Latrobe bows out of PIAA team wrestling championship with loss to Williamsport

By: Paul Schofield
Saturday, February 12, 2022 | 3:49 PM

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HERSHEY — The Latrobe wrestling team learned a valuable lesson Saturday: Sometimes things just don’t go your way.

That’s what happened to the Wildcats on Saturday against Williamsport in the consolation semifinals of the PIAA Class 3A team wrestling championship at Giant Center.

The Millionaires were able to get favorable matchups and built a comfortable lead en route to a 36-30 victory. Williamsport led 24-6 after seven bouts.

And while it would be natural for Latrobe to be disappointed, coach Mark Mears already is looking ahead to the future. Making it to the PIAA team championship and wrestling at the Giant Center was a valuable learning experience for the team.

“If things work out, there is no reason why we shouldn’t be right back here next year,” Mears said. “We’ll be a year older, and we saw what it takes to reach the level of Bethlehem Catholic and Nazareth, so we’ll take what we learned and go back and train for individuals and work hard in the summer.”

Latrobe also hopes junior Nate Roth, who has a lengthy injury history, is able to recover from impending shoulder surgery.

“We needed one more win, and if Nate’s in the lineup, there it is,” Mears said. “Up here, everyone gets dinged up. Everyone gets hurt.

“We’re very young. We wrestled five times in the state tournament. The arena is no longer a big deal, and I feel we’ll grow from this. I feel it will help in individuals, and it will send us into the offseason with unfinished business.”

The Wildcats got pins from Luke Willochell (106), Jack Pletcher (152) and Corey Boerio (215) and forfeit wins to Lucio Angelicchio (120) and Vinny Kilkeary (126).

“One of the biggest things we learned is that you have to be ready for any situation that comes up,” Mears said. “When guys bump or someone loses, you have to learn to rebound from that.

“We did that Thursday when Nate went down. Someone picked us up. It’s a team effort.”

And what Latrobe learned this season should help the Wildcats when they make a possible run at a title in the future.

Williamsport 36, Latrobe 30

106: Luke Willochell (L) p. Jack Heller,:31.

113: Cael Nasdeo (W) p. Leo Joseph, :52.

120: Lucio Angelicchio (L) won by forfeit.

126: Vinny Kilkeary (L) won by forfeit.

*132: Braden Bower (W) m.d. Jacob Braun, 16-3.

138: Santino White (W) d. Lucas Braun, 3-1.

145: Riley Bower (W) t.f. Gabe Golden, 15-0 (3:50).

152: Jack Pletcher (L) p. Nathan Lundy, :35.

160: Carter Weaver (W) d. Wyatt Schmucker, 7-0.

172: Roman Morrone (W) d. Sam Snyder, 7-0.

189: Sebastian Robinson (W) p. Tyler Lynch, 3:57.

215: Corey Boerio (L) p. Charlie Lundy, 2:44.

285: Charles Crews (W) p. Wyatt Held, 2:18.

Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.

Tags: Latrobe