Latrobe’s Vinny Kilkeary gets chance to become 3-time champion at WCCAs

By: Paul Schofield
Thursday, January 5, 2023 | 9:36 PM

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Latrobe senior Vinny Kilkeary returned to the Wildcats starting lineup Wednesday and will get a chance to be a Westmoreland County Coaches’ Association three-time champion.

He would become the 58th wrestler in the 70 years of the tournament to win three county titles.

Kilkeary (5-0) hadn’t wrestled since the Hickory Invitational on Dec. 3 while nursing a sore elbow.

He returned in a dual meet against Hempfield and recorded his fifth pin of the season.

He is seeded No. 1 at 127 pounds. The two-time PIAA champion won his first county title at 113 pounds in 2021 and then at 120 pounds in 2022.

The other returning champions are Latrobe sophomore Luke Willochell (106), Latrobe sophomore Leo Joseph (113), Hempfield senior Ethan Lebin (126), Hempfield junior Eli Carr (132) and Franklin Regional junior Juliano Marion (189). Burrell junior Cooper Hornack (106) and Kiski Area senior Ryan Klingensmith (120) were champions in 2021.

Action is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. Friday and resume at 9 a.m. Saturday. The semifinals are scheduled to start at 11:30 p.m. The consolation finals will be at 4 p.m., the Parade of Champions at 5:30 p.m. and finals at 6.

Here is a look at the top five seeds for each weight class:

107: 1. Cam Baker, Burrell; 2. Nico Kapusta, Hempfield; 3. Dylan Barrett, Penn-Trafford; 4. Anthony Mucci, Derry; 5. Luca Butera, Norwin.

114: 1. Luke Willochell, Latrobe; 2. Tyler Kapusta, Franklin Regional; 3. Dylan Klim, Derry; 4. Aaron Wong, Norwin; 5. Julian Bertucci, Burrell.

121: 1. Leo Joseph, Latrobe; 2. Sulayman Bah, Kiski School; 3. Ryan Klingensmith, Kiski Area; 4. Joseph Longhi, Mt. Pleasant; 5. Owen Caracciolo, Hempfield.

127: 1. Vinny Kilkeary, Latrobe; 2. Hayden Coy, Penn-Trafford; 3. Jack White, Norwin; 4. Amari McNeil, Kiski Area; 5. Dom Colaizzi, Franklin Regional.

133: 1. Ethan Lebin, Hempfield; 2. Cooper Hornack, Burrell; 3. Justin Bass, Franklin Regional; 4. Kashton Bish, Southmoreland; 5. Duncan Blose, Mt. Pleasant.

139: 1. Eli Carr, Hempfield; 2. Nate Stone, Franklin Regional; 3. Niko Ferra, Burrell; 4. Greg Shaulis, Mt. Pleasant; 5. Giovanni Weightman, Belle Vernon.

145: 1. Lucas Kapusta, Hempfield; 2. Jamison Poklembo, Mt. Pleasant; 3. Landon Delara, Southmoreland; 4. Ryan Long, Mt. Pleasant; 5. Luke Ankey, Franklin Regional.

152: 1. Elijah Brown, Belle Vernon; 2. Logan Bechtold, Kiski Area; 3. Stevie Hasson, Burrell; 4. Kyren Veasley, Valley; 5. Shawn Hollis, Southmoreland.

160: 1. Gavyn Beck, Franklin Regional; 2. Tristan Ice, Southmoreland; 3. A.J. Hewitt, Norwin; 4. Nico Zanella, Burrell; 5. Chuck Perkins, Valley.

172: 1. Mark Gray, Kiski Area; 2. Nate Campbell, Norwin; 3. Tasso Whipple, Penn-Trafford; 4. Isaac Lacinski, Burrell; 5. Nathan Barkley, Derry.

189: 1. Juliano Marion, Franklin Regional; 2. Cooper Roscosky, Kiski Area; 3. Aiden Pham, Norwin; 4. LaMontae Jones, Norwin; 5. Adam Hall, Penn-Trafford.

215: 1. Corey Boerio, Latrobe; 2. Elijah Binakonsky, Hempfield; 3. Owen Ott, Penn-Trafford; 4. Christian McChesney, Greensburg Salem; 5. Dylan Pitzer, Mt. Pleasant.

285: 1. Wyatt Held, Latrobe; 2. Aden Roe, Kiski School; 3. Joe Enick, Penn-Trafford; 4. Mason Neiderhiser, Southmoreland; 5. Jack Crider, Kiski Area.

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.