Other Local category, Page 76
Penn State clinches 8th NCAA wrestling title in 9 years
The suspense of which team was going to win another NCAA Division I Wrestling Championship title ended early on Saturday at PPG Paints Arena. Penn State claimed its eighth team title in the past nine years during the morning session and ninth in school history. Penn State has five wrestlers...
Vincenzo Joseph tops Josh Shields, on to NCAA finals
There is something about the NCAA wrestling championship that brings out the best in Penn State junior Vincenzo Joseph. The two-time champion punched his ticket to his third final Friday by edging a familiar foe: friend, practice partner from the Young Guns Club and Arizona State junior Josh Shields. Joseph...
Franklin Regional grad Spencer Lee avenges loss to reach NCAA wrestling finals
Spencer Lee knew he couldn’t dwell on a reversal he gave up in the second period of his NCAA wrestling semifinal match with Oklahoma State’s Nick Piccininni. He couldn’t afford to. Similarly, Lee couldn’t wallow in disappointment when Piccininni pinned him earlier this season. The Franklin Regional graduate believed to...
Kevin Gorman: Blood round is difference between All-American and devastationVideo
Micky Phillippi watched his dream dashed one second at a time, a dozen agonizing ticks he couldn’t control. Twelve seconds separated the Pitt wrestler from becoming an All-American. Wrestlers will tell you that theirs is a sport you can’t quite understand unless you have worn the singlet and possess the...
Luke Pletcher edges Micky Phillippi before losing in semifinals
It was a match neither Luke Pletcher nor Micky Phillippi really wanted to wrestle, but they had to. The close friends from Westmoreland County battled in the 2019 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championship quarterfinals Friday afternoon at PPG Paints Arena for the right to become an All-American and a spot...
5 semifinal bouts to watch Friday night at NCAA Wrestling Championships
With three sessions in the books at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, it’s time to look for the best matchups in Friday’s semifinals at PPG Paints Arena. The session will get underway at 8 p.m. These matches should be electric and have fans on the edge of their seats:...
NCAA Wrestling Day 2: Franklin Regional’s Lee, Kittanning’s Nolf, Central Catholic’s Joseph reach final
With championship berths and All-American status on the line on all six mats, the NCAA Wrestling Championships moved into is fourth session Friday night at PPG Paints Arena. Befitting the spectacle and what was at stake, the NCAA announced the largest crowd of the tournament (18,100) Penn State, which is...
Kevin Gorman: Upsets best part of Day 1 at March MatnessVideo
When you see the dizzying display of wrestling on eight mats covering the floor of PPG Paints Arena, you begin to understand why they call this March Matness. The NCAA wrestling championships are like an eight-ring circus full of takedowns, escapes and falls, of twists and turns and contortionist moves...
Penn State strong on first day; 8 former WPIAL wrestlers advance to NCAA quarters
The first day of the NCAA wrestling championships saw its usual share of dominant wins and eyebrow-raising upsets. And, as is also custom at this time of the year, Penn State ended the night in strong position to win another national title. Although they weren’t immune to the upset bug...
Stakes raised for next Micky Phillippi-Luke Pletcher meeting at NCAA wrestling
Micky Phillippi doesn’t know how many times he’s faced Ohio State junior Luke Pletcher on the wrestling mat. “Counting the practice sessions in high school, it was probably thousands,” said Phillippi, a redshirt freshman at Pitt. But when they two square off at noon Friday in the NCAA Division I...
Five matches to watch in the evening session of Day 1 of the NCAA wrestling championships
With the first session in the books at the NCAA Division I wrestling championships, it’s time to look for the best matchups in Thursday’s second session at PPG Paints Arena. There are going to be some good ones, especially at 133 pounds. (Wrestlers’ seeds are designated before their names.) 5-Luke...
NCAA wrestling Day 1: Pitt’s Micky Phillippi, Nino Bonaccorsi advance to quarterfinals
Pitt redshirt freshmen Nino Bonaccori and Micky Phillippi moved into the quarterfinals of the NCAA Wrestling Championships on Thursday night, both sweating out tight, hard-fought victories in front of crowd of 17,957 at PPG Paints Arena. Phillippi, the No. 3 seed from Derry, defeated Austin Gomez of Iowa State, 1-0,...
Kevin Gorman: Ready to watch NCAA wrestling with wide-eyed wonderVideo
Teague Moore knows the wide-eyed wonder that comes with the tidal wave of energy at the NCAA wrestling championships, one that wrestlers can ride to glory or be crushed under its weight. The American University coach will be flooded by memories this week, with reminders of the overwhelming joy of...
At-large wrestlers can make good on reprieve at NCAAs
Greg Bulsak and Nick Kiussis spent the minutes leading up to 3 p.m. March 12 repeatedly refreshing the NCAA wrestling website on their phones. Sammy Krivus kept himself busy by lifting weights. Ultimately, all three wrestlers received the news they were hoping for the same way: from somebody else. Bulsak,...
Penn State’s Jason Nolf sets sights on 3rd straight NCAA wrestling titleVideo
Jason Nolf was relaxed during a news conference Wednesday at the NCAA Division I wrestling championships at PPG Paints Arena. The 2014 Kittanning graduate was joking with teammate Bo Nickal during the question-and-answer period, which might surprise many Penn State wrestling fans. They are used to the serious Nolf, who...
Latrobe grad, Virginia Tech senior Zack Zavatsky wants to go out on top at NCAAs
For Zack Zavatsky, something that’s been a significant part of his life will come to an abrupt end later this month. So why not go out on top? A Latrobe alum, Zavatsky’s final competitive wrestling act figures to come at the NCAA championships this weekend at PPG Paints Arena in...
Latrobe well represented at NCAA wrestling championshipsVideo
When the NCAA wrestling championships come to PPG Paints Arena beginning Thursday, Latrobe will be prominently represented. Three former Wildcats stars will compete in the event. Each of them — Virginia Tech’s Zack Zavatsky and Luke Pletcher and Ethan Smith of Ohio State — has a chance to make the...
Pittsburgh getting bigger, better NCAA wrestling championships
Bob Bubb became an NCAA All-American in 1959, wrestling in the University of Iowa’s gymnasium. Nearly 60 years later, Nico Megaludis won a national title in “The World’s Most Famous Arena,” New York’s Madison Square Garden, with a finals attendance of 19,270 — more than the crowd for the entire...
Latrobe raising funds for Scott Munchinski, local coach with leukemia
Latrobe is rallying around one of its own. Friends of Scott Munchinski have started a GoFundMe page to help pay for medical costs and other expenses as he battles Acute Myeloid Leukemia. In the fight with you @ScottMunch73 You got this. Munchinski Family Jason Thomas (@ramblerjay) March 19, 2019...
Latrobe grad Pletcher hopes to continue his statewide success at NCAA wrestling championships
If it’s a competitive wrestling match somewhere in Pennsylvania, Luke Pletcher is probably winning it. And guess where this season’s NCAA championships happen to be? “Of course it’s going to be cool to come back to Pittsburgh,” Pletcher said, referring to the NCAA wrestling championships that begin Thursday at PPG...
Penn State coach Cael Sanderson demands his wrestlers win with ‘gratitude’
If you’re wondering how Penn State has been able to win seven of the past eight NCAA wrestling championships, coach Cael Sanderson believes he has the answer. He demands his wrestlers are thankful for who they are, what they’ve been given and the opportunities under their feet every time they...
Penn Hills grad Campbell ready to wrap up his wrestling career where it began
Te’Shan Campbell’s college wrestling career began in Pittsburgh. It will end there, too — by way of a circuitous route. A Penn Hills alumnus who on a PIAA title, Campbell developed into an ACC champion over his freshman and sophomore years at Pitt before transferring to Ohio State two years...
Franklin Regional grad Spencer Lee looks to defend NCAA wrestling title
When Spencer Lee last wrestled in Pennsylvania, he lost in the finals of the 2017 PIAA Class AAA championships to Austin DeSanto, who is now his teammate. Lee felt a little betrayed by fans, whom he thought adored him. He didn’t understand at the time that fans love the upset,...
Jeannette grad “ShowBoat” Robinson gets serious about basketball HOF nomination
Dribbling circles around helpless Washington Generals, making half-court shots while blindfolded and throwing buckets of confetti on flinching fans made people laugh for years. But when Lamont Robinson took a brief timeout from comedy basketball to acknowledge a more serious moment, one that knocked the spinning ball off his finger,...
Pitt tandem choose wrestling over basketball, become championsVideo
When he was 14 at McCluer High School in Florissant, Mo., Pitt wrestler Demetrius Thomas thought he wanted to play basketball. Lucky for him, two McCluer coaches conspired to make sure that didn’t happen. Years earlier, Micky Phillippi — just like any 6-year-old would do — dutifully followed his father...
