Baxter falls short in finale
CANONSBURG — Denied, but not done.
Butler junior 171-pound wrestler Cole Baxter was denied a second WPIAL championship Saturday night at Canon McMillan High School, dropping a 3-2 decision to Chartiers Valley's Tyler Wilps in the title match.
Both wrestlers entered the match with 36-0 records this season. Only one other wrestler — Nico Megaludis of Franklin Regional at 119 — was unbeaten in all of WPIAL Class AAA.
Both will go on to the PIAA Championships, which begin Thursday at HersheyPark Arena.
"Cole got a little frustrated early because he wasn't able to finish a couple of shots," Butler coach Scott Stoner said. "Those are two high-quality wrestlers. They both were able to fend off shots."
After a scoreless first period. Wilps scored an escape early in the second. The Chartiers Valley senior took that 1-0 lead into the third period.
Baxter escaped to tie the match, then was taken down with 1:42 left. It was the first time Baxter has been taken down all season.
"He took him down off Cole's shot," Stoner said. "Cole over extended a bit, the kid got behind him and scored ... It was a basic move."
Baxter scored an escape with 25 seconds left in the match. He desperately tried securing a match-winning taledown, but Wilps was able to back off as time expired.
Wilps entered the match ranked third in the state at 171, Baxter ranked fourth. Sporting a 124-31 career record, Wilps was WPIAL runner-up at 171 last year and placed eighth in the state.
Baxter nearly scored a takedown in the first 30 seconds of the match, but Wilps was able to squirt out of bounds.
"That would have given me a 2-0 lead ... It might have been different, I don't know. I don't have any excuses," Baxter said quietly.
"I got the shots I wanted. I didn't finish. That's on me. He (Wilps) is a strong kid, but that's not why I lost."
Baxter is 114-11 in his career. He won the WPIAL 152-pound title last year and placed fifth at the PIAA meet.
Baxter has been undefeated in the regular season for the past two years."My strategy was the same as it is for every match," Wilps said. "Push hard for six minutes and tire the other guy out. He (Baxter) is very good."I don't pay much attention to won-loss records. It didn't matter to me that we were undefeated or not. We both deserved to be there."No other local wrestlers placed in the tournament.Butler's Mike Crawford reached the semifinals at 140 pounds, but saw his tournament come to an end with two straight pins. After a scoreless first period, Sam Lombardo of Canon McMillan caught him and put his shoulders to the mat 21 seconds into the second period.After another scoreless first period in the consolation round, Crawford was caught and pinned 49 seconds into the second period by Albert Gallatin's Chris Milligan."Mike wrestled a little too laid-back," Stoner said. "He waited for a move to play out when he needed to be more aggressive. We didn't show enough sense of urgency in this tournament as a whole."The Golden Tornado's Chris White reached the fourth round of consolations — getting a 2-1 overtime decision over Hampton's Jordan Shulman along the way — before dropping a 10-3 decision to Hopewell's Brandon Fedorka.Fedorka wound up third and is headed to the PIAA tourney. White ended his senior season at 32-8."Chris wants to wrestle in college and needs to improve on technique," Stoner said. "He has the physical skills and the strength."When these guys become seniors, a coach develops into their biggest fan. You want them to experience going to Hershey It's a huge experience you don't forget for a lifetime."Seneca Valley senior Nate Cully was also denied a state tournament berth, dropping an 11-3 decision to Penn Hills' Joseph Washington in the third round of consolations. Cully had pinned Kevin Synan on Hampton in the previous round for his 103rd career victory.Butler's Blake Caudill at 103 and Eric Tuck at 135, along with Knoch's Grayson Hixon at 119, were eliminated in the second round of consolations."This is only Blale's third year of wrestling and I have the highest expectations for him," Stoner said. "He's going to get better. He lost his confidence toward the end of the year."Eric always has defense. That's his style. He's been down here three times now and needs to find some assertiveness. I think that will happen."Cauduill was 32-6 this season, Tuck 27-7. Hixon was 26-9 and ended his Knoch career with 83 career victories and as a four-time WPIAL qualifier."He would have reached 100 wins, but he split time his freshman year," Knights coach Mark McLaughlin said. "Grayson is the face of our program. He set the bench-mark for future Knoch wrestlers."He made some mistakes in his consolation) match that cost him. The wrestlers who don't make the mistakes down here are the ones who find their way to Hershey. It just didn't happen for him."<B>WPIAL CLASS AAA WRESTLING TOURNAMENT Local ResultsFinals171 pounds — </B>Tyler Wilps (Chartiers Valley) dec. Cole Baxter (Butler) 3-2<B>Semifinals140 pounds — </B>Sam Lombardo (Canon McMillan) pinned Mike Crawford (Butler) 2:21<B>171 pounds — </B>Cole Baxter (Butler) dec. Matt McCutcheon (Kiski Area) 3-1<B>Second-Round Consolations103 pounds — </B>Justin Alexander (Central Catholic) dec. Blake Caudill (Butler) 10-1<B>119 pounds — </B>Tim Connelly (Penn Trafford) dec. Grayson Hixon (Knoch) 8-2<B>135 pounds — </B>Ken Scott (West Allegheny) dec. Eric Tuck (Butler) 6-2<B>145 pounds — </B>Nate Cully (Seneca Valley) pinned Kevin Synan (Hampton) :47<B>215 pounds — </B>Chris White (Butler) by forfeit over Nicholas Shuman (McGuffey)<B>Third-Round Consolations145 pounds — </B>Joseph Washington (Penn Hills) dec. Nate Cully (Seneca Valley) 11-3<B>215 pounds — </B>Chris White (Butler) dec. Jordan Shulman (Hampton) 2-1 in OT<B>Fourth-Round Consolations140 pounds — </B>Chris Milligan (Albert Gallatin) pinned Mike Crawford (Butler) 2:49<B>215 pounds — </B>Brandon Fedorka (Hopewell) dec. Chris White (Butler) 10-3
