After 7-year hiatus, Avella wins in team tournament
BENTLEYVILLE — At the beginning of the season, Avella wrestling coach Aaron Margaria said it was just nice to see an Avella singlet again.
After a seven-year hiatus as a program, the Eagles returned to the mat this winter and are proving to be more than just a feel-good story.
On Monday night, the Eagles went to Bentworth and earned a 48-27 win in the preliminary round of the WPIAL Class 2A Team Tournament.
“These guys have wrestled really hard this year and have gone above and beyond what I could ask them to do,” Margaria said. “Just to be in an Avella singlet tonight was a win in our book and to pull this off was even more. I couldn’t be prouder of them.”
The Eagles have “Restored in 2024” on their warmups, but they have done more than just bring a program back to life.
They’ve advanced to the WPIAL Class 2A first round where they’ll face No. 2 Derry Wednesday.
The Eagles did so by accruing five pins and three forfeits.
Darren Ruschel opened the match with a pin in the first period at 145 pounds.
Paxton Thomas (152) responded with a first-period pin of his own to even the match for Bentworth.
The momentum swung to Avella in the next two bouts.
Avella’s Chas Rush and Bentworth’s Racer Lister put forth an excellent battle at 189. Rush got off to a good start with a takedown, but Lister used a reversal to get Rush in an uncomfortable spot, but he was able to survive the rest of the period. Rush got back to his offense in the second period and secured a pin to give Avella the lead.
“I knew that I could wrestle with him on my feet,” Rush said. “I’ve had trouble on bottom all year but just had to keep my head in it. I wrestled my match, and I won the match.”
Broden Hamm had a similar bout with Bentworth’s Abe House at 189 and came away with a pin in the second period.
Pins by Dustin Mace and Drake Buzzard (121) helped secure the match for the Eagles.
“I’m happy for Avella,” Bentworth coach Mike Shrader said. “For them to not have a program for a number of years and make it to the team tournament and get a win in their first year back, you have to tip your hat to them. Nothing but respect for them.”
Alex Risulko (heavyweight) and Drake McClure (133) won by fall for the Bearcats and Bryce Crowson (139) earned a 7-4 decision in the final bout, the lone match that didn’t end in a pin or forfeit.
Owen Ivcic (160) received a forfeit for Bentworth. The junior has over 100 victories and won a title at the Clarion Tournament over the weekend.
EF 42, Chartiers-Houston 36
It came down to the final match, but Chartiers-Houston didn’t have anybody to put on the mat.
The Bucs normally would have entered Austin Mruk at 145 pounds, but an injury has sidelined him for the rest of the season.
So, Ethan Childers received a forfeit and Elizabeth-Forward secured a 42-36 Class 2A preliminary round victory.
“He’s been one of our main guys this year, but unfortunately he got hurt about two weeks ago,” Bucs coach Patrick Jennings said about Mruk. “He’s normally one of our better guys and he would win for us, so it makes it tougher now for our team.”
The Warriors advanced to face No. 4 Quaker Valley in the first round Wednesday at Burrell.
Chartiers-Houston was in the team playoffs for the first time since 2018 and was hoping to get its first win in the WPIAL tournament since 2017, but had four pins in a row from 107 to 127 to take a 36-24 lead.
Shane English got a first period pin for the Bucs at 133 and Angelo Mele received a forfeit at 139, which tied the match before Elizabeth-Forward’s final forfeit victory.
The night started well for the Bucs
After Elizabeth Forward’s Lucas Bowyer (152) and Chartier-Houston’s Jesus Chavez (160) claimed a first period pin in the first two matches, the third match of the night was a spirited battle at 172 between the Bucs’ Owen Straight and the Warriors’ Justin Frank.
Straight survived a pin attempt from Frank in the first period and then rallied in the third, turning Frank over to secure a win by fall.
“He was worrying me a little bit on the bottom, but we went over a lot of bar defense the last couple of days, because the last tournament we were at we were getting hit with it a lot,” Jennings said. “Thankfully he was able to fend it off, get back on top and take care of business.”
Ricardo Chavez (189) got a forfeit and Jacob Lyle pinned Logan Cain in nine seconds at heavyweight for the Bucs.
Chartiers-Houston graduates only two seniors, Ambriz and Jesus Chavez.
“We would’ve liked to have done better, but this is a stepping stone for our program,” Jennings said. “We’re hopeful that we can come back with more guys and have a better finish here next year.”