Three UPJ wrestlers from WPIAL win all-PSAC honors
Pitt-Johnstown’s wrestling team lost out on a legitimate chance at a team title when the NCAA Division II national championships were canceled due to coronavirus.
Three of its top wrestlers, all WPIAL graduates, received some consolation Thursday in the form of a postseason award.
Brendan Howard, Jacob Ealy and Chris Eddins earned all-PSAC honors.
Howard is a 125-pound senior from Jefferson-Morgan, Ealy a 141-pound freshman from Hopewell and Eddins a 149-pound senior from Greensburg Salem. All three were champions at the NCAA Division II Super Region I tournament. Ealy won the league’s freshman of the year award.
Second-team all-PSAC honorees included Gannon 125-pound junior Jacob Dunlop (Belle Vernon) and 149-pound sophomore Dom Means (Central Catholic), UPJ 157-pound freshman Nate Smith (Franklin Regional) and Mercyhurst heavyweight Jacob Robb (Armstrong).
Included on the third team were four Seton Hill wrestlers – 125-pound sophomore Frank Bonura (Moon), 133-pound sophomore Vincent Distefanis (Hempfield), 149-pound senior Austin Shaw (Greensburg Salem) and 197-pound junior Billy Bowlen (Carmichels). UPJ 165-pound senior Devin Austin (Penn-Trafford) and junior heavyweight Allan Beattie (Burrell) also made the third team.
Jonathan Bombulie is the TribLive assistant sports editor. A Greensburg native, he was a hockey reporter for two decades, covering the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for 17 seasons before joining the Trib in 2015 and covering the Penguins for four seasons, including Stanley Cup championships in 2016-17. He can be reached at jbombulie@triblive.com.
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