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Twenty-one wrestlers enter the 2018-19 season with at least one WPIAL title on their resume. Seventeen won a WPIAL title last season. The other four won a title in a previous year. The returning WPIAL champs in Class 3A are: ** Jack Blumer, Kiski Area (Jr., 39-9, 65-21) - Won a WPIAL title at 152 last season after being seeded fourth in his weight class and made his first PIAA appearance. He placed sixth in the WPIAL as a 132-pound freshman. ** Colton Camacho, Franklin Regional (Sr., 40-3, 102-18) - Camacho is a two-time PIAA qualifier and one-time WPIAL champ. He placed third in the WPIAL as a 120-pound sophomore. He moved up to 132 for his junior year and won a WPIAL title and placed second in the PIAA. ** Cam Conner, Kiski Area (Sr., 40-7, 113-29) - Conner is a two-time PIAA qualifier and one-time WPIAL champ. He placed third in the WPIAL as a 138-pound sophomore and first as a 145-pound junior. He also placed seventh in the PIAA last year. ** Sam Hillegas, North Hills (Jr., 33-1, 76-1) - Hillegas has been almost perfect his first two seasons. He won WPIAL and PIAA at 113 pounds as a freshman, then returned last season at 126 and defended both titles. ** Scott Joll, Belle Vernon (Sr., 42-5, 79-23) - Won a WPIAL title last season as a 170-pound junior, then placed fifth in the PIAA. He fell one win short of a PIAA berth at the same weight as a sophomore. ** Kurtis Phipps, Norwin (Jr., 39-1, 75-6) - Phipps came within one win of a perfect season after losing to Herrera-Rondon in the PIAA title match at 106. He has won two WPIAL titles, both at 106. ** Ryan Sullivan, Shaler (Sr., 42-1, 93-10) - Sullivan is a two-time WPIAL and PIAA finalist. He placed second in both tournaments as a 106-pound sophomore, then won both titles last season as a 113-pound junior. The returning WPIAL champs in Class 2A are: ** Christian Clutter, McGuffey (Sr., 47-6, 119-23) - Clutter is a two-time WPIAL champion, the first coming as 160-pound sophomore, and the second as a 170-pound junior. He also placed fourth in the Southwest Region and fourth in the PIAA last season. ** Ty Cymmerman, Derry (Soph., 42-6, 42-6) - Cymmerman had an impressive freshman debut last season at 120 pounds. He won a WPIAL title, then placed second in the Southwest Region to qualify for the PIAA Tournament. ** Dominic DeLuca, Derry (Sr., 48-5, 116-23) - DeLuca is a three-time WPIAL top-three finisher. He placed second as a 170-pound freshman, third as a 182-pound sophomore, and first last season at 220. He is also a two-time PIAA placewinner, third in 2017 and second last season, and a two-time Southwest Region runner-up. ** Thayne Lawrence, Frazier (Jr., 30-2, 67-8) - Lawrence became Frazier's first PIAA champion in the school's second year of competition by winning at 152 pounds. He's also a two-time WPIAL champ and two-time Southwest Region runner-up who debuted at 138 as a freshman. ** Bryson Miller, Freedom (Sr., 34-7, 92-28) - Miller is a two-time WPIAL champ, both at 195 pounds. He also won a Southwest Region title and placed fifth in the PIAA last season. He also placed fourth in the WPIAL as a 170-pound freshman. ** Ian Oswalt, Burrell (Soph., 47-10, 47-10) - Oswalt had an impressive freshman debut last season at 113 pounds. He won a WPIAL title, then placed third in the Southwest Region and fourth in the PIAA. He also recorded 17 pins. ** Jake Pail, Freedom (Sr., 32-11, 89-38) - Pail won a WPIAL title at 138 pounds last season, then posted a 2-2 record in the Southwest Regional. ** Conner Redinger, Quaker Valley (So., 39-2, 39-2) - Redinger made an impressive freshman debut at 106 by winning WPIAL and Southwest Region titles, then placed third in the PIAA. Recovering from an injury has delayed Redinger's start and could keep him out until January. ** Trent Schultheis, Freedom (Soph., 40-18, 40-18) - Schultheis was a surprise winner in the WPIAL 138-pound weight class after entering the tournament as a No. 5 seed. He also placed fifth in the Southwest Region and eighth in the PIAA. ** John Vargo, Bentworth (Sr., 34-8, 62-19) - Vargo won WPIAL and Southwest Region titles at 182 pounds last season as a junior. He also placed fifth in the PIAA. As a sophomore, he placed fifth in the WPIAL. There are four other returning Class 2A wrestlers who have won a previous WPIAL title. ** Dominic Fundy, Beth-Center (Sr., 29-2, 104-14) - Fundy is a two-time PIAA qualifier who came within one win of a title as a 182-pound sophomore. He won WPIAL and Southwest Region titles that season before losing in the PIAA finals. He also qualified for the PIAA tournament as a freshman after placing third in the WPIAL and second in the region. A thumb injury ended his junior season. ** Jett Pattison, McGuffey (Sr., 42-14, 106-33) - Pattison is a two-time PIAA qualifier and one-time WPIAL champ. He won his WPIAL title as a 120-pound sophomore, then placed fourth in the Southwest Region. Last season, he placed a disappointing fifth in the WPIAL and fourth in the region at 126. Pattison recorded 27 wins as a 120-pound freshman, but missed the postseason with an injury. ** Z.J. Ward, Freedom (Sr., 39-8, 70-16) - Ward is a three-time WPIAL top-three finisher. He won a WPIAL title as a 106-pound freshman, placed second at 113 as a sophomore, and placed third last season at 126. He also has third and fifth-place finishes in the Southwest Region which led to a pair of PIAA appearances. ** Trent Valovchik, Burrell (Jr., 35-15, 70-28) - Valovchik won a WPIAL title as a 106-pound freshman and qualified for the PIAA tournament. Last season, he placed fifth in the WPIAL at the same weight class. Click here to see a list of returning wrestlers who placed among the top six in the WPIAL Class 3A Tournament last year. Click here to see a list of returning wrestlers who placed among the top six in the WPIAL Class 2A Tournament last year. |