Camacho, Dibert lead the way for Franklin Regional at WCCA tournament

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, January 11, 2019 | 8:24 PM

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Colton Camacho claimed a fourth championship at the Westmoreland County Coaches’ Association wrestling tournament Jan. 5, but he wasn’t the only Franklin Regional wrestler to stand atop the podium.

Sophomore Carter Dibert won his first title, dominating Mt. Pleasant freshman Luke Geibig, 16-1, to win the 106-pound weight class. Dibert opened the tournament with two pins and finished the with two technical falls.

“Carter had a great tournament,” Franklin Regional coach Matt Lebe said. “I’m very happy.”

Franklin Regional had four wrestlers reach the finals.

Camacho stole the headlines by becoming the 13th wrestler in the 66 years of the tournament to win four titles with a dominating 13-3 victory against Derry sophomore Ty Cymmerman. He also had a pin and a second major decision to improve to 19-2.

He is ranked No. 1 in Class AAA at 126 pounds by Trib HSSN.

The other four-time champions are Franklin Regional’s Nico Megaludis (2008-11), Josh Maruca (2012-15) and Josh Shields (2012-15); Greensburg Salem’s Vince Pellis (1992-95) and the Jones brothers Vertus (1992-95), Greg (1997-2000) and Donnie (2002-05); Latrobe’s Tom Bell (1961-64); Mt. Pleasant’s Bill Domasky (1983-86); Hempfield’s Jim Brasco (1988-1991); Derry’s Travis Shaffer (2008-11); and Kiski Area’s Matt McCutcheon (2010-13).

“It’s great to join that elite group of wrestlers,” Camacho said. “It’s an honor. This one was a little easier than the previous ones, mainly because I was relaxed.”

Freshman Finn Solomon, who dropped a 3-1 decision in sudden victory at 113; and Mason Spears, who fell to Hempfield sophomore Ty Linsenbigler, 18-8, at 138, each placed second.

“Our leaders did what we expected,” Lebe said. “We had other guys who didn’t place do well. It’s something we’ll build from.”

Zach McCann, who is coming of an injury, placed third at 132 pounds. He lost to Kiski Area senior Darren Miller, 2-0, in the semifinals, but defeated Norwin sophomore John Altieri, 2-0, in sudden victory in the third-place match. It was the second time that week the American University commit defeated Altieri.

“Zach had a great tournament coming back from his injury,” Lebe said. “Mason also had another solid tournament.”

Garrett Thompson finished fifth at 120 when he pinned Hempfield sophomore Ethan Berginc. He went 4-2 with losses to Belle Vernon’s Logan Seliga and Mt. Pleasant‘s Noah Teeter. Two wrestlers — Austin Vance (195) and Colin Brady (145) — were a victory away from earning a medal.

Franklin Regional (3-1, 3-1) has clinched a berth in the section team tournament. The Panthers likely will finish third in Class AAA, Section 1A and will need to defeat Latrobe in the fifth-place match to advance to the WPIAL team tournament.

Last Wednesday, the No. 10-ranked Panthers (3-1, 3-1) got pins from Garrett Thompson (120 pounds), Spears (138) and Mario Sarnic (145) en route to a 63-15 victory over Central Catholic.

Paul Schofield is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Paul at pschofield@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Schofield_Trib.

Tags: Franklin Regional