Feb 26, 2023 4 min read

HEIDELBERG – Washington and Greene counties were well represented in the finals of the WPIAL Class 2A Tournament, which concluded Saturday at Chartiers Valley High School.

Ten of the 13 weight classes featured a local wrestler. Unfortunately, only three of those individuals came home with a gold medal.

Beth-Center had three wrestlers advance to the finals, but two had to settle for a silver medal.

The only Bulldog to win a title was Tyler Debnar, who captured the 145-pound weight class with a 5-3 win over Belle Vernon’s Kole Doppelheuer. His title came after finishes of third and six in his previous two appearances at the WPIAL tournament.

“It’s feels amazing to finally win at this tournament,” said Debnar, who came into the tournament seeded No. 4 after losing 1-0 to Frazier’s Jonah Erdely in the section finals. “I knew coming in that there was no clear-cut favorite in this weight class. Losing in the section finals just drove me even more to succeed.”

Beth-Center’s other two finalists were: Tyler Berish and Jacob Layhue.

Berish, the top seed at 152 pounds, dropped a 3-2 decision to Frazier’s Ryan Celaschi in the title match. Berish had defeated Celaschi, 6-5, one week earlier in the Southern Sectional.

Layhue had the unfortunate task of facing Rune Lawrence in the 189-pound final. Lawrence, considered by many to be the best pound-for-pound wrestler in the state in Class 2A, needed only 22 seconds to pin Layhue. The two also met in the Southern Sectional and the result was similar.

Burgettstown had two returning champions in the finals, but only one collected another gold medal.

Joey Sentipal made his third appearance in the finals and claimed his second title with a 10-4 win against Burrell’s Niko Ferra at 139 pounds. Sentipal placed second at 126 as a sophomore and first at 132 last year. Ferra also was a returning champion, as he won a title at 120 pounds as a sophomore.

“They are all great,” said Sentipal, when asked if this title meant more to him since it came during his senior year. “You have to live the life of a Burgettstown wrestler: the diet, the time we spend in practice, the extra workouts. It’s not for everybody, but it all pays off in the end. The feeling of winning a title makes it all worth it.”

Blue Devils heavyweight Joseph Baronick made a return trip to the finals, but dropped a 4-1 decision to Christian Flaherty of Keystone Oaks.

The only other area wrestler to win a title was Fort Cherry’s Braedon Welsh, who captured the 172-pound crown with a 5-0 shutout of Burrell’s Isaac Lacinski.

“It feels great to win this title after last year’s disappointment,” said Welsh, referring to his sixth-place finish last year. “A concussion kept me from reaching my full potential last year. Being heathy this year made a huge difference.”

Bentworth had two wrestlers in the finals for the second straight year, but both had to settle for a silver medal.

Chris Vargo saw his hopes of becoming a four-time champion come to an abrupt end with a 5-1 loss to Burrell’s Cooper Hornack in the 127-pound final. Vargo had won previous WPIAL titles at 113 and 120 pounds, including a 5-0 win in last year’s finals over Hornack. It was the second title for Hornack, who won at 106 in 2021.

“There’s no difference (between this year and last year),” Vargo said. “It’s wrestling, you win or you lose. And I lost today.”

Hornack was thrilled to avenge last year’s loss to Vargo.

“He ended my hopes of becoming a four-time champion last year,” Hornack said. “This win avenges that loss. I worked so hard this year knowing that we would meet in the finals. I was much more physical this time. That was the difference.”

Vitali Daniels made a second appearance in the 215-pound final for the Bearcats and earned a second silver medal after a 6-2 loss to Central Valley’s Brenan Morgan.

The other two local wrestlers to appear in the finals were: Chartiers-Houston’s Jorden Williams and McGuffey’s Lucas Barr.

Williams dropped a 3-2 decision to Indiana’s Nico Fanella in the 114-pound final.

Barr lost 8-6 to Quaker Valley’s Jack Kazalas in the 121-pound final. Barr had pinned Kazalas in a match earlier in the season.

Washington and Greene counties will be well represented at next weekend’s PIAA Class 2A Southwest Regional Tournament, which begins Friday at Altoona High School. A total of 33 local wrestlers qualified by placing among the top eight at the WPIAL tournament.

Burgettstown will have the most entries with eight. Beth-Center and Bentworth have five entries. The other local schools are: McGuffey (4), Jefferson-Morgan (3), West Greene (3), Fort Cherry (2), Chartiers-Houston (2) and Belle Vernon (1).