Local Tournaments Update
NHWL Wrestlers Busy at Recent Area Tourneys
Jan. 31, 2005  - NHWL wrestlers have been in action at a slew of area tournaments recently, with many placing in the top four in their brackets.

1st & 2nd year wrestlers that earned 1st place trophies at the West Mifflin Novice Tournament on January 15th included North Allegheny's Clay and Colton Byerly, who won the 8&U, 65-pound and 10&U, 75-pound brackets, respectively. North Hills' Markus Barnes (8&U, 75) and Andre' Reid (10&U, 80) also grabbed the gold at West Mifflin. Others placing at West Mifflin were North Hills' Anthony Miller (6&U, 50, 3rd place), Andre' Miller (6&U, 50, 4th), and Caleb Barnes (12&U, 90, 3rd), Shaler's Tyler Heasley (8&U, 65, 2nd), North Allegheny's Nick Cully (10&U, 80), and Pine-Richland's John Fleming (12&U, 130, 3rd).

Three Shaler wrestlers brought home the hardware from the South Side All-American 1st & 2nd Year Tournament. Earning trophies were Ronnie D'Amico (6&U, 60, 3rd), Nick D'Amico (8&U, 60, 3rd), and James Demore (8&U, 60, 2nd).

North Allegheny's Greg Gaus won the 10&U, 75-pound bracket at the Wrest Mifflin Open on January 16th, while North Hills' Kraig Esswein (12&U, 75, 2nd), Fox Chapel's Eric Hong (8&U, 45, 3rd), and North Allegheny's Alex DiCiantis (10&U, 115, 3rd) also earned trophies.

Four NHWL grapplers placed at the Meadville Hard Hat Open on January 22nd, including Mars' Noah Wright (6&U, 45, 2nd) and Jacob Wright (10U, 70A, 4th), Butler's Conner Foust (8&U, 50A, 3rd), and North Hills' David Tuzikow (8&U, 65B, 4th).

Gage Curry of North Hills won the 6&U, 40-pound bracket and Fox Chapel's Eric Hong captured the 6&U, 45-pound title at the Waynesburg 1st & 2nd Year Tournament.  Hong also placed third in the 8&U, 45-pound classification. Also earning trophies at Waynesburg were Shaler's Logan Heinl (6&U, 55, 2nd) and James Demore (6&U, 60, 3rd).

PYW Top 100 Update
Hannon and Joseph Grab Gold at Waynesburg
Jan. 31, 2005  - Pennsylvania Youth Wrestling updated its Top 100 standings recently, reflecting the results from the Waynesburg Open Tournament, held January 22nd. Butler's Ryan Hannon and Chartiers Valley's Vincenzo Joseph earned titles and both took a significant jump forward on the list of talented Keystone State youth wrestlers.

Hannon moved from 26th to 15th place with his first place performance in the 10&U, 95-pound bracket, while Joseph leapfrogged from 38th to 24th with his capture of the 8&U, 60-pound title.

Other NHWL wrestlers appearing on the Top 100 list are Butler's Cole Baxter (tied with Joseph for 24th), Chartiers Valley's Eric Nutter (54th) and Aaron McKinney (79th), and North Allegheny's Jason Monper (68th). Pine-Richland's Brendan Burnham is now in 109th place.

Waynesburg Open results can be found HERE.

Butler Open, Road Warrior Results
Nine NHWL Wrestlers Grab Gold at Butler
Jan. 27, 2005 - Nine NHWL wrestlers earned first place trophies at the Butler Open Tournament held at Butler High School on January 15th. Taking home the gold were Fox Chapel's Geoff Alexander (12&U, 70-pounds), Shaler's Joey Jackson (12&U, HWT), North Allegheny's Jason Monper (8&U, 70), North Hills' Gage Curry (6&U, 40), Knoch's Dustin Downing (10&U, 50) and Mike Renaud (6&U, 65), and Butler's Ryan Hannon (10&U, 95 and 105), Caleb Baxter (6&U, 50), and Road Warrior leader Cole Baxter (12&U, 95).

Complete results from Butler can be found HERE.

Local Tournament Update
NHWL Wrestlers Well Represented at South Side
Jan. 20, 2005  - Eleven NHWL wrestlers brought home trophies from the South Side All American Odd Year Tournament on January 9th. Placing first were North Allegheny's Jesse Rodgers (9&U, 65-pounds), Kyle Coniker (9&U, 75), and Kevin Monper (11&U, 80). Second place finishers included Chartiers Valley's Connor Payne (9&U, 70) and North Allegheny's Seth Marx (11&U, 125) and Austin Coniker (13&U, 92). Third place awards went to North Allegheny's Jason Monper (9&U, 70), Butler's Eric Tuck (11&U, 75) and North Hills' Ricky Lankes (11&U, 100). Knoch's Col McLaughlin (9&U, 60) and North Allegheny's Ben Schweiger (9&U, 75) placed fourth.

Full results from South Side can be found HERE.

PYW Top 100 Update
Ringgold and Tulsa results hurt most NHWL wrestlers
Jan. 20, 2005  - Results from two Pennsylvania Youth Wrestling Top 100 tournaments have been posted recently and the net effect was not good for most of the NHWL wrestlers who were on the list.

Following the Ringgold Odd Age Open and Tulsa Nationals tournaments, NHWL representation has dropped from seven to six wrestlers in the Top 100. Only a handful of NHWL wrestlers attended the Ringgold tournament on January 16th and no NHWL wrestlers participated at the Tulsa Nationals held Jan 14-15.

Butler's Ryan Hannon was the only NHWL wrestler to improve his position by placing 1st in the 9&U, 95-pound classification at Ringgold. Hannon's 8-point performance allowed the youngster to leap-frog from 39th to 26th place. Hannon's teammate Dakoda Collins scored his first Top 100 points of the season, placing first in the 11&U, 85-pound bracket. Full results from Ringgold are available HERE.

Other NHWL wrestlers in the Top 100 and their revised standings include Butler's Cole Baxter (21st place - down from 10th), Chartiers Valley's Vincenzo Joseph (38th), Eric Nutter (44th), and Aaron McKinney (70th), and North Allegheny's Jason Monper (56th). Pine-Richland's Brendan Burnham is now in 103rd place.

PYW Top 100 Update
Seven NHWL Wrestlers in Latest Top 100
Jan. 17, 2005  - Seven NHWL wrestlers are now listed among Pennsylvania's Top 100 youth wrestlers by the Pennsylvania Youth Wrestling website. Butler's Cole Baxter jumps six spots from 16th place into the Top 10 for the first time this season off a first place finish in the 12&U, 95-pound bracket at the North Hills Open on January 8th. Baxter has accumulated 32 points thus far this season.

Other NHWL wrestlers listed in the Top 100 include Chartiers Valley's Vincenzo Joseph (30th place with 29 points) and Eric Nutter (37th with 23), Butler's Ryan Hannon (39th with 22), North Allegheny's Jason Monper (47th with 20), Chartiers Valley's Aaron McKinney (56th with 18), and Pine-Richland's Brendan Burnham (97th with 15).

North Allegheny Stands Out at NH Novice
Six Tigers Win Titles, Give NA Road Warrior Lead
Jan. 11, 2005 - Six North Allegheny wrestlers, including individual Road Warrior Novice co-leader Drew Landefeld (8&U, 60A), won titles at the North Hills 1st & 2nd Year Tournament held on January 9th. Also helping NA score 56 team points at the tournament with individual titles were Jeff Clemens (8&U, 65A), Zach Smith (8&U, 65B), Layne Skundrich (8&U, 75), John Silvester (10&U, 90), and Kevin Edwards (10&U, 110). With the performance at North Hills, North Allegheny now has 206 team points and has forged a 19-point lead over second place Pine-Richland. Check out this link for updated Road Warrior Team and Novice standings.

Other wrestlers to win individual titles at North Hills were co-leader Garrett Burnham of Pine-Richland (6&U, 40), Butler's Caleb Baxter (6&U, 50), Fox Chapel's Michael Mahon (6&U, 55), Butler's Connor Foust (8&U, 50B), Pine-Richland's Grant Killian (8&U, 55), North Hills' Jonathan Avon (8&U, 70), Shaler's Nikolas Thorpe (8&U, 80), Shaler's Justin Johnson (8&U, 90), Butler's Austin Swires (8&U, 100), and Seneca Valley's Matthew King (12&U, 80).

Complete results from the North Hills 1st & 2nd Year Tournament are available HERE.

North Hills Open, Road Warrior Results
Baxter, Burnham Capture First at North Hills
Jan. 11, 2005 - Butler's Cole Baxter (12&U, 95 pounds) and Pine-Richland's Michael Burnham (10&U, 80) were the only NHWL wrestlers to earn first place trophies at the always-tough North Hills Open on January 8th. With the win, Baxter continues to lead the Road Warrior Open standings after four competitions with 26 points.

Second place finishers at North Hills from the NHWL included North Allegheny's Jason Monper (8&U, 70), Hampton's Kevin Synan (10&U, 80), Fox Chapel's Geoff Alexander (12&U, 70), and Chartiers Valley's Aaron McKinney (12&U, 90).

Finishing third were Chartiers Valley's Vincenzo Joseph (8&U, 60), Pine-Richland's Brendan Burnham (8&U, 65), Chartiers Valley's Braeden Shaak (10&U, 65), Shaler's Kirk Zelich (10&U, 80), Pine-Richland's Andrew Wood (10&U, 105), and Hampton's Jacob Hart (10&U, 120).

Fourth place finishers were Fox Chapel's Corey Mahon (8&U, 65), North Hills' Matthew O'Neill (8&U, 90) and Anton Martinez (10&U, 55), North Allegheny's Greg Gaus (10&U, 75) and Kevin Clemens (10&U, 85), Butler's Ryan Hannon (10&U, 95), and Mars' Shane Hughes (12&U, 115) and Shane Smith (12&U, 160).

Complete results from the North Hills Open are available HERE.

CV Novice, Road Warrior Results
Burnham, Landefeld Lead RW standings
Jan. 3, 2005 - Pine-Richland's Garrett Burnham (6&U, 40 pounds) and North Allegheny's Drew Landefeld (8&U, 60 pounds) landed first place trophies at the Chartiers Valley Novice Tournament held at Chartiers Valley High School on December 19th. As a result, both wrestlers are now tied for first place in Road Warrior Novice standings after three competitions with 20 points. Landefeld won a tournament-high 22-wrestler bracket for his third straight first place finish at a Road Warrior event this season

Other NHWL wrestlers to grab first place honors at CV included Shaler's Evan Jablonski (6&U, 45), Butler's Caleb Baxter (6&U, 50) and Nick Roth (.8&U, 120), and North Hills' Andre Reid (10&U, 80).

Complete results from the Chartiers Valley Novice are available HERE.

PYW Top 100 Update
Seven NHWL Wrestlers Now Listed in Top 100
Dec. 30, 2004 - Seven NHWL wrestlers benefited from strong performances at the recent Chartiers Valley Open and are now listed among Pennsylvania's Top 100 youth wrestlers by the Pennsylvania Youth Wrestling website. Butler's Cole Baxter is in a tie for 16th place with 24 points. Chartiers Valley's Eric Nutter is tied for 23rd with 23 points. Vincenzo Joseph, also of Chartiers Valley, is tied for 29th place, while North Allegheny's Jason Monper checks in for the first time on the Top 100 list at 65th place. Butler's Ryan Hannon makes the list, while Chartiers Valley's Aaron McKinney is 81st, and Pine-Richland's Brendan Burnham makes his first appearance on the list tied for 93rd place.

Chartiers Valley Open, Road Warrior Results
Five NHWL Wrestlers Win at CV Christmas Tourney
Dec. 28, 2004 - Chartiers Valley's Vincenzo Joseph (8&U, 60-pounds), Pine-Richland's Brendan Burnham (8&U, 65), North Allegheny's Jason Monper (8&U, 70), Chartiers Valley's Eric Nutter (12&U, 85), and Butler's Cole Baxter (12&U, 95) all earned individual championships at the Chartiers Valley Christmas Tournament held at Chartiers Valley High School on December 18th.

Baxter continues to lead the Open division of the 2004-05 Road Warrior standings at the half-way point of the competition with 20 points, four more than Monper and Chartiers Valley's Aaron McKinney, and five more than Burnham. McKinney placed second in the 12&U, 90-pound bracket. Also placing second was Chartiers Valley's Braeden Shaak (10&U, 65). Shaak also finished fourth in the 12&U, 65-pound bracket.

Third place finishers included Shaler's Kirk Zelich (10&U, 80), North Allegheny's Kevin Clemens (10&U, 85), Pine-Richland's Andrew Wood (10&U, 105), North Allegheny's Kevin Monper (12&U, 80), Shaler's C.J. Jablonski (12&U, 85), Mars' Shane Hughes (12&U, 115), and Butler's Ryan Marzullo (12&U, 200). Wrestlers who finished in fourth place in their respective classifications were Chartiers Valley's Connor Payne (10&U, 70) and Evan Haines (10&U, 80), Butler's Ryan Hannon (10&U, 95), and Chartiers Valley's Vinnie Fera (12&U, 80).

Complete results from the Chartiers Valley Open are available HERE.

PYW Top 100 Update
Two NHWL Wrestlers Listed in Top 100
Dec. 17, 2004 - On the strength of their performance at last week's North Allegheny Young Guns Open Tournament, Butler's Cole Baxter and Chartiers Valley's Vincenzo Joseph are both listed among Pennsylvania's Top 100 youth wrestlers by the Pennsylvania Youth Wrestling website. Baxter is in a tie for 44th place, while Joseph is tied for 66th.

North Allegheny Open, Road Warrior Results
Baxter Extends Lead With Win at NA "Young Guns"
Dec. 16, 2004 - Butler's Cole Baxter now leads the 2004-05 Road Warrior Open competition by five points after placing first at North Allegheny's Young Guns Open Tournament held last Saturday, December 11th at North Allegheny High School. Baxter earned eight Road Warrior points for winning the 11-wrestler, 12&U, 95-pound classification. Baxter has tallied the maximum 16 points at the two Road Warrior tournaments, outdistancing Chartiers Valley's Aaron McKinney who is in second place with 11 points.

Also earning a first place singlet, a unique award presented to all the bracket winners of this highly competitive tournament, were Butler's Ryan Hannon (10&U, 95 pounds) and North Hills' Matthew O'Neill (8&U, 90).

Placing second were McKinney (12&U, 90), and North Allegheny's Jason Monper (8&U, 70). Placing third were Chartiers Valley's Vincenzo Joseph (8&U, 60), Knoch's Trevor Hilliard (8&U, 70), Shaler's Justin Johnson (8&U, 90), and Pine-Richland's Andrew Wood (10&U, 105). Fourth place finishers included Pine--Richland's Brendan Burnham (8&U, 55), North Hills' Anton Martinez (10&U, 55), Shaler's Kirk Zelich (10&U, 80), North Allegheny's Alex DiCiantis (10&U, 105), and Chartiers Valley's Eric Nutter (12&U, 85).

Complete results from NA Young Guns are available HERE.

North Allegheny Novice, Road Warrior Results
Five-Way Log Jam for First Place after NA Novice
Dec. 16, 2004 - Following the completion of North Allegheny's Novice Tournament held at North Allegheny High School on Sunday, December 12th, five wrestlers are tied for first place in the Road Warrior Novice standings. Fox Chapel's Anthony Brooks (10&U, 105 pounds), Pine-Richland's Garrett Burnham (6&U, 40), Shaler's Logan Heinl (6&U, 55), North Allegheny's Drew Landefeld (6&U, 60A), and North Hills' Andre Reid (10&U, 80) all won their brackets to forge the five-way tie. All of the wrestlers have earned 12 Road Warrior competition points in two weekends of action.

Other individual champions included Chartiers Valley's Patrick Shaak (6&U, 40), Butler's Caleb Baxter (6&U, 50), Mars' Alex Tuminello (6&U, 60), Seneca Valley's Zac Cowell (6&U, 65), Butler's Connor Foust (8&U, 50), North Allegheny's Josh Huhn (8&U, 60B), North Allegheny's Jeff Clemens (8&U, 65), Pine-Richland's Michael Byrnes (8&U, 80), Hampton's Chris Olszewski (10&U, 65), North Allegheny's Nathan Nachazel (10&U, 95), North Allegheny's Kevin Edwards (10&U, 120), North Hills' Donald Dibert (10&U, 150), Pine-Richland's Dan Devlin (12&U, 70), Pine-Richland's Tyler Gazdik (12&U, 75), Seneca Valley's Matthew King (12&U, 80), Butler's Dakoda Collins (12&U, 85), and Pine-Richland's John Fleming (12&U, 120).

Complete results from the NA Novice are available HERE.

CV Wrestlers Light Up Las Vegas
Shaak, Joseph Place at National Tournament
Dec. 10, 2004 - Chartier's Valley's Braeden Shaak placed second in the 10&U, 64-pound bracket, while teammate Vincenzo Joseph earned a fourth place trophy in the 8&U, 55-pound classification at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas World Championships held on December 4th. Complete results from the tournament are available HERE.

Pine-Richland, Road Warrior Results
Baxter, Skundrich All Alone Atop RW Standings
Dec. 10, 2004 - Butler's Cole Baxter, a top three finisher in the NHWL Road Warrior competition the past two seasons, and newcomer Layne Skundrich, a first year wrestler from North Allegheny, are all alone atop the Road Warrior Open and Novice standings, respectively, after the first weekend of action held last weekend, December 4th & 5th, at Pine-Richland Middle School.

Baxter won the 12&U, 95-pound Open bracket that featured 14 wrestlers to score eight Road Warrior points. Skundrich, meanwhile also scored eight points by placing first in the 8&U, 70-pound Novice bracket, outpacing 12 other wrestlers.

Other NHWL wrestlers to earn individual titles at Saturday's Open Tournament included Pine-Richland's Brendan Burnham (8&U, 65 pounds), North Allegheny's Jason Monper (8&U, 70), North Hills' Anton Martinez (10&U, 55), Pine-Richland's Andrew Wood (10&U, 105), and Chartiers Valley's Aaron McKinney (12&U, 90). Complete results are available HERE.

Other NHWL wrestlers to earn individual titles at Sunday's Novice Tournament were Fox Chapel's Eric Hong (6&U, 45), North Hills' Andre Miller (6&U, 50), Shaler's Logan Heinl (6&U, 55), Seneca Valley's Zachary Cowell (6&U, 65), North Allegheny's Drew Landefeld (8&U, 60), Butler's Luke Maloy (10&U, 65), Butler's Zachary Collins (10&U, 70), Mars' Jacob Dufford (10&U, 75), North Hills' Andre Reid (10&U, 80), North Allegheny's John Silvester (10&U, 90), North Allegheny's Nathan Nachazel (10&U, 95), Fox Chapel's Anthony Brooks (10&U, 105), Pine-Richland's Dan Devlin (12&U, 70), Seneca Valley's Matthew King (12&U, 80), North Hills' Ben Dumas (12&U, 95), and Pine-Richland's John Fleming (12&U, 140). Complete results are available HERE.

Baxter earned 8 points with the win and is now tied for 58th place on the latest PYW Top 100 list. Two other NHWL wrestlers are currently tied with Baxter for 58th place with 8 points; Chartiers Valley's Vincenzo Joseph and Butler's Ryan Hannon.

More information about the Pennsylvania Youth Wrestling Top 100 competition can be found HERE.

Open Tournament Results
Monper Grabs Gold at Kiski
Nov. 27, 2004 - North Allegheny's Jason Monper earned first place at the Kiski Area Thanksgiving Tournament in the 8&U, 70-pound classification. Shaler's C.J. Jablonski, North Allegheny's Kevin Monper, and Chartiers Valley's Vincenzo Joseph all placed second at the tournament. Jablonski earned silver in the 12&U, 85-pound classification, Monper competed in the 12&U, 80-pound weight class, while Joseph wrestled in the 8&U, 60-pound "B" bracket. Placing third in the 10&U, 75-pound "A" bracket was Chartiers Valley's Connor Payne. Seneca Valley's Andrew McGlennen also placed third in the 10&U, 95-pound bracket. Also placing third was Fox Chapel's Geoff Alexander in the 12&U, 70-pound classification. Complete results for the tournament can be found HERE.

PYW Top 100 Results
Hannon Places First at Ridgway
Nov. 20, 2004 - Butler's Ryan Hannon placed first in the 9&U, 95-pound classification at the Matthew Cartwright Memorial Tournament, a Pennsylvania Youth Wrestling Top 100 tournament held in Ridgway, PA. Also gathering Top 100 points were Shaler's C.J. Jablonski (3rd, 11&U, 85-pounds), North Allegheny's Jarred Lux (3rd, 11&U, 90-pounds), and Butler's Eric Tuck (4th, 11&U, 80-pounds "B" bracket). Complete results for the tournament can be found HERE.

PAWF Fall States Results
Fera earns gold, two others also medal
Nov. 14, 2004 - Chartiers Valley's Vinnie Fera captured the 2004 Pennsylvania Amateur Wrestling Federation's Fall Folkstyle State Championship in the Novice [11&U], 80-pound division with an escape in the second overtime ride-out period over Pennsbury's Matthew Cimato, winning the bout 1-0. The annual pre-season tournament was held at Central Mountain High School located in Mill Hall, PA. Other NHWL wrestlers to place included Butler's Joshua Jablonski (1st place, Midget [9&U], 90-pounds) and North Allegheny's Jesse Rodgers (2nd, Midget, 60-pounds). Complete results for the tournament can be found HERE.

PYW Top 100 Results
Joseph Wins at PYW Top 100 Challenge
Nov. 13, 2004 - Chartiers Valley's Vincenzo Joseph captured the 8&U, 60-pound title at the Pennsylvania Youth Wrestling Top 100 Challenge held at Mechanicsburg High School. Full results from the tournament are posted HERE. This tournament was the second tournament in the 2004-05 PYW Top 100 competition. The full list of Top 100 tournaments can be found at the Pennsylvania Youth Wrestling website.

PYW Top 100 Results
CV's Nutter Places Third at Lock Haven
Oct. 30, 2004 - Chartiers Valley's Eric Nutter, an NHWL 12&U 75-pound champion last season, placed third in the 12&U (Cadet) 85-pound classification at the ultra-tough Lock Haven Fall Classic on October 30th. Full results from the 2-day tournament are posted HERE. With his performance, Nutter becomes the first NHWL wrestler to score points toward Pennsylvania Youth Wrestling's 2004-05 Top 100 competition.

Lock Haven is the first of many Top 100 sanctioned tournaments that will be held not only around the Keystone State, but throughout the entire country. Three NHWL organizations (North Allegheny, Chartiers Valley, and North Hills) will sponsor Top 100 tournaments for the second straight season.

NHWL wrestlers who placed in the Top 100 youth wrestlers in the state last season included Chartiers Valley's Aaron McKinney (73rd), North Hills' Anton Martinez (77th), Butler's Cole Baxter (79th), Shaler's C.J. Jablonski (91st), Chartiers Valley's Troy Reaghard (92nd), and Fox Chapel's Dan Mahon (96th).