Ellwood City wrestlers Ben Gallenz and Derek Allen each earned three victories in the WPIAL AA Wrestling Championships over the weekend at Canon-McMillan High School. Allen earned a 7th place finish while Gallenz was defeated in the third consolation round of his weight class.
Fellow wrestler, and senior, Donovan Stiffler earned two victories in his weight classes.
Gallenz earned an opening round victory over Zander Nuttal (Derry), by fall 4-0 at 2:55 but was defeated in the Championship round of 16 by Davis Stepp (Beth Center) 12-2 at 2:48.
Derek Allen With A Victory. source: https://www.facebook.com/EllwoodCityWrestling
The junior wrestler earned two victories in the consolation bracket, first by 7-0 fall over Travis Newell (Burrell) at 1:53, and later by a 7-0 fall over Kameron Lidengood (Hopewell). Gallenz finally met his match in the third consolation round as he was defeated by 7-1 fall by Brandon Krul (Quaker Valley) at 2:09.
Krul advanced and finished 3rd overall in the 126-pound weight class.
“Ben has a ton of talent and wrestled well this weekend,” said head coach John Fleming. “We had the opportunity to discuss his position in wrestling and how he can push to the next level in his potential. We look forward to having him back next year and untapping that potential.”
The 106-pound Allen cruised to an opening round victory over Landon Jackson (Elizabeth Forward), winning by fall 5-0 at 1:42 but was knocked out by technical fall by Isaac Maccaglia (Quaker Valley) 17-1, at 2:22 in the quarterfinals. In the consolation bracket, Allen defeated James Couch (Freedom) by fall at 2:01 before a takedown in the ensuing round knocked Allen out of the bracket.
“Derek came into this season with a fire lit under him all year. He’s continually improved and has been a leader in the room as a freshman,” said Fleming. “He’s always learning and always committed to working harder. He wrestled with enthusiasm and aggression this weekend.”
Allen, just a freshman, earned a 7th place finish with his third victory of the tournament, a consolation match victory over Quinn Garda of Keystone Oaks.
“He’s still very young and we have things to work on he outperformed expectations and has his eyes open to the possibilities,” added Fleming.
Maccaglia finished 3rd overall in the 106-pound weight class.
The 285-pound Stifller also earned an opening round victory, with a take down of Logan Klemm (Knoch) at 1:26 to advance to his quarterfinal match. However, Cameron Carter-Green (Washington) defeated Stiffler via a take down at 0:18 knocking Stiffler out of the Championship.
“He fought in every match and while he wasn’t thrilled with some of the results – the improvement he has shown from not ever wrestling to now in 2 years is tremendous,” said Fleming.
In the consolation rounds, Stiffler earned a victory over Logan Mulheren (Ligonier Valley) at 0:45 via a take down to advance, but Christian Flaherty (Keystone Oaks) defeated Stiffler (Ellwood City) by a 2-0 fall at 0:33 in the fourth consolation round.
Carter-Green earned a spot in the 285-pound championship match.
Stifller earned an 8th place finish after he was defeated by Lance Crawley of Central Valley by a 5-3 decision in the 7th place consolation match.
“Donavin has been the absolute backing of this team all year long. He’s helped some younger guys out throughout the year and has helped encouraged many,” added Fleming.
“He came into this weekend with a goal in mind and he nearly executed everything he had planned to do. He’s excited to continue his senior year with a blast. He fought in every match and while he wasn’t thrilled with some of the results – the improvement he has shown from not ever wrestling to now in 2 years is tremendous.”
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