Church leads O-R All-District Wrestling Team
Mac Church of Waynesburg celebrates after winning the 132-pound bout in the PIAA Class 3A Wrestling Championships in Hershey. Church won his second state title and was named the Outstanding Wrestler on the Observer-Reporter’s All-District Wrestling Team.
By Joe Tuscano/Staff writer/jtuscano@observer-reporter.com
Joe Tuscano/Observer-Reporter
Mac Church of Waynesburg, top, turns Jose DeLeon of Liberty during the 126-pound bout in the first round of the PIAA Class 3A Wrestling Tournament in Hershey. Church won his second state title and was named the Outstanding Wrestler on the Observer-Reporter’s All-District Wrestling Team.
If there was any extra satisfaction to Mac Church’s second straight state wrestling title, it was that it came against Matt Repos of Central Dauphin.
For as much as one can be established with two wrestlers who compete nearly four hours away from one another, quite a rivalry has developed between Repos and the junior from Waynesburg High School.
In the 106-pound quarterfinals of the 2020 PIAA Wrestling Championships at the Giant Center in Hershey, Repos was awarded a controversial caution point on a restart in ultimate tiebreaker.
The 3-2 win by Repos cost Church a chance to become a four-time state champion in Class AAA.
So it was extra sweet – like a double scoop of sprinkles on your ice cream – when Church took a 3-1 decision from Repos in the 132-pound finals for his second consecutive gold medal.
That victory also made Church the Outstanding Wrestler on the Observer-Reporter’s All-District Wrestling team.
Church edged teammate Rocco Welsh, who broke through for a gold medal after finishing runner-up the past two seasons with a 24-6 technical fall over Dom D’Agostino of Interboro High School in the 172-pound finals.
Church was one of three area wrestlers to earn a trip to the finals but Cole Weightman of Belle Vernon gave up three points in the final 20 seconds to lose for the second week in a row to Brian Finnerty of Thomas Jefferson, this time 6-5, in a 215-pound final in which both wrestlers were trying to win their respective school’s first gold medal in this event.
Church leads a group of 27 wrestlers on the two teams.
Joining, Church, Welsh and Weightman on the first team are Zander Phaturos (126), Colten Stoneking (138), and Noah Tustin from Waynesburg; Logan Hoffman (172) of Belle Vernon; Jacob Houot (120) and Matthew Furman (172) of Canon-McMillan; Parker Sentipal (106) of Burgettstown; Chris Vargo (120) and Vitali Daniels (215) of Bentworth and Tyler Berish (152) of Beth-Center.
Making the second team were Tyler Mizenko (106), Brandon Dami (113), and Gabe Stafford (189) of Canon-McMillan; Darius McMillon (113) of Peters Township; Gaven Suica (126), Joey Sentipal (132), Rudy Brown (138) and Joey Baronick (Hvy) of Burgettstown; Blake Reihner (132) of Trinity; Brody Evans (189) of Waynesburg; Chase Frameli (145) of Jefferson-Morgan; Kyle McCullom (132) of Beth–Center; Cameron Carter-Green (Hvy) of Washington; and Braedon Welsh (160) of Fort Cherry.
The Class AA Coach of the Year is Joey Vigliotti of Burgettstown and the Class AAA Coach of the Year is Kyle Szewczyk of Waynesburg.
As usual, inclusion in the all-district team was determined by the accomplishments of each wrestler within his respective weight class.
Church came back his freshman season and defeated Repos, 1-0, in the consolation finals to take third place in the 106-pound weight class. Last year, Church defeated Kurt Shindledecker from Chambersburg, 2-1, at 120 pounds to win his first gold medal.
“This means a lot to me,” said Church. “I should be a three-time state champ. That’s what I wanted.”
Church opened this year’s tournament with a 13-2 major decision over Javien DeLeon and followed it up with a 2-0 decision over Braden Bower of Williamsport in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, Church downed Kollin Rath of Bethlehem Catholic 3-1.
“I’m sure I could have wrestled better,” said Church. “I got the job done and I did what I wanted to do.”
What makes Church so hard to beat is that his defense is outstanding and he counters shots so well. In four matches in Hershey, he allowed only four points.
“You have to pay attention to detail,” said Szewczyk. “There is such a fine line between winning and losing up here. If you lose, you didn’t pay attention to detail. If you win, you did. If you don’t pay attention to detail, you make one little mistake and the other guy scores.”
Wrestler of the Year: Mac Church, Waynesburg
Class AA Coach of the Year: Joey Vigliotti, Burgettstown
Class AAA Coach of the Year: Kyle Szewczyk, Waynesburg
First Team
1. Mac Church, Waynesburg (132, 11, 38-2)
2. Rocco Welsh, Waynesburg (172, 11, 46-1)
3. Cole Weightman, Belle Vernon (215, 12, 13-3)
4. Jacob Houpt, Canon-McMillan (120, 12, 36-8)
5. Zander Phatorus, Waynesburg (126, 12, 36-10)
6. Colten Stoneking, Waynesburg (138, 12, 41-12)
7. Matthew Furman, Canon-McMillan (172, 11, 35-10)
8. Logan Hoffman, Belle Vernon (172, 12, 40-9)
9. Noah Tustin, Waynesburg (285, 12, 43-14)
10. Parker Sentipal, Burgettstown (106, 10, 42-5)
11. Chris Vargo, Bentworth (120, 10, 30-5)
12. Tyler Berish, Beth-Center (152, 11, 39-6)
13. Vitali Daniels, Bentwrth (215, 10, 30-8)
Second Team
1. Tyler Mizenko, Canon-McMillan (106, 10,32-13)
2. Darius McMillon, Peters Township (113, 9, 30-5)
3. Brandon Dami, Canon-McMillan (113, 11, 27-11)
4. Blake Reihner, Trinity (132, 10, 34-11)
5. Brody Evans, Waynesburg (189, 11, 37-14)
6. Gabe Stafford, Canon-McMillan (189, 11, 30-10)
7. Gaven Suica, Burgettstown (126, 10, 32-10)
8. Kyle McCollum, Beth-Center (132, 12, 39-8)
9. Cameron Carter-Green, Washington (Hvy, 12, 28-6)
10. Joey Sentipal, Burgettstown (132, 12, 39-6)
11. Rudy Brown, Burgettstown (138, 10, 34-14)
12. Chase Frameli, Jefferson-Morgan (145, 10, 33-7)
13. Braedon Welsh, Fort Cherry (160, 9, 30-12)
14. Joey Baronick, Burgettstown (Hvy, 10, 29-17)