Westmoreland high school wrestling notebook: Latrobe won’t travel to Virginia

By: Paul Schofield
Tuesday, January 10, 2023 | 4:47 PM

The Latrobe wrestling team was scheduled to participate in the Virginia Duals this weekend, but because of the health of concerns of Latrobe coach Mark Mears’ wife, Mary, who suffered a heart attack Dec. 30, the veteran coach decided to tend to his wife.

“It’s the best thing for me and my wife and the program,” Mears said. “We’ve had a couple difficult weeks, and with the Connellsville match on Wednesday, taking a week off will be good for the program. We just had Powerade, Hempfield and Westmoreland Counties the past two weeks. We need to refocus.”

Latrobe got Vinny Kilkeary back for the county tournament, and the senior put on a show, winning his third county title and posting five first-period pins. He earned the Outstanding Wrestler Award.

“It was good to get back into the lineup and get the rust off,” Kilkeary said.

Kilkeary (9-0) is a two-time PIAA Class 3A champion and has committed to Ohio State. Kilkeary defeated Penn-Trafford’s Hayden Coy in the 127-pound finals.

He became the 58th wrestler in the county to win at least three titles. There are 13 four-time winners.

Capturing their second titles were Latrobe sophomore Luke Willochell (114), Hempfield senior Ethan Lebin (133), Hempfield junior Eli Carr (139) and Franklin Regional junior Juliano Marion (189).

Latrobe captured its second-consecutive team title, 14th in school history, with 219 points. Franklin Regional followed with 197, and Hempfield was third with 195.5.

The Wildcats had six finalists and four champions: Kilkeary, Willochell, senior Corey Boerio (215) and senior heavyweight Wyatt Held.

Franklin Regional had four finalists and two champions: senior Gavyn Beck (160) and Marion (189).

Hempfield was perfect in the finals with Lebin (133), Carr (139), senior Lucas Kapusta (145) and senior Charlie Mesich (152) winning titles.

Others winning titles were Burrell freshman Cam Baker (107), Kiski School senior Sulayman Bah (121) and Penn-Trafford sophomore Tasso Whipple (172).

Milestones reached

Hempfield senior Ethan Lebin and Burrell senior Niko Ferra each reached the 100-win milestone Friday at the 70th Annual Westmoreland County Coaches’ Association tournament at Greensburg Salem.

Both wrestlers achieved the feat during the quarterfinals with pins.

Lebin (102-3) beat Burrell senior Cooper Hornack, 3-0, to win the 133-pound weight class.

Ferra (102-56) ended up third by defeating Mt. Pleasant’s Greg Shaulis, 4-3, in the 139-pound weight class.

Burgettstown claims Tri-County title

The No. 1-ranked team in Class 2A, Burgettstown, claimed the Tri-County Athletic Director Association title at Canon-McMillan.

The Blue Devils had six finalists, but the only winner was junior Parker Sentipal, who claimed the 114 title.

Finishing second were Gaven Suica (133), Joey Sentipal (139), Eric Kovach (145), Rudy Brown (152) and heavyweight Joe Baronick.

Burgettstown finished with 103 points and nine placewinners.

Canon-McMillan was second with 192.5, and Waynesburg, which was missing Joe Simon (133) and Mac Church (145), was third with 176.5.

The Big Macs had five finalists with three champions: Tanner Mizenko (107), Andrew Binni (127) and Matt Furman (189). The Raiders had three finalists and two winners: Rocco Welsh (172) and Eli Makel (215).

This weekend

There are a couple big tournaments beginning Friday.

More than 31 teams will be competing in the Burgettstown Tournament, and six WPIAL teams are headed to IUP with 37 other from around the state for the Mid-Winter Classic.

Butler heads to the Virginia Duals, and Norwin heads east for the Escape the Rock tournament that begins Saturday.

The Connellsville Duals on Saturday will feature Canon-McMillan, Frazier, Erie Prep, Brecksville-Broadview Heights (Ohio), James Madison (Va.) and Mountain View (Va.).

The Valley Duals has Riverview, South Park and Summit Academy.

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.