Great moments in Powerade history
Cody Wiercioch, left, of Canon-McMillan wrestles Chance Marsteller in the 170-pound finals in 2012.
Dalton Macri of Canon-McMillan had one of the great comebacks in Powerade history.
Ty Moore
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
The crowd reacts as Wyoming Seminary’s Beau Bartlett, standing, upsets Jefferson-Morgan’s Gavin Teasdale, 4-3, in the 126-pound championship bout in 2017, handing the Jefferson-Morgan senior and three-time state champion his first loss.
Before wrestling in the Olympics, Cary Kolat made his presence felt at Powerade with Jefferson-Morgan.
Beginning Friday, 52 teams will begin varsity competition in the Powerade Christmas Wrestling Tournament, one of the most prestigious in the country, at Canon-McMillan High School.
The event, which began in 1967 as the California University Christmas Tournament, has had 32 wrestlers who went on to win NCAA titles and seven future Olympians.
The talent level has created many outstanding matches and left fans with their own list of bouts seared into the memory.
Here are some of mine in no particular order:
Kolat breaks out, 1988
The talk around the WPIAL that season was that this young kid from Jefferson-Morgan was going to be something special.
And they were right.
In what were the first steps in a fantastic career, Kolat defeated three PIAA placewinners from the year before to win his first of two titles in this event. He would have won four but decided to compete in the Midlands during his sophomore and junior seasons.
As a freshman in this event, Kolat pinned Rich Ginther of Penn-Trafford in 3:31 in the quarterfinals, tore apart Rob Weis of Erie McDowell, 14-4, in the semifinals and stopped Mike Norton of North Allegheny, 4-1, in the finals to win the 119-pound championship.
All three of Kolat’s victims medaled in Hershey the previous season.
Kyle Deliere vs.
Kurt Brenner, 2003
In front of a packed gymnasium at Canon-McMillan, Deliere thrilled the crowd by pulling off one of the great upsets in this event.
A single-leg takedown with 59 seconds remaining and holding off numerous escape attempts by Brenner secured Deliere’s 3-2 decision over the two-time defending state champion from Freedom in the 171-pound finals. Brenner entered the tournament as the nation’s top 171-pounder and had already committed to West Virginia University.
But it was the backstory that made this accomplishment so special. Sobbing at the postmatch interview, Deliere talked about having special motivation for the tournament.
Most thought it Brenner’s status that motivated Deliere but others knew differently. Deliere’s mother was extremely sick at the time but was in the stands to watch her son’s special moment against Brenner.
Three months later, she would die at age 48. Sadly, nearly 10 years to the date of his great win over Brenner, Kyle Deliere died of cancer at age 27.
The win over Brenner was his lasting gift for wrestling fans.
Michael Kemerer vs.
Vincenzo Joseph, 2013
Many believe this was the greatest match wrestled in this tournament because of the talent these two possessed and displayed.
The two met as juniors, Kemerer from Franklin Regional and Joseph from Central Catholic. Kemerer pulled out a 3-2 decision in the 138-pound title bout.
Ty Moore vs.
Jim Hurford, 1989
There is always a first in any tournament and Moore accomplished it against Hurford.
Moore’s pin in 51 seconds of the Alliance wrestler came in the 119-pound finals and made the North Allegheny senior the first four-time Powerade champion. Moore had four pins totaling only 4:01.
Only five other wrestlers have won four Powerade titles: Marshall Peppelman of Central Dauphin (2006-09), Nico Megaludis of Franklin Regional (2007-10), Jimmy Gulibon of Derry (2008-11), Chance Marsteller of Kennard Dale (2010-13); and Luke Pletcher of Latrobe (2012-15).
Dalton Macri vs. James Milhof, 2013
There have been some amazing comebacks in this tournament’s history but maybe none so electrifying as Dalton Macri’s heroics.
Macri, a senior from Canon-McMillan, trailed Milhof, a senior from Collins, Ga., 6-3 with 13 seconds remaining in the 126-pound finals. Macri threw Milhof to his back from the neutral position as the crowd erupted and gave a fist-pump as the buzzer sounded for a five-point move and an 8-6 victory.
Gavin Teasdale vs. Beau Bartlett, 2017
The unthinkable became reality in this match. Teasdale, a senior from Jefferson-Morgan, saw his 134-bout unbeaten streak come to an end with a 4-3 loss to the Wyoming Seminary sophomore in the 126-pound final.
Bartlett took Teasdale down twice in the bout, the second time with 25 seconds to go for a 4-2 lead. Teasdale escaped seven seconds later and nearly got a takedown along the edge of the mat as the buzzer sounded. The match became an instant classic.
Cody Wiercioch vs.
Chance Marsteller, 2012
Few times does a bout such as this one live up to the hype but this one did. Marsteller dominated with two single-leg attempts that seemed to reach Wiercioch’s kidneys. He managed to get out of both scoring attempts. Wiercioch had a single-leg in the third period and an even better one in the first overtime that forced Marsteller into a split that should have shredded his hamstring.
This was never going to be an offensive extravaganza. Marsteller won 3-2 in ultimate tiebreaker on an escape. The two left that mat to a standing ovation.
Assistant sports editor Joe Tuscano can be reached at jtuscano@observer-reporter.com.