North Xtra: North Allegheny's surprising WPIAL run concludes in finals match
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North Allegheny High School's Jarred Lux, left, works to pin Central Catholic's Stuart Hall in the 220-pound weight class in the first round of the WPIAL team tournament at Kiski Area High School.
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Jamie Kyriazis competed for North Allegheny's 1988 wrestling team that ranked No. 1 in the country. But that team never participated in a state tournament because the PIAA did not have a team tournament at that time.
"We never really thought about a state team tournament back then," said Kyriazis, who was a 112-pound sophomore in '88. "It's too bad we didn't have that chance. It would have been great to have the opportunity to wrestle for a state team title."
Kyriazis, now North Allegheny's head coach, will finally get the opportunity to participate in a PIAA team tournament. The Tigers are one of the 20 teams in the Class AAA field.
"We've been hoping for a chance to wrestle in the state team tournament since I took over as head coach 12 years ago," he said. "We've come close a couple times, but not close enough, until this year."
North Allegheny (17-4) earned its PIAA berth by placing second in the WPIAL team tournament, which concluded Saturday at Chartiers Valley High School. The No. 7 seeded Tigers upset No. 2 seed Kiski Area, 36-30, in the quarterfinals, then upset No. 3 Connellsville, 29-28, in the semifinals.
"It's ironic that we would lose the section title for the first time in my career, but then qualify for the PIAA team tournament," Kyriazis said.
"I knew we were better than a No. 7 seed, but that's where we had to be after losing in the section semifinals. I knew seeds two thru eight were so close that any match-up between those teams would be a coin flip. It was just a question of who wanted it more.
"We got here on guts."
North Allegheny's good fortune in the WPIAL team tournament came to an end in the championship match, as two-time defending champion and unbeaten top seed Canon-McMillan (22-0) claimed its third consecutive title with a dominating 53-12 victory.
"It was North Allegheny's first appearance in a WPIAL team tournament final since 1990," Kyriazis said. "I remember it well because that was my senior year."
North Allegheny had a 9-6 lead early in the championship match, winning two of the first three bouts. Alex DeCiantis recorded a decision at 182 and Jarred Lux got a pin at 195, but the lead didn't last long.
"The kids really stepped it up tonight," Canon-McMillan coach Chris Mary said. "I take my hat off to North Allegheny and its coach. They had a fine tournament and are well coached, but we had a few more horses than they had."
Canon-McMillan (22-0) responded with pins by Alex Campbell and Cody Klempay at 220 and 285 and the route was on. It began a string of six consecutive victories by the Big Macs, and five included bonus points. Colton Shorts capped the rally with a pin at 126, which also clinched the title for the Big Macs.
"We had a tough road after losing in the semifinals of the section tournament," Kyriazis said. "The guys regrouped and came though big in the WPIAL tournament."
North Allegheny's performance is even more impressive when one considers the Tigers have been without two starters, Ryan Sippel and Drew Landefeld, since the start of the season. Sippel is a senior who entered the season with 52 career victories. Landefeld recorded 23 wins last year as a freshman.
"Being without Ryan and Drew was a real handicap," Kyriazis said. "We've had to forfeit at least one bout per match. It's hard to be successful at a state tournament when you're forfeiting a weight class."
North Allegheny will face District 10 champion Erie McDowell (14-1) in the first round tonight at the Giant Center in Hershey, Pa.
"We're excited to go to Hershey," Kyriazis said. "We don't have the experience of wrestling there before, but we did wrestle McDowell a couple weeks ago and lost by only a few points."
First Published February 9, 2012 12:00 am
