8-time kingpin Reynolds ready for Northwest Region Championships Saturday at Sharon

Ed Farrell, The Herald, Sharon, Pa.
·9 min read

Feb. 26—After years of intensely competing and coaching, Casey Taylor is taking time to smell the roses. Thus far, the 2020-21 season has been rosy for Reynolds High's wrestling program.

The Raiders roared through the regular season and District 10 Team Duals, then earned the program's 9th consecutive (27th overall) D-10 Class 2A team title.

On Saturday at Sharon High Reynolds' reign atop the Northwest Region will be challenged. However Taylor — more relaxed than in years past — relishes Reynolds' role and embraces the challenges.

"When you know you're graduating a (senior) class like this, we're gonna work our butts off to try to compete next year for a title. That's our goal every year, is to try to be either champions on in the mix for that. Knowing that other teams are really getting better, that's good for the sport, it's good for the area," Taylor assessed.

Saturday, competition commences with quarterfinals at 9:30 a.m., followed by semifinals and consolation quarterfinals, 11:45 a.m.; consy semifinals, 2 p.m., the Parade of Champions, 3:15 p.m., and championship and consolation finals, 3:30 p.m.

Each weight class' top 3 place-winners advance to next weekend's Super Regionals at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Through the years Reynolds remains the standard. Raiders' wrestlers have recorded 23 Northwest Region crowns, including the last 8 in succession. Taylor will send 7 matmen in the program's annual quest to conquer.

" ... The goal was to get seven through (and) all seven made it through ... " Taylor reflected regarding the D-10 Championships.

Senior Gary Steen leads Reynolds' septet. A 4-time D-10 titlist, Steen is seeking a 4th region championship. The 120-pound protege will be joined by newly-minted D-10 champions Kaeden Berger (145) and Jalen Wagner (160), runners-up Chase Bell (113), Kane Kettering (132) and Guy Rocco John-Daniello (285), and 3rd-place finisher Cole Toy (189).

District 10 runner-up Fort LeBoeuf and blossoming Hickory will challenge Reynolds' reign, as will District 9's contingent, including Brookville, Port Allegany, Redbank Valley and Brockway.

Hickory Head Coach Nick Clepper gushed regarding his grapplers' D-10 Championships' performance:

"Louie Gill wrestled a heckava tournament, went out and wrestled a really tough kid in the semis, got the win there, then went on to the Finals (against Saegertown's Hunter Robison). I think, if we wrestle that kid (this) week, I think it's gonna be a different score; I think you're gonna see a lot more points on the board. I'm really excited for Louie right now. I think (this) week's bracket looks really good for him. He's just gonna go out and wrestle ... Justin O'Neill, the boy wrestled 'lights out.' He won by major decision in the Finals. I'm really excited by the way he's wrestling right now. He's definitely elevated his game the last few weeks and it definitely showed at the district level. Hopefully, he'll continue at the regional level.

"Timmy Krivosh, he's probably the highlight," Clepper continued. "Another kid who has elevated his game in the last few weeks and put himself higher on that (awards) podium. He knocked off a really good kid to get into third and fourth, and he ended up losin' a tight match with Nick Ayres from Slippery Rock. But (Krivosh) wrestled great all weekend, and I'm really lookin' forward to him (this) weekend. ... Same thing with Connor Saylor, (who) was wrestlin' really, really well (last) weekend, made it to the semis and wrestled a really tough kid from Greenville, Chase McLaughlin. Another really tight match. There were some calls that could've went either way for Chase; there could've been calls that went for Connor. The biggest thing is (this) week we may get another chance at him, depending on who wins and who loses. But I think you're gonna see another really great match. But Connor rallied back to get third place for the bonus points.

"Cody Miller is another one," Clepper continued. "We lost to Kane Kettering, another tough kid. We were able to drop down (in the bracket) and get into that third- and fourth-place match, and he wrestled well there, against another tough kid (Commodore Perry's Zane Grinnell). ... Carter Gill wrestled great all weekend. Against Jay Reagle ... we've wrestled him quite a few times, but we were in control, pretty much, the whole, entire match. Then we got to wrestle Kaeden Berger for, I think, the fourth time in high school. We kind've closed that gap off. Got in deep on a shot late in the third period, but just didn't get it; he kind've drove it out of bounds. But (Gill) closed the gap ...

"This District 10, you're gonna find tough guys everywhere in that bracket, but he was able to get points. We're excited for him, too, for (this) weekend," Clepper concluded.

— Veteran Trojans' taskmaster John Reynolds assessed, "Cole Karpinski seems to be getting better each week, so we are excited to see how far he can go this post-season. He's an excellent student-athlete that understands what it takes to be successful. Cole grinds in the weight room before school several days a week, always has a smile on his face in practice, and embraces wrestling against strong competition."

A junior, Karpinski —

as with Steen — is 22-0 this season. Other countians who have compiled gaudy won-lost ledgers include seniors Berger and Gage Musser (Commodore Perry), 21-1; Toy, 21-2, Kettering and John-Daniello, 20-2; O'Neill and Carter Gill, 23-4, and Saylor, 24-5; Mercer's Carson Filer, 25-2, and Mason Hesselgesser, 21-6, and Lakeview's Isaac DeVault, 21-3.

— A trio of freshmen have made an immediate impact on their respective programs, including Caullin Summers (Sharpsville), 21-6; Hunter Hohman (Grove City), 23-2, and Louie Gill, 22-2.

One of the day's best bouts could take place right out of the gate in Saturday's quarterfinals at 126 pounds as Greenville senior McLaughlin (19-1) meets another talented frosh in Sharpsville's Alex Rueberger (20-8).

Some would say, with Reynolds' perennial success, it would be easy for Taylor to enjoy the Raiders' ride. However, always the competitor, he cautioned,

"I think that we are going to see a lot of parity, in terms of there's gonna be a lot of fun, close matches in the future. But I never take this for granted. ... I try to remind (the Raiders) that our goals are always set high."

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NORTHWEST REGIONAL

CLASS 2A PAIRINGS

106 — Weston Pisarchick (Brockway), Fr., 12-1, vs. Lucas Munsee (Corry), Sr., 9-4; Daniel Evans (Redbank Valley), Fr., 9-3; vs. Louie Gill (Hickory), Fr., 22-2; Cayden Walter (Brookville), Sr., 15-5; vs. Hunter Gould (Conneaut Area), Fr., 15-2; Andie Przybycien (Fort LeBoeuf), Jr., 10-5, vs. Hunter Robison (Saegertown), Jr., 16-1.

113 — Justin O'Neill (Hickory) Sr., 23-4, vs. Brody Beck (Cambridge Springs), Fr., 17-7; Kyle Lantz (Conneaut Area), Soph.,12-6, vs. Ethan Illerbrun (Kane), Fr., 7-1; Chase Bell (Reynolds), Fr., 16-7, vs. Cole Bish (Redbank Valley), Soph., 9-3; Jake Bennett (Fort LeBoeuf), Fr., 10-7, vs. Jacob Carfley (Curwensville), Jr., 8-1.

120 — Owen Reinsel (Brookville), Jr., 20-1, vs. Blayke Knauf (Greenville), Sr., 14-6; Ridge Cook (Redbank Valley), Jr., 12-1, vs. JoJo Prybycien (Fort LeBoeuf), Fr., 13-5; Chase Weimer (Port Allegany), Jr., 10-1, vs. Nick Ayres (Slippery Rock), Sr., 14-2; Timmy Krivosh (Hickory), Fr., 18-9, vs. Gary Steen (Reynolds), Sr., 22-0.

126 — Chase McLaughlin (Greenville), Sr., 19-1, vs. Alex Rueberger (Sharpsville), Fr., 20-8; Connor Saylor (Hickory), Soph., 24-5, vs. Mark Palmer (Brockway), Jr., 10-4; Jack Martinec (Cochranton), Jr., 19-1, vs. Nik Fegert (Curwensville), Soph., 7-3; Gunnar Gage (Cambridge Springs), Soph., 18-5, vs. Braedon Johnson (Port Allegany), Sr., 11-0.

132 — Trenten Rupp (Redbank Valley), Sr., 11-1, vs. Cody Miller (Hickory), Jr., 18-9; Rayce Milliard (Johnsonburg), Soph., 9-4, vs. Kane Kettering (Reynolds), Jr., 20-2; Ryder Kuklinskie (Curwensville), Fr., 7-1, vs. Zane Grinnell (Commodore Perry), Sr., 17-6; Caullin Summers (Sharpsville), Fr., 21-6, vs. Connor Pierce (Harbor Creek), Jr., 16-2.

138 — Carson Filer (Mercer), Sr., 25-2, vs. Nate Stearns (Titusville), Fr., 13-7; Hunter Hohman (Grove City), Fr., 23-2, vs. Harley Morris (Kane), Jr., 5-1; Easton Headman (Eisenhower), Sr., 13-3, vs. Scott Fuller (Port Allegany), Sr., 8-4; Ashten Armagost (Commodore Perry), Sr., 11-5, vs. Nolan Shaffer (Johnsonburg), Sr., 12-0.

145 — Isaiah Caden (Port Allegany), Sr., 10-1, vs. Conner McChesney (Fort LeBoeuf), Fr., 11-6; Logan Augenbaugh (Curwensville), Fr., 6-4, vs. Carter Gill (Hickory), Jr., 23-4; Dalton Stahli (Johnsonburg), Sr., 11-2, vs. Collin Clough (Youngsville), Sr, 18-4; Jaden Reagle (Saegertown), Sr., 14-4, vs. Kaeden Berger (Reynolds), Sr., 21-1.

152 — Jack Rimpa (Fort LeBoeuf), Sr., 14-2, vs. Clay Thomas (Union City), Soph. 12-7; Collin Hearn (Conneaut Area), Soph., 14-3, vs. Kaden Dennis (Johnsonburg), Soph.,11-1; Brock Covell (Titusville), Soph., 13-5, vs. Luke Ely (Kane), Soph., 7-1; Seth Evans (Sharon), Sr., 12-5, vs. Taro Tanaka (Port Allegany), Sr.., 9-2.

160 — Cole Casilio (Johnsonburg), Sr., 12-0, vs. Mason Hesselgesser (Mercer), Sr., 21-6; Landon Mead (Sheffield), Jr., 15-10, vs. Stetson Boozer (Cochranton), Jr., 13-8; Wyatt Griffin (Brookville), Sr., 14-9, vs. Clayton Smith (Commodore Perry), Jr., 17-9; Ryan Welka (Fort LeBoeuf), Fr., 5-5, vs. Jalen Wagner (Reynolds), Soph., 18-3.

172 — Gage Musser (Commodore Perry), Sr., 21-1, vs. Abraham Keep (Girard), Soph., 9-4; Timmy Church (Fort LeBoeuf), Sr., 11-5., vs. Jackson Zimmerman (Brookville), Soph., 16-5; Landon Caldwell (Saegertown), Jr., 15-2, vs. Cutter Boggess (Clarion), Sr., 10-2; Joshua Anderson (Conneaut Area), Sr., 13-5, vs. Noah Bash (Brockway), Sr., 11-2.

189 — Ethan Finch (Sheffield), Sr., 24-0, vs. Caden Herman (Harbor Creek), Sr., 9-4; Seth Stewart (Brockway), Soph., 11-4, vs. Danny Church (Fort LeBoeuf), Soph., 13-3; Hudson Martz (Redbank Valley), Sr., 9-2, vs. Cole Toy (Reynolds), Sr., 21-2; Nick Kaday (Union City), Sr., 16-5, vs. Cole Karpinski (Greenville), Jr., 22-0.

215 — Hayden Linkerhof (Corry), Jr., 12-1, vs. Tony Pilosi (Slippery Rock), Jr., 13-3; Trevor Tursky (Conneaut Area), Sr., 12-6, vs. Aiden Gardner (Redbank Valley), Sr., 11-1; Cael Black (Eisenhower), Jr, 21-2, vs. Derek Kallenborn (Port Allegany), Sr., 11-1; Isaac DeVault (Lakeview), Sr., 21-3, vs, Bryce Rafferty (Brookville), Jr., 17-4.

285 — Nathan Taylor (Brookville), Sr., 20-1, vs. Zach Nesevich (Greenvill), Sr, 11-4; Kobe Bonnao (Redbank Valley), Sr., 9-4, vs. Guy Rocco John-Daniello (Reynolds), Sr., 20-2; Justin Young (Port Allegany), Sr., 10-1, vs. Xavier Reyda (Corry), Jr., 11-2; Jesse Phelps (North East), Sr., 13-4, vs. Jordan Schell (Girard), Sr., 12-0.