Wilson knocks off WPIAL champ Connellsville in PIAA Class 3A 1st round

By: Paul Schofield
Thursday, February 8, 2024 | 10:26 PM

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HERSHEY — WPIAL champion Connellsville came up short during the first round of the PIAA Class 3A team championship Thusday at the Giant Center.

Wilson, the third-place team from District 3, won seven of the 13 matches and got pins from Matteo Garcia at 152 and Blaise Eidle at 172 to secure the 30-29 win.

Connellsville got pins from Tommy Gretz at 107 and Lonzy Vielma at 160. The Falcons trailed 30-16 with three bouts left and got a pin by Gretz, a win by Nolan Rice at 114 and a forfeit to Zach Franks at 121.

Turning point: Matteo Garcia and Connellsville’s Kolten Turek were tied in the third period when Garcia hit a big move and got the pin. Ethan Brownbeck’s 1-0 win against Nicholas Rohal at 189 was also big.

Coach’s quote: “We left bonus points out on the mat,” Connellsville coach Bill Swink said. “It was not a great effort. We didn’t get pins and we lost a couple close ones. We need to come back Friday ready to compete.”

Up next: Connellsville faces District 10 champion Erie Prep at 10:30 a.m. Friday.

WILSON 30, CONNELLSVILLE 29

127: McKaaden Speece (W) t.f. Landon Lynn, 20-4 (4:58).

133: Kai Velma (C) p. Jameson Mckeown, :52.l

139: James Garcia (W) d. Julian Ruggieri, 7-3.

145: Evan Petrovich (C) d. Dominic Delgado, 9-2.

152: Matteo Garcia (W) p. Kolten Turek, 5:06.

160: Lonzy Vielma (C) t.f. Kameron Kush, 19-4 (4:25).

172: Blaise Eidle (W) p. Crue Harwell, 1:29.

189: Ethan Brownbeck (W) d. Nicholas Rohal, 1-0.

215: Ryan McMillam (W) major Chris Cook, 11-2.

285: Logan Kurzweg (W) d. Tyler Gallis, 5-1.

107: Tommy Gretz (C) p. Trevor Hertzog, 1:02.

114: Nolan Rice (C) d. Esaac Eidle, 4-0.

121: Zachary Franks (C) won by forfeit.

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: Connellsville