A-K Valley youth wrestlers shine at Keystone State Championships

During the first weekend in April, youth wrestlers from around the state converged on Monroeville Convention Center for the Keystone State Championships, and a few young A-K Valley wrestlers came away with medals around their neck.

The Hutcherson brothers, Marco and Mario, from Kiski Area, earned top-three finishes in their respective weight classes. Marco, who wrestled in the 8-and-under 90-pound bracket, was one of two A-K Valley area wrestlers to come away with a first-place finish. Mario finished third in the 11 & 12-year-old, 105-pound bracket.

“It was great to see all of the hard work they’ve put into the sport and then to see it pay off,” their father, Greg Hutcherson, said.

With wrestling being a big part of their mom’s side of the family, Marco and Mario have been wrestling since they were about 4 years old. Mario has placed at the state tournament every year he’s participated, and Marco’s first tournament was set to be last year, but the coronavirus pandemic had other ideas.

He pinned his first two opponents in less than 30 seconds, picked up a 9-2 decision over Brody Brown from Chartiers Valley in the semifinals and beat Colton Schwoyer from Owen J Roberts with an 8-3 decision in the finals.

Mario earned his best finish at the tournament this season, as well. After placing seventh and fourth during his first two years, he won his first match of the tournament with an 11-1 major decision but dropped his next match in the quarterfinals to West Chester’s AJ Corp.

He worked his way through the consolation bracket and ended up beating Corp for third place with a 1-0 decision thanks to an escape with two seconds left on the clock.

“There weren’t really any nerves, but I would say they were anxious, especially after the tournament was canceled last year,” Greg Hutcherson said of his sons. “They both had great shots at winning state titles, so whenever the tournament was canceled last year because of covid it was like a whole year preparing for the next opportunity, which was this year’s states. So it was just the anxiousness of getting on the mat and having the tournament.”

The Hutchersons are traveling to Tulsa, Okla. this weekend to compete in the Reno World Championships. The tournament will be at the Cox Business Convention Center, and it brings some of the best wrestlers from around the country to compete in age groups from 18-and-under all the way down to 8-and-under.

“Wrestling in Pennsylvania is on another level, and it’s unreal the level of commitment that these kids, and the skill level they have, so my sons are just trying to absorb everything and live that lifestyle,” Hutcherson said. “Their dream is to be Olympic champions and NCAA champions, and that’s what we’re working for.”

Ava Golding from Kiski Area, Arianna Bernard from Valley and Alaina Claassen from Plum, who wrestle with Team Namaste out of the Battleground Training Center in Vandergrift, also won state championships.

Taye Bradshaw from Apollo-Ridge captured second in the 145-pound bracket of the 11- and 12-year-old age division, dropping a 10-2 major decision in the championship bout.

Burrell’s Cam Baker was third in the 80-pound bracket of the 11- and 12-year-old division. After a first-round bye, he earned an 18-0 technical fall in the round of 16 before he dropped a 2-1 decision to eventual champion Aiden Herndon from Cedar Cliff.

“It was a close match. We are both really good wrestlers, and he was just better that day,” Baker said. “He just got one more point.”

Baker earned a 12-0 major decision, a 5-0 decision and a 7-3 decision to advance through consolations.

He pulled off a 2-0 decision over Millcreek’s Kamdyn Borrero with a first-period takedown in the third-place match.

“It was definitely tough, and I had a lot of tough competition,” Baker said. “I prepared for it with all my teammates at the Mat Factory. I was just happy. I was surprised, and I worked really hard, so I thought I would do good.”

Baker said he had placed seventh, fifth and fourth in his previous trips to the tourney, and it felt good to improve his place again.