Penn-Trafford wrestling tops Norwin, earns share of section title
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Wednesday, January 25, 2023 | 12:01 AM
Penn-Trafford senior Owen Ott puts Norwin’s Aiden Pham in a cradle during the 215-pound final Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2023, at Norwin.
Penn-Trafford sophomore Tasso Whipple takes Norwin’s Chase Thompkins to his back during a 172-pound match Wednesday at Norwin.
Pen-Trafford’s Dylan Barrett battles Norwin’s Aaron Wong in a 114-pound match Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2023, at Norwin.
Penn-Trafford junior Hayden Coy scores back points on Norwin’s Jack White during the 127-pound match Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2023, at Norwin.
Penn-Trafford senior Owen Ott got a little nervous Wednesday when the match against Norwin came down him.
All he had to do was win and give Penn-Trafford a share of the Section 3-A title with Norwin and Franklin Regional.
But Ott shook off the butterflies and proceeded to pin Aiden Pham to give the Warriors (6-8, 4-1) a 35-31 victory. Norwin fell to 14-2, 4-1, and Franklin Regional finished 7-1, 4-1 after a 40-30 victory over Thomas Jefferson.
The WPIAL wrestling committee will decide the order of finish at the pairings meeting Thursday. It looks like Norwin, because it won 14 matches between the three teams, will get the top seed, followed by Franklin Regional because of its head-to-head win against Penn-Trafford.
“It was crazy because we started off in a great way with Joe (Enick),” Penn-Trafford coach Travis McKillop said. “He’s a hammer, and he started us off strong. I expected wins in the lightweights, and they took care of business. It worked out well for us. I’m excited.”
Penn-Trafford won the first five bouts to build a 23-0 lead. Enick won in 16 seconds, and Logan Ventura (121) got a pin. The Warriors also got major decision wins from Jake Lang (107) and Hayden Coy (127).
“We gave up too many bonus points and didn’t score enough,” Norwin coach Kyle Martin said. “We’re giving up too many pins. We’re reverting back to a style that doesn’t work.
“As for the playoffs, it does matter where we get seeded. We’ll just have to come back and wrestle better. Even though we had guys out of the lineup, that’s no excuse.”
Norwin won six bouts, but four came on forfeits because of injuries and illness to several P-T wrestlers.
The Knights got wins from Gage Mamie (139) and Nick Puskar (152) to go with three forfeits to pull ahead 25-23.
But Whipple got the clamps on Chase Thompkins to give the Warriors a 29-25 advantage, and after another forfeit, Ott took the mat looking for win with his team trailing 31-29.
After a scoreless first period, Ott got an escape and takedown for a 3-0 lead. He expanded the lead to 7-0 before getting the pin at 5:37.
He flexed to the Penn-Trafford cheering section after the win.
“I was a little nervous,” Ott said. “It is what it is. You have to work with what you have. My team worked hard, and they gave me a chance to win it.
“It helps when you have a cushion. But there was a sense of urgency. It’s a big win, and it shows we’re coming together has a team.”
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: Norwin, Penn-Trafford
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