Raya Sentipal blazing trail for Burgettstown
Joe Tuscano / Observer-Reporter
Raya Sentipal (top) of Burgettstown starts to turn Dylan Carter of Fort Cherry during their 107-pound bout in the first round of the Tri-CADA Wrestling Tournament. Sentipal got a pin in 2:50 on Friday.
Joe Tuscano / Observer-Reporter
Collier Hartman, top, of Canon-McMillan, tries to scoot away from the hold Isaac Meyers of Peters Township during their 114-pound bout Friday in the Tri-CADA Tournament at Canon-McMillan High School. Hartman won by fall in 4:28.
CANONSBURG – Mention the name Sentipal and you might think about a pair of brothers who have made quite a mark in high school wrestling.
Joey and Parker Sentipal from Burgettstown are each trying for their second straight title at the Tri-CADA Tournament this weekend at Canon-McMillan High School.
But it’s their sister, Raya, whose wrestling experience goes back as far as her brothers and who grabbed a lot of attention Friday.
Raya Sentipal, a freshman, pinned Dylan Carter of Fort Cherry in 2:50 in the first round at 107 pounds.
The quarterfinals didn’t treat Raya Sentipal as kind, but she was going up against top-seeded Tanner Mizenko of Canon-McMillan and was pinned. Raya Sentipal can still finish in third place, which is what she has targeted.
“I’m not really intimidated by the boys,” said Raya Sentipal. “My brothers are the reason I started. We wrestle a lot at home in the basement.”
“She likes to beat up on us,” said Parker Sentipal, a junior who is the top seed at 114. “I like the fact that she got into it. She really doesn’t like to lose.”
Burgettstown would welcome starting a girls team when the PIAA recognizes the sport. Right now, there needs to be about a dozen more teams created for that to occur.
Of course, were that to happen, Burgettstown would lose one of its better wrestlers from the boys team in Raya Sentipal.
“We’ve had girls on our team the past couple years,” said Burgettstown head coach Joey Vigliotti. “The boys train the same as the boys in the room. We treat the girls the same as the boys. The expectations are the same.
“They get no special treatment in our room. She just needs to get the nerves out. She has to realize she is going against more mature boys. I think she needs a to work more on her technique than her muscles but, hey. She’s good.”
Parker Sentipal opened the tournament with a pin of Frank Fedorchak of Trinity and followed that up with a pin of Ronin Kramer of Jefferson-Morgan.
Joey Sentipal, a senior and top seed at 139 pounds, began the tournament with a 9-1 major decision over Josiah Gardner of Canon-McMillan then pinned Levi Yeater of West Greene.
Semifinals are set for 11 a.m. today and finals will be held at 2:30 p.m.
Matthew Furman had a special win in the first round, pinning Garron Barrows of South Fayette in 3:12 at 189 pounds. Furman is top seed in his weight class.
It was the 100th victory of the Canon-McMillan senior’s career.
After Furman’s victory, he had his picture taken at the middle of the mat with an action picture in hand.
Later on, he was given a pair of plastic glasses with the No. 100 encrusted on the frame.
“I don’t really follow wins like that,” Furman said. “I just go out and wrestle. I don’t think about the win part of it. This is something that won’t let me go out and wrestle my best match.”
Two of Waynesburg’s better wrestlers – Joe Simon (127) and two-time PIAA champion Mac Church (145) – did not compete because of minor injuries.
Returning state champion Rocco Welsh chalked up two pins and easily advanced to the semifinals.
None of the top seeds lost.