Hopewell Wrestling
Hopewell’s Isaiah Pisano Headed to WPIAL Wrestling Championship
(Written by Dom Campbell/Free Lance Writer/Pgh Sports Now)
BRIDGEVILLE, Pa. — Hopewell wrestling had a great start to day two of the WPIAL 2A Wrestling Championships, as senior Isaiah Pisano made it to the Final at 160 pounds Saturday at Chartiers Valley High School.
Pisano (34-2) faced off against Indiana senior Will Turner (27-7) in the semifinals, with Turner starting off as the better wrestler. Turner forced Pisano to fend off attacks initially to start the match, putting him on the defensive. Pisano eventually managed to take control towards the end of the first period, forcing Turner to the ground and putting his shoulder blades on the mat for the pin to move on to the final.
Defeating Turner allowed Pisano to enact revenge from last year at the WPIAL Championships, as he lost a 6-5 decision to him in the quarterfinals at 152 pounds last year.
“He’s a hard guy to wrestle,” Pisano said. “His shoulder is stronger, but I just wrestled a kid like that in the quarters right before and my snap fake was there all day. I hit my snap fake and he fell for it and took a fake to his back and got my pin. I actually lost to him last year at WPIALs, so it felt great.”
The fall for Pisano is his second at the WPIAL 2A Wrestling Championships so far, as he also pinned Greensburg Salem junior Ethan Miller in the Round of 16 at 52 seconds into the first period on Friday. He also beat Mt. Pleasant freshman Stephen Predaina in a 6-0 decision to make it to the semifinals.
The win also gives him a spot at a top two finish with the final, his highest at the WPIAL Championships in his career.
“I’m feeling strong,” Pisano said on his weekend so far. “At sections last week in my championship match I tweaked my Ankle a little bit, but it hasn’t been bothering me all weekend. I’ve been wrestling strong. My coach has been putting me through a good workout this week and got me ready for this week.”
Pisano will face Frazier junior Ryan Celaschi (27-5) in the Final at 160 pounds. He lost his first meeting with Celaschi last year in a 7-1 decision, but defeated him for his first match this season in a 6-5 decision on Dec. 2.
While Pisano will need to perform at his best to win the title, he’s confident in his performance so far this season and is ready to get the victory.
“Yeah, I wrestled him first match of the season, won 5-2. He’s a funky wrestler, he goes hard, but I think I can pull through.”
WPIAL Championship and Consolation Finals start at 3:30 p.m.
