obviously, I’ve got some people I’ve got to take down.”
Although the 172-pound bracket may have featured the most-hyped championship bout, the 215-pound bracket was certainly the most talent-rich division in the WPIAL this year. With a trio of returning champions fighting for a spot on top of the podium — plus Central Catholic sophomore Roman Thompson (30-2) as the No. 4 seed — this weight class did not disappoint on Saturday.
In the semifinal round, No. 3 Cooper Roscosky (35-6) of Kiski Area gutted out a 5-4 win against No. 2 Jake Conroy (32-3) of Ringgold in a champ-vs.-champ collision. In the other semifinal, top-seeded junior Elijah Brown of Belle Vernon used a headlock to pin Thompson with 20 seconds left in the second period.
“We know those guys pretty well, just from being around them and wrestling them the last few weeks,” said Leopards coach Bob Bove. “It’s always nice to be 2-0 against guys, but when you wrestle three times in a short span, you get a bit worrisome as a coach.”
That set up a high-stakes showdown between Brown and Roscosky in the 215-pound final, where Brown defeated Roscosky for the third time this season — this time with a hard-fought 6-4 decision. The win gives Brown (40-1) his second consecutive WPIAL title and first in Class 3A.
“I think he’s one of the best tilters in America, at least in high school. Everybody knows he does it, and they still can’t stop it,” Bove said. “He’s an extremely intelligent kid, a gifted athlete, and he’s a quick learner.”
Brown’s win over Roscosky wasn’t the only matchup between returning champions on Saturday. Latrobe senior Luke Willochell (38-3) entered the tournament with the goal of becoming the 33rd wrestler to win four WPIAL titles, but Indiana senior Nico Fanella had other plans in mind.
In an anticipated clash of four-time WPIAL finalists at 133 pounds, Fanella scored a go-ahead reversal with 41 seconds left in the third period, then held top position for the duration of the match to score a 7-5 win. The victory marks the second WPIAL title for Fanella (35-2), who also claimed gold as a sophomore at 114.
With Norwin sophomore Landon Sidun out for the rest of the postseason with an injury, Thomas Jefferson senior Maddox Shaw is the only returning state champion in the WPIAL. An Ohio State recruit and three-time PIAA medalist with a career record of 160-14, Shaw was pushed to the brink in his 152-found final against Connellsville’s Evan Petrovich (40-7), also a returning WPIAL champion and Pitt recruit.
The bout remained scoreless going into the third, but Shaw (30-2) escaped quickly to his feet to begin the final period, then held on for a narrow 1-0 decision to secure his third WPIAL crown. Shaw had defeated Petrovich at the section tournament last week, 11-4.
“Petrovich is the real deal, man,” said Jaguars coach Michael Ladick. “These kids evolve as these matches go on. Last week is so far away from us. It’s like it didn’t happen.”
Joining Shaw and Marlow at the top of the podium, Thomas Jefferson senior and Pitt football recruit Shep Turk (39-6) defended his heavyweight title with a 4-1 decision against Armstrong’s Philup Rearick (37-7) at 285 pounds. The Jaguars had another football star in the finals, as Brayden White (31-7) advanced to the 160-pound championship bout and held a two-point lead late in the third period before dropping a 5-4 decision to Connellsville senior and West Virginia recruit Lonzy Vielma (37-8).
“He’s not a football player right now. He is a wrestler. That is the mindset that he has,” Ladick said about Turk. “This is a no-look-ahead situation. If everyone thought this week was hard, just wait until next week.”
Peters Township sophomore Nicholas McGarrity (36-4) started things off with his second consecutive title at 107 pounds, dismantling Connellsville’s Tommy Gretz (34-8) with an 11-0 major decision. Hempfield junior Nico Kapusta (13-0) then outlasted Penn-Trafford junior Dylan Barrett (31-4) in a barnburner for a 13-12 win at 114 pounds. At 121, Latrobe’s Leo Joseph (33-4) took down Connellville’s Nolan Rice (30-11) in overtime to secure his first WPIAL championship with a 6-3 decision win in sudden victory.
At 127 pounds, Butler junior Santino Sloboda cruised to an 18-2 win by technical fall against Trinity’s Dom Canali (39-5) for his second title in a row. A Pitt recruit, Sloboda (41-0) is one of only four undefeated wrestlers remaining in the WPIAL.
After a runner-up finish as a freshman, Connellsville sophomore Kai Vielma (41-4) pinned previously unbeaten Pine-Richland senior Dominic Ferraro (40-1) in 3:20 to take home the 139-pound title. Baldwin senior and West Virginia recruit Ramil Islamov (41-0) then followed with a 17-2 technical fall over Butler senior Kase Chopp (40-7) to capture his first WPIAL title at 145.
Finally, Waynesburg senior Jake Stephenson (16-0) improved on a pair of sixth-place finishes the previous two years and kept his perfect record intact with a 7-1 decision against Central Catholic junior Nezumiiro Green (27-4) in the 189-pound final.
Class 2A
For the second year in a row, Derry crowned a trio of champions under coach Troy Dolan, as Anthony Mucci and sophomores Mason Horwat and Brady Brown each won back-to-back WPIAL titles.
After winning at 114 pounds as a junior, Mucci (38-5) moved up to 133 for his senior season and defeated Bentworth’s Jake McClure, 3-2. Horwat (40-3), who won at 145 as a freshman, dominated Frazier’s Jonah Erdely via 21-5 technical fall to capture the 152-pound crown. Finally, Brown (40-4) defended his 189-pound title in style with a 19-4 technical fall against South Side’s Slayton Williams in only 1:44.
“It was great. It was fun to see those guys,” said Dolan, a 2007 Derry grad who won four WPIAL titles and three state titles during his extraordinary career. “We knew they had some tough brackets, and they stepped up and performed well. It’s not the end goal, but it’s great to see good progress along the way.”
Elizabeth Forward was the only other school to crown multiple champions in Class 2A. Warriors freshman Preston Bubash (26-2) defeated Quaker Valley junior Bruce Anderchak (45-3) by a 3-2 decision in the 114-pound final, and sophomore Lucas Boyer (34-3) dispatched Knoch junior Owen Layhew (33-6) at 145 pounds, 7-0.
Elsewhere, the rest of the WPIAL Class 2A champions were Highlands junior Javeon Chambers (36-4) at 107, Avonworth junior Auston Kosanovic (43-4) at 121, Central Valley junior Antonio Boni (41-2) at 127, McGuffey junior Lucas Barr (44-2) at 139, Bentworth junior Owen Ivcic (43-3) at 160, Frazier junior Jackson Angelo (41-1) at 172, Fort Cherry senior Braedon Welsh (40-1) at 215 and West Greene junior Colin Whyte (42-4) at 285.
Steve is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at srotstein@unionprogress.com.
