Dane Johnson fulfilled a dream but felt uncomfortable celebrating.
The Shady Side Academy senior won his fourth WPIAL individual title Saturday when his 140-pound opponent withdrew with an injury before their Class AA championship. Johnson became only the 18th wrestler to win four, but this victory wasn't quite how he'd imagined.
"There was no match," Johnson said, "so it doesn't really feel like much."
Johnson's match had been one of the most anticipated on a night highlighted with victories by returning champions Geoff Alexander (112) of Shady Side Academy, Anthony Zanetta (119) of Keystone Oaks, Mitch Spencer (135) of Avella, Matthew Cunningham (160) of Shady Side Academy and Roman San Doval (189) of Shady Side Academy.
The WPIAL title was Cunningham's third.
The top seeds were removing the drama from Saturday's early matches until Burrell sophomore Dave Makara surprised the Chartiers Valley High School crowd with his 125-pound victory over top seed Mathew Tadich, 8-0. Makara, whose older brother Joe was a four-time WPIAL champion, had lost the section title to Tadich last week.
"This was real sweet," Makara said. "I just worked hard on the things I did badly last week. I just fixed my mistakes."
The top six from each weight class advanced to the PIAA Southwest Regional on Friday and Saturday at the Cambria County War Memorial in Johnstown.
Johnson was awarded his fourth WPIAL title when Chartiers-Houston sophomore Michael Innes withdrew with a rib injury. Burrell's Jordan Shields and Canon-McMillan's Colin Johnston were the most recent wrestlers to win four WPIAL titles, becoming the 16th and 17th during last year's championships.
When it was time for his match, Johnson walked onto the mat alone. The referee raised Johnson's arm and the announcer declared him the champion. He was driving back to the gymnasium from his home in New Kensington when he got a call from his coach telling him there was no need to rush.
For Johnson, the victory was bittersweet.
"I'm disappointed," Johnson said. "I really wanted to wrestle because this was going to be my last time wrestling in the WPIAL. I wanted to go out and make a statement. I'll take it any way I can get it, though, so I'm happy."
Innes' coach, Bill Sutton, said he, not Innes, made the decision to forfeit.
Excluding Johnson's victory, the quickest title-winning victory was by Shady Side junior Matthew Cunningham, who needed 56 seconds to pin Charleroi's Tommy Thorpe in their 160-pound match, claiming his third WPIAL title.
The closest match was at 171, where Beth Center's Cody Catalina beat West Greene's Josh Durbin, 2-1.
Spencer had the toughest challenge among the repeat champions, claiming a 6-2 decision over Burrell's Travis McKillop at 135 pounds. McKillop was also a returning champion, having won the 130-pound title last season. Spencer, named the championship's most outstanding wrestler, won the 119-pound title last year.
Zanetta won his second WPIAL title and extended his winning streak to 79 matches with an 11-3 decision over Burrell's Jeremy Landowski at 119 pounds. Alexander won an 11-2 decision over Kittanning's Keith Cornman at 112 pounds. San Doval won a 9-3 decision over Kyle Dudley at 189 pounds.
At 103 pounds, Fort Cherry's Andrew Lucarini beat Highlands' Mike Henderson, 14-6. At 130, Shady Side's Frank Marellotti beat Mt. Pleasant's Colin Sheridan, 4-2. At 145, South Fayette's Nick Carr beat South Side Beaver's Colin Checkan, 3-1. At 152, Kyle Appleby beat Beth Center's Dominic Moore, 7-2. At 215, Burgettstown's Ryan Watson beat Burrell's Brian Beattie, 5-2. At 285, Carlynton's Jordan Roussos pinned Chartiers-Houston's Marty Kisla in 5:13.
Shady Side, which had six wrestlers reach the final, claimed five WPIAL titles. Yet the most monumental of the group came the easiest.
"I always wanted to win four," Johnson said, "but I didn't expect to win it like this."
