Hempfield wrestling team overwhelms young Latrobe

By: Paul Schofield
Wednesday, December 19, 2018 | 10:00 PM

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If one thing stood out Wednesday as No. 3 Hempfield wrestled Latrobe, it was the Spartans’ experience making a huge difference.

Hempfield recorded five pins, got bonus points in four of its other five victories and rolled over young Latrobe, 50-14.

The Spartans improved to 7-0 overall and 2-0 in the section. Latrobe fell to 2-1, 1-1.

“I told the team we were going to face some adversity because we had a couple wrestlers with bumps and bruises,” Hempfield coach Tommy Dolde said. “We had to overcome that, and we made a few lineup adjustments and everyone responded.

“The pins by Dillon (Ferretti), Isaiah (Vance) and Briar (Priest) were big. We had to make up for some points with guys being out. They did a good job.”

Freshman Daniel Beck (182 pounds) missed the match, and sophomore Ty Linsenbigler competed even though he was dealing with an injury.

“Dillon just went out and overpowered the guy,” Dolde said. “He’s probably one of the hardest workers I’ve seen here. The entire team works hard.”

Hempfield started with Trevor Verkleeren getting a 14-0 major decision win against Mitch Tryon at 160. After Latrobe’s Logan Zitterbart held on for a 4-2 victory at 170, Hempfield rolled off five consecutive victories, including three points, to take a commanding 29-3 lead.

“Hempfield has a pretty strong team,” Latrobe coach Mike Ciotti said. “I thought we had some guys who wrestled tough, but we were definitely outgunned. I felt the effort was there, but they had better kids then we did tonight.”

Latrobe starts two freshmen and only three seniors. Ciotti said he wants his team to learn from the loss because the future is bright with a good junior high squad waiting its chance.

The Wildcats had four victories: PIAA placewinner Gabe Willochell (138) picked up a technical fall win, and Zitterbart, senior Marino Angelicchio (113) and freshman Jack Pletcher (152) picked up decisions.

Four of five Hempfield pins came in the first period. Vance’s was the quickest at 25 seconds. Kyle Burkholder (120) and Jared Brean (132) also recorded falls.

Burkholder is looking forward to Friday’s big nonsection matches at Canon-McMillan. The Spartans face No. 2 Canon-McMillan and No. 4 Seneca Valley. No. 1 Kiski Area will be there, but it won’t face Hempfield because they are in the same section.

“It’s always nice to beat a team in our section,” Burkholder said. “They’re pretty good, so it was a big win for us.

“We’re excited about Friday. All four teams are tough.”

Dolde said: “I want to see our guys compete head-to-head with some of these names you read in the paper. I want to see if we can close down the distance between some of those teams. It’s a great opportunity for us, win or lose.”

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

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: Hempfield, Latrobe