February 15, 2019

Five Valley wrestlers claim section titles, 17 advance

By Mon Valley Independent

By DAN PALM

For the MV Independent

The WPIAL Class 2A individual wrestling sectionals were held tonight at Canon-MacMillan High School and our local squads came home with five individual champions and 12 additional WPIAL tournament qualifiers.

Frazier’s Thayne Lawrence, Bentworth’s Jonathan Vargo and Elizabeth Forward’s Ryan Michaels were all repeat champs. EF added two first-time winners, Noah Hunnell and Chris Bruce.

Lawrence (18-3), a Frazier junior and returning state champion at 152 pounds, took the 160-pound gold for his third straight Section 3 title. He beat Burrell’s Austin Mele, 5-0, in the title match after picking up two first-period pins in earlier matches.

“Thayne Lawrence is a true champion and a young man of great character,” said Commodore coach Buck Watkins. “He’s a three-time champ at three different weight classes and this is a result of his one-of-a-kind work ethic.”

To read the rest of this story, please see a copy of Saturday’s Mon Valley Independent, call 724-314-0035 to subscribe or subscribe to our online edition at https://e.monvalleyindependent.com.

Mid Mon Valley All Sports Hall of Fame welcomes 6 new members
Latest News, Main
June 20, 2026
Honored Friday night during the Mid Mon Valley All Sports Hall of Fame ceremony at St. Spyridon Hellenic Center in Monessen are, back row from left, Frank Bernadowski, Dion Jansante and Doug Dascenzo,...
West Mifflin School Board addresses projected deficit
Latest News, Main
By SARAH PELLIS spellis@yourmvi.com 
June 20, 2026
The budget proposal for 2026-27 contains a $2.8 million shortfall. After rejecting a proposed tax increase last month in its 2026-27 preliminary budget, West Mifflin Area school board still has decisi...
Slight tax hike included in Ringgold’s 2026-27 budget
Latest News, Main
By TAYLOR BROWN, Senior Reporter 
June 20, 2026
The new spending plan contains a $148K reduction in expenditures from the original document. The Ringgold School Board approved a $63 million budget Wednesday that includes a 0.4 mill property tax inc...
‘Don’t tell your mother:’ A life of love and adventures with my Dad
Features, Opinion
Father's Day Column
June 20, 2026
By TAYLOR BROWN Senior Staff Writer tbrown@yourmvi.com If my mother were still alive, she would probably ask why I thought publishing this column was a good idea. Then she would likely not speak to me...
Washington County Commissioners return funding to county food bank
Latest News, Main
June 20, 2026
It was redirected to the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank during the pandemic. By the MVI Washington County commissioners voted Thursday to return Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture funding ...