Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) held its WPIAL/UPMC Sports Medicine Class 3A Boys’ Wrestling Individual Championships presented by Pennsylvania Laborers’ Union this past Friday and Saturday at Canon-McMillan High School. A total of 230 student-athletes competed over the two days, with 13 wrestlers winning WPIAL gold.
 
11 different schools captured championships, with Thomas Jefferson’s three champions leading the pack. The other 10 schools each won one title – Bethel Park, Butler, Canon-McMillan, Connellsville, Greater Latrobe, Hempfield Area, Kiski Area, Peters Township, Pine-Richland, and Ringgold.
 
Among the 13 individual champions, four student-athletes had previously won WPIAL gold. Greater Latrobe junior Luke Willochell became the 114th different student-athlete to win at least three WPIAL titles, claiming the top spot on the 121 podium after previously winning at 106 in 2022 and 114 at 2023. Hempfield Area senior Eli Carr, Pine-Richland junior Vaughn Spencer, and Thomas Jefferson junior Maddox Shaw each won their second WPIAL championship.
 
The top four finishers in each of the 13 weight classes (107, 114, 121, 127, 133, 139, 145, 152, 160, 172, 189, 215, 285) have qualified for the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) Boys’ Wrestling Individual Championships, which will be held on March 7-9 at the GIANT Center in Hershey.
 
107 LB. WEIGHT CLASS RECAP
Peters Township freshman Nicholas McGarrity captured gold at 107, winning with a 6-2 sudden victory decision over Penn-Trafford sophomore Dylan Barrett. McGarrity won his first two matches by falls of 1:44 and 1:40, then used a 16-0 technical fall to reach the final. Barrett had technical falls of 17-0 and 15-0 to open the tournament before winning his semifinal by an 8-4 decision in the second tiebreaker period.
 
Connellsville freshman Nolan Rice placed third with a 4-2 decision against Hempfield Area sophomore Nico Kapusta. The remaining four place winners were: Mt. Lebanon freshman Jonathan Emma (5th), Franklin Regional freshman Titus Colangelo (6th), Shaler freshman Anthony Jones (7th), and West Allegheny senior Cade Stern (8th).
 
114 LB. WEIGHT CLASS RECAP
Butler sophomore Santino Sloboda won the 114 title, topping Norwin freshman Landon Sidun with a 5-4 decision. Sloboda opened bracket action with a 15-0 technical fall, followed by a fall in 1:21 and a 13-3 major decision. Sidun started his first WPIAL tournament with a pin in 0:38, then advanced to the final with a 17-2 technical fall and a 14-3 major decision.
 
Greater Latrobe junior Leo Joseph took home bronze with an 8-4 decision over West Allegheny senior Caiden Harbert. The remaining four place winners were: Mt. Lebanon senior Ejiro Montoya (5th), Connellsville sophomore Zachary Franks (6th), Ringgold freshman Evan Tolliver (7th), and Franklin Regional freshman Mike Ruane (8th).
 
121 LB. WEIGHT CLASS RECAP
Greater Latrobe junior Luke Willochell continued his winning ways at the WPIAL championships, collecting his third gold medal with a narrow 1-0 decision over Franklin Regional senior Tyler Kapusta. Willochell opened the tournament with a pair of falls in under a minute (0:17, 0:42), then advanced to the final with an 8-4 decision. Kapusta also pinned his first two opponents in 0:45 and 1:01 before winning in the semifinals via 7-0 decision.
 
Canon-McMillan sophomore Collier Hartman finished third with a 5-3 decision against Seneca Valley senior Connor Smith. The remaining four place winners were: Trinity sophomore Dom Canali (5th), Central Catholic senior Charlie Colantonio (6th), North Allegheny sophomore Gus Stedeford (7th), and Peters Township senior Isaac Meyers (8th).
 
127 LB. WEIGHT CLASS RECAP
Canon-McMIllan senior Andrew Binni took home the title at 127, winning with a 19-7 major decision over Greater Latrobe senior Jake Braun. Binni had falls of 2:10 and 3:07 in the first round and semifinals, respectively, while sandwiching that with a 26-11 technical fall in the quarterfinals. Braun pinned his first two opponents in 0:26 and 1:18 before advancing to the championship with a 1-0 decision.
 
Baldwin senior Owen Klodowski placed third with a 4-0 decision against Waynesburg Central senior Ky Szewczyk. The remaining four place winners were: Bethel Park junior Seth Miller (5th), Plum senior Rylen Campbell (6th), North Allegheny senior Casey Walker (7th), and West Allegheny sophomore AJ Snatchko (8th).
 
133 LB. WEIGHT CLASS RECAP
Bethel Park senior Mason Kernan topped the 133 podium thanks to a 7-0 decision victory over Connellsville freshman Kai Vielma. Kernan won via technical fall in his first two matches, posting scores of 24-9 and 24-7, before claiming a 5-0 decision in the semifinals. Vielma started the tournament with a pin in 3:22, then used decision wins of 3-0 and 4-2 to reach the final.
 
Baldwin junior Ramil Islamov took third with an 8-3 decision against Butler junior Kase Chopp. The remaining four place winners were: North Allegheny senior William Bentrim (5th), Plum senior Carson Yocca (6th), Chartiers Valley junior Logan Connolly (7th), and Central Catholic senior Andrew Price (8th).
 
139 LB. WEIGHT CLASS RECAP
Thomas Jefferson junior Maddox Shaw completed a dominant run at 139, winning the gold with a fall in 0:49 over Pine-Richland junior Dominic Ferraro. Shaw pinned all four of his opponents over the two days, winning the first three matches in 1:15, 1:13, and 0:58. Ferraro also earned victories by fall in the first round (2:43) and semifinals (5:05), with a 14-5 major decision sandwiched in between.
 
Trinity senior Blake Reihner finished third with a fall in 2:27 against Canon-McMillan senior Ryder Joseph. The remaining four place winners were: Connellsville junior Julian Ruggieri (5th), McKeesport senior Colton Kotouch (6th), Seneca Valley senior Zach Hill (7th), and Fox Chapel senior Joshua Alexander (8th).
 
145 LB. WEIGHT CLASS RECAP
Connellsville junior Evan Petrovich won gold at 145, besting Penn-Trafford senior Hayden Coy by a 4-2 decision. Petrovich began his run with pins in 1:26 and 2:23, then used a 13-5 major decision to qualify for the championship match. Coy won his first round match by 19-4 technical fall, quarterfinal bout with a fall in 1:19, and his semifinal with a 7-5 sudden victory decision.
 
Mt. Lebanon sophomore Cole Gibbons took third with a 3-2 decision over Trinity junior TJ Allison. The remaining four place winners were: Bethel Park junior Ethan Higgins (5th), Peters Township senior Chris Cibrone (6th), South Fayette junior Talan Mizenko (7th), and Moon freshman Liam Costa (8th).
 
152 LB. WEIGHT CLASS RECAP
Hempfield Area senior Eli Carr was victorious at 152, topping West Allegheny senior Nick Jones by a 6-0 decision. Carr opened the tournament with two pins in under a minute (0:30, 0:54), then advanced to the final with a 16-0 technical fall. Jones also pinned his first two opponents, doing so in 2:47 and 3:09, before winning in the semifinals with a 2-1 decision.
 
Plum senior Antonino Walker came in third with a 3-0 decision over South Fayette junior Luke Dunlap. The remaining four place winners were: Fox Chapel senior Alexander Kaufmann (5th), West Mifflin sophomore Cooper Dietz (6th), Penn-Trafford sophomore Logan Matrisch (7th), and Bethel Park freshman Ian Bucheli (8th).
 
160 LB. WEIGHT CLASS RECAP
Thomas Jefferson junior Bode Marlow brought home the Jaguars’ second of three titles, winning at 160 with an 11-7 decision against Connellsville junior Lonzy Vielma. Marlow had falls of 3:03 and 4:51 in the first round and quarterfinals, respectively, and added a 20-4 technical fall in the semifinals. Vielma claimed pins of 0:33 in the first round and 4:42 in the semifinals, with a 21-6 technical fall sandwiched in between.
 
Bethel Park senior Cordan McDonnell took third by default over Waynesburg Central junior Brock Evans. The remaining four place winners were: Pine-Richland sophomore Maclane Miller (5th), Baldwin senior Keith Mincin (6th), West Mifflin sophomore Ewan Olson (7th), and Ringgold senior Jack Duncan (8th).
 
172 LB. WEIGHT CLASS RECAP
Pine-Richland junior Vaughn Spencer reigned in the 172 weight class, winning over Greater Latrobe freshman Hunter Synder with a fall in 2:33. Spencer pinned his first two opponents by respective times of 0:53 and 1:18, then used a 13-0 major decision to qualify for the final. Snyder started the tournament with a fall in 0:55, followed by an 11-1 major decision and 15-13 sudden victory decision.
 
Trinity senior Bode Morgan placed third with a 9-0 major decision against Plum senior Jack Tongel. The remaining four place winners were: Kiski Area junior Mark Gray (5th), Central Catholic sophomore Nezumiiro Green (6th), Armstrong freshman Kaleb Kinzey (7th), and Thomas Jefferson senior Brady Fitz (8th).
 
189 LB. WEIGHT CLASS RECAP
Kiski Area sophomore Cooper Roscosky earned the gold at 189, winning with a 4-2 sudden victory decision against Norwin senior Nathan Campbell. Roscosky reached the final with a first-round fall in 2:30, 18-3 technical fall in the quarterfinals, and a default in the semifinals. Campbell won via fall in the first two rounds by times of 1:10 and 0:37, then claimed a 9-0 major decision to qualify for the championship match.
 
Central Catholic freshman Roman Thompson claimed bronze by default over Trinity senior Robbie Allison. The remaining four place winners were: Penn-Trafford junior Tasso Whipple (5th), Waynesburg Central junior Jake Stephenson (6th), Thomas Jefferson sophomore Zach LaBryer (7th), and North Allegheny junior Mason Hartung (8th).
 
215 LB. WEIGHT CLASS RECAP
Ringgold junior Jake Conroy brought home the school’s first WPIAL wrestling individual title, winning at 215 with a 5-1 decision over North Allegheny senior Aidan Buggey. Conroy started the tournament with a 7-1 decision, followed by a fall in 1:57 and 3-1 decision to reach the final. Buggey’s path was grueling, with his first-round fall in 1:46 followed by a 5-1 sudden victory decision and a 3-2 ultimate tiebreaker decision.
 
Canon-McMillan senior Geno Calgaro took bronze with a 7-3 decision against Franklin Regional senior Juliano Marion. The remaining four place winners were: Norwin senior Aiden Pham (5th), Connellsville junior Christopher Cook (6th), Kiski Area sophomore Abrahm Taylor (7th), and Shaler sophomore Vito Barravecchio (8th).
 
285 LB. WEIGHT CLASS RECAP
Thomas Jefferson junior Shepherd Turk made it three gold medals for the Jaguars with a 3-0 decision over Waynesburg Central sophomore Roan Tustin at 285. Turk took his first three matches by fall, winning in 0:25, 1:51, and 0:58. Tustin started with a pin in 0:32, then defeated his next two opponents by 4-1 decision and 3-1 sudden victory decision, respectively.
 
Mt. Lebanon junior Ben Lloyd placed third with a fall in 1:39 over North Allegheny sophomore Braydn McConneha. The remaining four place winners were: Upper St. Clair junior Michael Albert (5th), West Allegheny sophomore Cam Danna (6th), Connellsville junior Tyler Gallis (7th), and Kiski Area junior Ryder Ekas (8th).
 
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