High school wrestling notebook: Realignment to alter sections in Class 3A, 2A

By: HSSN Staff
Tuesday, February 20, 2018 | 5:21 PM

When WPIAL wrestling chairman Frank Vulcano Jr. discussed changes in the sections for the next two seasons, he hoped coaches would be pleased.

He said the goal was to have balanced alignments, and that geography was used to determine most sections.

Indiana and New Castle might object. Indiana must travel through Section 1 (Westmoreland County) to get to Section 3 teams in the northern suburbs of Pittsburgh, while New Castle will travel past those northern suburb schools to get to Canon-McMillan in Section 4.

The WPIAL board of directors approved the new realignment Monday.

There are 46 teams in Class AAA, down two from the previous seasons, and 36 in Class AA, which remained the same.

Dropping from Class AAA to Class AA were Highlands, Blackhawk and Hopewell. South Fayette moved up from Class AA to AAA. Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic and Jeannette no longer field teams.

There weren't many major changes in Class AAA, but Class AA's sections will look a little different.

In Class AAA, Armstrong moved from Section 1 to Section 3 to replace Highlands. Central Catholic was moved from Section 4 to Section 1.

Section 4 is the only 10-team section in Class AAA. The others have 12 teams.

South Fayette moved to Section 4, subsection A with Ambridge, Canon-McMillan, New Castle and West Allegheny. Subsection B includes Moon, Montour, Chartiers Valley, Trinity and Waynesburg. Trinity and Waynesburg moved away from Canon-McMillan.

There also were changes in Section 1's subsections. Penn-Trafford, Franklin Regional and Norwin were moved to subsection A with Kiski Area, Plum and Central Catholic. Woodland Hills, Penn Hills and Gateway were moved to subsection B with Greensburg Salem, Hempfield and Latrobe.

“I like the change,” Franklin Regional coach Matt Lebe said. “We've developed a rivalry with Kiski in previous seasons. We're looking forward to the change.”

Penn-Trafford coach Rich Ginther said he also likes the switch in subsections. He too is looking forward to annual battles with Kiski Area.

“We might not have been able to compete as well this season, but we'll have a full lineup next year,” Ginther said. “The moves created better balance.”

In Class AA, the Greene and Washington county schools were put in Section 1. Section 2 includes Beaver, Allegheny and Lawrence county schools, while Section 3 is mainly made up of Westmoreland County teams.

Here's a look at the new sections:

Class AAA

Section 1 — Subsection A: Central Catholic, Franklin Regional, Kiski Area, Norwin, Penn-Trafford and Plum. B: Gateway, Greensburg Salem, Hempfield, Latrobe, Penn Hills and Woodland Hills.

Section 2 — A: Albert Gallatin, Belle Vernon, Connellsville, McKeesport, Thomas Jefferson and West Mifflin. B: Baldwin, Bethel Park, Mt. Lebanon, Peters Township, Ringgold and Upper St. Clair.

Section 3 — A: Armstrong, Butler, Knoch, Mars, Pine-Richland and Seneca Valley. B: Fox Chapel, Hampton, Indiana, North Allegheny, North Hills and Shaler.

Section 4 — A: Ambridge, Canon-McMillan, New Castle, South Fayette and West Allegheny. B: Chartiers Valley, Moon, Montour, Trinity and Waynesburg.

Class AA

Section 1 — A: Avella, Burgettstown, Chartiers-Houston, Fort Cherry, South Park and Washington. B: Bentworth, Beth-Center, Jefferson-Morgan, Mapletown, McGuffey and West Greene.

Section 2 — A: Beaver, Blackhawk, Central Valley, Ellwood City, Freedom and Laurel. B: Avonworth, Carlynton, Hopewell, Keystone Oaks, Quaker Valley and South Side.

Section 3 — A: Burrell, Highlands, Riverview, South Allegheny, Summit Academy and Valley. B: Derry, Elizabeth Forward, Frazier, Mt. Pleasant, Southmoreland and Yough.

Connellsville claims junior high title

The Connellsville Junior High wrestling team captured the Southwest Regional championship Saturday by edging Latrobe Black, 233.5 to 208.5.

Connellsville had 12 placewinners, including two champions — Chad Ozias (82 pounds) and Jared Keslar (124). Jeff Layton (77) placed second.

Kiski Area placed third with 183 points and four champions. North Allegheny was fourth with 172 points and a champion, and Waynesburg was fifth with 170 pounds. The Raiders also had four champions.

Latrobe had four finalists with Vincent Kilkeary (77) and Nate Roth (97) winning and Gabe Golden (102) and Jack Pletcher (147) placing second. Kiski Area's winners were Austin Bell-Swarmer (157), Brayden Roscosky (187), DJ Moehring (212) and Stone Joseph (252).

North Allegheny's champion was Nick Forman (87), while Waynesburg's winners were Mac Church (92), Cole Homet (102), Rocco Welsh (107) and Colton Stoneking (117).

The other champions included Plum's Nick Salerno (112), Norwin's Chase Kranitz (132), Penn-Trafford's Wesley Stull (140), Mt. Lebanon's Mac Stout (147) and Hampton's Conner Cummins (167).

Hempfield's Nolan Daerr (124), Derry's Brayden Mickinac (167) and Penn-Trafford's Troy Hohman (82) placed second.

Who's the top pinner?

The Tribune-Review is looking for the wrestlers from the WPIAL, City League and District 6 who have the most pins this season. Coaches are asked to email pschofield@tribweb.com with their totals.

100 and counting

Connellsville senior Mason Franks and McGuffey junior Jett Pattison needs one victory to reach the 100-win mark for their career.

There have been several wrestlers who have reached the milestone this season.

The group includes Ligonier Valley senior Alex Caldwell, Beth-Center junior Dom Fundy, Moon seniors Nick Acuna and Frank Bonura, Kiski Area juniors Darren Miller and Cam Connor, Belle Vernon senior Brock Godzin, Derry senior Shawn Broadway and junior Dom DeLuca, Canon-McMillan senior Tim Hritsko, Latrobe senior Brady Sherback, Mars senior Alex Hornfeck, Montour senior Nico Marsico, North Allegheny senior Jacob Dowling, Peters Township senior Luke Mary, Seneca Valley senior Tyler Gross, Shaler seniors Dylan Winters and Garrett Reinsfelder, Upper St. Clair senior Thomas Kyle, Waynesburg seniors Caleb Morris and Kyle Homet, West Greene senior Connor Main, West Allegheny senior Ty McGeary, West Mifflin senor Gerald Brown, Bentworth senior Manny Dvoshek, Burrell seniors Trent Bechtold and Corey Christie, Freedom junior Z.J. Ward and senior Chase Komara, McGuffey junior Christian Clutter and senior Luke Shingle, Mt. Pleasant seniors Doug Bittner and Alex Miscovich, South Fayette seniors Colin Dunn and Mike Cusick, South Side seniors Joe Demor and Bishop McCoy and Southmoreland senior Jaden Datz.

Paul Schofield is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at pschofield@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Schofield_Trib.

Tags: Franklin Regional, Gateway, Norwin, Penn Hills, Penn-Trafford, South Fayette, Trinity, Waynesburg, Waynesburg Central, Woodland Hills