North Allegheny wrestler Griffen Reid entered last year’s postseason with a knee swollen “larger than a baseball.”
He gutted out a win in his first match at sectionals, but painful bursitis forced him to withdraw, ending his sophomore season with three straight forfeit losses.
“It just totally ruined my season last year,” he said. “It was larger than a baseball. It was pretty bad. I had to wear a compression knee pad. It hurt constantly. It was just so discouraging. It was heartbreaking. It was my sophomore year, and the most important part was just torn away. It was just terrible.”
Reid, now a 152-pound junior, is healthy — he wears a protective knee pad — and motivated for the individual postseason tournaments, which begin with the WPIAL Class 3A Northern Sectionals on Feb. 15 at Fox Chapel.
Reid (33-7), who placed third in the section and went 1-2 at WPIALs as a 121-pound freshman, will be a top seed at the 14-team sectionals. The top six wrestlers at each weight class advance to the WPIAL Class 3A championships Feb. 21-22 at Canon-McMillan. From there, seven move on to the PIAA Southwest Regionals and, then, the top five to states.
North Allegheny coach Jamie Kyriazis said Reid is more confident and aggressive, and the disappointing end to last season has fueled a take-no-prisoners attitude. Reid has won 13 matches by technical fall this season; he had only two last season while going 24-13.
“He’s dynamic when it comes to his setups and his attacks,” Kyriazis said. “He’s always looking for a turn or a takedown. That’s the mindset he’s got now. He’s more aggressive. He’s continuously trying to attack and not hang on.”
Reid tuned up for this season by going 6-2 and placing fourth at 157 at the Virginia Super 32 Early Entry Tournament on Sept. 14.
Once high school season began, he didn’t slow down. His 13-1 start included an 11-match win streak, and he ended the regular season with seven straight wins. He earned an 11-1 major decision over Butler senior Kase Chopp, a Pitt-Johnstown commit with 118 career wins, and split his two matches with Peters Township senior Darius McMillon (39-4).
Reid placed third at Allegheny County Championships, fifth at Bethlehem Holiday Classic and sixth at Mid-Winter Mayhem. Even in defeat, he kept it close. Six of his seven regular-season losses were by decision.
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“He’s done really well this year,” Kyriazis said. “He’s training hard. I’m impressed with his approach. … I think he doubted himself a little bit last year. He would lose matches he was winning. I think his confidence was shaken a little bit. This year he’s winning those matches.”
Reid helped North Allegheny to a 15-3 overall record, its second consecutive Section 4-3A title and a berth in the WPIAL Class 3A team tournament. The No. 7 seeded Tigers defeated No. 10 Fox Chapel, 37-27, in the first round before losing to No. 2 Franklin Regional, 37-23, in the quarterfinals Jan. 29.
Most importantly, Reid is healthy for the individual postseason. The bursitis bothered him for two months last season. He had the knee drained multiple times, but it kept resurfacing. He took off a couple of months this offseason to allow it to recover fully.
“I’m so motivated,” he said. “It’s been the only thing on my mind, doing well in the postseason. It’s really all I care about.”