Vargo, Daniels celebrate wins in different ways
Joe Tuscano/Observer-Reporter
Vitali Daniels of Bentworth, top, controls Mark Effendian of Faith Christian during their 215-pound bout in the first round of the PIAA Class 2A Championships. Daniels won a decision.
Chris Vargo of Bentworth (right) tries to turn Collin Ramsey of Penn Argyl during their 127-pound bout in the first round of the PIAA Class 2A Championships at the Giant Center in Hershey. Vargo won by fall.
Joey Sentipal of Burgettstown, left, locks up with Tyler Morrison of West Perry during their 139-pound bout in the first round of the PIAA Class 2A Championships at the Giant Center in Hershey. Sentipal won by decision.
HERSHEY – If you want to figure out whether Chris Vargo is winning or losing his match, his facial expression won’t give you a clue.
The expression on his face rarely changes and only the scoreboard keeps the secrets of his matches.
In Thursday’s first round of the PIAA Class 2A Championships at the Giant Center in Hershey, Vargo was strictly business in pinning Collin Ramsey, a freshman from Penn Argyl in 5:17.
Vargo’s teammate, Vitali Daniels, is a dead giveaway as to how he did in a match. For example, the 215-pound junior won a 7-3 decision over Mark Effendian, a freshman from Faith Christian, in the first round. Once the match ended, Daniels popped up from the mat, a big smile across his face. After getting his hand raised, Daniels rushed over to Penn Argyl head coach Tom Mertz and slapped his hand, then the assistant coach.
“There’s nothing like a win on Thursday morning of the state tournament,” Daniels said. “I don’t have to worry about anything else till (Friday).”
“I just went out and wrestled; that’s all I did,” said a more subdued Vargo, the Southwest Regional champion.
The wins by Daniels and Vargo were matched by Fort Cherry’s Braedon Welsh and Burgettstown’s Joey Sentipal. Those wrestlers advance to today’s quarterfinals (9 a.m.). Semifinals are at 7:30 tonight and finals are 2 p.m. Saturday.
“Evey match is different,” said Bentworth head coach Mike Shrader. “He (Vargo) has got to try to keep the momentum going. We know he’s good on his feet so we could go up and down, up and down. We wanted to work on the top position.
“We don’t want him to get too high (with a win) or too low (with a loss).”
Vargo draws Daid Kennedy of Montoursville in the quarterfinals. Kennedy is a Northeast runner-up with a 38-11 record. Daniels will meet Dan Church, a senior from Fort Leboeuf. Church is a Northwest champion and has a 42-6 record.
Sentipal looked strong in earning a hard-fought 4-3 decision over Tyler Morrison of West Perry at 139 pounds. Sentipal draws Reagan Milhelm, a freshman from Warrior Run with a 46-4 record.
“I try to dominate every wrestler I go out and wrestle,” said Sentipal. “I don’t want to put myself in jeopardy. If I do, then I know can succeed.”
Welsh barely broke a sweat in the first round, pinning Cole Shupp of Warrior Run in 35 seconds. He draws the No. 2 seed in the 172-pound weight class, Gabe Davis of Berks Catholic, in the quarterfinals.
Bentworth’s Owen Ivcic (139), Beth-Center’s Jacob Layhue (189) and Chartiers-Houston’s Jessie Orbin (172) suffered two losses and were eliminated.
Chase Frameli of Jefferson-Morgan pulled out of the tournament because of a knee injury sustained in last week Class 2A Southwest Regional at Altoona High School.
Frameli was supposed to wrestle in the preliminary round that fed into the top seed of the 160-pound weight class, Grant MacKay of Laurel. Frameli’s absence forced a forfeit to Luke Fugazzotto of Northwestern Lehigh. Frameli made the trip with the hope of wrestling but couldn’t go. It was too late to get anyone to replace Frameli.
Sierra Chiesa, believed to be the first girl to compete in the PIAA Championships, dropped a 5-4 decision to Antonio Bonni in the 107-pound frst round. Chiesa, a sophomore from Northwestern, has a 33-6 record. She finished runner-up in the Northwest regional.