Feb 23, 2024 By Jonathan Guth 3 min read

BRIDGEVILLE – The team portion of the wrestling season was a tough one for Chartiers-Houston, but Bucs coach Patrick Jennings hopes senior Jorden Williams can create some excitement for the community in the individual tournaments.

The result has been so far, so good for Williams as Chartiers-Houston’s 114-pounder pinned Beth-Center’s Alex Medlen in 33 seconds Friday night in the quarterfinals of the WPIAL Class 2A Wrestling Championships at Chartiers Valley High School.

Williams opened in the round of 16 with a fall in 53 seconds.

“For the last two years, we have decided to opt out of a WPIAL schedule based on our numbers, so we focus more on individual tournaments, which has helped Jorden. The numbers are starting to come back, so next year we are going to join back in our section and wrestle a WPIAL schedule. We knew we would go into each dual meet with five or six forfeits, so we didn’t want to hurt morale. We just wanted to focus on each individual’s progress.”

Williams faces Bentworth freshman Drake McClure in the semifinals Saturday morning. Both local wrestlers have not only advanced to the final four but will compete at the PIAA Class 2A Southwest Regional next weekend in Altoona. The top eight finishers in each weight class will qualify for the regional.

Wrestling starts Saturday at 10 a.m.

McClure and Williams have wrestled twice before with the Bearcat edging Williams 1-0 in both matches. The last bout was in the section finals a week ago.

“I need to be more mentally prepared in the semifinals,” Williams said. “I’ve wrestled him twice, and I’ve only taken three shots in both matches. I think I give him too much respect and I don’t shoot. He rode me twice in both matches, so we are definitely going neutral this time.”

Williams is seeking his third straight appearance in the state tournament. He wrestled for Hempfield (District 3) his freshman and sophomore seasons. Williams has a season record of 22-6 and a career mark of 91-37. Four of Williams’ losses were because of injury.

“We have a lot of older guys that used to come home (Chartiers-Houston) that come in a lot and we work with other coaches to help us out since we have a small team,” Williams said. “I also go to Qwest every now and then.

“It is a little different to be on a smaller team because my old school was very competitive at wrestling and had a really good team. It is definitely a change, but I wouldn’t say it’s a bad change. It helped me, mentally, for myself, realizing it is more about you than the team. I wouldn’t say the skill difference is that big between District 3 and the WPIAL, but there are just more of those top-level kids in the WPIAL.”

McClure and Williams won’t be alone in the semifinals, as Burgettstown has four semifinalists in Parker Sentipal (133), Gaven Suica (139), Rudy Brown (152) and Joseph Baronick (285).

Chris Vargo (127), Owen Ivcic (145) and Vitali Daniels (189) will join McClure in the final four.

McGuffey has a trio of semifinalists in Tucker Main (107), Emmette Wolfe (121) and Lucas Barr (127).

Fort Cherry’s Braedon Welsh is looking to repeat at 172. Jefferson-Morgan’s Chase Frameli (160) is in the semifinals at 160. Washington’s Joe Wilson (285) and West Greene’s Colin Whyte (215) also advanced.