Brown caps off two-year run with 2nd state title
Belle Vernon senior is Observer-Reporter Wrestler of the Year
Elijah Brown had a two-year run that would make the best in the country envious.
The Belle Vernon senior had a 94-2 record over his last two seasons of high school and both years culminated in state championships. Brown finished his career with a record of 173-20, which makes him the all-time wins leader in the history of the program. He also set the school record for single-season victories as a junior with 48.
Brown also committed to Penn State on Nov. 12.
Brown’s season made him an easy pick for the Wrestler of the Year on the Observer-Reporter’s All-District Team.
With all those accolades and being recruited by the best collegiate program in the country, one couldn’t blame Brown if he celebrated just a tad after he edged Garnet Valley’s Paxton Hunt, 1-0, in the 215-pound final on March 7 at the Giant Center in Hershey during the PIAA Class 3A Wrestling Championships.
Brown, who won the Leopards’ first state championship in wrestling during his junior season, simply shook his coach’s hand and walked off the mat without any fanfare following his decision over Hunt.
“It’s cool to win Belle Vernon’s first two state titles, but I think it is more of a legacy thing where I can set an example for kids 10 to 15 years down the road,” Brown said. “It is awesome and a great feeling, but I want it to serve as an example for the next group of guys coming up. I want them to use it as something to aspire to, and I hope they can do it.”
Brown had an early loss in the season, which he avenged in the finals of the PIAA Class 3A Western Regional, and didn’t look back in rolling to his second state championship.
Brown’s loss came to DuBois’ Kendahl Hoare in the Trinity Duals on Dec. 6. The 10-8 setback stun but Brown didn’t let it get to him, as he spent much of his offseason recuperating from a torn lateral collateral ligament (LCL) that he suffered in last year’s state final, which hindered his conditioning in Brown’s third match of the season.
Brown downed Hoare, 7-1, to win the regional championship on Feb. 28 at Canon-McMillan High School.
Brown only had five matches this season that were decided by decision or less, including a 17-13 decision over Owen J. Roberts’ Decker Bechtold in the semifinals of the MyHouse Trojan Wars on Dec. 28 at Chambersburg High School.
Brown defeated Bechtold, 4-1, in the state semifinals.
The semifinals and finals appeared on paper as close matches, but Brown was never in any danger of being taken down. Hunt chose bottom to start the third period, which was most likely to avoid Brown getting on top, which is one of his strengths.
“I think a lot of their gameplan was to keep the score close and try to score in the last period,” Brown said. “Not that I was doing the same thing, but I wasn’t opening up as much as I did during the normal season because in the state tournament, a 1-0 win is the same as a 15-0 win. I didn’t want to get caught up in trying to win by a landslide.”
Brown’s high school career is officially complete, but he will compete in one more match on March 28 at the Pittsburgh Wrestling Classic at Peters Township High School. He will represent Team Pennsylvania and battle Kal-El Fluckiger of Chandler, Ariz., in the main event between the United States All-Stars and Team Pennsylvania.
Fluckiger, an Arizona State commit, won the Super 32 championship with a fall in the finals at 215. He pinned Hoare for the title. FloWrestling has Fluckiger ranked No. 7 nationally at 215. Brown is No. 16 on FloWrestling’s national list.
“I am super excited to wrestle in the Classic,” Brown said. “It may be an exhibition, but my coaches and I are going to prepare for this like we are for states. I think there will be less pressure since no medal is on the line, so I am excited to let it fly and get after it.”
The following is the O-R All-District Wrestling Teams. Wrestlers were selected based on their finish in the postseason.
Observer-Reporter All-District Wrestling Team
First Team
Lucas Barr, 133 pounds, Sr., McGuffey
Elijah Brown, 215, Sr., Belle Vernon
Dom Canali, 127, Sr., Trinity
Dakota Carmona, 285, Jr., Canon-McMillan
Brayden Collins, 215, Jr., Canon-McMillan
Lee Dreshman, 107, Fr., Canon-McMillan
Jon Emma, 133, Jr., Canon-McMillan
Aidan Finnigan, 145, So., Canon-McMillan
Collier Hartman, 139, Sr., Canon-McMillan
Owen Ivcic, 160, Sr., Bentworth
Parker Jennings, 107, So., Trinity
Drake McClure, 138, Jr., Bentworth
Evan Tolliver, 133, Jr., Ringgold
Colin Whyte, 285, Sr., West Greene
Second Team
Carter Baker, 107, Fr. Burgettstown
Victor Bonus, 152, Sr., McGuffey
Brayden Hanning, 107, So. Jefferson-Morgan
Landon Heath, 285, Sr., Jefferson-Morgan
Carter Katus, 139, So., Burgettstown
Noah Layhue, 215, Sr., Beth-Center
Garrett Newman, 160, Sr., McGuffey
Logan Noyes, 152, Sr. Burgettstown
Alek Palko, 160, So., Jefferson-Morgan
Malachi Peak, 189, Sr., Beth-Center
Cristian Lowther, 160, Jr., Ringgold
Aaron Supler, 172, Sr., McGuffey
Joe Wilson, 285, Sr., Washington
Jahvon Woods, 160, Sr., Washington