Mar 12, 2016 4 min read

HERSHEY – Mike McAleavey and Milton Kobaly came into the PIAA Class AAA Wrestling Tournamnet with the same goal: win a gold medal in their respective weight class.

That goal was within reach Saturday night as each made it to the finals.

When the medals were given out at the end of their bouts, each was one step lower than they wanted on the awards stand. McAleavey, a senior at Peters Township, was pinned by Armstrong’s Jacob Robb in 2:22 in the 220-pound final.

Kobaly, a senior at Belle Vernon, lost an 8-4 decision to Jake Woodley of North Allegheny in the 182-pound final.

McAleavey finished the season with a 39-3 record and wrapped up his career at 93-43. It was the second time in as many weeks McAleavey lost to Robb.

“I didn’t have any nerves. I just wanted to wrestle tough,” said McAleavey. “He’s just a tough kid. He’s beaten me twice. We had some tough matches. He has a different style.”

McAleavey said that while the loss hurts, the experience was remarkable.

“It defintely the best tournament I ever wrestled in,” he said. “I’ll never forget this tournament or the matches I wrestled for the rest of my life.”

McAleavey was attempting to become the first state champion from Peters Township since Drew Spencer won the 135-pound title as a senior in 1993.

McAleavey made it to the finals with a dramatic 5-3 overtime decision against Evan Callahan of Freedom (District 11). McAleavey stopped Garrett Zobel of LaSalle, 7-1, and Hunter Weaver of Central Mountain, 5-0, in the first two days.

Kobaly was only the third finalist in Belle Vernon’s history. The other two were Jeremy Weslager in 2005 and Aaron Olszewski in 2001. Kobaly suffered the same fate as Weslager and Olszewski.

Woodley hit a five-point move early in the bout and that made the difference in the loss to the junior from North Allegheny.

“I’m often down big in matches and I always find a way to pull of a (big) move, something to turn the match around,” said Kobaly. “I’ve wrestled him five times this season. Every match has been a two-point match.

“I exceeded my expectations. Before we left, my dad told me he would be happy with anything above eighth. I admit I was a little starstruck in the finals.”

Austin Bell rallied from 5-2 loss in the semifinals to Michael Labriola to take a 6-1 decision over Noah Stewart of Mifflin County. Bell a senior at Belle Vernon, used a bump-back move that produced a takedown and three backpoints in the final 20 seconds.

“I’ve done that move forever,” said Bell. “It’s always in the back of my mind. It’s there when I need it and I needed it.”

Zach Hartman of Belle Vernon suffered a 5-1 loss to Joey Gould of Bethlehem Catholic in the 132 semifinals, then fell to the fifth-place bout after losing a 4-3 decision to Luke Kemerer from Hempfield. Hartman took fifth with a 16-4 major decision over Zack Trampe of Council Rock South.

Derek Verkleeren came through the wrestlebacks to reach the third-place bout. But the senior from Belle Vernon was pinned in 4:35 by Travis Stefanik of Nazareth and finished fourth.

Shaun Wilson’s hopes for a state title evaporated in the semifinals, where he dropped a 5-4 decision to Evan Fidelibus of Easton. The Waynesburg senior battled through the consolation rounds, winning a 7-4 decision from Jake Hinkson of North Allegheny for fifth place.

Wilson’s teammate, Colin McCracken, pinned Evan Morrill of Lower Dauphim in 29 seconds for seventh place at 182 pounds.

Bethlehem Catholic won the team title and Belle vernon finished fourth.