The 2022 edition of the WPIAL Class AA championships didn’t disappoint. 13 wrestlers from nine different schools secured gold on Saturday at Canon-McMillan. The top eight finishers at each weight qualified for the Southwest Regional Tournament which will be held at Peters Township on March 4th and 5th.

The gym was full of energy and the wrestling was top tier.

We saw some incredible matches Saturday but none as good as the 152 pound semifinal match between Tyler Berish of Beth-Center and Hopewell's Isaiah Pisano. Berish needed two takedowns in the third period to pull off a wild 8-7 victory. The clincher came as Pisano was leading by a point with 14 seconds left but Berish got his second takedown to seal the deal.

Berish went on to finish second while Pisano took fourth place.

A couple of milestones were reached this weekend.

Mount Pleasant senior Dayton Pitzer secured his third WPIAL title after he pinned Vitali Daniels of Bentworth just 1:12 into the 215-pound bout. Pitzer registered three first-period pins in the tournament.

Southmoreland's Anthony Govern reached 100 career wins as he defeated Landon Millward by a 9-8 decision for third place at 215 pounds. Justin Richey of Quaker Valley also picked up his 100th career victory.

Burrell extended its consecutive streak of having a WPIAL champion to 23 years as Shawn Szymanski edged Jefferson Morgan's Chase Frameli by a 5-4 decision in the 145-pound championship. The last time the Bucs didn’t produce a district champion was 1999.

Noah Gnibus of Mount Pleasant lost to Patrick Cutchember of Quaker Valley in the 189-pound championship by a 6-3 decision while Burrell's Cooper Hornack suffered a 5-0 setback to Bentworth's Chris Vargo at 120.

The Outstanding Wrestler for the tournament was awarded to Central Valley senior Ambrose Boni. Boni came into the tournament as the third seed at 138 pounds which was regarded as the toughest weight at the tournament.

Ambrose upended returning WPIAL champion Jamison Poklembo (Mt. Pleasant) in the semis, and then pinned Damon Michaels of Elizabeth Forward in the finals.

Burgettstown advanced 10 wrestlers to Southwest Regional, more than any other school. Burrell and Beth-Center each qualified eight.

Burgettstown also had the most champions of any school. Parker Sentipal at 106, Joey Sentipal at 132, and Joe Baronick at HWT all claimed gold for the Blue Devils. Laurel and Quaker Valley each had two champs of their own.

Wrestlers now have a weekend off from competition and will get ready for the Southwest Regionals and attempt to advance to Hershey to compete in the PIAA Tournament.

WPIAL Class AA Finals Results

106: Parker Sentipal (Burgettstown) F Shawn Robertson (Fort Cherry), 1:53

113: Colin Bartley (Laurel) DEC Seth Burns (West Greene), 5-2

120: Chris Vargo (Bentworth) DEC Cooper Hornack (Burrell), 5-0

126: Dylan Bruce (Elizabeth Forward) DEC Timmy Cafrelli (South Side), 7-3

132: Joey Sentipal (Burgettstown) DEC Kyle Mccollum (Beth Center), 6-2

138: Ambrose Boni (Central Valley) F Damon Michaels (Elizabeth Forward), 5:41

145: Shawn Szymanski (Burrell) DEC Chase Frameli (Jefferson Morgan), 5-4

152: Justin Richey (Quaker Valley) DEC Tyler Berish (Beth Center), 3-2 TB2

160: Grant Mackay (Laurel) F Trevor Pettit (Beth Center), 0:56

172: Rune Lawrence (Frazier) F Mason Diemert (Quaker Valley), 1:56

189: Patrick Cutchember (Quaker Valley) DEC Noah Gnibus (Mt. Pleasant), 6-3

215: Dayton Pitzer (Mt. Pleasant) F Vitali Daniels (Bentworth), 1:12

285: Joseph Baronick (Burgettstown) DEC Cameron Carter-green (Washington), 4-1