Nico Cortese and A.J. Brentzel entered last weekend's 40th annual Powerade wrestling tournament with added incentive.

Both sat out last year's tournament with an injury after earning place-winner status the year before and both left Canon-McMillan High School with their first championship trophies.

"I suffered a concussion at the Beast of the East Tournament last year and couldn't wrestle at Powerade," said Cortese, a junior who wrestled for Greensburg Central Catholic the past two seasons, and is now competing for Hempfield as part of a co-op agreement after GCC dropped its program.

"It was so tough to sit and watch last year. I was good enough to win a title, but couldn't do anything about it. It was so frustrating."

Cortese placed third at 103 pounds as a freshman at Powerade, then went on to place in the PIAA Class AAA tournament. Last season, Cortese placed second in the PIAA at 112 pounds after his three-week stay on the disabled list during the holidays.

"It's a tough tournament to miss, especially when you consider how much talent is at Powerade every year," said Cortese, who claimed his first Powerade title over the weekend at 119 pounds.

"It's a real confidence-booster to win a tournament as good as Powerade, but it puts a target on my back the rest of the year."

Brentzel, a senior at Penn-Trafford, missed about two-thirds of last season with ankle and shoulder injuries, but returned for the postseason tournaments and placed second in the WPIAL and third in the PIAA at 171 pounds.

"I thought I could have won at Powerade last year," said Brentzel, who placed seventh in the 2004 tournament at the same weight. "It really upset me to sit and watch. To come back this year and win the title makes it even sweeter."

Four WPIAL wrestlers advanced to the 171-pound semifinals at Powerade, and Brentzel stepped to the top of the class with a 4-0 shutout of Chartiers Valley's Corey O'Keefe in the semifinals, and a 4-2 win over Albert Gallatin's Lance Bryson in the title match.

Brentzel, the top seed, also posted an 11-0 major decision victory in the first round against Connellsville's Steve Blackburn, an 18-2 technical fall over Burrell's Matt McKillop in the second round, and an 8-1 win over Max Huntley of Colonial Forge, Va., in the quarterfinals.

"This is the toughest regular-season tournament I've wrestled in," said Brentzel. "Facing stiff competition like this helps prepare me for the postseason."

Cortese, who was seeded fourth at 119, recorded pins in the opening two rounds against Joey Walters of New Jersey's Southern Regional and Garret Henry of Solon, Ohio. He then posted a 4-2 win over Indian Valley's Nic Bedelyon in the quarterfinals, and a narrow 1-0 victory over DuBois' Ethan Swope in the semifinals.

Cortese also recorded a 1-0 victory in the championship match against Blue Mountain's freshman phenom, Josh Kindig, but the bout went the distance. Neither wrestler scored in regulation or the first two overtimes. Cortese picked up the deciding point when he rode out Kindig in the ultimate rideout (third overtime).

"I was glad I won the coin flip in the last overtime, because he was very good on top," said Cortese. "He is one of the best riders I've ever faced."

Brentzel was joined in the winners circle by teammate Shane Young, who claimed the 103-pound title with a 5-2 victory over North Star's Joe Lascari.

"I lost in the quarterfinals to the top seed last year and had to default with a shoulder injury," said Young. "That gave me a lot of incentive coming into the tournament this year."

Burrell and Mount Pleasant were also represented in the Powerade finals. Shane Welsh and Devon Maloney were runners-up for the Buccaneers, while Paul Snyder placed second for the Vikings.

Welsh dropped a 4-1 decision to Cedar Cliff's Bryan Ortenzio in the 135-pound final. Maloney lost, 3-0, in the 140-pound final to Central Dauphin's Walter Peppleman. Snyder lost, 2-1, in double overtime to Keystone Oaks' Myles Caragein in the 285-pound final.

Virginia's Christiansburg High won the team title with 173.5 points, while Hempfield finished second with 168. The Spartans had nine place-winners, with Cortese their only finalist.

"Finishing second [in the team standings] in such a strong tournament is something to be proud of," said Cortese.

Hempfield will be a heavy favorite at the Westmoreland County Coaches Association Tournament, which will be held Jan. 12-13 at Greensburg Salem.