Pittsburgh Classic (nee Dapper Dan)

[lightweight]

From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

Waynesburg’s Welsh named to Pittsburgh Classic

BY KEN WUNDERLEY TRI-STATE SPORTS & NEWS SERVICE

The Pittsburgh Wrestling Classic usually waits until the conclusion of the PIAA championships to choose its Pennsylvania and WPIAL all-star teams.

The Classic selection committee has changed its strategy for the 49th annual event, which will be held March 25 at the AHN Arena at Peters Township High School.

The committee has announced the selection of six participants, including three from the WPIAL. Waynesburg senior Rocco Welsh has been chosen to wrestle on the Pennsylvania All-Star Team. His opponent in the feature match at 172 pounds will be Josh Barr, a senior from Davison High School in Michigan who will wrestle for the U.S. team.

Welsh is a three-time PIAA Class 3A finalist and one-time champ who is ranked No. 1 in the country at 170 pounds by Flowrestling.com. Barr is a two-time Michigan state champion who is ranked No. 2 in the country at 182 pounds.

Flowrestling.com also ranks the top 30 wrestlers in the country, regardless of weight class, and both are among the top 10. Welsh is No. 8 overall in the country, while Barr is No. 9.

Last July, Barr defeated Welsh at Junior Nationals in what many considered the most thrilling match of the 2022 finals. It was Barr’s second national title. Welsh avenged the loss by defeating Barr in FloWrestling’s Who’s #1 all-star match in September.

“This is being referred to as the rubber match for these two elite wrestlers,” said Phil Mary, co-director of the selection committee. “We’re sure they’ll provide the wrestling fans with a great match.”

The Welsh vs. Barr rivalry may continue into college because both are attending Big Ten schools. Welsh will travel west to Ohio State while Barr will travel east to Penn State.

The Classic committee has also announced something new for this year’s event. There will be two bouts with girls — and two of the girls are from the WPIAL.

Laurel senior Abbie Miles will be a member of the Pennsylvania All-Star Team. She will face Destiny Rodriguez of West Linn High School in Oregon in a bout at 165 pounds. Rodriguez is ranked No. 1 in the country, while Miles is ranked No. 22.

“It’s a big honor,” Miles said. “To be one of the two girls chosen from this area to participate in such a prestigious event is amazing.”

Kiski Area senior Isabella Devito will be a member of the WPIAL All-Star Team. Her opponent in the preliminary match at 124 pounds will be Cali Leng, a senior from St. Marysville in Ohio.

The WPIAL All-Star Team will face an all-star team from Ohio in the preliminary match at 4 p.m. The Pennsylvania All-Star Team will face the United States All-Star Team in the featured match at 6 p.m.

[lightweight]

PA All-Star Team

Wt Name High School Hometown

Career
Record

State
Titles
College
Attending

State
Placement
164 Abbie Miles Laurel New Castle 61-7 - Albion 3rd
121 Cael Nasdeo Williamsport Williamsport 119-21 1X Penn State 1st
127 Vinny Kilkeary Greater Latrobe Greensburg 131-12 3X Ohio State 1st
133 Jaden Pepe Wyoming Area West Pittston 157-5 3X Harvard 1st
139 Tyler Kasak Bethlehem Catholic Doylestown 79-3 1X Penn State -
145 Mac Church Waynesburg Central Waynesburg 151-13 2X Virginia Tech 2nd
152 Ty Watters West Allegheny Imperial 98-8 2X West Virginia 1st
160 Dylan Evans Chartiers Valley Pittsburgh 139-28 2X Pitt 1st
172 Rocco Welsh Waynesburg Central Waynesburg 159-17 2X Ohio State 1st
189 Jacob Jones Saucon Valley Hellertown 152-26 - New York Univ. 5th
215 Sonny Sasso Nazareth Nazareth 97-10 2X Virginia Tech 1st
285 Layton Schmick Carlisle Carlisle 122-23 - East Stroudsburg 3rd

1,465-173 18X

[lightweight]

USA All-Star Team

Pittsburgh, PA – Announcing the USA All-Star Team in the 49th Annual Pittsburgh Wrestling Classic,
presented by U.S. Steel.
Wt. Name High School Hometown

Career
Record*
State
Titles
College
Attending
170 Destiny Rodriguez West Linn West Linn, OR 84-0 4X McKendree
121 Marc-Anthony McGowan Blair Academy Tampa, FL 89-3 3X Princeton
127 Braeden Davis Dundee Belleville, MI 155-6 4X Penn State
133 Cael Hughes Stillwater Glencoe, OK 140-0 4X Oklahoma St.
139 Ryder Block Waverly-Shell Rock Waverly, IA 159-1 3X Iowa
145 Koy Buesgens New Prague New Prague, MN 188-6 3X NC State
152 Dylan Gilcher Detroit Catholic West Bloomfield, MI 140-4 4X Michigan
160 Ethan Stiles James B. Conant Hoffman Estates, IL 100-12 3X Nebraska
172 Joshua Barr Davison Davison, MI 132-1 4X Penn State
189 Brayden Thompson Stillwater Stillwater, OK 84-0 1X Oklahoma St.
215 Gavin Nelson Simley Inver Grove Hts., MN 182-9 3X Minnesota
285 Matthew Moore Mesa Ridge Colorado Springs, CO 117-7 1X Nebraska

1,570-49 37X

[lightweight]

WPIAL All-Star Team

Pittsburgh, PA – Announcing the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) All-Star
Team in the 49th Annual Pittsburgh Wrestling Classic, presented by U.S. Steel.
Wt. Name High School Hometown
Career
Record

WPIAL /
State Place

College
Attending

WPIAL
Titles
State
Titles
124 Isabella DeVito Kiski Area Apollo 72-10 1st / 5th Lock Haven 1X -
121 Ryan Klingensmith Kiski Area Apollo 110-34 1st / 7th Saint Vincent 1X -
127 Ethan Lebin Hempfield Area Greensburg 121-33 2nd / 4th Bucknell 1X -
133 Anthony Ferraro Pine-Richland Valencia 125-23 3rd / 3rd Edinboro - -
139 Joey Sentipal Burgettstown Burgettstown 145-40 1st / DNP Lock Haven 2X -
145 Nico Taddy West Allegheny Imperial 110-23 2nd / 7th West Liberty - -
152 Lucas Kapusta Hempfield Area Jeannette 128-34 2nd / 5th - - -
160 Grant MacKay Laurel New Castle 166-19 1st / 1st Pitt 3X 2X
172 Matthew Furman Canon-McMillan Canonsburg 125-37 2nd / 2nd Cornell - -
189 Brody Evans Waynesburg Mapletown 78-32 2nd / 3rd Edinboro - -
215 Eli Makel Waynesburg Waynesburg 124-39 1st / 4th Edinboro 1X -
285 Ty Banco Trinity Washington 121-31 1st / 6th - 1X -
1,425 - 355 10X 2X

[flyingcement]

121 should be awesome and I'm rooting for Nasdeo

[Pinnacle]

10 hours ago, flyingcement said:

121 should be awesome and I'm rooting for Nasdeo

Nadeo is finally healthy, but McGowan is tough. The match I want to see aside from Barr v. Welsh is at 139. Ryder Block vs Kasak. 

[JVStateChamp]

Love this event and think it is awesome for guys to represent their state and/or area. I know Kasak is a phenomenal wrestler and the best 139 in the state of Pennsylvania but he did not wrestle in high school this year which makes me question should he be eligible to wrestle in the PWC? Seems to be unfair to a student-athlete who wrestled this season.

[MPhillips]

OHIO ALL STAR TEAM

124 Cali Leng Marysville Marysville 112-10 2X 1st
121 Max Hermes Milan Edison Milan 223-12 3X Rutgers 1st
127 Austin McBurney Massillon Perry Navarre 138-40 - Brown 3rd
133 Vinnie D`Alessandro Mayfield Mayfield Heights 179-18 - Bucknell 4th
139 Dy'Vaire VanDyke Walsh Jesuit Akron 143-14 - Michigan State 3rd
145  A.J. Parrish Perrysburg
152 Wynton Denkins Perrysburg Perrysburg 151-22 - Campbell 3rd
160 Chris Earnest Wadsworth Wadsworth 181-24 - 2nd
172 Myles Takats Perrysburg Perrysburg 160-33 1X Bucknell 1st
189 Coen Grimm Wadsworth Wadsworth 121-28 - Buffalo 4th
215 Dylan Russo Olentangy Liberty Powell 150-17 3X Oklahoma 1st
285 Eli Criblez Allen East Lima 157-15 1X 1st

1,715-233 10

[bnwtwg]

23 hours ago, JVStateChamp said:

Love this event and think it is awesome for guys to represent their state and/or area. I know Kasak is a phenomenal wrestler and the best 139 in the state of Pennsylvania but he did not wrestle in high school this year which makes me question should he be eligible to wrestle in the PWC? Seems to be unfair to a student-athlete who wrestled this season.

Doesn't PIAA ban kids from competing if they transfer under the scenario that another parent complains their kid may not win? Seems unfair to a student-athlete who has the audacity to attend a different school, such as going from a private to public. Especially when the ruling is not consistently applied. I feel like I read about that happening recently hmmm...

[JLStock]

Garrett Scott is another example of a wrestler who did not compete or finish his senior year and wrestled on the PA team. He put on a show with a dominant performance. 

[JVStateChamp]

4 minutes ago, bnwtwg said:

Doesn't PIAA ban kids from competing if they transfer under the scenario that another parent complains their kid may not win? Seems unfair to a student-athlete who has the audacity to attend a different school, such as going from a private to public. Especially when the ruling is not consistently applied. I feel like I read about that happening recently hmmm...

Where is the correlation? Those are two separate topics. The PIAA has no impact or say on the PWC because its an all-star match and an exhibition.

[bnwtwg]

Just now, JVStateChamp said:

Where is the correlation? Those are two separate topics. The PIAA has no impact or say on the PWC because its an all-star match and an exhibition.

Are you saying that it should not matter if someone wrestled PIAA in order to compete at the PWC? Because your quote below certainly implied as such:

23 hours ago, JVStateChamp said:

I know Kasak is a phenomenal wrestler and the best 139 in the state of Pennsylvania but he did not wrestle in high school this year which makes me question should he be eligible to wrestle in the PWC? Seems to be unfair to a student-athlete who wrestled this season.

 

[JVStateChamp]

Just now, bnwtwg said:

Are you saying that it should not matter if someone wrestled PIAA in order to compete at the PWC? Because your quote below certainly implied as such:

 

I dont mean PIAA. I mean compete at ALL. We have had prep wrestlers from SEM and Malvern represent Team PA. But Kasak was not ineligible to compete he opted out this year. Being ineligible and opting out are two separate things. Someone that wins a state title or a national prep title this season should have the right to represent their state if they wrestled this year. 

[BAC]

On 3/21/2023 at 12:18 PM, JVStateChamp said:

Love this event and think it is awesome for guys to represent their state and/or area. I know Kasak is a phenomenal wrestler and the best 139 in the state of Pennsylvania but he did not wrestle in high school this year which makes me question should he be eligible to wrestle in the PWC? Seems to be unfair to a student-athlete who wrestled this season.

I'd be sympathetic to this point if someone were left off the PA team who might have beat Kasak but didn't have the chance since Kasak opted out.  But in fact, both the AA and AAA finalists were underclassmen, who aren't eligible.  Its a no-brainer to put Kasak in there.

[buckshot]

So far no scores available but at least they're cutting out of matches to show US Steel ads.

Flo continues their consistency.

[DocBB]

Rocco is the clear #1 at his weight vs Barr. Barr looked huge compared to Welch. I would push for Welsh for #1 overall in his class. What more does he ned to do? Won Super 32, Ironman, Powerade, beat Barr twice, 

[poorwrestler]

Rocco is the clear #1 at his weight vs Barr. Barr looked huge compared to Welch. I would push for Welsh for #1 overall in his class. What more does he ned to do? Won Super 32, Ironman, Powerade, beat Barr twice, 

If Welsh, Barr, Max McEnelly and Brayden Thompson are all going into 184, that’s a heck of a talent infusion into one weight with one class.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[DocBB]

7 minutes ago, poorwrestler said:

If Welsh, Barr, Max McEnelly and Brayden Thompson are all going into 184, that’s a heck of a talent infusion into one weight with one class.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Welsh isn't going 184

[poorwrestler]

Welsh isn't going 184

Is he 174 with Rogotzke/Shumate 184?


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[scourge165]

16 hours ago, buckshot said:

So far no scores available but at least they're cutting out of matches to show US Steel ads.

Flo continues their consistency.

30 bucks a month to watch commercials. This is why I cancelled Flo.