East Xtra: Allderdice's City League title is one for the (record) books
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The Allderdice High School wrestling team made history last week by winning the school's first team tournament championship.
The Dragons dominated Perry, 63-16, to claim the title.
"They celebrated," head coach Mike Shaw said of his team's reaction. "A couple of them -- their eyes got teary."
The Dragons had won their school's first City League title in 15 years last Thursday night. Both Shaw and his wrestlers had a lot to say about the victory.
"I didn't expect [our team] to be as dominant as they were in the first match with Perry during the regular season," said Shaw.
Allderdice had defeated Perry, 55-18, in a regular-season match on Jan. 3. "I thought things would be a little closer [this time]."
Darius Moore began the match by pinning Perry's William Cleveland in 54 seconds in the 138-pound bout.
"I was excited because I'd never made it to playoffs with a team before," Moore said.
He explained that he'd originally transferred to Allderdice from Peabody. Peabody won its last wrestling championship in 1994.
"I was very excited," said 145-pound specialist Ean DiSilvio. "Allderdice hasn't won a city championship in 15 years [when the title was determined by earning team points at the individual championships], so it was very exciting to bring the gold home."
DiSilvio had pinned Perry's Leif Edwards in the 145-pound matchup. That bout took 1 minute and 24 seconds.
Dillon Mulvihill wrestled at 152 last Thursday. He pinned Perry's Delray Taylor in 50 seconds. He was pretty confident the Dragons had would it takes to win the title.
"I wasn't really surprised we won because, overall, I knew we had a better team."
Shaw felt that the early pins by Moore, DiSilvio, and Mulvihill sparked some momentum for the heavier classes.
"What made me nervous were the heavier weights [from 170 pounds and more], because I knew we were going to forfeit two in a row," Shaw said.
His team forfeited matches in both the 195- and 220-pound classes.
"That's 12 points," Shaw explained. "Say the heavier weights lost -- that's like losing four matches in a row."
Shaw also gave a nod to the wrestlers in classes 113 through 132. Dorion Long-Devaugh (113), Isaiah Slappy (120), Austin Prino (126) and Cam Jacobson (132) each recorded pins.
"We depend on them to win, too," said Shaw. "They're great kids."
After winning the City League championship, the Dragons had to deal with reality. The Dragons faced Greensburg Salem on Monday in the preliminary round of the PIAA team wrestling tournament. The Golden Lions had an easy time of it, defeating the City League champs, 60-16.
Next up for the Dragons is the City League individual tournament, which will take place Feb. 18. The top two wrestlers in each weight class will advance to Northwest Regional Tournament scheduled for March 2 and 3 at Altoona.
"Our team is looking forward to working hard to get as far as we can," said Moore. "We're looking forward to hitting the mats harder."
First Published February 9, 2012 12:00 am
