Shane Young's winning streak came to an end Saturday at the King of the Mountain tournament at Central Mountain High School.
Young, a senior from Penn-Trafford High School, entered the season with 90 consecutive victories and added 10 more wins since the season began. The 100-match streak ended with a 6-2 loss to Bellefonte's Mitchell Port in the 119-pound title match.
Young is a two-time Class AAA WPIAL and PIAA champion who had not lost since the final match of his freshman season. Port, a junior, placed fifth in the state as a 103-pound freshman, but failed to place last year at 112. Young beat Port, 10-3, in the 2007 PIAA semifinals en route to his first state title.
"I had a bad day," said Young, who went undefeated in two consecutive seasons. "It's so disappointing to lose. One of my goals was to break the WPIAL record."
Young falls well short of Cary Kolat's WPIAL record of 137 consecutive victories. Kolat had a 137-0 record during his career at Jefferson-Morgan.
"I'm hoping for a rematch next week at the Powerade tournament," said Young, referring to the 43-team tournament held Dec. 29-30 at Canon-McMillan High School. Young is a two-time returning Powerade champion.
Also placing for Penn-Trafford were Ryan Bohince (sixth at 112), Jake Matthews (fifth at 145) and Devan Jones (third at 152). Penn-Trafford placed ninth in the team standings with 100 points.
Central Mountain won the team title with 217.5 points and two individual champions, while Perry, Ohio, finished second with 175 points. Latrobe was a close third with 174 points.
Latrobe had eight placewinners, including two runners-up. Joey Walters placed second at 140, while Nathan Pennessi was the runner-up at 119. Also placing for the Wildcats were Chance Small (third at 103), Cary Lydic (fourth at 112), Ty Lydic (fifth at 119), Ryan Walters (fourth at 130), Levi Hines (eighth at 145) and Derrick Zavatsky (sixth at 152).
West Allegheny was also in the 36-team King of the Mountain field. The Indians had two placewinners: Troy Reaghard (fourth at 171) and Jake Leninsky (fifth at 189).
Canon-McMillan placed sixth at the 36-team North Canton (Ohio) Holiday Invitational. The Big Macs accumulated 121.5 points and three placewinners. Sam Brownlee claimed the 285-pound title with five consecutive pins, including two in less than one minute. Dario Dobbins (112) and Nick Catalano (130) placed fourth in their weight classes for the Big Macs.
Host Franklin Regional claimed the team title at Saturday's Franklin Regional Duals. Franklin Regional and Fox Chapel both had a 4-1 record, but the Panthers claimed the team title with a 42-29 win against the Foxes.
Bethel Park claimed the team title at Saturday's North Hills Duals. The Black Hawks, ranked No. 2 in the WPIAL in Class AAA, recorded four victories, including a 42-18 win against runner-up Kiski Area. Jordan Bonham (140), Mike Ganley (145) and Adam Lazenga (215) went undefeated and recorded three falls each for Bethel Park.
Twenty WPIAL teams are entered in the Powerade Christmas tournament, along with 12 out-of-state teams, and 11 other Pennsylvania teams. District 3 Central Dauphin is the defending champion.
Twenty-eight teams are entered in the Steve DeAugustino Holiday Classic, which will be held Dec. 29-30, at West Mifflin High School. District 3 Bermudian Springs has won three consecutive DeAugustino Classic titles.
Thirty teams are entered in the Southmoreland Christmas tournament, which will be held Dec. 29-30, at Southmoreland High School.
West Mifflin's Sam Sherlock made it to the finals of the Beast of the East tournament in Newark, Del., falling to Chris Villalonga of New Jersey's Blair Academy in the 130-pound bracket. The Beast of the East is considered one of the two strongest tournaments in the country.
Sherlock's teammate James Fleming finished third at 160 pounds. He defeated Blair Academy's Jesse Shanaman in the consolation match.
Connellsville's Zach Benzio was the only other placewinner from the WPIAL. Benzio finished seventh in the 189-pound bracket.
The Dapper Dan Wrestling Classic will be held Sunday, March 15, at the University of Pittsburgh's Fitzgerald Field House. The United States All-Star team will face Pennsylvania's All-Star team in the feature match at 4 p.m. A team of WPIAL All-Stars will face a West Virginia All-Star team in the preliminary match at 2 p.m.
The Classic is produced and sponsored by the Post-Gazette Dapper Dan Charities and local volunteers. Proceeds from the Wrestling Classic support a youth wrestling program for inner-city children through the Dapper Dan Youth Sports Leagues at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Western Pennsylvania.
Tickets can be purchased at Wright Automotive Group on Route 19, Canon McMillan High School or by calling the Dapper Dan Charities at (412) 263-3850. For more information or to order tickets, visit www.wrestlingclassic.com.