Houpt has weighty issue at Section 4 tournament
Joe Tuscano/Observer-Reporter
Jacob Houpt of Canon-McMillan has Franco Busalacchi of Mt. Lebanon in trouble during the 120-pound bout in the Section 4 Tournament at Peters Township High School Saturday.
Joe Tuscano/Observer-Reporter
Nate Jones of Waynesburg is close to pinning Giuseppi Juliani of Canon-McMillan during their 145-pound bout in the Section 4 Tournament at Peters Township High School Saturday.
Joe Tuscano/Observer-Reporter
Ty Banco of Trinity tries to run the half on Noah Tustin of Waynesburg during the 285-pound bout in the Section 4 Tournament at Peters Township High School Saturday.
Joe Tuscano/Observer-Reporter
Tanner Mizenko of Canon-McMillan holds the leg of TJ Allison of Trinity during their 106-pound bout in the Section 4 Tournament at Peters Township High School Saturday.
McMURRAY – Jacob Houpt stood on the awards stand and received his medal for winning the 120-pound weight class in the Section 4-AAA Wrestling Tournament Saturday at Peters Township High School.
What the senior from Canon-McMillan really wanted, however, was to be standing with the 113-pounders when they received their medals.
The reason that didn’t happen was because of a mistake by the Canon-McMillan coaches on the weigh-ins for the second day of the PIAA Team Tournament in Hershey.
How does a weigh-in in Hershey more than a week ago affect where Houpt could wrestle in the Section 4 tournament? Does the name Jarod Verkleeren ring a bell?
Verkleeren and Houpt got bad information from their coaches about what they could weigh on the second day in Hershey and still be able to compete at their desired weight class.
“On day 2 of Hershey for team states, my coaches informed me and my teammate, Andrew Binney, that our descent did not count,” Houpt said. “I was a little suspicious of it. I questioned them, asking if that was a new rule and everyone said they were sure. So I took their advice, trusted my coaches and weighed in a little bit heavy. Obviously, I was a bit frustrated. I felt like there was a little bit of arrogance in the coaching staff thinking that they knew this without asking the PIAA or Frank Vulcano (head of the WPIAL wrestling committee). I should have done it but looking back, hindsight is 20-20.”
Canon-McMillan head coach Brian Krenzelak admitted he erred in not checking the rules before weigh-ins.
“I misinterpreted the rule.” Krenzelak said. “We were on a descent, something we decided to do at Powerade. Unfortunately, we misinterpreted the rule. We contacted the PIAA to see if there was an appeals process. There wasn’t one. I told Jacob and called the parents, just making sure all the bases were covered. I just misinterpreted the rule. Learn from the past, prepare for the future but you have to live in the present.”
Years ago, the PIAA, in an effort to stop huge weight losses in a short period of time by a wrestler, instituted a process that monitors a wrestler’s weight loss. No longer could a wrestler drop, say, 20 pounds in a short amount of time to reach a certain weight class.
Now, a wrestler can only lose 1.5 percent of his certified weight per week. That amount varies from, say, a 189-pounder to a 120-pounder. That wasn’t enough time for Houpt to get to 113.
The one big difference between Houpt, Binney and Verkleeren is the latter did not wrestle in the postseason because Belle Vernon head coach Mike Doppelheuer would not allow Verkleeren to challenge another wrestler for his spot in the lineup. Houpt and Binney were hoping to move down a weight, but still kept their original weight once the mistake was discovered. Doppelhheuer didn’t qualify for his normal weight class.
Maybe the wrestler who benefited the most from the foul-up was C-M’s Brandon Dami, who possibly would have lost his spot in the lineup if Houpt and Binney came down a weight.
All three made the section finals Saturday, qualifying for next weekend’s PIAA Southwest Region Tournament at Canon-McMillan High School. Only Houpt will go as Section 4 champion. The top five wrestlers in each weight class advanced.
The other big news was the revelation that Ky Szewczyk, a 113-pound sophomore from Waynesburg, was lost for the individual postseason with a knee injury.
Szewczyk, who had struggled recently, tore a meniscus and dislocated a knee cap. He sustained those injuries in mid-January but gutted it out.
“The kneecap kept locking up on him,” said Waynesburg head coach Kyle Szewczyk, Ky’s father. “Initially, we thought it was just a meniscus. If it had, he could have possibly gone. But the knee kept locking up. He had an ACL sprain and you have to watch that. It could be an eight- to 10-month rehab.”
Szewczyk joins Cole Homet and Joe Simon, who could not make weight at 120, as wrestlers who will not wrestle in the individual postseason. That will hurt the Raiders’ chances of repeating as team champion at the PIAA Championships in two weeks.
In the section tournament, Waynesburg had six champions – Zander Phaturos (126), returning state champion Mac Church (126), Colten Stoneking (132), Nat Jones (145), Rocco Welsh (172), and Noah Tustin (285) – and 10 total qualifiers.
Trinity had one champion – Bodie Morgan (160) – and seven total qualifiers. Canon-McMcMillan had two champions – Tanner Mizenko (106) and Houpt (120) – and seven total qualifiers.
And Peters Township had one champion – Darius McMillon (113) – and seven total qualifiers.