Vargo, Joey Sentipal find gold at regionals
Chris Vargo of Bentworth has Coen Bainey of Bald Eagle Area in a headlock during their 127-pound semifinal match in the PIAA Class 2A Southwest Region tournament Saturday at Altoona High School. Vargo won by decision.
Lucas Barr of McGuffey (background) tries to repel a shot by Lucas Fye of Bald Eagle Area during their 121-pound semifinal match in the PIAA Class 2A Southwest Region tournament Saturday at Altoona High School. Fye won by major decision.
Jorden Williams of Chartiers-Houston (back)gets a belly full of Landon Bainey of West Branch during their 114-pound semifinal match in the PIAA Class 2A Southwest Region tournament Saturday at Altoona High School. Bainey won a 1-0 decision.
ALTOONA – If you were looking for what motivated Chris Vargo this weekend, look no farther than last week’s WPIAL Class 2A Championship at Chartiers Valley High School.
A vastly different Vargo wrestled in that event or at least it seemed so after a 5-1 loss to Cooper Hornack of Burrell in the finals.
When the two appeared on a collision course this weekend at the PIAA Class 2A Southwest Region tournament, few gave the Bentworth junior much of a chance.
In fact, few were certain he’s survive his semifinal bout with top-seeded Coen Bainey of West Branch. But a different Vargo emerged for the semifinals, a ferocious take-no-prisoner attack that left Bainey beaten and defeated 8-1.
Next up was Hornack and the memory of that stinging loss. Vargo managed to put that behind him and came away with a 1-0 lead in the 127-pound finals that will have Hornack pacing the floor this week.
“I watched film to get ready for it,” Vargo said after winning the gold. “I felt great. I felt great out there today.”
Vargo was one of two local wrestlers to win gold in this tournament. Burgettstown’s Joey Sentipal decisioned second-seeded Liam Cornetto of Marion Center, 6-4, in overtime at 139 pounds.
The top six wrestlers from each weight class advance to the PIAA Class 2A Championships, which start Thursday at the Giant Center in Hershey.
There were 14 local wrestlers who made the tournament in Hershey.
Qualifying for the tournament were Parker Sentipal (114), Gaven Suica (133), Joey Sentipal (139) and Joe Baronick (Hvy) of Burgettstown; Jorden Williams (114) and Jessie Orbin (172) of Chartiers-Houston; Lucas Barr (121) of McGuffey; Chris Vargo (127), Owen Ivcic (139) and Vitali Daniels (215) of Bentworth; Tyler Berish (152) and Jake Layhue (189) of Beth-Center; Chase Frameli (160) of Jefferson-Morgan; and Braedon Welsh (172) of Fort Cherry.
Chestnut Ridge won the team title while Burgettstown finished fifth.
The wins raised Vargo’s record to 39-2 and could set up a rematch with either wrestlers that would be worth the price of admission.
“Last week, I was hesitant,” Vargo said. “Not to make excuses, I was a little under the weather. I’ve got one more week, one more tournament.”
Sentipal got a cautious Cornetto 19 seconds in the first overtime for the two-point win.
“There’s definitely a mental barrier between this year and last year,” Joey Sentipal said.
Joey Sentipal said he looks at competition between he and his brother, Parker, in a positive light.
“We shouldn’t look at is as trying to become Joey’s brother or Parker’s brother. We’re more than brothers; we’re family. And it’s nice to have a shoulder to lean on. He’ll always be there for me and I’ll always be there for him.”
Williams dropped a 1-0 decision to Landon Bainey of West Branch in the semifinals. Bainey made a second-period escape stand.
Barr was shut out by Lucas Fye in the semis. It was 5-0 after one period, and 8-0 after two.
Baronick found his way to the finals blocked by Gunner Singleton of Huntingdon Area, 6-0.
Grant Mathias of Berlin-Brothersvalley stopped Daniels one bout shy of the finals, taking a 3-1 decision from the Bentworth junior.
Chase Frameli of Jefferson-Morgan found himself in a weird situation in the 160-pound consolation finals Saturday. A knee injury forced him to forfeit the bout that would decide fifth place.
That would have been good news for Frameli’s opponent for fifth place, Ezra Masood of Tussey Mountain. But Masood was forced to give Andrew McMonagle of Huntingdon Area a medical default after hitting his head and suffering what appeared to be a concussion.
Masood dropped to the fifth-place bout, opposite Frameli. Masood needed the release of the on-site medical staff to be able to compete.