Trinity sees the light, advances with victory over AG
Cole Whitmer of Trinity gets a palm to the eye while trying to pin Nathan Kalfat of Albert Gallatin during their 145-pound weight class Monday in the first round of the WPIAL Class AAA Team Tournament at Albert Gallatin. Whitmer pinned Kalfat in 4:45 to help Trinity win, 48-30.
Kyle Gonzales of Trinity tries to work out from under Harley Constable of Albert Gallatin in their 120-pound weight class Monday in the first round of the WPIAL Class AAA Team Tournament at Albert Gallatin. Constable won a 16-9 decision.
YORK RUN – The spotlight hung down over the middle of the mat, the only source of brightness in a darkened gymnasium at Albert Gallatin High School.
Though the gym is large, the setup for this wrestling match gave an aura of an interrogation room of a police station in those old film noire movies.
Few schools run a dual meet this way, but being under the bright light seemed to energize Trinity’s wrestling team. The Hillers registered four pins on the way to a 48-30 victory over the Colonials in the preliminary round of the WPIAL Class AAA Team Tournament. It was only the second postseason victory for Trinity (6-2) in the past 11 years. The last one came against Upper St. Clair last season that snapped a nine-year drought.
Trinity travels to Kiski Wednesday night for the first round of the Triple-A team event and will wrestle the top-seeded and top-ranked Cavaliers.
“These kids are young, 10th-graders,” said Trinity head coach Mark Powell. “No one picked us to go this far. We knew the kids could do it. They’re young, they’re hungry and they listen. It’s good experience for them. We’re going to go wrestle the top-ranked team in the state and let it loose. That’s what it’s all about.”
Albert Gallatin finished the season with a 6-6 record.
The dual meet lasted only 50 minutes because of pins and forfeits.
Trinity had four pins and four forfeits, the first two stretching the Hillers’ lead to 30-18 after eight bouts.
“You look at the lineups and say what if,” said Powell. “We had a kid out with the mumps, so with the flu going around, we had kids sick. You never know. We knew they were going to forfeit 195 and 220. They have kids out with the flu. Those could have been the marquee matchups.”
The teams traded pins through the first four bouts with Trinity’s Cole Whitmer (145) and Kenny Ealy (152) matching Albert Gallatin’s Hunter Milligan (138) and Michael Standish (160). Jarrod Rice got a pin at 170 and Hunter Hickle got his at 106 to give Trinity a 36-24 lead. The third of four AG forfeits came at 113, putting the match away for the Hillers.
“We’ve been forfeiting 82 and 95 all year,” said AG head coach Duane Dupont. “Our 220-pounder quit, my 13-pounder has the flu, my 32-pounder has an injury and my 52-pounder just came down with the flu, too. So that’s what happened to us. We battled hard but we knew it would be tough.”
Michael Hertig is the lone senior who has been in the lineup all season for Trinity. Dawson Leavines, the other senior, is just getting back from an injury.
“We have a nice, young core that wants to win and is working hard,” Powell said. “Half our starters are sophomores. I told the guys to have fun. They never experienced the (spotlight) before. Winning in the team tournament is hard. We have things heading in the right direction.”
Tim Wallace (182) and Corey Dodson (Hvy) also had pins for the Colonials.