Kiski Area, A-K Valley Class 3A teams look to add to wrestling trophy cases

By: Jerin Steele
Tuesday, November 29, 2022 | 6:37 PM

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The road will be a bit different, but the goal remains the same for Kiski Area wrestling.

It wants to be competitive, have a solid bond within the team and win another section title.

It’ll be a smaller roster than normal because of graduation and a few non-wrestling-related injuries, but the Cavaliers are ready to hit the mat and try to add to their storied program history.

“We don’t ever step on the mat hoping to win. We go out there to win,” Kiski Area coach Chris Heater said. “If we put everything out there and we win, that’s great, and if we put everything on the mat and don’t win, that’s the nature of the sport. It’s demanding physically and mentally. This sport requires every drop that you have.”

Instead of subsections like in years past, Class 3A is split into six smaller sections. The move was necessitated by a drop from 45 to 35 teams in the class after seven teams moved down to Class 2A and three others opted not to have a WPIAL schedule.

Kiski Area is in Section 1 with Armstrong, Central Catholic, Fox Chapel, Plum and Shaler. The top three will advance to the WPIAL team tournament.

“We’ve known each other for years,” Kiski Area senior Logan Bechtold said. “We have a very strong bond on this team. We come together and push each other. We know what it takes to be one of the best teams around.”

The Cavaliers do not have a returning male state qualifier following the graduation of Enzo Morlacci and Stone Joseph but do return Bella DeVito, who finished third at the girls state championships.

Six WPIAL qualifiers are back in Bechtold, Clayton Cramer, Noah Henry, Mark Gray, Ryan Klingensmith and Evan Artman.

Gray, a sophomore, was the closest of the returners to qualifying for states, finishing fifth at WPIALs at 152 pounds last year. He had the most wins of the returners, going 28-10.

“I started the year off with a lot of lows and was even in the hospital for a little bit, so to just be able to come back from all the surgeries I’ve been through the last couple years and finish the year off that well made me happy,” Gray said. “You also want to come back for revenge after being that close, but you still have to be grateful for the moment, move on and see what happens this year.”

Individual qualifying for WPIALs will be very different for Kiski Area in 2023. Section 1 and Section 2 will be combined to make a Northern Regional, which means the Cavaliers will be grouped with Butler, Mars, North Allegheny, North Hills, Pine-Richland and Seneca Valley instead of their traditional Westmoreland County opponents under the old subsection format. The top six in each weight class qualify for the WPIAL individual championship.

“It obviously throws in a change for us,” Heater said. “This is my 32nd year here, and I don’t think we’ve ever been in with Butler, North Allegheny or Seneca Valley for our individual section tournament.”

Jack Crider returns from injury and will be the heavyweight. Keep an eye on freshman Cooper Roscosky, who had a strong junior high career and is the younger brother of former Cavaliers standout Brayden Roscosky.

Fox Chapel

The Foxes return five wrestlers from last season’s lineup, including junior Alex Kaufmann, who had a team-high 28 wins.

Kaufmann, Josh Alexander, Michael Worsen and Trevor Katz are returning WPIAL qualifiers.

Kaufmann (28-10) wrestled at 145 last year and placed fourth at sectionals. Alexander, a junior, finished 25-11 at 126 and also placed fourth at sectionals. Katz, a senior, had his best varsity season in 2021-22, finishing 18-13 at 172 with a third-place finish at sectionals. Worsen was 18-10 in his freshman season at 106 and was fourth at sectionals.

The Foxes also return sophomore Landon Funk, who went 16-15 at 113.

Fox Chapel coach Michael Frank said the team has more depth than in recent years and some younger wrestlers they are eager to see compete at the varsity level.

“We know the teams in Section 1 will be tough, but we’re excited to compete and see where we stand against them,” Frank said.

Plum

The Mustangs graduated Vince Citrano, who went 102-20 in his career, but have six WPIAL qualifiers returning and eight wrestlers who won 20 matches or more.

Rylen Campbell, a junior, led the way with a 30-8 record and a third-place finish at 106 at sectionals.

Sam Snyder (27-11) won a match at WPIALs at 113 last year as a sophomore. Other WPIAL qualifiers were Dylan Overcash (120), Jack Tongel (160), Frank Macioce (215) and Ollie Freeman (285).

Antonino Walker and Andrew Claassen will look to bounce back this year after missing the WPIAL tournament. Walker was the WPIAL runner-up at 106 pounds as a freshman in 2021 but did not qualify out of sectionals last year at 126. Claassen qualified for WPIALs as a freshman but has missed the last two years.

Claassen, Macioce, Freeman, Carl Raitano, Dakoda Pisano and Jay Thornton are seniors who bring leadership and experience to the Mustangs’ wrestling room.

Owen Campbell and Frankie Grazulis are freshmen who will be making their varsity debut after achieving success at the junior high level.

“It should be an exciting and challenging year with the new section alignment, but we are looking forward to the challenge,” Mustangs coach Mike Supak said.

Jerin Steele is a freelance writer

Tags: Fox Chapel, Kiski Area, Plum