2025 TribLive Westmoreland County high school wrestling all-stars
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Sunday, March 23, 2025 | 9:01 AM
Belle Vernon’s Elijah Brown wrestles St. Joseph Prep’s John Boggs in the 215-pound bracket at the PIAA Class 3A tournament March 7.
Norwin sophomore Landon Sidun gets his hand raised after winning his second Powerade Tournament title Dec. 28, 2024.
Latrobe’s Luke Willochell wrestles Central Bucks West’s Daniel Dennis at 133 pounds during the PIAA Class 3A wrestling tournament March 6.
Latrobe’s Leo Joseph reacts after his win over Dowingtown West’s Brayden Sigle in a 121-pound bout at the PIAA Class 3A tournament March 7.
Latrobe’s Hunter Snyder (left) battles Derry’s Brady Brown on Dec. 11, 2024.
Derry’s Mason Horwat wrestles Line Mountain’s Dalton Schadel at 152 pounds during the PIAA Class 2A wrestling tournament March 6.
Derry’s Brady Brown wrestles Brookville’s Easton Belfiore at 189 pounds during the PIAA Class 2A wrestling tournament March 8.
Hempfield’s Nico Kapusta wins the 114-pound WPIAL Class 3A title Feb. 22.
Penn-Trafford’s Dylan Barrett takes down Norwin’s Coleton Klipa on Jan. 8.
Derry’s Anthony Mucci reacts after defeating Bentworth’s Drake McClure in the 133-pound final at the WPIAL Class 2A championships Feb. 22.
Franklin Regional’s Max Firestine has a hold of Central Mountain’s Dokoda Packer-Edwards on Feb. 8.
Franklin Regional’s Titus Colangelo looks to escape from Penn-Trafford’s Dylan Barrett at 114 pounds Jan. 15.
Penn-Trafford’s Luke DeSantis controls Fox Chapel’s Michael Worsen during a PIAA West Region match Feb. 28.
Franklin Regional’s Beau Fennick reacts after beating Connellsville’s Tommy Gretz in the 107-pound bout during the WPIAL Class 3A team championship Feb. 1.
Wrestler of the Year
Elijah Brown
Belle Vernon, jr., 215 pounds
2024-25 record: 48-1. Career record: 127-19
Belle Vernon junior Elijah Brown has become a cult hero in the school district.
And why not? When you are the school’s first WPIAL wrestling champion, people look up to you.
The district celebrated Brown’s accomplishment by parading him around to all the elementary schools and letting the children congratulate him.
“It was special,” Brown said. “I also got to direct a practice for the little kids.”
But nothing was more special than standing atop the podium at Giant Center in Hershey.
For his outstanding effort this season, Brown is the TribLive Westmoreland County Wrestler of the Year.
“It feels awesome to be Belle Vernon’s first state champion,” Brown said. “Yeah, I put a lot of work into this. It is super exciting.
“I knew I could win. Beating the guys before gave me a lot of confidence going into the match, but there was definitely a lot of pressure.”
Belle Vernon had five previous wrestlers reach the finals, but they all came up short.
“We finally got a champion,” Belle Vernon coach Bob Bove said. “The jinx is broken.”
Said Brown: “It was pretty special to get it done. To win in the toughest weight class was special. All of the guys from the WPIAL were talented.”
Brown defeated Kiski Area junior Cooper Roscosky in the finals. He beat Roscosky five times. He also had good battles against Ringgold senior Jake Conroy and Central Catholic sophomore Roman Thompson.
Roscosky said he hopes the three returning wrestlers spread out across weight classes.
“All four of us were talented enough to be state champions,” Roscosky said. “We’ll see if we decide to move.”
Brown has already committed to Pitt.
That came after he won the 16U national title at Fargo last summer.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen next year,” Brown said. “My plan is to stay at 215 and get ready to defend my title. It does not matter what the other guys decide.”
First team
Landon Sidun
Norwin, so., 121 pounds
2024-25 record: 30-0. Career record: 72-2
Sidun saw his season cut short with a hand injury in the WPIAL Class 3A third-place match in the team tournament. He was ranked No. 1 in the country and won three tournaments: Beast of the East, Powerade and Doc Buchanan Invitational.
Luke Willochell
Latrobe, sr., 133 pounds
2024-25 record: 44-5. Career record: 166-17
Willochell earned his second PIAA Class 3A runner-up medal. The other came in 2022. The Wyoming commit is a four-time PIAA placewinner and three-time WPIAL champion. He finished his career with a record-tying 166 wins.
Leo Joseph
Latrobe, sr., 121 pounds
2024-25 record: 39-7. Career record: 140-40
Joseph earned his second PIAA medal by finishing fourth this season. He won his first WPIAL title and had 19 pins. He plans to attend the United States Naval Academy. He was a Westmoreland County Coaches’ Association champion.
Hunter Snyder
Latrobe, so., 189 pounds
2024-25 record: 45-6. Career record: 83-17
Snyder had a solid season, but he missed the Westmoreland County Coaches’ Association tournament with an injury. He finished strong with a third-place finish in the PIAA tournament, falling to the eventual state champion. He had 20 pins.
Mason Horwat
Derry, so., 152 pounds
2024-25 record: 46-6. Career record: 84-13
Horwat earned his second PIAA Class 2A medal with a fourth-place finish this season. The sophomore also won his second WPIAL title. He placed sixth in the PIAA as a freshman. He won his second Westmoreland County Coaches’ Association title in January.
Brady Brown
Derry, so., 189 pounds
2024-25 record: 48-8. Career record: 87-14
Brown earned a fifth-place medal at the PIAA Class 2A championships. He is a two-time WPIAL champion and placed fourth in the Southwest Regional. He won his first Westmoreland County Coaches’ Association title in January.
Nico Kapusta
Hempfield, jr., 114 pounds
2024-25 record: 18-2. Career record: 70-23
Kapusta missed almost all of the regular season with an injury, but he came back strong in the postseason by winning 15 consecutive matches and winning the section, WPIAL 3A and PIAA West Regional titles. He lost his first match in the PIAA quarterfinals 13-12 to eventual state champion Wilmont Kai of Whitehall.
Dylan Barrett
Penn-Trafford, jr., 114 pounds
2024-25 record: 38-7. Career record: 106-32
Barrett earned his first PIAA 3A medal in three attempts by finishing seventh this season. He was ranked No. 1 in the WPIAL until Nico Kapusta came on strong late in the season. He finished second in the WPIAL for the second consecutive season and was third in the PIAA West Regional.
Anthony Mucci
Derry, sr., 133
2024-25 record: 43-8. Career record: 112-25
Mucci qualified for the PIAA 2A tournament for the second consecutive season. He went 1-2, losing to Northern Lebanon’s Aaron Seidel and Bentworth’s Drake McClure. He captured the Westmoreland County Coaches’ Association tournament. He is committed to wrestle at Pitt.
Max Firestine
Franklin Regional, fr., 145 pounds
2024-25 record: 42-12. Career record: 42-12
Firestine had a good freshman season by qualifying for the PIAA 3A tournament. Things did not go as planned there as he lost two close matches. He was a Westmoreland County Coaches’ Association champion and placed fourth in the WPIAL and PIAA West Regional.
Titus Colangelo
Franklin Regional, so., 114 pounds
2024-25 record: 37-17. Career record: 69-32
Colangelo went 1-2 in the PIAA 3A tournament after placing fifth in the PIAA West Regional. He placed fourth in the WPIAL. He helped the Panthers to the WPIAL 3A team title and finished third in the Westmoreland County Coaches’ Association tournament.
Luke DeSantis
Penn-Trafford, so., 121 pounds
2024-25 record: 33-15. Career record: 51-28
DeSantis had a great postseason and ended up qualifying for the PIAA tournament, where he went 1-2. He finished fifth in the WPIAL and fourth in the PIAA West Regional. He placed second in the Westmoreland County Coaches’ Association tournament.
Beau Fennick
Franklin Regional, fr., 107 pounds
2024-25 record: 38-9. Career record: 38-9
Fennick was in a tough weight class where everyone could beat each other. He helped the Panthers win the WPIAL 3A team title. He placed third in the WPIAL and finished sixth in the PIAA West Regional.
Second team
Ewan Olson, Derry, jr., 160 pounds. 2024-25 record: 43-10 (fourth in PIAA West Regional)
Giovanni Beatrice, Derry, sr., 127 pounds. 2024-25: 25-11 (third in the WPIAL 2A)
Dylan Bateman, Derry, fr., 121 pounds. 2024-25 record: 37-18 (third in the WPIAL 2A)
Tasso Whipple, Penn-Trafford, sr., 189 pounds. 2024-25 record: 20-8 (injury ended season)
Chase Smith, Franklin Regional, so., 133 pounds. 2024-25 record: 21-7 (fifth in WPIAL)
Michael Ruane, Franklin Regional, so., 127 pounds. 2024-25 record: 37-12 (fifth in the WPIAL)
Kole Doppelheuer, Belle Vernon, sr., 152 pounds. 2024-25 record: 37-11 (seventh in the WPIAL)
Colton Klipa, Norwin, fr., 114 pounds. 2024-25 record: 31-14 (fifth in the WPIAL)
Jake Mundorff, Ligonier Valley, so., 189 pounds. 2024-25 record: 29-9 (sixth in the WPIAL 2A)
Landon Delara, Southmoreland, sr., 172 pounds. 2024-25 record: 39-14 (PIAA 2A qualifier)
Ethan Miller, Greensburg Salem, sr., 172 pounds,. 2024-25 record: 28-12 (eighth in the WPIAL)
Nathan Klingensmith, Norwin, so, 138 pounds. 2024-25 record: 27-17 (seventh in the WPIAL)
Henry Patts, Franklin Regional, sr., 189 pounds. 2024-25 record: 39-13 (seventh in the WPIAL)
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.
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