Hohman’s title highlights strong performance from Penn-Trafford at Powerade tournament

By: Paul Schofield
Sunday, January 9, 2022 | 11:01 AM

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Penn-Trafford senior Troy Hohman has been close to winning big tournament titles during his career.

Other than a couple Eastern Area Invitational championships, he’s been on the cusp of standing atop the podium at a prestigious tournament.

You can erase that from the list of goals he’s set after he won the 120-pound title at the 55th annual Powerade tournament Dec. 30, at Canon-McMillan.

He defeated a star-studded field and toppled 2020 106-pound champion Jack Consiglio of Malvern Prep in the finals.

Hohman won five matches. He defeated Quaker Valley’s Logan Richey (21-8); pinned Howell, N.J.’s Sebastian Ortega (0:56); toppled State College’s Asher Cunningham (12-5); and squeezed by Notre Dame-Green Pond’s Adam Schweitzer (4-1) in the semifinals.

His performance helped the Warriors finished 20^th in the team standings.

Hohman used a takedown in the first period to grab a 2-0 lead and then used an escape in the third period to grab a 3-1 lead in the finals. Consiglio tied the score with 31 seconds left with a takedown, but Hohman escaped with 10 seconds left to win it.

The North Carolina State signee reached behind the head of Consiglio arched his back and flipped free for the winning escape. It was a move he and his father Larry, a 1988 runner-up, talked about.

“It wasn’t there the first time I used it and I almost gave up back points,” Hohman said. “When I reached back the next time, I felt it was there and went for it. It’s called a head hunt.”

Hohman won a loaded weight class that included Waynesburg sophomore Joe Simon and Latrobe junior Vinny Kilkeary.

But Hohman has bigger goals ahead. Winning Powerade was just one of them. He finished fourth in the PIAA Class 3A tournament at 113 in 2020.

“I’ve been coming to this tournament since I was a kid, and to finally win it is just a blessing,” Hohman said. “State champion is still out there. My goals aren’t done yet; I still have three more months.

“It feels awesome to finally win it. It was a crazy match, and he’s a great competitor. He wrestled well.”

Winning the state title is his ultimate goal, he said. He’d like to join the football team’s success with his own celebration.

“I’ve been saying it all year, Troy is a different wrestler this year,” Penn-Trafford coach A.J. Brentzel said. “He’s starting to turn the corner, and he has his confidence up and a swagger about him. I believe this will give him that extra step that he needed.

“Wrestling is a journey. This was a big stepping stone. It was something he needed as far as his career goes.”

Hohman was the only P-T wrestler to earn a medal at the Powerade tournament, but overall Brentzel was pleased with the performance by the team.

“As far as the team standings went, we did OK,” Brentzel said. “But we could have done better. In my eyes, it makes me more excited for the county tournament. Hopefully, we can build on this and do better in the counties.”

After the county tournament, the Warriors (1-0) had scheduled dual meets against Gateway (Jan. 11) and Penn Hills (Jan. 12) before going to the Connellsville Duals on Jan. 15 where they could face Kiski Area and Canon-McMillan.

They will host Franklin Regional on Jan. 19 in a possible battle for the Section 1-B title.

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: Penn-Trafford